Kaede halted in his tracks and growled, turning toward his display wall. In a moment of rage, when he’d ported in from his argument with Selena, he had put the four drones assigned to following her on passive mode, not wanting to be reminded of her dismissal of him in favor of his sisters, whom she had just met.
How could she blindly trust them?
They were his sisters and wouldn’t do anything to harm her, but they also were known for getting carried away. It was something they couldn’t afford to do—especially when they weren’t on their own turf.
He refused to believe it was jealousy he felt, so he settled on the one thing that mattered—she was punishing him for keeping his distance from her. The distance he created in hopes of learning to control himself around her and calming the instincts that had been begging him to track, claim, and protect.
< REI. CONTINUE S’S FEED. >
< S’S FEED ONLINE. >
He fell back onto his bed and shut his eyes, allowing his drones to flood his inner vision, sending their feed directly to the A.I. part of his brain and allowing him to expand himself in as many directions as needed.
His control over the drones was personal—they were a part of him in a way no one else in the galaxy could experience. His experience was more personal than ones in dreamdomes used to build worlds or pilot Prince Zirene’s fleet.”
The Aldawi implants were simple imitations of the ones Kaede and his half-sisters had, the Aldawi’s capabilities only a mere fraction of true versions they had.
No one knew that Kaede secretly had a back-up plan if anything went awry. He’d implanted a self-destruct program he could trigger anywhere and at any time if anyone betrayed him, Selena and her clan, or the Aldawi Empire. He would not allow the Aldawi Empire to betray them, and with his newfound ability, he could make sure she was safe from harm as long as he had a drone near.
Without his drones, he’d depend on his AI to hack into the system and wreak havoc until he could get to her.
He scanned through his drones; they were all on autopilot and doing whatever task he assigned them. Most were patrolling aimlessly around the space station as they listened to random conversations. Others were following specific targets—politicians and questionable citizens—in hopes of finding any secrets they may be hiding. A select few of them were stalking Selena and her clan members’ every move, making sure they were safe from those around them.
< REI. ISOLATE S’S FEED. >
< CONFIRMED. >
Hundreds of screens minimized, leaving only the six surrounding Selena.
Kaede snarled at what he saw.
Selena was grinding herself all over Qraniebi with his hands all over her.
Something about her movements seemed off. Kaede commanded his drones to focus on her as he zoomed in the extended vision they gave him.
Her eyes were cloudy as she stared aimlessly around the room. Her face and exposed flesh were flushed and sweaty, as her spots glowed pink—something the Ulax saw as arousal, displayed when one was flirting or trying to court someone.
Something triggered deep inside Kaede, and dread filled him.
In an instant, he jolted to his feet as he minimized the screens in his visor, giving him enough space to actually see with his own eyes.
< REI. PORT TO DRONE SA6. >
< COMMENCING PORT IN 3… 2… 1… >
Kaede closed his eyes as he felt his body shift as if it collapsed into his uniform’s core. In an instant, sounds of the club assaulted his ears as his feet touched solid ground once more. A slight feeling as if his body was expanding washed over him. Now wasn’t the time to readjust himself. He refused to take a precious moment to settle the slight uneasiness that happened whenever he ported.
He opened his eyes and locked his gaze on Qraniebi. His drones marked him yellow—an ally, but could be a potential threat. The others in the room glowed orange— nobodies who could be either friend or foe. There were no reds—enemies—in the room, and the only greens—friends—were his half-sisters on the second floor, looking down at him.
He hissed but refused to look up and acknowledge them.
They were playing a game —something he didn’t have the time or need for.
Licking his fangs, Kaede flipped his wrist, snapping his infused blade into his hand as he stepped behind Qraniebi. Kaede grabbed hold of the blue and green feathers on top of Qraniebi’s head and pulled it back, pressing his blade to his neck.
“I don’t care who you are, but you won’t get away with whatever you did to Selena,” Kaede hissed in his ear. “Release her before I slit your throat right here on the dance floor for all to see.”
Qraniebi jerked and halted his movements, pale green eyes widened.
“I don’t know what you are accusing me of. I am teaching Selena how to dance and have done nothing to her.”
Pages from his half-sisters pinged frantically. He ignored their desperate pleas, not caring what they had to say, for they did not protect Selena during their watch.
“Release. Her. Now,” Kaede growled, pulling Qraniebi’s head farther back. “Do it.”
Qraniebi glared at Kaede as he opened his wings, revealing Selena and released his grip on her ass.
She fell slowly to the ground as her limbs failed to keep her position. When her ass hit the hard floor, her head rolled back, dropping her hood, revealing her silver hair for all to see. Her hazy eyes kept closing as she moved her head side to side, confused with her surroundings. Her hair shimmered in the club’s lights as the spots on her face glowed bright pink.
“What is wrong with her?” Qraniebi asked, his melodic voice laced with concern and confusion.
Kaede removed his blade and shoved Qraniebi out of the way into the nearby crowd. Yells of protests didn’t mean a
