Sobbing, I wiped my eyes with both hands as I tried to piece together what had just happened. Somehow, he had done it. Whether by the will of the Stars or his abilities, he had been able to reach out to Kaede.
“How could you survive all that?” Celyze breathed, his voice so faint, I almost missed it over my heavy breathing. Shaking his head, he blinked several times, slowly returning to the present. “Who are you?”
“A heartbroken mother who just wants to get back to her mates,” I hissed. “Now you know how badly your commander messed up. If he had only tried approaching me diplomatically, you wouldn’t be in this position.”
There was no need to confirm anything he had seen, especially not in front of his clan. I may have trusted him to help me connect with Kaede, but we were still communicating on a need-to-know basis.
I could now be worth more to them if they wanted to use me to blackmail my mates. Tori had hinted that the base was slowly running out of resources, so I wouldn’t put it past their commander to seek a reward for returning me.
Why not try to profit off the situation?
Little did they know how easily Kaede could kill first and ask questions later. The CEG feared Kaede and the Fab Five because death followed in their wake, and rescuing me was all that mattered to him.
I just hoped I could convince him to spare this clan for being so kind to me.
“What happened?” Tori asked as she sat down next to Celyze and combed the damp hair back from his forehead. “You both were gone for a while. I was starting to get worried.”
“We all were,” Auro added, kneeling beside us. “You haven’t spaced out like that since we were captured.”
“What did you find?” Luwyn questioned, leaning with his shoulder on the wall nearby, wings fluttering wildly. “Is there something we should know?”
“Celyze was able to find my Head of Security. He’s on his way here,” I replied, hoping to direct the conversation away from questions about my clan and their connections. “He’s almost here, and he’s pissed. I wouldn’t want to be Xenak at the moment.”
“How?” Auro glanced between me and his sapphire brethren. “No one should be able to track you. We are too far from your galaxy and the CEG has never ventured past its borders. Only pirates and scavengers searching for easy money dare travel between galaxies.”
“I don’t know how, but the male following her is determined,” Celyze muttered, locking his gaze with mine once more. His body was no longer shimmering like stars in the night sky, and the white swirls in his icy blue eyes had slowed and dimmed. “Selena, what will he do once he arrives? There are innocents here who have done nothing to deserve his wrath.”
“I don’t have any power over what he does,” I replied, shrugging. “I can try to convince him to only take out his revenge on Xenak since he is the sole reason I am here. If you are looking for a way to come out alive, then all you have to do is make sure no one keeps me from him. You’ve helped me reach him and given him the information he needed to get here as fast as possible. He will spare your lives for assisting me; I will make sure of that.”
I scanned the four of them, finding alarm in all their eyes. “Just don’t betray me—or him—because he isn’t afraid to die to take down his enemy. His sisters have told me how many suicidal missions he undertook to find me the first time.”
“Selena, I will speak for my clan here. We will never betray you. I have opposed Xenak’s actions and taken you in.” Tori reached across the cushion and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. “You are welcome to stay here until your bodyguard arrives. My mates will sneak you to the hangar to meet him. We want nothing more than to reunite you with your clan.”
Fresh tears poured down my cheeks at the thought of my mates’ conditions. I could sense that Kaede hadn’t told me the full truth. He was hiding something from me and I wanted—needed—to know what.
Were things worse than he had tried to make them seem? Was I about to return to find my nestmates on their deathbeds? Had my Shadow descended into darkness and wreaked havoc with his power?
“Even though I agree with Tori, there is a problem.” Luwyn kicked off the wall and floated over to us, his wings buzzing wildly in his wake. “By aiding you, we are putting ourselves in danger. The commander will see it as a betrayal of his cause.”
“If you are afraid of incurring backlash for helping me, then why not return home with me?” I covered Tori’s hand, enclosing it with mine. “It sounds like you are barely getting by here. Judging by the lack of personal effects in your apartment, you wouldn’t have much to pack. Why not come with me? I’ll make sure you have a wonderful new place to call home.”
“That is a generous offer,” Auro muttered, collapsing onto the sofa in shock. “But how can you promise such a thing?”
“She can,” Celyze announced as his piercing, all-knowing eyes met mine. “Selena has powerful allies. Rewarding us with a better home wouldn’t be hard for her to accomplish.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because he’s seen who I am and what I’m capable of,” I pronounced, holding Celyze’s gaze and hoping he would understand not to reveal what he had seen. “I am not speaking in veiled half-truths so you will continue
