“It is to me!” he shouted as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. “I can’t do this without you.”
There was the answer.
After building this organization from the ground up, Xenak felt like he couldn’t lead without his brother. While his motives were sound, his methods had been reprehensible. I couldn’t forgive him for everything he had put me through—whether I had saved Ryzen or not. He hadn’t shown any semblance of remorse and hadn’t attempted to ask for forgiveness, as if he still believed he had done the right thing.
I couldn’t remain in the same room as this male. No matter his reasoning, he still felt like an enemy to me, and I didn’t feel safe in his presence.
“I wish I could say that it was nice meeting you, Ryzen, but now that you know why I’m here and I’ve done my duty, I wish to leave.” Nodding at the emerald male, I offered my hands to Celyze. “Can we go back to your cabin? I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Celyze’s gaze flicked between Zyxel and Ryzen as if asking for permission. When no one objected, he grabbed me. Zyxel uncoiled his body from around mine as Celyze scooped me into his arms. Resting my head against his chest, I lost sight of the other three males’ stares as we neared the exit.
“Selena,” Zyxel called. I glanced over Celyze’s shoulder and peered at the crimson Ezzaska. “I will be by later to speak with you.”
“Okay.” I nodded as the door slid shut.
We were silent the whole way back to his home, which was fine with me. My heart hurt after what I had just experienced, and I just wanted to shut my eyes and listen to the base moving around me. Either I fell asleep or didn’t realize Celyze had flown higher until he landed, and I opened my eyes to find us on the landing ledge.
He gently placed me on the ground and wordlessly opened the entryway’s forcefield. As soon as we traversed the stone hallway into their social room, Tori and her mates turned to face us.
“What happened?” Tori asked, throwing a towel onto the kitchen counter.
“She was able to wake the commander.”
“That’s good!” Tory exclaimed, clapping her hands. As soon as she realized we weren’t celebrating, she stopped and tilted her head in confusion. “Why do you both look grim?”
“I told Ryzen how Xenak brought me here,” I replied, sitting on their large, L-shaped couch. “He needed to know how his brother has treated me before Xenak played off his crimes and pretended I was willingly here. Instead of apologizing and asking for forgiveness, he acted as if he was still in the right, which he isn’t. I asked if Celyze could take me back here so I could get away from him before I slapped him again or something.”
“He didn’t apologize?” Tori sat beside me and took my hands. “You did what he demanded of you. Did he at least thank you?”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “Not even a thank you. The male is something else. I just want to leave this base and have nothing to do with him ever again.”
“Less than two days left until your Kaede arrives.”
“Are you guys still planning on coming with me when I leave?” I searched the room and saw mixed reactions. “If I can board his vessel with minimal resistance from the base, it shouldn’t be a problem. As long as Kaede doesn’t go on the offensive, he’ll listen to me. That is, if you still want to accompany me.”
“We are still interested, but…”
“We feel guilty leaving the others behind,” Auro finished as he sat down on the other side of Tori. “Why should we be granted the freedom to stretch our wings and freely absorb energy from the sun when they will be stuck here?”
I understood his reasoning.
They were like all the other refugees I had saved and invited to stay on my moon. Though it shouldn’t matter that they came from a different galaxy, I knew if I relocated them to Destima, I would be summoned by the Assembly, which was the last thing I needed at the moment.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t help this base in the future, after I returned home and made sure my mates were healthy and safe. I needed time to speak with Mwe and Zirene about relocating a whole base worth of refugees to Destima. The CEG would have a fit when they learned that we were allowing outsiders into our territory, but what could they do? This base held seventy-two Earth humans without a home. It had been their fault that the Yaarkins had been able to invade Earth and destroy our species, so I would ensure they made amends.
“How many people live in this base?”
“About five thousand, give or take,” Celyze replied, narrowing his eyes as he held my gaze. “Why?”
“Do you think you can reach out to another friend of mine?” Hesitating, I licked my lips, rethinking this idea. “I need to contact someone within my galaxy—maybe two someones. You were able to help Xenak reach me, so reaching them should be as easy.”
“It wasn’t easy, though,” he breathed. “Xenak is already a strong telepath with a wide range, whereas you are a shielder. It would be nearly impossible to contact someone over that distance.”
“But what if their range extends nearly to the edge of our galaxy? Would you be able to meet them halfway?”
“If you have their mental signature already memorized, I won’t need to expend energy scrying you to find who I’m looking for.” His gaze jumped to his clan. “Why do you need to reach out to someone? Your Kaede is on his way.”
“What if I told you I was friends with the leader of my
