Dark's Savior (Dark World Mates Book 2), page 26
Xilya squeezed on it again, and the gold flecks returned to the orb. She handed it back to Nar.
"Interesting," Nar said. "Mind if I hold onto it to examine it some more?"
Ryziel shook his head. " Not at all."
Nar pocketed the orb then got up and began to set several cups on the table.
"What's this?" Aly asked, pointing to an iron bowl.
"It's called Loshi. It's an urken meal made for celebrations," Nar explained. "I figured, now that we know we will have the ship ready soon, this was a good enough time as any to, well, celebrate."
"And I couldn't agree more," said Xilya. She poured hot water into the little cups for each of them while Nar distributed the stew in steel bowls. Ryziel gave a tea infusion to Aly while dropping one into his own cup. As the pills soaked, Xilya took up her bowl carefully in her sharp hands and lifted it. "To the ship. May it safely fly us out of this hellscape and away to better worlds."
"Couldn't have said it better," Nar said, lifting his own. "To the ship."
Ryziel glanced at Aly, who met his eyes. She smiled at him and lifted her bowl. "And to home."
Ryziel smiled, lifting his. "To home."
They ate in silence for a short while until Ryziel noticed Xilya watching Aly with curious intensity. Her gaze eventually flicked over to his and their eyes locked. They stared at one another for a long moment before Xilya spoke.
"Speaking of home," she said, with a suspiciously casual air. "I am told you will return with Nihl Ryziel to his home world. Is that true, Aly?"
Aly swallowed her mouthful of stew and set her bowl down. "Ah, yes." She glanced at Ryziel then back at Xilya. "It's true."
"Hm." The vrisha female scratched at the side of her jaw indifferently. "And I take it, then, you aren't worried about being the only human left on Xolis?"
Ryziel's hand slowly clenched into a fist. Where was she going with this?
Aly cast her eyes downward, as if thinking, then slowly shook her head. "No. It doesn't bother me. I'll be with Ryziel." She looked up at each of them. "And I'm sure I can somehow keep in contact..."
"You think so?"
Aly shrugged but didn't seem to have an answer.
"The humans will come with me," Xilya said. "And, assuming your tale is true, that this Dr. Hart you mentioned is likely on my homeworld, she may know how to get them back to human territory. But the likelihood of them returning to find you is assuredly impossible." She took a sip of her tea then set her cup down. "I'm just saying if you choose to go to Nihl, there's no going back. You will never see a human again."
Aly frowned but didn't seem completely disturbed by this revelation. "I understand."
"Do you?"
"Yes."
Xilya sat back and bowed her head. "And you understand, then, that, no matter what happens, once you are on Nihl, you can never leave."
"Careful, Xilya," Ryziel warned softly.
She ignored him, her eyes staying on Aly.
Aly looked back at her, her brows furrowed tight. "If that is true," Aly began, "then so be it. As long as I am with Ryziel, it doesn't matter. It will be my home."
"A home you barely know anything about?"
"Enough, Xilya," Ryziel growled.
Xilya finally turned her eyes to him, her gaze almost accusing. "You are very sure you will be able to go and challenge your uncle without issue?"
The question was unexpected, but Ryziel knew his answer. "Yes."
"And you are very sure you will win?"
Ryziel took a hit from his own cup then set it down. "Yes, I am sure." He didn't think he needed to explain his plan, but he did so anyway. "I will challenge him on the First Night, when I am strongest. My uncle's ego will drive him to think he can still defeat me, even then. And, as heir to the house, my brother will allow us to fight."
"Just as you think he will allow Aly to be your bonded mate?"
Ryziel's eyes narrowed, and he waited a moment before saying, "He will if I ask it."
Xilya narrowed her eyes back at him. "And have you told her what it's like for non-nillium within the great Houses?"
"It doesn't matter."
"I think it does."
Ryziel bared his teeth. "We are done discussing this. It is not your decision."
"Not mine," Xilya agreed. "But hers." She gestured to Aly.
Aly looked to both of them. She was quiet for a moment, looking to Ryziel for reassurance. She turned back to Xilya. "I think it will be fine."
Xilya stared at her for a second longer. Then, as if it was no longer a concern, she tilted her head with a shrug. "So be it." She drank the rest of her tea and so said no more.
Aly's techband rang out like a little bell, letting them know it was time for her to head above. "I'll go get my things," she said hesitantly, looking to Ryziel as she rose from her seat.
"I'll be right there," Ryziel said to her as he went to stand.
"Let me take her up," Xilya offered. "I have to return to the top as well, and one tank is nearly complete. You could stay and help Nar."
Ryziel was ready to say no when Aly spoke first. "I don't see a problem with that," she said. She looked over at Ryziel. "If she has to return above then we might as well go together."
Ryziel couldn't argue with that.
Once Aly's pack was secure, Ryziel followed her over to the door. Uncaring if Xilya or Nar saw, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.
"Be safe," he said, nuzzling her ear. "I will come to get you later. Meet me at our usual place during mid-shift."
"You got it." She kissed the corner of his mouth then drew back. "I was thinking...maybe I can say something now about the ship to my team. Or at least just my team leader? So that they can be ready when the time comes."
He brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. "We will discuss the possibility tomorrow. Until then," he grazed his mouth against hers, "see you, my love."
Aly kissed him once more and released herself gently from his hold to back away and stand beside Xilya. Ryziel's eyes flicked over to the vrisha with a tight glare, which she immediately returned. "See you soon."
***
Aly walked beside Xilya as they made their way across the bottom toward the elevator. She was so accustomed to the path now that she didn't need to follow behind. Xilya didn't seem to mind, though she stayed quiet for most of their journey.
"You really plan to take my team to Tryth with you?" Aly said as they walked up to the elevator.
Xilya waved her hand over the pad to bring down a car. "That's the idea, yes. From there, they may be able to track a way back to a human territory. Or perhaps one of them will know of better coordinates to go by, and I can drop them off at a human settlement. Either way, I'm certain they can be returned home without issue."
Aly nodded. "I'm glad. I will miss them...and you."
The alien didn't respond readily to this, and they waited in silence until the doors opened. Once they were inside and the car began to move, Xilya made a soft hissing noise.
"It might be very lonely on Nihl without your kin," she said.
Aly looked up at her, but the vrisha didn't meet her gaze.
"I think I'll manage fine. I'll make new friends."
Xilya scratched at the side of her face.
Aly shifted and cleared her throat. "Ryziel says it's beautiful there. It might even seem like Earth in some ways. He says there are some who might like me to draw—"
"You shouldn't go."
Aly stared at her, confused and, frankly, a little hurt. "Why?" The vrisha didn't say anything at first so Aly continued with, "Is it really because you think I'll be lonely? Because I told you I'm not upset—"
"You don't understand." The alien sighed, rubbing at one of her horns. "You won't make friends there. You won't have anyone. Except, I guess, Ryziel. You will be alone."
Aly frowned. "What are you saying, exactly?"
Xilya turned her head toward her. "What do you know of the nillium, truly? Tell me."
Aly thought about it then said, "I know they are a noble race...that most are members of the Xolis Council. I know they think a little too highly of themselves."
Xilya made another low hissing noise. "And what do you know of Nihl, their homeworld? That it is beautiful, that is all?"
Aly opened her mouth then closed it. "I...I know that the sun rarely sets there, at least in the northern hemisphere. And when it does, it is only like...once a month."
"The First Night, they call it," Xilya said. "The one night that lasts only an hour to which they endure once a month, yes. And Ryziel will challenge his uncle on this night, as you know."
"Right, because he's strongest somehow at night...like he said." Aly spoke the words but they sounded uncertain, even in her ears.
"Wrong. He isn't stronger at night," Xilya said bluntly. Aly opened her mouth to protest, but Xilya cut her off. "He isn't stronger. The sun, his planet's sun, weakens him."
Aly went still.
Xilya bowed her head. "It is so. He is stronger than probably most of the nillium within Xolis. But his very own sun betrays him. And his own people hate and fear him for it."
Aly shook her head. "I...that can't be. His father didn't trust him, and his uncle hates him, but his brother is there and cares about him."
"They are afraid of him because he is not of the light but of the dark," Xilya said, ignoring her words. "He is different. When he was born, they took him for an ill omen. It is only because of his father's choice to keep him alive and raise him to become his own personal assassin that he is still breathing at all. His brother likely has his own agenda."
Out of all her words, assassin drew Aly's focus the most. Ryziel never mentioned exactly what his father made him do, but she might have guessed. Still, the sudden truth didn't immediately disturb her. If it was true, he had been forced to do it. And, she was sure, he was no longer that now nor would he ever be again. "Things will be different. His father is gone. His uncle..." Aly crossed her arms. "He will be too."
"Yes, his brother will allow him to stay within his home. That is most certainly true. But Nihl Ryziel will still be an outcast to them."
Aly looked up at Xilya, wide-eyed as she said this.
"So." Xilya twisted her body around to face Aly. "What do you think they will see when you arrive? The non-nillium mate of an outcast?"
Aly clenched her jaw. "I guess so."
"No," Xilya said, her eyes a fiery blaze. "Not even that. Because, if you had bothered to ask, then you would know."
Aly felt a sudden awful cold, like an icy stone drop in her stomach. "Know what?"
"You would know that there are no non-nillium mates. That even silions of the highest cast are not offered such privilege. You would know that, because you yourself are not nillium nor even silion, that you will have no rights within that House nor on Nihl anywhere. Not even Nihl Ryziel's own brother would allow you to be called a lady of Nihl nor a nillium's mate." The fire in Xilya's eyes dimmed, replaced with a guilt-ridden sadness. "I have heard rumors of nillium women being hidden within their own homes, unable to leave, none seen off of Nihl in many years." She placed a hand on Aly's shoulder. "You would be kept out of sight from everyone, just like them, locked away for only Ryziel to keep you company when his brother doesn't call him away, which will be often. And it would be worse for you, much worse."
Aly swallowed hard, her throat suddenly tight, her mouth dry. "How...how much worse?"
Xilya's hand slipped from her shoulder. "You would be forced to serve under them. Nihl Ryziel would have little say, and something tells me he won't move against his brother—not even for you." She bowed her head low. "You would be nothing more than a slave."
Chapter Twenty-nine
Aly sat on her bed inside her unit, her sketchbook sitting on her lap, hands clenched tightly around it. Her shift would be starting soon, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She hadn't even taken her suit off once she returned to the unit after Xilya left her. She had just gone to her bed and sat there for a long time, thinking.
She thought about what Xilya said and refused to believe it. Her denial was so strong she considered putting the idea out of her mind altogether and continuing on as if the conversation had never happened.
But the more she tried to shut out Xilya's words, the more they came whispering back to her like the twist of a knife. And she couldn't ignore it any longer.
After all, why would Xilya have cause to lie to her? Why would she have any reason to make something up to keep Aly from Ryziel? She had no reason to do that, no secret motive. Aly had seen the honesty in her eyes, the pleading expression of someone who only wanted to save her from what could only be considered a terrible fate.
And that's exactly what it was. Even with all the love and trust she felt for Ryziel, she could not deny that the idea of being shut away and forced to comply with those around her did more than just terrify her. It broke her.
And suddenly, all she could think of was home. Not of Nihl but of Earth. How she had escaped a life of control and manipulation from her parents. And now, with all the denial stripped away, leaving doubt to grow and fester inside her, she knew her future might be doomed to bring her back into that same trap.
After hours of this dreadful thinking, Aly had come to the final numbing conclusion. That she would now have to make an important and life-altering decision: go with Ryziel and risk living a life in the shadows. Or return with her team and risk never seeing him again. The latter choice made the sharp pain in her chest hurt so bad it left her gasping. But the former choice left her shaking so bad she had to keep her hands clenched on her lap to still them.
Someone might say she had a third option, but she feared to even consider it because she knew what Ryziel would say, and his answer would only break her more.
She could ask him to not return home.
But where would they go? Back to her world? A place still new to the idea of life beyond human existence, still working to understand those aliens they had come to discover? The gyda might be on some of the bases, but even after so many years, they were still separated from the human communities. And then there was the vrisha and the whispers from those who still deemed them "hostile" even though they had yet to make contact with them again, ever since the Lazris incident. She knew they were discovering more civilizations, more races, but humans were still too afraid, still too uncertain, to allow others to integrate into their cities and homes. Ryziel would be just as unwelcome as she might be on Nihl. She couldn't put him through that.
And, besides, she already knew his answer. He had been trying for so long to return home, to return to his brother. She knew even she couldn't sway him not to go back, especially not now, when he was so close.
Slowly, Aly rose from her bed and, like a sleepwalker, went over to the kitchen, thinking for the moment she should just eat something before she had to work for the few hours until Ryziel came to get her. Then she would have to talk to him. At least try to make him understand her fears. They had time still before the ship was finished, and, maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to still make it all work.
As she finished with a small meal that she could barely keep down, she had started placing her sketchbook and tools in her pack when a knock started at her door. She went over to it without a thought and opened it.
A krull male stared down at her from the doorway, and it took Aly a moment to realize it was an enforcer. Her heart skipped a beat, but she merely smiled. "Can I help you?"
"Aly Smith, we are here to escort you to level three."
Aly frowned. Her eyes shifted past the krull to where two others waited by the wall. "Why are you taking me to level three?" she asked nervously. Level three was the beginning of the warehouses, along with the security hub, if she remembered correctly.
"Your team must go to level three immediately," was the krull's answer. "We are here to take you. Are you ready to comply?"
Aly didn't answer at first but didn't see how she had much of a choice. Cautiously, she stepped out of her unit and allowed the enforcers to circle her. She followed them over to Mark's unit, where the krull knocked on his door.
A moment later, Mark opened it, his eyes first meeting the krull's then slipping down to Aly. "What's going on?"
"You are ordered to follow us to level three. Gather your things and meet us in the hall," said the krull.
Mark hesitated. He looked back at Aly, who only shook her head. "Okay," he said. "One moment." He closed the door then, only a couple seconds later, stepped out into the hall with them.
The enforcers led them quickly down the hall and out of the hub to a waiting elevator, which they all entered.
"What's this about?" Mark whispered.
Aly glanced over and shook her head again. "No idea. They just said the team is going to level three." Her heart was racing now. She tried to prepare herself for what she feared might be another interrogation. Maybe they had caught on that something wasn't right. Maybe they had seen her leaving for the bottom or returning. Maybe they knew her techband was faulty. She was surprised at how calm she seemed on the outside, considering how afraid she was now. Her eyes shifted over each enforcer. She needed to get a message through to Ryziel but not with them watching so intently.
They got off the elevator onto the third floor and headed into a larger and taller building cut deep into the rock that rose up to the second and first floor, all the way to the top. Aly realized neither she nor Mark had ever been this close to the surface, at least not since they had arrived on Lethe. They made their way through the wide corridors and across one bridge, over a stock room, until they came to a pair of doors that opened as they approached. Beyond was a huge circular area with a wide-open ceiling that could be seen all the way to the top, surrounded by white and blue lights. Ahead stood what she estimated to be more than half of all the enforcers stationed on Lethe Maws (which wasn't many) and near to them was the rest of her crew.
"You two all right?" Julian asked as the enforcers brought her and Mark in with the group.
