[i]So this is war,[/i] Serix thought as he watched the humans take care of the aftermath. Corpses littered the cavern floor, some human, but most Lunairan. He knew in his head that he was on the humans’ side, but he couldn’t help the wave of sadness that swept over him at the sight of his fallen people. How many of them had mates or children waiting for them on the ship? How would the Lunairan population recover from such a loss? He wondered if the soldiers knew what they were going up against. They had fallen so quickly. Had their intel not given them an accurate picture of the humans’ hideout? Of their vast numbers? Of their weaponry? What they must have expected to be a quick and easy raid had turned into a bloodbath.

He looked up as Cassie approached him. Her arm was bloody, but other than that, she appeared to be unharmed. He exhaled in relief. They had both escaped alive.

Serix wanted to go to her, but his feet remained stubbornly planted. He could only stare as she walked up to him and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his as she opened a connection between their minds to share her affection for him. He knew she was trying to comfort him—his expression must have given away his dark thoughts—so he managed to return a weak smile. He didn’t want her to worry about him. Yes, it had been difficult to fight his own people, but he would get over it. He had to, for her sake and his own. With time, it would become easier… he hoped.

At the sound of a small scuffle behind him, Serix turned to see one of the humans collecting Celuria’s unconscious body. They were taking all of the prisoners down to the hold. He wondered if they would be put through the same interrogation he had experienced mere weeks ago. Even though they were his enemies, he shuddered to think of them being put through such torture. Especially Celuria. They were on opposing sides now, but he could never erase the memories of the friendship they had shared when they were younger. 

He nodded when Cassie opened a mental link with him and said she wanted to follow the humans into the hold. He shared her concern that the prisoners would just be killed. He certainly wouldn’t put it past Ryan to do something like that, and he wasn’t going to stand for it. There had been enough bloodshed for one day.


The hold was just as dark and unwelcoming as he remembered. He took a calming breath, forcing away unpleasant memories and reminding himself that he wasn’t here to be “interrogated” again. He looked at each of the cells in turn. There were nine Lunairans, each in his or her own cell with the exception of two—one young male and a female—in one cage at the end of the room.

Cassie went to speak with Ryan, asking him what he planned to do with the prisoners. Knowing his presence would do nothing to calm the light-haired male, Serix spent the time wandering among the cells, examining the captured Lunairans. Most were still unconscious, but a few were hazily waking up. Fortunately for him, there were no familiar faces other than Celuria’s. He paused by her cell, watching as she slept. Her chest rose and fell so peacefully. It was hard for him to believe it had really been her who had attacked him so viciously.

He wondered again how she had ended up as a soldier for the Lunairan army. Last time he had seen her, she had just been put into training to become a military strategist. It was the reason why they hadn’t been able to see each other for the last two years; he had been assigned to become a foot soldier, and she was to become a tactician. Once a Lunairan received a career path, he or she was to be placed into specific training regiments for said path. There was little interaction between members of different fields. However, what Cerulia had done in the cavern was far from just strategizing. She had been on the front lines of battle. The higher powers didn’t often reassign someone to a new task, but obviously something had changed for her.

Serix looked away from her cell when he heard a scream echo out of a nearby tunnel. The sound was shrill and desperate, like a frightened child. He quickly followed after the humans as they sprinted towards the source of the scream.

Eventually, they reached a small cave that was hidden away from the rest of the hideout. The approaching tunnel was narrow, so Serix had to run at the back of the group. He missed most of the events—he heard a gunshot, the whimpers of a child, Ryan’s pleas, another shot—before he managed to shove his way past the others to stand beside Cassie.

“Oh no,” he breathed, violet eyes wide. He reached for his mate’s hand as he took in the morbid scene. Ryan clutched his dead sister’s body to his chest, while the Lunairan attacker slowly bled out on the ground beside him. He shifted his weight. As terrible as Sally’s death was, he couldn’t help but fear what this would do to Ryan. The human leader was already quick tempered without being provoked. Now, he had just lost his only living family member.

Serix tensed as Ryan climbed to his feet, holding his sister’s limp body in his arms. Ryan looked up at them, his eyes dull and his cheeks stained with tears, “Interrogate the prisoners, and then execute them all. I want them dead before tomorrow.”