Adrik (Titans #1)

Chapter 4

Ember glared at two black-clad figures who circled their cage. Behind her, Nova was whimpering in Kyan’s too-thin arms.

“What’s the plan?” Vashti asked, standing behind Ember and in front of Nova and Kyan. It’s the same thing they always did. Kyan and Nova, the two youngest and weakest, were always sheltered behind Ember with Vashti planted in front of them as a last resort if whatever danger they faced got passed Ember.

“We don’t let them separate us,” Ember clipped out. Eyes on the three black-clad behemoths slowly circling their cage.

One of the males said something and pointed at the ground, but Ember couldn’t make out the language.

“Wh-what does he want?” Nova whimpered.

“Don’t know.” Ember glared at the male. “But he’s not getting it, whatever it is.”

One of the males who’d disappeared returned and spoke with the others. Their language was guttural, deep, and foreboding.

The males gathered and spoke more quietly while Ember gripped the bars and got as close as possible. It didn’t matter, though. She had no idea what was being said.

Suddenly, an alarm blared, and the males all looked up. A robotic voice made an announcement, and it displeased one of the males. He barked orders at the others and pointed toward Ember and the other women before he stormed from the cargo hold. The robotic voice started what sounded like a countdown and had Ember releasing the bars. “Huddle up,” she commanded. The women did as instructed while Ember turned to face the three remaining males. The remaining guards were tense but stayed facing each other and speaking quietly.

Shouting over the robotic voice, Ember yelled, “Hey!” When the captors ignored her, she yelled again, “Hey!”

One of the males looked at her, and she motioned for him to come closer. She didn’t know why the robot was counting down, she had no idea what was about to happen, but she knew she wanted it to stop.

The males remained where they stood, their faces angling up as they, too, waited.

***

“What are you doing,” Obaida roared as he stepped onto the bridge.

Turning, Adrik’s only response was a slow quirk of his brow.

“They’re female, Ad. And two of them appear to be ill. You can’t gas them. The sick ones most likely won’t survive.”

Giving Obaida his back, Adrik concentrated on the controls before him. “We don’t have time to do this gently. They can be carrying disease, bombs, trackers. We don’t know how the Ziefers perished. Any attackers would have taken the females. We can only assume they are defective in some way.”

“Ad,” Obaida urged more calmly. “They’re not diseased.”

“You said two seemed ill,” Adrik countered.

“Seem ill with a human illness. They aren’t diseased. I already had Tyrate run scans.”

“You and I both know he can’t pick up anything without actual samples from them.”

“I know,” Obaida admitted, but they’re free of airborne parasites. Just give me some time.” Silence reigned momentarily before Obaida pressed, “I know the dark female probably has you worried, but…”

“Don’t!” Adrik snarled. A moment later, he huffed, “Don’t go there.”

“Fine,” Obaida clipped out. “But give me minimal fracts. Please, Ad? I’ll seal off the cargo hold and send the men out. If anything happens, I’ll be the only casualty. I accept that.”

Turning to glare at Obaida over his shoulder, Adrik fell silent before growling, “You have minimal fracts. Minimal , Obaida!”

With a grin, Obaida turned and raced from the bridge.

Adrik watched him go and then turned back to the viewscreen. His fingers itched to call up the live feed to the hold. He was curious as to how Obaida planned on getting the females separated; he was more worried, though, that something would go wrong. Yeah, Tyrate could scan for airborne disease and parasites, but something had killed the Ziefers on their own shuttle. Enemies or other scavengers would have taken the females, which meant something on the Zeifer ship had killed them. The females were the only real explanation. Convinced, Adrik snarled, “Tyrate, pull up a view of the hold.”

Splaying his long legs, Adrik crossed his arms and pressed claw-tipped fingers into his lips, right between where his fangs hung. He watched intently as Obaida entered and started barking orders. The sound to the viewing orbs that provided the live feed still hadn’t been restored. They’d hit a severe asteroid belt that had damaged the Cressida. They’d been repairing that damage when they’d received the distress beacon from the Ziefer ship.

Now, watching Obaida motion to Kaze and Pitch, Adrik wished they’d have fixed sound on the feeds before following the Ziefer ship’s distress signal.

Attention fixed on the screen, Adrik couldn’t keep his eyes from straying to the dark female. Just looking at her had his gut clenching and sweat beading on his forehead. Clearly, from what Obaida had started to imply, her appearance wasn’t lost on his Titans. Eyes narrowing, Adrik took a step closer to the screen to study her more intently. She was beautiful, if a human could be called that. Long, inky hair was pulled back from her face. Her skin was slightly darker than the other females, but her eyes were black as pitch. On Cesca Sol, dark or Shadow Titans were extremely rare and were given the first opportunity at the most prestigious positions. Shadow Titans were only permitted to mate with other Shadow Titans, and while dark male Titans were rare, dark Titan females were practically non-existent. Adrik only knew of the existence of one Shadow Titan female, and she was already paired with a Shadow Titan male. Most Shadow Titan males resigned themselves to a solitary life, which meant no offspring. On Cesca Sol, Titans believed having offspring was the greatest of honors. It was an honor Adrik had always known would never be bestowed upon him.

Staring at the dark female, Adrik felt an unfamiliar emotion slowly unfurl in his chest. The feeling was so foreign that it took him a moment to recognize it, and when he did, all the air left him on a whoosh. Hope! The feeling fluttering in his chest and tightening his abdomen was hope.

Tearing his focus from the woman, Adrik cleared his throat and commanded, “Tyrate! Get bay comms fixed, now!”

A light in the Command Center pulsed as Tyrate responded, “Yes, Commander.”