Adrik (Titans #1)

Chapter 22

In the hall, Adrik barked, “Tyrate! Find me the nearest Titan Myoplex War Liner and request immediate support to our location. And contact Magus on Cesca Sol. Inform our Ruler that we require immediate assistance.”

Ember’s belly dropped at the urgency in Adrik’s tone. Things were bad.

“Adrik!” she panted as she hurried to keep up with his long strides.

“Go back to medical and wait with Obaida!” he ordered without looking at her.

But she refused to wait with Obaida and Kyan. She wanted to be with Adrik, to face whatever doom was coming their way head-on. But first…

Racing to plant herself in his path, she stopped and turned, forcing Adrik to slam to a halt to prevent from running her over.

“I don’t have time for your insolence,” he thundered.

She knew that, so she didn’t waste time. “Keep us!” she pleaded.

Adrik’s brows speared down as he glared at her. “What?”

“Keep us,” she repeated, then added on hurriedly, “We’re not traitors or plants, Adrik, and we don’t want to be sold or given away. Please,” she begged. “Please don’t give us to these Renx. Please!” In a rush, she begged, “We’ll do anything. I will do anything. Anything you ask of me. Anything at all.”

Staring down his nose at her, he regarded her quietly before asking, “And if there’s a tracker in Kyan?”

“Then she knew nothing of it. None of us did. If there is a tracker, then it’s probably what’s killing her. You think I’d allow that? You think that I’d help these Renx at the cost of Kyan’s life?” She fell silent a moment before raging, “She’s my family! I love her!”

Desperate, she grabbed his arm. Adrik’s eyes lowered to where she touched him, but she didn’t let go. “Please,” she repeated. “You can protect us. We want to stay with you.”

Adrik lifted his eyes to hers, and when he did, Ember saw a flicker of fear behind his steely facade. It was just a flash, a brief reveal, but she’d seen it. The knowledge that Adrik was worried made her blood run cold. Her fear ratcheted even higher as she wondered if Adrik was even capable of protecting her and her sisters from these Renx. With unease knotting her stomach, Ember opened her mouth to speak, but Tyrate cut in.

“Commander, the Renx are waiting.”

Eyes flashing an intense green, Adrik held Ember’s gaze momentarily, his jaw ticking. His eyes lowered to her mouth and held a moment before lifting back up. In a gravelly voice, he ordered low, “Go back to medical.” Then without another word or any offer of assurance, he turned and strode for Command, bellowing, “Tyrate, direct Pitch and Kaze to deliver their charges to med-bay and then meet me in Command.”

Deliver their charges to med-bay? Ember realized Adrik was talking about Nova and Vashti. He wanted all the females in while location while he and his Titans dealt with the threat of these Renx. Glancing over her shoulder, Ember considered returning to medical to finally be reunited with her sisters. But she couldn’t do it. Ember let Adrik get a good head-start before she set off to follow him stealthily. She wanted to know their fate once it was decided, not when Adrik offered to inform her.

***

Adrik wanted to roar his frustration through the corridors of his ship, but he was Commander, and as Commander, he’d display no emotion. Well, no emotion other than the anger that had his expression scrunched into a viscous sneer. He was enraged at the gall of the Renx who were approaching his ship, and he was ashamed that because of his lapse in judgment, because of his preoccupation with watching Ember, he’d missed that there was a Renx vessel in their same quadrant.

Stalking to Command, he sucked in a breath and straightened his shoulders. “Tyrate, view screens on full display,” he barked. Eyes narrowing on the images that appeared on the screen, he couldn’t help the frustration that was threatening to suffocate him as something undefinably tragic built up in his chest. He hated being put in this position. He wanted to explore this thing that was happening between him and Ember. He foolishly had let himself get his hopes up. He should have known better, and regret seared him as unease knotted his stomach.

The sound of rapidly approaching feet had him throwing his shoulders back and masking his dismay. As his Titans rushed command, he cast the entryway a fiery glance and began barking orders.

“Obaida, get on comms with Cesca Sol. Pitch, I want weapons hot.” Turning, he frowned at Kaze, his second-in-command. “We can’t outrun them. We can’t fight them and win. They want something we have, and right now, acquiescing is looking like our only course of action.”

“No!” Obaida bellowed. At the same time, Pitch hissed, “Not happening!”

In front of him, Kaze shook his head. “We can’t let them have Vashti… I mean any of the women. We need another option.”

“Then find me one,” Adrik snarled before turning to face the view-screen and commanding, “Tyrate, open communications.”