Kaige

Solaris’s scent filled the entire car, honey and jasmine flooding my senses. Her savory blood lingered beneath, teasing me. I was going to have to drink a vat of synth and take a bath in Abscondam before returning to Castle De La Divin.

My fingers tightened on the steering wheel as I pressed harder on the gas pedal. This was my last hope, my last chance to discover what secrets those boxes held. If someone was after my family or the crown, I had to stop them. If humans were stealing from us, they had to be stopped. Even if my father was involved, I needed to know.

I should be furious with Solaris from keeping this vital piece of information. Had I known the plane could have survived, I wouldn’t have committed treason. I wouldn’t have saved her.

But that was the reason she did it. I understood. She was afraid I wouldn’t keep her around if I didn’t need her.

Perhaps it was partly my fault too. I should have been smart enough to check the wreckage instead of being so fixated on Solaris.

The little human was too distracting. When she was gone, memories of her would haunt me for the rest of my life.

My gaze flickered toward her. Her body was tense as her hands gripped the edge of the leather seat. “Are you scared, little human?” The corners of my lips twitched.

She scoffed. “Of course not.” Her voice was higher than normal. She swallowed hard, watching more trees whip by. “I just don’t know how you haven’t hit anything yet. We’re in the middle of a forest, and you’re driving a hundred miles an hour.”

“I’m a nocturne,” I reminded her. “I have better sight and reflexes. We’re not going to hit a thing. Trust me.”

“Whatever you say,” she mumbled under her breath.

“I’m not the one who crashed a plane.”

Her mouth dropped. “That was only because of the Draconis border and its invisible force field. It had nothing to do with my abilities as a pilot. My skills are spot on.”

I chuckled and watched fire ignite her green irises. My fingers flinched as I had the strangest urge to reach over and wrap my hand around hers.

I shook the traitorous thought off and turned my attention back to the woods. An electrical charge zipped over my skin as we crossed into the Shadow Lands. It was late in the afternoon, and the sky turned a deep, murky gray instead of midnight black.

The lake came into view; I could just make out the piece of metal framing that had broken off during the crash, and it was now almost completely submerged under water. Fallen debris littered the ground and the tip of a steal wing poked through a pile of rubble. If the gods didn’t truly hate me, maybe something remained of the boxes.

A gasp exited Solaris, and she jumped out before I even had the car in park.

“Solaris, wait!” I darted into the wreckage after her, beating her to the plane and pulling her to a stop. “Do you not understand the definition of ‘wait’?” I growled.

Her lips thinned into a tight line. “What part of these last few days made you think I was a patient person?”

“I had a moment of amnesia. Forgive me.” She was the opposite of patient. She was reckless, rash, and quite stupid sometimes. My arms went around her and hauled her away from the door, which was barely hanging on by a screw. “I’m not going to let you get yourself killed after I already risked everything to save you—something I won’t be doing again.”

She let out a huff and finally relaxed in my arms. “Is bossiness a requirement to be a prince or is that just you?”

I shot her a narrowed glare and set her on her feet. “You just bring out the best in me, little human.”

“Stop calling me that, annoying nocturne,” she snapped, pushing me off. Her green eyes rested on the plane, some of her fire dulling. A rush of hopelessness shot through the bond. “I really thought the Cessna wouldn’t be a total loss.” Her hand ran over the charred steel side.

My brows knit at her somber tone. I tentatively reached out and squeezed her shoulder. It was getting easier to touch her. Too easy. “We’ll figure out a way to get you home, Solaris. I promise.”

She nodded, silent, unable to tear her eyes from the plane. “I guess we better see what’s inside.”

My arm shot out, blocking her. “Let me go first. There could be live wires or the whole thing could collapse.”

She sighed loudly. “Fine.”

I slowly stepped inside, my gaze trailing over the busted controls. The acrid scent of smoke and chemicals still choked the air. Soot crawled up the walls, and the plush leather couches were burned, but the cabin wasn’t as demolished as I expected. A strange white foam covered most of the interior.

“It’s the fire repellant foam.”

I shot Solaris a narrowed glare over my shoulder. “Didn’t I tell you to wait outside?”

She shrugged. “Did you think I suddenly developed patience within the last few minutes?”

My teeth ground together as I shook my head. She was impossible. “Come here.” I waved her over. “Stay close to me.”

When Solaris was by my side, my fingers curled around her wrist. Her pulse fluttering against my skin was too distracting so my hand lowered, curling around hers.

Hell. It was the exact thing I didn’t want to do. Or more like shouldn’t do.

Her eyes lifted, staring into mine. The fire had returned, and a flush dusted her cheeks.

I glanced away before I did something stupid. “Be careful where you step,” I said, motioning to the blackened spots on the floor as we walked deeper into the cabin. The mechanical equipment was fried, but the wires remained cold and dead.

“There.” I jerked my free hand toward a stack of crates, the black covering melted to some of the boxes.

Her lips puckered. “I didn’t notice them before. Then again, I was kind of in a hurry.”

As we neared, I pointed out the Draconis symbol, a crescent moon, hugging a single star resting above a sword. “See.”

The earlier flush faded from Solaris’s cheeks. “There is no reason for that symbol to be anywhere near anything of the Collective’s.” Her hand tightened in mine, and I wasn’t even sure she realized it.

I shook my head. “No reason at all.”

“What do you think could be inside?” she asked, her gaze never leaving the symbol.

“Nothing good.” My guesses had ranged from resources we were unable to grow or mine in our own world to technology humans had invented and which my father wanted. If the king wasn’t involved, it could be something a greedy noble family wanted to use to steal the crown from us.

The possibilities were endless, but were any of them worth risking the destruction of our worlds by tempting the prophecy?

I kneeled, Solaris following. My hand reluctantly slipped from hers. “Don’t touch anything. It could be dangerous.”

She saluted me. “Sir, yes, sir.”

My brows dipped. “This is serious.”

She ignored me. “Should I have curtsied instead, your highness?”

“Your sarcasm knows no limits, does it?” I asked.

“I try not to limit myself in any way.”

I turned my attention to the crate, my mouth dry and muscles tense.

Her shoulder gently bumped mine. “I know this is serious, Kaige. It’s just a defense mechanism.”

I understood. We were about to discover a secret that could change our lives forever. It could even start a war between nocturnes or even between our races. Both of us were humming with nervous energy.

My fingers felt along the crate, finding the seam of the lid. I began prying it off. There was no turning back now.

With a groaning creak followed by a pop, the lid came free. I tossed it behind me and peered inside. A sleek metal box reflected the misshapen image of my face.

“That definitely looks like something from Imera,” Solaris said, her golden hair brushing my neck and stealing my attention for a moment.

I cleared my throat. “There’s a lock.” My fingers lifted the thick lock, examining it. It would be impossible for a human to open without a key. Fortunately, I wasn’t a fragile human.

“How are you going to—” Solaris’s sentence trailed off as I snapped the lock in two. “Well, that’s one way to do it.”

Cool air drifted over my skin as I drew the lid open. The box was insulated. I moved aside a layer of bubbled plastic, revealing the contents.

Ice slithered through my veins, and my air supply was yanked from my lungs.

“Are those bags of synthetic blood?” Solaris’s voice was close to my ear.

I picked up one of the chilled clear bags, the deep crimson liquid mesmerizing me. It was thicker than synth. And darker. I licked my lips. “No. Definitely not.”

“What are they then?”

A sinking feeling descended to the bottom of my gut and before I could stop myself my finger jabbed into the small hole designed for a tube.

The briny scent slammed into me, knocking me back. Blood spilled onto my hands, coating them with the sticky substance. My fangs tore from my gums as thirst exploded through me.

I’d smelled something similar before. In this very plane.

“It’s human blood.”