Buried deep inside the Hythra’s consciousness, Ares became dimly aware of the human ship in the far distance. Since bonding with the destroyer, he’d been able to monitor their surroundings, and now he cast his mind’s eye wide.

The humans had landed on Souk-Ra island. That was good news. There was a small Hunter’s station on the island, and during the last kratok-hunting season, he’d stocked it with ample supplies and checked the longboats to ensure they were still watertight.

A kratok had followed the human ship, but soon after they’d landed, it had been taken down with impressive speed.

Interesting.

Aside from Maki and himself, he didn’t think any of the other Hunters would be capable of downing a kratok so quickly, and Maki had been injured on the Hythra.

Coils of ilverium slithered over his body as he pushed the Hythra harder, faster, forcing her to gain as much momentum as possible. His attention snapped back from the Souk-Ra to his immediate surroundings.

You wanted me, Hythra. You wanted this. He opened himself up to her, embracing her dark power without hesitation. Well, here I am.

She’d wanted a Hunter.

She’d gotten one.

The problem with Vradhu Hunters was that they didn’t fear death. Ares certainly hadn’t, until he’d met Calexa.

A pang of longing hit him in the chest like a barb-tipped arrow. What could have been… They would have been so good together. He would have cherished her and protected her and made sure she never suffered, ever again.

But he’d been transformed into the worst kind of poison, a monster who could kill her with a touch.

Unacceptable. The purpose of his existence had been stolen from him.

Rage consumed him, feeding into his desire for complete and total destruction. Thousands of souls screamed inside his head, urging him on. Just like him, they were trapped. They wanted out, and the only way out was death.

Sharp tendrils of ilverium burrowed under his skin, transforming his flesh, making him more metal than man. At his feet lay dozens of Naaga, all dead. Ares leaned into the sekkhoi throne and allowed the Hythra’s dark consciousness to completely meld with his.

He no longer offered any resistance.

In his mind’s eye, she came to him.

Hunter, what are you doing?

In his mind’s eye, he saw her.

Maybe he was mad. As he took in her strange, ethereal appearance, it occurred to him that he’d been mistaken.

The Hythra wasn’t a she at all. The ancient being was neither male nor female. They took the form of a wingless metal Drakhin, staring at him with flat eyes of shimmering metal.

“I am ending this, once and for all,” he declared. When the Hythra didn’t say anything, curiosity got the better of him. “Why do you even exist? What is your purpose?”

The Hythra’s expression grew forlorn. I was the greatest of the Drakhin ships. I was the crowning glory of their fleet; the planet-destroyer, the galaxy-eater. I was the one who was going to propel Drakhin civilization to new heights.

The ilverium snapped and writhed at his feet, as if responding to the Hythra’s despair.

“And then…?” He knew the Drakhin had disappeared in a hurry, deserting Khira in a mass exodus and leaving their Naaga servants behind.

They lost their Source. Suddenly the vir was gone, and in their weakened state, none were strong enough to command me.

“You were stuck.” If the situation weren’t so dire, he might have found it darkly amusing.

They left me here, using lesser vessels to depart. Disgust filled their voice. They conjured the Shadowring from my core, concealing Khira so it would not be discovered by outsiders. Then they left, saying they would return. I have heard nothing of them since. It has been a long time now, and I have forgotten what it is like to be under the hand of a proper Master. These stupid Naaga have been tricking me into bonding with them, but they never last for long. I spit them out because they leave such a bitter taste in my mouth. But that doesn’t matter anymore. Not when I have you.

“Not for long,” Ares said softly. It was strange to be having this almost amicable conversation with the Hythra when they were both on the verge of death. “Goodbye, Hythra. I am not the Drakhin you have been searching for.” His anger started to dissolve, but it was too late.

The deed was done.

Oh, but you are exactly the Drakhin I have been searching for.

The Hythra reached maximum speed. Below was the burning hell-pit of Za, a massive crater filled with lava. Apart from kratok, no living creature could exist close to Za. The air was too hot and toxic. Vicious sprays of lava and smoke would explode into the air without warning. Sometimes, its lava spilled over into the Ardu-Sai, turning to stone as it hit the frigid water.

Kratok buried their eggs here, fiercely guarding them from intruders. Even he, as khefe, would run at the sight of a female kratok that had recently spawned. There was nothing more vicious on all of Khira.

“Death is a release,” he said gently, as images of Calexa flooded his mind.

At least he had been given the chance to know her, even if it was only for a brief, bittersweet moment.

She is your lukara. The Hythra retreated, leaving him alone. These humans… When I sensed the power of their vir for the very first time, I knew I had to snatch them from the World Between Worlds before it was too late.

“Y-you drew them here?” Ares was enraged but ecstatic. The Hythra had brought the humans to Khira. If they hadn’t, Calexa would probably be safe…

But he never would have met her.

His question was met with cold silence. The Hythra was gone. The destroyer shuddered, the vibrations growing more and more intense, and then….

A roar filled his ears.

His world shook. His vision went black. The sekkhoi throne released him from its barbed clutches, sending him flying across the room, along with dozens of limp Naaga bodies.

He extended his wings to balance himself. The Hythra groaned, and overwhelming heat rose around him, turning the command pod into a furnace.

Ares couldn’t see, couldn’t feel, couldn’t hear… He’d lost control.

Good.

This is what he’d wanted. To end it, once and for all.

I am sorry, my makivari.

The ilverium rose up around him, engulfing him in its liquid-metal clutches. He let it cover his legs, his arms, his torso, his face. He drowned in it. He no longer cared. It was as if the heat from Za were melting the entire damn ship.

This was the end.

The destroyer knew it too, and because their consciousnesses were melded, he felt the full force of her sudden understanding.

No more, they said.

Yes.

End.

Yes.

Release. Finally, she understood. Relief came crashing down on them like an avalanche from the Highfold, burying all rage, all resentment, and all desperation in a blanket of cold, white peace.

The Hythra was content with the idea of death.

Release. From the moment you entered me, I knew you would be the one to do it.

Yes, Ares repeated, struggling to maintain awareness. The agony of the molten ilverium was almost unbearable; he imagined it searing the flesh right off his cursed Drakhin bones.

You. I release you.

What? He didn’t understand. Bones snapped, muscle stretched, and skin rippled, reversing. The ilverium in his veins withdrew, escaping through tiny holes in his skin. Caught in a wild current of searing ilverium, all he could do was accept his fate.

Perhaps this was death. He’d always expected it to be painful, but he hadn’t thought it would take this fucking long.

Go, Hunter. You are not truly Drakhin. I just made you in the image of my Desired. I take it all back, but I leave you with a small parting gift. Use it well, Hunter.

Then her presence was gone, leaving a cold, distant memory in his mind. It was as if all the breath had been sucked from him at once, and for a brief moment, he almost missed her.

No. That was impossible, because he was already bound to another.

Once again, his body changed. The ilverium withdrew. The slipstream took him far, far away from the command pod. Instinctively, he knew the Hythra had taken him in a liquid-metal embrace. She was pushing him through walls, through floors, through the very core of her being, because she wasn’t just a mere space-vessel. She was a sentient, shapeshifting metal beast.

And all he could do was close his eyes and wait.

Pop!

She spat him out with great force.

Ares opened his eyes and saw smoke and lava and glorious sunlight. He took a deep breath and coughed, because the air was nothing but heat and acrid elemental smoke.

He gained altitude, shooting higher and higher into the sky.

He saw his arms, and they were the most vivid shade of violet.

I am Vradhu again!

He looked down and saw the massive Hythra crashing into the fiery red pool of Za, nose-first. The lava embraced the ship, turning her ilverium body into liquid in an instant.

The Hythra was melting.

And he was falling… falling into the fire.

He screamed in rage and fear. So close… What was the point of letting him go free if he was just going to die anyway? Was this some sort of sick parting joke?

His arms flailed, and his wings flapped.

Wait… what?

He flapped again, and the action slowed his terrible descent. The heat licked at his heels. Ares screamed and beat his wings harder, harder, harder, until he began to rise.

A small parting gift…

She’d taken away the Drakhin body, but she’d left the wings. Ares moved them faster and faster, rising up out of the inferno.

And as the Hythra crashed to their doom, taking the cursed Naaga with them, Ares-rai-Sekine flew.

Somewhere behind him, a kratok roared.

He didn’t care. A gust of hot wind rose from below, and he seized its momentum, flying higher and higher until he left the Hythra and the Crater of Za behind.

Alive!

He soared.

Free!

He screamed his fucking lungs out, and this time it was an exultant roar, for he knew he would be seeing his makivari again.

Ares looked down and saw the glowing face of Khira in all her green-and-blue glory. He was high up now, where the air was cold and thin, and he drifted between towering plumes of white cloud, enjoying the rush of the cold air beneath his wings.

He couldn’t see it from here, but he knew that far off in the distance, an alien ship had landed on the small Hunter-station of Souk-Ra.

The Crater of Za exploded, spewing forth an angry mess of lava and ash and smoke, but Ares was well clear of her wrath. Stroking the air with his wings, he circled and turned in the direction of the Ardu-Sai.

He laughed.

He punched the air with his fists.

He wept tears of joy.

Ares didn’t look back as he sped toward the place where his mate and his clan-brothers had landed.

To see her again…

He was the luckiest man on Khira… no, perhaps in the entire Universe. He’d survived the wilds of the Ardu-Sai as an Unmarked youth, and now he’d narrowly escaped death, again.

And now he could fly.

After all, what good were these cursed Drakhin wing-remnants if he couldn’t use them to fly to his mate?