Varan didn’t hesitate as he fired on every Neprijat he saw. His heart pounded. Every breath was short and sharp. The enemy had snuck up on them yet again. Their blasted tech protected them from any surveillance.

He cursed as he threw a knife, taking out one as it leapt for Nash. Black blood sprayed over both of them.

Varan checked on Kaiden, but the Drakesthai prince took down two on his own as he moved to block Varan’s exposed side without even looking.

Three more of their warriors went down, but Varan, Nash, and Kaiden were a whirling circle of death. Nothing got past their guard. Where they went their enemies fell.

Blood ran thick down their armor, both red and black.

And suddenly…Varan stopped, chest heaving as he looked for his next target and only found allies.

Dead scattered the floor.

Varan breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it was mostly Neprijat.

“Report,” Kaiden demanded.

Turning to see most of their warriors still standing, Varan checked their location.

They’d gotten deep into the factory. Almost to the other end based on his readout. Sweat dripped down his spine as he tapped his gauntlet to double check the map.

“Bottom floor is clear,” the second scout reported. The other hadn’t survived long after being skewered. “No movement from upstairs so far. Their command center for this place is on the second floor though. If I were to hazard a guess, any remaining Neprijat are holed in there.”

Nash grunted his agreement with that assessment. “And no doubt the door on the command center can withstand most blasts.”

Kaiden considered that. “We’ll sweep the top floor as one, and then work on breaching the command center. Maybe we’ll get lucky this time.”

In a factory that was supposed to be abandoned? Varan highly doubted they’d get lucky, but he kept his mouth shut. Kaiden was leading this mission.

Varan studied everything he could see as the smoke started to clear. What was worth hiding from their own people?

What had they been trying to accomplish?

He fell in line with the others, shoulder pressed to Nash’s as they kept their eyes open, weapons at the ready. Varan would never forget the interrogation with the Neprijat right before the battle for Hai.

It wasn’t the way the Neprijat looked or even the fanaticism that made everyone else so uncomfortable. It was the way the male had responded to Adelina. It was how he spoke with her, practically straining toward her.

Trying to get her to understand something.

It had been the same with Drozer.

What he’d said to her made absolutely no sense – not when compared to how they followed their king blindly. Were they not all monsters then? Did they not wish to conquer and rape and feast upon others?

Slowly they took the stairs, making sure there was enough room for wings and rifles. The Neprijat were wicked fast and skilled even when they weren’t trained as full warriors.

What was it that the Neprijat people wanted? All they’d ever heard were the demands from their king.

The warriors attacking them though…

Was that blind allegiance or perhaps, were they being forced?

They slit their own throats rather than accept imprisonment. Perhaps it wasn’t their fate as a prisoner of war that incited them, but fear. What could possibly be worse?

Varan’s stomach clenched as his mind shied away from the possible answers.

Regardless he needed to look into it. It might just give them an edge in the next confrontation.

They cleared the second floor in a sweeping pattern that took them through the factory quickly and quietly. The smoke still lingered, to their benefit.

As they passed the factory’s command center, Kaiden signaled for two to stand guard at the door and two more across from them at each entry point to the hall while they covered the rest of the building.

Nothing.

There really hadn’t been many Neprijat. But more than there should have been for a place that was supposedly abandoned.

Varan watched as Nash and Kaiden gave each other a nod. Then Nash went forward with Kaiden behind him. The two working seamlessly together gave Varan hope, and more relief than he would ever admit to anyone. Even Adelina.

He’d been worried about the next battle. If they couldn’t find a way to work as one, it would put their queen and mate in danger. She refused to stay out of the fight. This meant her legion had to be nothing less than perfection.

And seeing the way they worked together here, now…Varan’s suspicions were confirmed.

Their mate bond to Adelina did indeed allow them to sense one another if they looked. But they weren’t looking. Battle didn’t allow for such things. They were relying on instinct alone. Instinct and training.

Varan knew without using his eyes where the other two were, what they were doing, and what they were seeing.

Somehow…somehow self-preservation had them unconsciously tapping into that bond with Adelina. It connected all three of them to each other as well, if not in the same way.

It would be a very useful skill to have for when they took back Khara.

“Second floor clear,” Nash reported. “All except the command center.”

“I take it every scan says nothing’s in there?” Varan asked, eyeing the large metal door. It had to be quadruple reinforced alloy steel. Almost nothing could get through that shy of a worldbreaker.

“Correct, your highness,” the warrior with his scanner out confirmed.

Varan shared a look with Kaiden and Nash. “I want one alive if they’re in there.”

Kaiden didn’t balk at the command, he just nodded. “Open the door.”

Two Drakesthai tried to open the reinforced door, but nothing happened.

Varan tilted his head and studied the space, knowing how much was riding on what they found that day. “What if we didn’t try to go through the door?”

“From the sides?” Nash asked, adjusting his grip on his rifle. “What makes you think the whole room isn’t reinforced?”

Kaiden looked between the two of them and then jerked his chin at one of the Draga warriors. “Go in the next room and tell me if the wall is too thick to blast through. This is a factory, not a military base. It shouldn’t be all the way around.”

Everyone was tense as they waited to find out what their next step was. With the door locked the chances were very high that Neprijat were in there. The only question was, how many?

“What are they hiding?” Nash muttered.

“That’s why I want one alive,” Varan said, contemplating the door. “Was this place here before the Neprijat occupation?”

Kaiden shook his head. “This moon wasn’t occupied. We had no reason to have a factory out here when it could have been in a place more easily accessible.”

“So they didn’t want you lot to know about it.” Varan couldn’t wait to get his hands on this database. The warships and weapons and whatever other supplies would be a boon, but he wanted an edge.

He wanted a guaranteed win.

Because Varan was terrified.

It was buried deep, and he’d hidden it well. No one had noticed anything off about him. Not even Adelina. That was how far down he’d shoved that abject terror.

When the horde had been displayed after they’d won back Hai, Varan had felt every hope and dream dash right then and there. There was no possible way in all the hells they could fight against that kind of firepower and numbers and win.

Even now, with all the forces from Brogna…the Neprijat had just wiped out half of the Draga Royal Army and its armada. And they still had to fight to take back Khara. They would lose even more.

There was nowhere else to pull from. No one they knew or had contact with for them to beg and plead for help.

Varan had never felt that level of fear before in his life. Not even when he’d fought for his crooked crown.

Adelina had been willing to give herself up for their people rather than force them to fight a losing battle against the Neprijat and their oncoming horde. They’d been monitoring the trajectory in space they’d come from, but no more had come thus far.

That did not mean there weren’t more waiting somewhere.

Losing her…it was more than he could bear. Varan knew he couldn’t live without Adelina. His fear had made that very clear. He would do anything to keep death far from her. And so would the others. Even if it meant one of them had to die to make sure she lived.

But without something to give them a chance it wouldn’t matter. Varan would end her life and then take his own before letting the Neprijat enslave them.

He’d promised her.

There was a tiny chance though. After studying all the numbers, locations, and supplies…Varan knew there was a tiny chance they could win. Numbers weren’t everything. Smarts and tech and strategy could win this.

To win, they had to find a way to de-cloak the Neprijat. They had to find a way to take them down without using everything to do it.

Freeing Khara would be close, but the enslaved outnumbered the Neprijat. If at least three quarters of the Corinthian people rose up and fought back they could overwhelm them. Then Adelina and her forces could take out the warships and patrols.

But the horde…

Varan needed to find a solution for the horde or it would all be for naught.

He didn’t listen as the warrior came back and discussed dimensions with Kaiden. The following blast barely registered as he followed the winged warrior. The only thing Varan could think of as he took out a Neprijat and three more fell by Kaiden and Nash’s hands, was that he had to find a solution or he would lose everything he loved.

Before the final Neprijat could slit his throat, Varan flicked his wrist and the disc landed right on the Neprijat’s throat. It paralyzed him instantly. The blade clattered to the ground a split second before the body landed with a thump.

Mission over.

“Tie him to a chair,” Varan ordered, taking back command. “Kaiden find out what you can about this place while I question him. Nash, do as Kaiden says.”

In the back of his head he registered Nash’s obedience without a single growl or glare. The brute was learning, accepting his place. Varan’s joy at that would have to wait. This was far more important.

The Neprijat snarled and spewed threats. Varan didn’t even blink as he held that endless black gaze.

“Leave us.”

The warriors hesitated, but finally shuffled out of the room. Kaiden and Nash lingered the longest, but then they too left.

Sharp teeth glinted in the bright light as the Neprijat grinned wide. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. “You are her king.”

“No. She is my queen.” Varan tilted his head as he studied the creature, hand on the hilt of his sword and the other free to grab a blade at a second’s notice.

“As it should be.”

There it was. That oddity. “Why?”

The Neprijat tested the bonds as the paralytic wore off, but he’d been tied down expertly. There was no give anywhere and it made him bare his teeth in frustration. Then suddenly he slumped in the chair, shoulders drooping.

Varan narrowed his eyes, but kept his distance in case it was some kind of trick. He’d never seen a Neprijat do something so…human.

Then the Neprijat sighed.

Varan stiffened at the familiar body language.

“Our people aren’t meant to be this way,” he said with a shrug.

He bloody shrugged.

“You’re not going to try and get away, or take your own life?” Varan asked, his fingers trailing along the hilts of his hidden knives.

“Why should I? Your people tied me up far too effectively. My only hope is that if I tell you what you wish to know, you will do me the honor of giving me a swift death once we have finished here.”

It was so…familiar.

Chills ran down Varan’s spine and his hands started to sweat. But he kept that twinge of fear from his face and his posture. “What is your name?”

He grinned. “Sozav.”

Such strange, brutal names. Varan wished he could speak their language. What could he learn about the Neprijat then?

“All right, Sozav,” Varan drawled, pulling out his favorite knife – the sharpest he owned. “I’ll make you a deal. Tell me everything I wish to know, truthfully, and I will give you the swift death you desire. I’ll even make it as painless as possible.”

He tilted the knife so it caught the light and glinted, showing Sozav how sharp it was. The edge so fine it was difficult to focus on with the naked eye.

“I swear on the dark god I will tell you everything you wish to know. Truthfully,” Sozav said.

Varan might have laughed had he not heard the fervor in that oath.

This Neprijat wasn’t as violent or volatile as the warriors they’d captured so far. Varan wondered if it was a difference in their positions, or perhaps something else.

“Explain to me why your people are obsessed with obtaining a queen.” Varan considered how many times the Neprijat king had tried to take Adelina. No doubt there would be more. He would have to stay on his guard and ensure Kaiden and Nash were just as vigilant.

Sozav rolled his neck and looked up at the ceiling, for all the world looking like he was contemplating the question. “A few centuries ago the males were not pleased with the matriarchal traditions. They wanted more power. So they took it.”

Varan flipped the knife in his hand as he listened. For a brief moment he wondered if he was the first to hear about the Neprijat’s history since they left the factions millennia ago.

“Then kings instead of queens ruled. Females were kept out of warrior training. No longer able to hunt and fight they became weak and vulnerable. Then kings decreed their only worth was their ability to reproduce. A decree from on high came that every female must have young whether they wanted to or not.”

Varan shrugged like he didn’t care, but his heart went out to those females. “Many cultures treat females the same. Or so I’ve heard.”

Sozav shrugged again. “Truth, but how we altered our genetics was our downfall. We are naturally predisposed to be vicious killing machines.” He leaned forward, straining against the bonds with that terrifying smile. “Your people chose the noble wolves to splice with your DNA. Do you know what ours chose?”

The hair on his body stood straight up underneath his armor and Varan went completely still.

“An ancient sea creature called a shark.” Sozav smiled like he was proud of this.

What in the bloody hells was a shark? Varan frowned as he tried to remember what he knew about the animals on Earth before the Ancients had destroyed it all.

“Look it up,” Sozav suggested. “You’ll see the similarities immediately. Specifically, the great white shark.”

Varan pulled out his simulcast and did as the Neprijat suggested. The image came up and he froze. He may not know what the creature was, but the database did. And it was terrifying. This thing swam in oceans, the ultimate predator.

Tucking the simulcast back into his pocket he looked back at the male who was his enemy – even if it didn’t quite feel like it at the moment.

Sozav was indeed correct. The black eyes were the same. The teeth were smaller but still razor sharp, and that white skin. Not simply pale, but a greyish white. The muscle build was that of the Drakesthai or the Corinthians, as was the height. Other than the cosmetic features they were still obviously from the same people.

“What changes did that bring your people other than the physical?” Varan finally asked.

Sozav smiled, but it wasn’t pleasant. It was full of…disgust?

Their enemy was finally becoming more real.

This information was vital to their survival and yet, Varan didn’t feel his hatred grow. Rather he felt…what was it? Pity?

He felt sorry for them.

But ‘know your enemy’ was something he’d learned from the last Neprijat they’d captured.

This was him learning, getting to know them. But Varan hadn’t quite figured out how this was going to help them yet. He just had a feeling—pushing him to ask more questions and find out what Sozav knew.

“Our people became the ultimate predator,” Sozav said quietly. “The only thing that tempered our vicious appetites was the females. Female warriors were stronger than us. Their temperament calmer. They were patient and kind and reminded us how to be such. As they became less and less what we are, they began to look more and more like prey.”

Bile rose to Varan’s throat as he finally understood what this male was saying.

“Once our females became prey to us, those predatory instincts took over. Every time a strong female is found, some of us protect her. We hide her away from those who would see her as a threat to our current way of life.” Sozav brought his gaze down and looked straight into Varan’s eyes. “But most of us don’t want to be this way. We want balance. We want our strong females back. But right now any strong female would do.”

It explained why every Neprijat that saw Adelina strained toward her like she was their salvation.

“Then why does your king want her?”

Sozav tilted his head in surprise. “You don’t remember how she was when the king first saw her?”

Varan frowned as he tried to remember and then he froze. “That council meeting where Raena offered her up for peace. Adelina was on her knees.” Trembling. It was what had set off Varan’s rage – put him on the path he was on now.

In that moment she had been a true submissive.

“Precisely,” Sozav said. “We all saw it. And then rumors started to spread. We heard what she was doing and how she was accomplishing it. Drozer’s reports to the king brought some of us hope, but we had to hide it and plan.”

Varan burst out laughing. “This place?”

Sozav nodded gravely.

“But how could you have known a cycle ago?”

The Neprijat shrugged again. “We originally thought it would be Princess Giselle who would deliver our salvation. We were very wrong.”

Varan looked around in wonder, suspicion, and surprise. “So you hid this place in the Hai System for your salvation. For what? For us to take and use against your own people?”

“Many of us do not agree with our king and his fanatics, but there is nothing we can do. True royals command us and we have to obey. It’s in our genetics. Refusing is not an option. It’s why we slit our throats. One day a royal will find us and command our lives again. A taste of freedom would be torture when we have to go back to that life. The others…the ones truly loyal…that is how they retain their honor – nothing given to our enemy.”

Varan flipped his knife again as he absorbed this information. If this Neprijat was right then it could turn the tide of this war. If he was wrong and this was a trap, then it would be their downfall. Varan couldn’t decide this on his own.

“Are there other places like this?” he asked.

Sozav nodded.

Bright, terrible hope flared in his chest. “I need to call in my mate’s husbands. This is not something I can do alone.”

Those endless black eyes no longer seemed empty to him. Varan could see warmth there. He could see that same dangerous hope that he had. That more than anything was what convinced Varan they should trust Sozav.

“And you would rather I end your life after we’re done with this conversation?” he clarified before calling in the others.

“What would be the alternative, king?”

They shared a look and both knew the answer. But this creature needed to hear it. “Why not join us?”

That desperate hope flared in his black eyes and then died. “They would not accept me. The other two will not agree. Especially the Corinthian.”

“And if my queen overrules him?”

Sozav narrowed his eyes and studied Varan. “Then I will consider it.”

Varan was playing a dangerous game. But they needed the information this male had. And he was exactly what Varan was hoping to find.

A sliver of hope in the darkest of places.

A few quick taps on his gauntlet and the door slid open.

Nash was the first to storm into the room. Kaiden came next, his wings flared as wide as they could go in the space to make him look bigger – more frightening.

“Anything of use from this monster?” Nash snapped.

Sozav looked to Varan as if to say ‘I told you so.’

“Yes actually, but I need you two to weigh in. I cannot present this to the queen without your support.” Varan flipped the knife again, so sharp that if he missed it would impale his hand or leg to the bone with little resistance.

The words and the tone instantly put the other two males on edge, but they didn’t argue. They simply waited, wary eyes fixed on the Neprijat.

Varan explained what he’d been told and the information regarding the purpose of hiding away the factory…and supposedly others. Nash and Kaiden’s eyes widened with each revelation. Varan knew they believed, but they were also careful males. This would take some doing.

When he finished he eyed his mate’s husbands – even if they were not official that was what they were. The three of them were brothers now. Closer than any other males – closer than blood ties even.

Kaiden understood this better than Varan had, until this moment. Until he’d realized he was no longer the only one holding the weight of the king’s crown. Even if he was the only one wearing it.

Nash and Kaiden’s hands were holding the crown up so it did not crush his head and neck into his chest. And in turn he held Adelina’s so she was not lost beneath its weight.

So she was not alone.

But she out of all of them bore the heaviest of weights.

Three systems and four different peoples. And if this Neprijat were right – five peoples.

“I want to check out his information. If Sozav is right then it will be easily corroborated. And if he is telling the truth I want him to join us,” Varan said, smiling slightly as he flipped the knife again. It turned end over end so quickly Sozav watched it warily.

But it landed gently in his other hand.

Varan tucked it away. No more death today if he could help it.

Then he waited for Kaiden and Nash’s response.

Both were silent for longer than he’d guessed they’d be, and that terrible hope grew.

“There are entire factions like you who want to fight for the Queen of Draga?” Nash finally asked.

Kaiden tensed and shot the Corinthian prince an incredulous look. Varan barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping, clenching his teeth to keep his mouth closed.

Sozav grinned, flashing those sharp teeth at Nash. It was almost a challenge but Nash didn’t even bristle. The look on his face was…calm.

Varan’s smile grew. The mate bond was claimed and seemed to have settled deep in the brute. And it had apparently gifted him with patience.

“Yes, we have factions like the one you wiped out here. We have female warriors as well, hidden away. There are a dozen other locations similar to this. Not all in this system, but I can give you that intel. Whether you decide to kill me or not, that information is my gift to your queen.”

“Why?” Kaiden demanded, flaring his wings even wider as he planted his hands on his hips.

“If I could choose a queen to lead us, it would be her,” Sozav said with a shrug. “Look at what she has accomplished. Just with you three alone.”

That made Kaiden pause and Varan wondered at this new development. This was a boon – an unexpected gift that would allow them to win this war without as many casualties as he’d feared. Enough that they could all rebuild.

But only if they were willing to take it – to accept the caveat that it would be by the Neprijat’s hands.

Would they deserve the victory if they didn’t accept this offer? Would their dead choose to live again, knowing it would be because of their enemy? What would they tell their people if they didn’t take this chance, and they were all enslaved?

Varan held Nash’s gaze and he could see all the same questions reflected in the Corinthian’s eyes. The bond was thrumming strong between them. Kaiden felt it too and he retracted his wings just enough that he still looked fearsome, but not threatening.

“If Queen Adelina accepts this proposition and your information rings true, I will accept the terms,” Kaiden said quietly.

“As will I,” Nash agreed.

Varan grinned. “Let’s get our beautiful wife on an encrypted transmission then.”

That dangerous hope flared bright in the darkness once more and Varan felt relief for the first time since they’d seen that horde.

They had a chance to survive this without losing everything they were fighting for. If they were willing to grow.

If they could accept that the Neprijat were not all monstrous creatures.