Chapter 27
Gone
Kelen had no idea how long she was unconscious. She remembered dreaming, although very little of what she’d dreamed remained with her. Those that did were mostly about the brutality Kyber had suffered. At times, she fought to go to him, but was unable to because talons the size of a planet tore through her, pinning her to the floor like spikes. Claws became bars, closing over her, caging her. Teeth emerged from clouds of black smoke that lunged at her.
There were screams and so much blood. Jagged ends of bones jutted from his arms and lower legs. His once beautiful mouth gaped open, split and bleeding as the stubs of his sharp teeth gleamed pinkly in his lacerated gums.
But her worst horror was the empty eye socket as he lay there semi-conscious. His other eye, its forest green iris clouded with unmentionable pain, stared unseeing at the bay’s ceiling.
She knew she wept, but she had no memory of crying out. She was trapped in mental hell, and there was no escape.
It was with blessed relief that the nightmares finally retreated. She heard a hiss, then the familiar pop of the sterile dome as it lifted from the bed. Struggling to wipe away the last of her medically-induced coma, Kelen peeled her eyes open to find herself staring up at Ambrun Goolith’s butter yellow and white striped countenance.
Once the dome ascended high enough, the medical tech reached over and dabbed her face with a warm, wet cloth. “Slowly,” he murmured in Terranese. “Take deep breaths to expel the last of the mist. Do not worry if you feel faint. It is natural.”
“How long have I been out?” Lifting a hand to her head, she was shocked to feel the locks abruptly slide out from between her fingers. She’d forgotten her braid had been sliced away, leaving the rest of her hair short and uneven.
“Almost twelve cycles,” the man answered. “Calculated in your days, approximately two weeks.”
“Am I well?”
“Your wounds are closed and almost completely healed. Try to rise.” The medical tech reached for her to help her sit up.
Still groggy, she managed to balance herself on the edge of the bed, letting her legs dangle over the side. She shivered from the sudden cold after lying warm under the dome. It brought to her attention that she no longer wore the thin covering.
“Can you stand?” Goolith took her by the elbow. Kelen paused and turned around to look at Kyber.
“How is—”
The bed was empty.
She nearly fainted. “No! No!”
She slid off the bed and tried to go around to where Kyber should be, but her legs gave way. She hit the floor with her stomach and breasts, barely managing to avoid clipping her chin on the icy surface. When Goolith reached down to help her back up, she accepted his offer but struggled to reach the empty bed.
“Where is he? What have you done with him?” She was panicking. An ugly possibility went through her like a nauseous wind, and she turned to the physician. “Where is my husband?” Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. Clutching her chest, she fought the tears and forced herself to utter that one hated question. “Is he dead?”
“No.” Goolith’s reply was firm. “He was stable when he was transferred to the Den Tirim.”
She hiccupped. “Stable? What?”
“The Por D’har was—”
“Where are we?” she demanded. “Are we on our way to Seneecia?”
“No. We are still orbiting the space station.”
“Why? Why wasn’t I taken with Kyber? Why was I left behind?” She glanced around the medical bay. “Give me something to cover myself.”
“You need to return to the bed. Your wounds have been healed, but you have not regained your—”
“Give me something to wear, damn you! Or else I’ll leave here bare-ass naked, if I’m forced to!”
“Kelen…”
Yes, she knew she was as weak as a newborn baby, but she had to make a stand. She felt she had no choice but to put up a strong front if she was going to get anywhere with the Seneecians. Which was why she hurried for the door.
Exiting it, she nearly collided with a guard who’d been stationed there. Her unexpected appearance left him momentarily stunned. Without stopping, she took off down the corridor, passing several more Seneecians who gaped at the sight of the naked Terran.
Her equilibrium was off. She hit the wall several times, until she was forced to use it to help keep her on her feet.
She didn’t get far until a burly reddish guard wrapped an arm around her and held her firmly against him. Kelen tried to fight him, but what little strength she’d had was gone. She couldn’t have gone much further, anyway. She went limp in his embrace and allowed him to carry her back to the medical bay.
When they arrived, D’har Stek was waiting for her. The man gave the guard a signal, and she was dumped onto the floor at the D’har’s booted feet.
“Ambrun, have the skint cover herself,” the man ordered in disgust in Seneecian.
Another one of those thin wraps floated down into her lap. Taking it, she drew it around herself twice and tied the two ends above her shoulder. But she remained on the floor. She would make no attempt to stand. Not in her weakened state, and not while she was here alone and unarmed.
But everything else was up for grabs.
“Where is my Confirmed?” She lifted her face to glare at the D’har. “Where is Kyber Nau?”
“We are in negotiations to have you returned to the outpost,” he answered in Terranese.
“Tell me where my Confirmed is!” she yelled at him. By his facial expression, she knew she’d hit a nerve. She even saw his ruff go up in response.
“You have no right to speak to me in that tone.”
“You have no right to keep me from my husband!” she shot back.
Stek growled. “No Seneecian would take a skint for his Confirmed.”
“Then you must have shit for brains,” she countered. She struggled to get to her feet, noting that no one, not even Goolith, dared to help her up. She managed to stand, wobbling a bit until her head cleared, then faced the D’har. “I don’t care whether or not you believe me. If that’s going to be your attitude, then I demand to speak to the Triumvirate! Let them make the determination!”
Stek sneered. “You have no right to speak to the Triumvirate. You have no rights at all. The only right you have is to be returned to the outpost, which I agreed to do once you were well enough to be moved.” The D’har motioned to the guard. “Take her to the shuttle bay and have one of the crew deliver her,” he ordered in Seneecian.
All those lessons she’d been forced to sit through back at the Academy regarding Seneecian protocols came flooding back to her. Lessons she’d thought were boring. Lessons she’d never believed she’d need to call upon. And the one foremost in her mind whispered its warning.
Do not initiate a touch, or else it could be construed as an attack, a personal assault.
The Seneecian guard reached for her, but she slapped his hand away and took a step closer to the D’har, not touching but getting right up into his face. To her satisfaction, the man took a half-step backwards.
It was a small retreat. Now for a bigger one.
“Tell me, D’har Stek. I’m assuming that’s who you are, since you’ve never had the courtesy to introduce yourself to me. Tell me, what is the punishment for keeping a Confirmed couple apart? For denying a Confirmed from being with his or her mate?” She kept her voice low yet threatening.
“That is inconsequential and does not apply in this matter.”
Pursing her lips, Kelen nodded, then smiled. “Then that means it must be a substantial punishment. Answer me this, D’har.”
“I do not owe you any answers!” Stek almost roared.
Kelen ignored the outburst and continued. “Tell me, Stek. What are the proceedings to determine whether or not a couple who claim to be Confirmed are telling the truth?”
Stek frowned. Not giving the man the chance to think up an excuse, she pressed the issue.
“I demand that I be given that option! I demand for a special Council, or whatever the hell tests your people use, to be given to me so that I can prove to you that I am Kyber Nau’s Confirmed.”
“You cannot—”
“Do it, Stek! Allow me that chance, or by all your four gods, I will plead my case directly to Central Command, who will take it to your Triumvirate whether you want them to or not! I know Seneecian law! I know you cannot separate or keep a Confirmed couple apart, not even if one of them is incarcerated!”
It was part bluff, part gamble, but it was the only chance she had. By keeping her dark look directed squarely in Stek’s face, she hoped to overcome his resistance by sheer will.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Stek addressed the guard in Seneecian. “Take her to the Bridge and await me there.” With that order, he turned and hurried out of the medical bay.