Nabvan was ready to fight for his life and for Alexis’s. There was nothing left to lose after all. His punishment would be swift. He looked around the room and counted how many men were there. The king was there and had left one person to fly the ship while they took care of him: the betrayer. That was what they would call him even after his death. He had mated with the mate of the king, though technically, his claim would come first. If Nabvan had not been with a woman who was meant to be queen, the claim would be his and the dispute over.

There were four guards, two negotiators, the king, and himself. It had been a light load on the ship because the king had cockily believed the women would give him no trouble. How wrong he was considering the women were planning a takeover. And if the women had weapons, they could have very well overtaken that amount of men. He was wondering if his skill would allow him to take over those men. Though, Nabvan hated the idea of taking out his friend Siefer, who was on the ship as head negotiator. It was his last voyage until after his child was born. But Nabvan would do anything to ensure that his love could survive without the kind of punishment she might endure for his recklessness. He should not have had her on that ship.

He stood there, looking down at his feet with the reverence of a prisoner ashamed of what they had done, but he was testing his bonds right then, seeing if he would have the strength to break them. It would be tough, but he believed in himself to do it. He had been training others for moments like these with other races his whole adult life. Certainty, he could practice what he preached.

The execution was prepared. There would be torture, pointless other than as entertainment, and then the final blow. He would then be released into space and saluted as a past Milisarian knight, redeemed for his crime in his death. At least that was how everyone in the room with him expected it to go. But Nabvan was not going to let it get that far, not until he pulled one last crazy stunt. Hopefully, the women would still go through with their plan and help him out.

Nabvan put his thoughts on the only thing that would get him through as the guards walked towards him to order him onto his knees for the lashings. It was going to be now or never. He yanked free of the bonds with all his might, a loud growl coming from deep within his chest. Alexis was the fuel for everything as he began to swing at the men, taking the whips and other weapons off of them. Everyone fell in line to protect the king as always. He had to get through them. He lashed out with everything he had and ignored the pain as he got nicked with weapons and hit with fists.

Then, he heard a beautiful sound: the sound of angry women. They stormed the room, coming after the men with their bare hands. Their anger was plain on their faces, and they resembled feral animals as they helped him beat through the crowd. Alexis might have been with them; he didn’t know where she had been taken. But his focus was on getting through to the king. All would follow his orders once the king was dead.

“Injure them so they cannot escape and lock them up!” Nabvan ordered to the women who looked stunned before finally obeying him, hurting them and leading the men out of the room. He noticed that Siefer was helping the women as well. He couldn’t believe it, but this was a true friend until the end, and he would owe him if he made out of this mess alive. He caught one side glimpse of Alexis as she went with Siefer out of the room. He would have to thank Siefer for that as well. She did not need to be involved in this. It was just him and the king.

For the first time since serving him, Nabvan saw fear in King Shene’s eyes as they began to circle around each other, sizing each other up. The king was not an experienced opponent, but he was big and strong. Nabvan would normally have agility and experience on his side, but he was slowed down by his injuries, which were much more than he had sensed before, in the middle of battle.

The fight with the king was a slow dance, each going for the other and missing. His only hope was that the king, with his hard blows, would exhaust first and make a mistake.

That was just what happened, just the move he needed to make. With a crack of the whip, he pulled the king close and ran him through with the sword for good measure. The king fell to the ground just as Alexis came into the room, running from Siefer who had tried to stop her. But he should have known nothing would keep her away.

Nabvan went to her, trying to get to her to embrace her, but he fell just short, almost collapsing to his knees until the other two caught him. “Just get me to the command room, and then you can see if you can figure out some of the medicines and things,” he told Alexis, knowing those things would only buy him time.

“Where are you taking us?” she asked him as they dragged him back to where he could command the ship, telling the current commander to step aside. He was young and afraid. He did what they said.

“I am taking those women to the Arkani,” he breathed, slumping down in the chair to put in the coordinates. The ship could be felt jerking around and going back the way it came. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.