Looking back at Ragal, my emotions ran amok. All the confusion, the pain, the betrayal, the doubt, the regret—it all amplified in his presence. He still looked as handsome as the last time we had been together, his jet-black hair tousled around his face, his dark eyes shadowed and a little wild. I felt unraveled and raw standing before him.

The message he sent me had been difficult to decipher. It was a mash of sensation and images, overlaid by his voice in fragments. I saw myself through his eyes, broken moments of the time we had spent together. Then I saw him here, in this building, in a room at the end of the hall. I felt his desperation, his fear, and… I wasn’t sure I could trust it, but I felt love from him.

I had to know what was going on, though I feared what the cost might be. I stared into the black depths of his eyes, searching for the answer to a question I couldn’t quite form.

Someone cleared their throat from within the room and my focus was shaken. I looked past him, into the chamber, and saw everyone we had abandoned in the wastes of the swamplands.

Their expressions were stony and unsettling. I felt my palms grow cold. Fear and uncertainty took hold, and I belatedly wondered if I had walked into some kind of trap.

I cleared my throat and tried to gain composure. “I got your message. It was a confusing jumble, but I saw you here, in the building. I don’t know how or why you’re here, but I came because I needed to know what was going on.”

Suddenly, a form appeared from behind Ragal. It was Charles Janeway, much to my surprise.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice sounding less and less confident.

“Tasha, please, come in. We need to speak with you privately and fast,” Charles said, ushering me forward and looking quickly into the hall before closing the door with a decisive click.

I walked around Ragal, feeling my body respond to his nearness. His face was full of relief and something else. If I hadn’t known better, I would have said yearning, but that couldn’t be right.

I sat in the chair Charles pulled out for me and nervously looked from face to face. Ragal stayed standing, one eye on the door as if he was waiting for someone else.

Finally, Charles seated himself and spoke, “There are a few things you need to know. Firstly, I was already aware of the alien presence on Vaxivia, long before you came to me today. Secondly, you have been fed several lies about our Dragselian visitors.”

I felt my stomach clench as I readied myself for yet another shocking revelation.

Ragal said, “Have you heard of Infernians?”

I forced myself to meet his eyes. “No, the term sounds familiar, but I don’t know anything about them.”

He took a deep breath. “They’re what ancient Earth humans would have thought of as devils or demons because of their hideous appearances and bloodthirsty, amoral tendencies. In actuality, they are an alien race from the planet Infernis. Everywhere they go, they bring chaos and death.”

I looked at him, feeling even more confused. “What does this have to do with anything?”

Charles spoke up, “Well, you’ve been working with one for the last year or so.”

I was shocked. “Albert is an alien?”

Charles quirked a smile. “While he does in some ways fit the description, no. It’s Tadisha, his assistant.”

“Tadisha? What? No, that’s not possible…” I said, feeling my stomach sink.

Ragal edged closer. “It’s true. I’m sorry, I know she is your friend, but it is a ruse. She is an agent for her people, here to ready the way for more of her kind.”

“She’s not the first Infernian we’ve dealt with either,” Charles said. “Levin, the alien I wrested control of Steel City from, was one of her kind. They’re able to shift their form so that they appear human, but there is no humanity in them.”

Ragal looked at me regretfully. “You’re not safe around her. At any moment, she could decide you’re no longer of use or you’re interfering with her mission, and she won’t think twice about killing you.”

Andie said, “It’s true, Tasha. I know it’s hard to believe. I was shocked at first, too, but after being hunted and nearly killed by one, I can tell you they’re some evil bastards.”

Ragal continued, “We have no idea how many people she has harmed already, but one thing you can be certain of is that an Infernian has no qualms about hurting or killing anyone who gets in their way.”

It was all too much. Was there no one left in this city I could trust? Was everyone a walking shapeshifter?

I felt a dry, bitter laugh rise in my throat. “Is it not enough that you have manipulated me? Why do you want to break up the only friendship I have left?”

Ragal’s voice was full of intensity as he said, “Do you mean like Tadisha broke us up? How she convinced you that I was an evil monster who cared nothing for you?”

I was stunned to hear the pain in his voice, and I hesitated, no ready response. Were they right? I felt like a hapless pawn, in the middle of a game I didn’t know the rules to, moving about the board on others’ whims.

Ragal came up to me, kneeling, and grabbed my hands. The warmth of his palms was soothing, and I felt some of the darkness that was gripping me ease away.

“I’m so sorry, Tasha. I never meant for you to be placed in danger like this. You have to believe me, that was never my intention.”

“But you did mean to use me…”

He took a breath. “Yes, and for that I am deeply, truly sorry. But what you need to know is that everything that happened between us was real. I intended to contact you and gain your assistance with our ship because we had been shot down and hunted by Infernians, then we learned of a larger plot that involved the takeover of our home planet, Dragselia. My brothers and I want nothing more than to save our people.

“Infernians are the sworn enemy of Dragselia and they will do anything to conquer and destroy it. It’s in their nature and it is what they will do to Vaxivia, too, if given a chance. We have family, friends, an entire planet of people we are sworn to protect.”

“I don’t understand. Are you soldiers or something?”

Zaruv, who had been silent until now, said, “We are the princes of Dragselia. Our brother, King Mulkaro, ascended to the throne, and we represent the direct line of succession.”

I felt my eyes grow large as I processed everything. Between Zaruv, Ragal, and the rest of the group, they pieced together the picture of their political exile.

“So the Infernians are hunting you because they want to destroy your royal line and take the throne unchallenged?”

“Yes,” Ragal said, “I know it doesn’t excuse the fact that I deceived you. I should have told you, I know that now. The thing is, every time I thought to reveal it to you, I let my fears stop me. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you, but it happened, and I was afraid that if I revealed my deception, I would lose you.”

He hadn’t lost me, and I wanted to tell him that, but in that moment, I wasn’t quite ready to let everything slide.

“How could you think so little of me? And it’s not like you lied to me once. You lied to me every day. You fabricated a whole business venture!” I felt my blood heating.

“I know, but you have to understand…”

I cut in, in a hushed voice meant just for him, “Understand what? That you seduced me for your own benefit and then realized you liked me? I don’t see why things had to go… as far as they did, for you to gain my assistance.”

He leaned closer, lowering his voice too. “You’re right, I didn’t have to take it as far as I did, but once I met you… I wanted you. If you believe nothing else, believe this: I didn’t fabricate a relationship with you. Everything we felt, everything we shared, was as real for me as it was for you.”

My anger was still simmering, but it was hard to maintain a tirade in the face of such candor. Part of me wanted to leap into his arms, part of me wanted to slap him, and part of me was worried about the implications of Tadisha being an alien spy.

The room had grown awkward in the face of our hushed exchange. I looked back at everyone gathered around the table. Half of them were aliens and that was still a little freaky, but I focused on the issue at hand.

“So, what happens to Tadisha?” I asked.

Charles replied, “She’ll be taken into custody and questioned about the Infernians’ plans.”

Karun nodded. “She has been established here far longer than we have been here, which raises many questions.”

I felt queasy, remembering… “She started working for my father first, was privy to all of his business dealings. She has a lot of knowledge about Steel City’s infrastructure and development plans.” The idea of an alien assassin working with my father was disturbing.

Charles added, the dark skin of his brow furrowing with concern, “Well, it seems we have confirmed the statements of the Infernian we interrogated last. Tadisha is likely not alone. We’ll need to start taking measures to sniff out the rest.”

Jennifer interrupted, “What about the ship? We salvaged what we could, and Andie and Karun secured the wreckage we found.”

I felt a pang of guilt, recalling that I had participated in their stranding, even if I hadn’t been fully aware of Tadisha’s sabotage of their vehicles.

Zaruv nodded, his arm around Jennifer. “Indeed, we need to make haste. Can we count on LCC to help us rebuild still, in light of the facts?”

I swallowed. “Yes, the only people who know that I terminated the project are Albert and Tadisha. We delivered the pods when we got back to town and my staff have already begun to work on them.”

A visible sense of relief settled over the room and I felt myself relax slightly with them.

A moment later, the table shook and the room seemed to rumble as a nearby explosion trembled through the ground.

We all jumped up and Charles led the way through a hidden back stairwell to the ground floor of the building. Emerging into the sunlight, we all watched as a large black cloud billowed into the sky, just north of us.

My thoughts raced and I quickly shouted over the noise, “That’s the LCC Industrial Campus!”

Everyone scrambled onto hover vehicles, and, without much thought, I climbed on behind Ragal, the physical connection feeling so good, even as we flew toward danger.