Chapter Twelve
Lord Aurzac was in the cockpit of his ship when Aerav came to him. It had been four days since he had been aboard the Starship Sorion and there was no news from home. In a few days, they would dock at Andromeda 13. He had been trying to reach Shanra but due to some technical difficulties, the communication had been disrupted, he was told.
Today he got the opportunity to talk to her over a video call.
“How’s everything back home?” he inquired.
“All good. Terrgius is healing. Communication has been bad. I will send you the detailed report,” she said.
He noticed a strange look in her eyes. He wondered what it meant.
“How is Renaya?” he asked.
“She’s fine. Doesn’t talk much. Stays in her room,” Shanra said flatly.
Aurzac had a feeling something wasn’t right. But he brushed it off thinking he was being paranoid. The holographic screen turned to noise and the call dropped.
He sighed and took his seat as Aerav came to him.
“I have bad news, My Lord,” he said hesitantly.
“Go on, what is it?” Aurzac asked.
“I have been intercepting a continuous inflow of locked messages. The communication is between Terrgius and Velarii. I have been trying to crack the code for weeks now and today I did it,” he paused. “The origin of our messages is the Durlan Palace conference room.”
“What? How?” Aurzac asked surprised.
“The last communication was dated four days back. The day we left,” he explained, looking pale.
“What’s in the conversation?” Aurzac asked.
“My Lord, it’s disturbing.”
“What is it? Tell me now!” Aurzac ordered.
“We have a mole. The messages were being exchanged between Lady Shanra and Trobbut,” Aerav explained. Sweat broke out on his forehead.
“It looks as if they’re planning an assassination attack against you, My Lord. According to the messages, when you reach Andromeda 13, they plan to attack you. The peace meeting is a sham.”
Lord Aurzac stared at him. Rage burned inside him. His jaw clenched and he looked murderous. “What else?” he asked in an ominous tone.
“Shanra has imprisoned Lady Renaya in the dungeon.”
“No. No!” Aurzac said, fear taking over his anger. His breathing became labored. “When was this?”
“The day we left.”
“No. No. No!” Aurzac banged his fist on the table. “Not Renaya. Not her.” His voice choked and his chest constricted.
His expression was unreadable, only his eyes betrayed the turmoil within his soul. He blinked back tears that threatened to spill, his gray eyes filling with agony. He had never reacted like this before. How strange it was that his eyes welled up like that at the mere thought of his mate being tortured. He turned his face away from Aerav. He took a deep breath, tried to compose himself and then resumed commanding his ship.
Aerav had never seen his Commander like this. He saw how shattered he was. He wished he wasn’t the one bringing the news.
“Set course for Terrgius. We go back now,” Lord Aurzac ordered in a cold commanding tone. He desperately wished he hadn’t given the authority to Shanra.
***
Renaya clutched the Aramith in her hand. She sat in the corner of her cell and hugged her knees. They had taken off her restraints since she would be unconscious most of the time anyway. Despair gnawed at her soul. She had stopped eating. She just wished for death to come and end her misery. With Aurzac dead, she had no reason to live.
She daydreamed, reliving those short precious memories she had with him, clinging to them as if they were her life force. It must have been more than a week since she was imprisoned. Nobody came to see her. The prison guard would give her bland food and water. That was all. Even Ayana wasn't allowed to see her. She simply waited for death to take her to her mate.
***
She thought she was dreaming. Aurzac was there, standing in front of her. He looked so worried. She smiled and tears blurred her vision. She wanted to kiss him ... And he kissed her... Why was he crying? Lord Aurzac never cried. He took her in his arms and picked her up. Yes, she would go with him. Darkness engulfed her as he held her close.
He couldn't bear to see her like this. She had become pale and thin. Her eyes were red-rimmed and gaunt, and there were dark circles underneath them. Her hair was pasted on her face and her wrists were blue-black from the restraints. He held her close as uncontrollable tears streamed down his face. He rushed upstairs and took her to her chamber where Dr. Aldon awaited them. He stood by the entire time the doctor treated her.
“She will be fine, My Lord,” Dr. Aldon reassured him. “She’s a bit malnourished, but she’s stronger than she seems.”
“She better be. Treat her doctor. I want her back,” Aurzac commanded, turning on his heel as he left to see the arrest of Shanra for himself.
***
He stood there, stone-faced as Shanra was taken aboard the small spacecraft, bound in shackles. She gave him a look that chilled him to the bone. With her was the guard who helped her. Misa was spared as she confessed to everything, saying she was coerced.
The guards dragged Shanra and the other prisoner into the ship as it left for the prison on Andromeda 13.
Lord Aurzac went to his conference room and set up a video conference with the Council. He needed to alert them of the situation. After that, he busied himself with the battle plans.