Page 56 of Bound to the Marak

“Hmph.” Vakkar sneered. “Then perhaps I should acquire one. They sound entertaining. Fragile. Beautiful. I hear they cry during copulation.”

A cold wind stirred the chamber—though there were no vents. Karian’s tentacles tensed.

Akeran turned toward Isen. “Curious that you ask so gently. You are thinking of following him down this path?”

Isen’s lips curled faintly. “I am curious. If one human can bring the mighty Karian to heel, what might two or three do for the rest of us?”

Karian’s voice was low, but it silenced them all. “She has not tamed me. But she has earned my loyalty.”

Vakkar rolled his eyes. “Loyalty. Is that what we’re calling it now? You leave Luxar. You descend to a primitive planet. All for a pet.”

“She wants her dog,” Akeran said flatly. “A creature. A beast. You risk exposing our existence to the Consulate over a dog.”

Karian’s hands flexed. “She was torn from her world. I will give back what was taken. You speak of exposure. I speak of reparation.”

Vakkar leaned forward. “And if I wanted one of my own? What then? Shall I send ships? Collect a few hundred humans from Earth? A harvest, perhaps?”

“No,” Karian said, his voice darker now. “You will not take a single human unless theychooseto come. Willingly. Enthusiastically.”

“Willingly?” Akeran laughed, sharp and cruel. “And what will you do if we don’t listen? Raise your voice? Appeal to our conscience?”

The chamber shuddered.

A low, ominous hum resonated from the floor. The obsidian panels vibrated with a deep, growing tremor. Overhead, the stars seemed to dim.

The Marak froze.

A shadow rippled across the ceiling, and for a heartbeat, the illusion of the stars cracked—revealing Karian’s telekinetic force, stretched and straining like a storm barely held at bay.

“I will do more than raise my voice,” Karian said quietly. “I will unmake your ships. One by one. I will drown your thrones beneath the tides. I will disrupt the very oceans that feed your people.”

He let the threat hang in the air, his control just barely pulled back.

Silence.

Isen was the first to bow his head.

Akeran muttered, “So be it.”

Vakkar’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

Karian stepped back from the table. “She will return to Earth. With me. To retrieve her creature. And when we return, let no being touch her. Or they will know my wrath.”

Then he left them, the air still vibrating from his presence, and the stars whispering his name.

Thirty-Nine

Leonie woke to soft, golden light spilling through the translucent shell of her bedroom dome. The shimmering towers of Luxar glinted in the morning haze beyond the windows, casting long shadows over the cloud-covered planet below. It was quiet—eerily so.

Today. They were going to Earth.

She sat up slowly, brushing strands of hair from her face. Her heart fluttered with disbelief. She had asked Karian for something impossible—and he’d said yes. He would take her back. Not forever. But long enough to find Alfie.

She stood, legs still bare from the night, silk nightdress clinging to her hips. A warm bath, she thought. Maybe breakfast. Something light before departure. She padded toward the basin.

But then—movement.

From the corner of her eye.

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