Page 88 of Bonded Queen: to the Alien Warlord Triad

The call to destiny can be even greater than the call to a Mate.

They will volunteer by the hundreds. It will be our choice that damns a triad to being ripped to shreds in a blink. I’ve lost men before. Never like this.

“Men.” I speak into my smartwatch. Every Aurelian on the planet will get the call. “We have a mission from which a triad will not return. Obsidian needs volunteers. All those willing, report to the throne room.”

I cut off the coms and stand, straight-backed, walking with my triad to the thrones where we will damn three souls.

35

Ra’al

“One triad will be chosen to be a weapon. I cannot give details of the mission. Only that you have no chance of surviving.”

The triads are packed into the throne room. More are trailing out the door. The ones at the back pass my message along the line.

Near all of them have branded foreheads, but some have only the brand on their chest, still willing to die for Obsidian. I look for any trace of fear in the warriors in front of me. I see none. There is eagerness, duty, and bravery staring back at me.

The leader of a triad at the front steps forward. He must be in his early two hundreds. His robe is opened up wide, proudly showing his brand, the white, raised flesh unfilled by blackness. He’s handsome, in a cocky way, with a thick mess of black hair. His triad behind him have matching mohawks and hard expressions. “General Ra’al. Did Obsidian order this mission directly? Did you speak with him?” His voice is filled with awe.

“Yes.”

“We’ll do it. I am Private Mercurial, and this is my triad. We’ll be Obsidian’s sword, if you will allow us, General.”

“No! We’ll do it! Lieutenant Brackar! We served before Obsidian rose. We were part of the men who Orb-Shifted out of Colossus itself, and we have fought a hundred battles for his honor. Let us be the ones!” He’s got the bottom half of his brands filled in, the black mark of honor that shows his skill in battle. He’s tall and powerfully built. All his muscle will do nothing to protect him from the explosions that will turn him to dust in an instant, ending his bloodline forever.

I look at the strong, brave youth in front of me, a pang of sorrow in me. They are noble. They will die to protect a planet, but they have no idea what they are volunteering for. All they know is they will die for Obsidian.

“Make the choice.”Orr’s voice is cold in my mind. He hates this as much as me, and as much as he hides it, I know he is glad not to have to be the one to decide who dies.

I am the leader.

It is my burden.

I scan the ranks, looking for a certain coldness, a certain strength of being, when my legs buckle. I fall back, stumbling, and grab the armrest of my throne for support as her being rushes into my mind.

Rachel. My Mate. Her aura blooms, blossoming in my mind, her being filling my consciousness. I exult in it. I reach out, touching it, scared to hold on, like I’m holding sand in my hand. The three of our auras share the same wonder. We can’t hope. Not yet.

“I’m coming home.”

Her words are simple. They are everything I needed. I look out at the men in front of me, and I cannot order them to die.

“You are brave triads to come here and volunteer.” Some of the men can’t hold back smiles, bolstered by the praise of a twice-honored General. “Your fathers were brave men too. And their fathers before them, fighting for honor, and to win their Mate. They failed.”

The air seems to be sucked out of the room. They hear a change in my voice, and some of them look at each other, sharing glances. “They died pulling themselves to cryo-bays to giveyouthe chance. All of you have felt her. You are the ones with a chance to claim her. Your forefathers would have killed for this chance. They did. They fought so that you could live.”

There’s no going back now.

“If you take this mission, understand what you do. You do not just end your lives. You end your bloodlines forever. You take away the chance for the next generation of men to find their Mate. You take away the chance that was given to you by the strength of those who came before you.”

The men look strangely at each other. Some look towards the door. They don’t know understand, but there’s festering uncertainty. The role of a General is to bolster. I’ve given courage to men going against impossible odds. They knew only I could bring them back alive. Now they sense something is off, and it infects the masses, even the most Fanatic of them.

“Private Mercurial! Where is your Mate?”

“It…it is unlucky to speak of this, my General.” The certainty he was filled with is gone.

“Where was your Mate! That is an order, Private!” My voice booms out in the throne room. I can feel Rachel getting closer. I’m desperate for her. I can barely speak, but I force my words out.

He gets a far-off look in his eyes. “Deep within human territories, General Ra’al. She is an executive at a company. When we saw her, we were struck by her, but she kept her composure, I do not know how. She wore a grey skirt, a white blouse, and we when she looked at us…she smiled, she smoothed her blouse, and she went straight into a meeting while we watched…” He trails off, lost in his memory.

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