Page 24 of Possessed By the Dragon Alien
“The search teams found no trace of her,” Ezi said. “It’s as if she simply vanished.”
“Strange,” Madrian said, keeping his tone neutral. “The dome is sealed. Where could one prisoner go?”
Valkos’ yellow eyes fixed on Madrian with predatory focus. The pale chancellor’s breathing had slowed—something that happened when he was preparing to strike. “That’s what concerns us. Someone had to help her. The question is who.”
Madrian let silence stretch for exactly three heartbeats before responding. Long enough to seem thoughtful, not long enough to appear defensive. “You suspect someone at Central assisted her?”
“We have to consider every possibility.” Taghi’s smile was razor-thin, but her left eye twitched—barely perceptible, but Madrian had seen it before when she was lying to the full council about resource allocations. “The timing is…interesting. Just as we’re dealing with rebellions in other facilities.”
The trap was elegant, he had to admit. They’d orchestrated Nena’s arrival, waited for him to react, then used her disappearance as justification for their suspicions. But they’dunderestimated his ability to read them after so many cycles of shared deceptions.
“Speaking of which,” Shorvis interjected, his voice pitched slightly higher than usual—another tell Madrian recognized, “we’ve received disturbing reports from the outer territories. The Slarik Arena has gone completely dark. No communications for three cycles.”
Uri’s expression darkened, but his claws had stopped tapping. This was news to him. They weren’t sharing everything with the full council.
“That makes four facilities we’ve lost contact with in the past month,” Ezi said.
Madrian’s pulse quickened, but he kept his expression mildly interested. “What’s the connection?”
“We’re still investigating,” Valkos said smoothly. His hands remained perfectly still, but a muscle in his jaw twitched once. “But there are…patterns emerging.”
Chancellor Bendahn, who’d been silent until now, shifted in her seat. Her breathing was shallow, and she kept glancing at the door. She wanted to leave. Whatever this was, she either disapproved or feared being associated with it.
“Patterns?” Madrian asked. If the stakes weren’t so high, he’d be enjoying this. Toying with them, just as they’d toyed with him over the manymig-cycles that they’d all worked together.
Taghi leaned back in her chair, fingers steepled. The gesture looked casual, but it was calculated to make her appear in control. “Zaruxian officers abandoning their posts. Facilities falling to rebellion shortly after. It’s quite the coincidence.”
There it was.The accusation wrapped in observation. Madrian felt heat build in his chest. It wasn’t enough to trigger any physical change, but just enough to fuel his response.
“You think members of my species are unreliable?” The words came out with precisely the right amount of offense.
“We think some Zaruxians in Axis leadership have forgotten their loyalty,” Valkos said. His pupils contracted slightly as he spoke. Madrian recognized that as excitement masked as concern. “The question is whether that…forgetfulnessmight be spreading.”
Around the table, reactions varied. Shorvis nodded along, but looked distracted and vaguely bored. Ezi appeared clearly uncomfortable. His claws now dug into the armrests of his chair. Bendahn had gone completely still. Only Taghi and Valkos showed signs of satisfaction. The rest seemed marginally interested in the conversation, and appeared to want to move to other points on the meeting agenda.
A faction, then. Not the full council, but enough to be dangerous.
“My loyalty has never been in question,” Madrian said, letting his voice carry just enough steel to suggest wounded pride.
“Of course not.” Taghi’s tone was honey over poison, but her pupils remained dilated. She was enjoying this. “But we must be vigilant. These rebellions didn’t happen overnight. They started small. A question here, a hesitation there. Before we knew it, entire facilities were lost.”
Madrian tilted his head, as if considering her words. In reality, he was watching Valkos, who’d made the mistake of glancing at a specific datapad when Taghi mentioned the rebellions. Whatever intelligence they had, it came from that source.
“What are you suggesting?”
Shorvis cleared his throat, the sound more nervous than authoritative. “We’re implementing new security protocols. Enhanced monitoring of all high-level personnel. Regular psychological evaluations.”
The cage was tightening, but not as tightly as they thought. Ezi’s discomfort was genuine. Bendahn looked ready to bolt. Shorvis was clearly uncomfortable with the direction this was going. Only Taghi and Valkos seemed fully committed to whatever scheme they’d hatched.
“I see,” Madrian said. “And the missing prisoner?”
“Oh, we’ll find her.” Valkos’ smile was all teeth, but his hands finally moved—a tiny gesture of triumph that he probably didn’t realize he’d made. “It’s only a matter of time. The dome has ways of…revealing hidden things.”
The threat hung in the air like smoke. But Madrian caught something else—the way Valkos said “revealing” suggested they already knew where to look. They had a plan for finding Nena, which meant he needed to accelerate his own timeline.
“In the meantime,” Taghi continued, “we need all council members to be extra vigilant. Report anything unusual. Any changes in behavior or loyalty.”
She was fishing, but also establishing plausible deniability. When they moved against him, they’d claim they’d given him every opportunity to come forward.
