Page 9 of Possessed By the Dragon Alien
She dropped her gaze. “I’m not interesting,” she said softly. “I’m just a farmer.”
“Oh, I suspect you’re much more than just a farmer.”
I’m not, she wanted to say.Really, I’m not. But all that came out was a squeaky, “Oh.”
“I’ll see you again, 93-A.” Without another word, he turned and walked away, his wings trailing shadows across the path like ripples in still water.
Nena stood frozen, watching his retreating form until he disappeared around a curve in the garden. Her heart still thundered against her ribs. The air felt different somehow—charged with possibility and danger in equal measure. She pressed her hand to her chest, trying to steady herself.
She had just spoken to one of the Twelve. He hadn’t punished her. Hadn’t even truly intimidated her. Instead, he’d asked about her work, noticed her, seen her as more than just another designation.
The implications terrified her.
Nena forced her feet to move, carrying her toward the barracks on unsteady legs. His last words echoed in her mind.I’ll see you again.Not a threat, but a promise. She didn’t know which was more dangerous—his attention or the way her body had responded to his presence, like some part of her had recognized something in him that her conscious mind refused to name.
She touched the spot on her knee where he’d pointed out the dirt. The fabric was barely marked, but she could still feel the weight of his gaze there. Everything about this encounter feltwrong. Members of the Twelve didn’t speak to prisoners. They didn’t show mercy. They didn’t notice individuals at all.
But he had noticed her. And somewhere deep inside, past all her carefully constructed walls, past all her learned fears and instincts for survival, something whispered that he would notice her again.
The stars might be hidden, but Nena had never felt more seen in her life.
SIX
The following wake cycle, Madrian strode into the council chamber. The polished floor reflected his movements like a dark mirror. The enormous, gleaming black room echoed with his footsteps. The eleven powerful figures seated at the semicircular table turned toward him as one. Madrian did not sit immediately. Instead, he planted his feet before them and clasped his hands behind his back.
The council members stared at him expectantly. Taghi couldn’t even hide her sneer. She tapped her long nails on the datascreen before her, but that was her tell—she was worried. They all were. No amount of power and prestige could shield them from the reality that the Axis was having problems maintaining control. Word was getting out. Whispers of rebellion were everywhere.
“The situation in sector eight is worse than we thought,” Madrian said. “The shipments of fuel cells were seized by a Gulirian rebel group. They’ve taken control and locked down three neighboring stations. Our local forces are overwhelmed.”
“Then send more guards,” Taghi snapped.
“With what ships?” Emissary Ezi’s scaled face creased with displeasure. “Our fleet is stretched thin maintaining order in six other sectors.”
“Perhaps if we hadn’t lost an entire armada’s worth of fighters in the Jup-4a system…” Taghi muttered.
Madrian let them bicker and took his seat on the chancellors’ side of the table, with the other five. His mind kept drifting to the Terian in the gardens and the quiet strength in her pretty green eyes. He forced his focus back to the crisis at hand. “The rebels are targeting supply lines, communication hubs. And, as I’m sure you all know, we are dealing with the potential rebellion of Penal Colony 5-11B.”
“Oh, the Terians. They are the least of our problems. I’d be fine cutting them off.” Chancellor Shorvis leaned forward, his pale eyes narrowing. “How do we stop the attacks on our supply lines?”
“Abandoning a penal colony sends a bad message.” This from Ezi, who always looked at the practical, rather than the easy.
“And what message is that?” Taghi’s voice dripped with derision. “It’s becoming blatantly obvious that we can’t maintain our own territory. If we must abandon a penal colony,thatone is so remote, no one would notice. Plus, the small population there would likely die out on their own. The only real issue is the Axis overseer there.” She looked at Madrian pointedly. “You don’tknowhim, do you?”
Madrian met her gaze steadily as he shook his head. “I do not, but I have agents pursuing leads regarding 5-11B.”
What he didn’t say was that his most promising lead was currently tending plants in the garden below. The Terian female who’d appeared here just before the rebellion at her settlements began. Who’d been pulled from auction by someone with enough authority to bypass protocol.
Someone in this very room.
He studied their faces, looking for any hint of recognition. Any flicker of unease that might betray involvement. But they were all masters of deception. If any of them had arranged for 93-A’s transfer to Central, they showed no sign of it.
“In the meantime,” he continued, “we need to focus on securing the supply routes. I suggest deploying what remains of our fleet strategically, rather than spreading them thin across all sectors.”
“And leave some areas unprotected?” Shorvis scoffed. “That’s absurd.”
“Better than losing everything,” Ezi said. “We cannot maintain the illusion of total control if we can’t even protect our own supply lines.”
“We need to contain this,” Ezi insisted. “If word spreads—”
