Page 25 of Possessed By the Dragon Alien
“Of course,” Madrian said. “We all serve the Axis.”
“Yes.” Valkos leaned forward, his breathing quickening slightly. “We do. The question is whether some have forgotten what that service requires.”
The meeting dragged on for another—interminable—eighty-fivepiks. Reports of supply shortages that Madrian now suspected were manufactured. Discussions of guard deployments that seemed designed to test his reactions. All of it meaningless noise while the real conversation happened in glances and calculated silences.
Madrian participated with mechanical precision, offering suggestions and approvals while mentally cataloging every tell, every nervous gesture, every sign of the fault lines runningthrough the council. When this was over, he’d know exactly who could be trusted and who needed to be stopped.
When the session finally ended, Madrian rose with the others. The weight of their suspicion pressed against him, but so did his growing certainty about how to outmaneuver them.
“Madrian.” Taghi’s voice stopped him at the door. “A word?”
The chamber emptied, except for the two of them. Taghi approached with predatory grace, but Madrian noticed the slight hesitation in her step. She was confident, but not completely certain of her position.
“You seem tense today,” she said.
“These security breaches are always concerning.”
“Indeed.” She circled him slowly, a technique meant to intimidate. But her breathing was controlled, deliberate. She was working to maintain her composure just as much as he was. “Tell me, have you noticed anything unusual at Central? Among the garden workers, perhaps?”
His pulse spiked, but he’d expected this question. “Nothing significant.”
“Hmm.” Her white eyes studied his face, looking for micro-expressions. “Because I heard an interesting report about you speaking with prisoners. That’s quite unlike you.”
The heat in his chest built. “I occasionally inspect the work quality.”
“Of course.” Her smile was icy, but she blinked twice in rapid succession—uncertainty masked as confidence. “Just be careful, Madrian. These are dangerous times. One can never be too cautious about outside influences.”
The words pricked like a needle, but they also revealed something crucial. She waswarninghim. Not out of friendship, but because she wanted him to know the trap was closing. She wanted him afraid. “Your concern,” he said, “is noted.”
Taghi’s expression shifted, becoming almost sympathetic. But her hands trembled slightly—the first genuine emotion she’d shown. “We’ve worked together for so long. Chancellor Cratta invested so much in preparing you for this role. She practically raised you, molded you into the perfect successor. What would she think, seeing you now? She always said you were different from the other Zaruxian hatchlings. More controlled, more loyal. It would break her heart to see you make the same mistakes as the others.”
“What others?” He kept his voice bland, but the mention of Cratta sent an old, familiar ache through the scars on his back. He could still feel the sting of her training whip, still hear her cold voice demanding perfection. The female who’d “raised” him had been nothing but cruel calculation wrapped in false maternal concern. She’dbeatenloyalty into him, scarred disobedience out of him, and called it affection. Even now, hundreds ofmig-cycles later, the mere sound of her name made his wings twitch with phantom pain.
“The Zaruxians who forgot their place. Who let sentiment override duty.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, and now the tremor reached her words. “It won’t end well for them. Theywillbe caught. Punished. So will their Terian mates.”
With that, she glided from the chamber. But Madrian had caught the fear beneath her threat. Whatever they were planning, Taghi wasn’t completely confident it would work. If he had to wager a guess, Taghi wasnotthe one who passed him that warning note.
He waited until her footsteps faded, then allowed himself a grim smile. They thought they were hunting him, but he’d been reading their moves for cycles. Every tell, every nervous gesture, every moment of uncertainty gave him information he could use.
Let them think they had the advantage. Let them believe their trap was perfect.
They’d made one critical error in their calculations. They’d assumed he was still the weapon they’d crafted from a stolen hatchling.
They were about to learn how wrong they were.
FIFTEEN
Nena moved through Madrian’s quarters like a ghost exploring an abandoned space station. The vast space felt hollow despite its size, each room more sterile than the last. No books. No artwork. No personal belongings of any kind. Just cold efficiency and empty surfaces that reflected nothing of the male who lived here.
The replicator had provided her with food. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, so what came out was an interesting soup that she assumed was whatever Madrian had programmed it to produce last. It tasted odd, but it wasedible, and it was a welcome break from the nutrient paste she’d grown accustomed to. But after eating a portion of the soup, she was full and curious about her surroundings. How could someone with so much power live with so little joy? The contrast between his position and his prison struck her as profoundly sad.
She found herself in what appeared to be his study. A massive desk dominated the space, its surface clear except for a single datascreen. Behind it, floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the garden dome and the purple sky beyond. The chair was designed to accommodate his wings, with gaps cut into the high back.
Nena settled into the chair and activated the screen. If she was going to hide here, she might as well learn something useful. The reading modules she’d been watching in her cell during off-hours had helped, but she was still struggling with most written text. The symbols on the screen swam before her eyes, familiar enough to recognize but not quite readable.
She touched the interface hopefully. “Can you read this to me?”
To her surprise, a pleasant synthetic voice responded. “Voice assistance activated. What would you like me to read?”
