Page 13 of Kazmyr: Molten for Her
"When?" I demanded, not willing to let this be pushed to some nebulous future time.
"Upon our arrival. Two rotations from now." He paused, watching my face carefully. "Maya and Vylit are there already. Silvyr communicates through secure channels."
"Great, a whole support group for abducted girlfriends. Do we get matching t-shirts?" I bit out while I absorbed this information, my mind racing ahead to all the questions I needed answered. Who else knew about this genetic trafficking? How widespread was it? Were Earth authorities complicit, or merely negligent? And most importantly, what were our real chances of surviving this?
"Two rotations," I repeated, testing the weight of the time frame. Not immediately, but not far enough away to feel like a stall tactic. "And until then?"
His expression softened slightly, a familiar heat returning to his gaze as it traveled over the shape of me beneath the sheet. "Until then, I will answer any question you ask, to the best of my ability. No more sheltering. No more... what did you call it? Feeding you bits and pieces?"
Despite everything, the corners of my mouth twitched. "That's a start."
The moss beneath us stirred hopefully, tiny tendrils reaching toward my hand where it rested on my chest. I didn't immediately push them away this time, allowing the living weave to brush gently against my fingertips.
"Ask me anything," Kazmyr offered, his voice rumbling with sincerity. "I will withhold nothing."
I studied him for a long moment—the proud set of his shoulders, the uncertain flicker of his marks, the way his eyes never left mine despite his obvious discomfort. For all his alien appearance and customs, there was something fundamentally honest about him now, stripped of pretense.
"Tell me about Maya and Vylit," I said finally. "Tell me how they found each other, how the pirates came for them. Tell me everything you know about what we're facing."
Kazmyr straightened, his marks stabilizing into a steady glow. The moss shifted beneath him, supporting his massive form as he settled into a more comfortable position. The Heartforge's hum deepened around us, as if the ship itself was preparing to listen.
"It began three Earth months ago," he started, his voice taking on the cadence of a storyteller. "When the oceans of your world turned violet with a transit gate..."
I relaxed into the moss as I listened, my anger not forgotten but temporarily set aside in favor of information… real information, freely given. The moss inched closer, its warmth offering comfort without presumption.
For now, this was enough. Knowledge in place of ignorance. Truth instead of protection. A foundation, perhaps, for whatever would come next.
But I wouldn't forget how easily he'd kept me in the dark. And I wouldn't let it happen again.
CHAPTER 6
KAZMYR
Heartforge shuddered into orbit, the hull plates of my ship heating with my shame as we aligned alongside Reality. The sensation of docking felt like exposure… like stripping naked. My scars throbbed with warning fire, betraying every twisted emotion as the airlocks connected with a hiss that might as well have been my own defeated exhale.
The main chamber's atmosphere thinned as my emotions spiraled. My ember marks pulsed in agitation, sending waves of superheated air against the cooling systems. They fought a losing battle against my mood. The temperature control mechanisms whirred in protest.
Silvyr's projection flickered into existence first… silver code cascading through the air before solidifying into his too-perfect form. His smirk hit me like a physical blow.
"Same trap, different predator," he drawled, his voice crackling with the digital undertones that always emerged when he was particularly amused. "You, Vylit... both falling headfirst into 'the one'. Organic lifeforms and their inability to keep their?—"
My marks flared hot enough to make the nearest console bubble. "Not now, Silvyr."
He shrugged, the motion sending ripples through his projected form. Tiny emoji drones manifested around his head… laughing faces and flame symbols that perfectly captured his fucking smugness.
"When better?" His eyes flicked to the doorway before I could respond. "Ah, the other organics."
Vylit entered first, his massive form filling the threshold. His bioluminescence maintained that steady, controlled glow I'd always envied… the calm certainty of a warrior who knew his place in the cosmos. No violent temperature fluctuations. No self-destructive heat surges. Just steady, reliable light.
Maya followed at his side, her small human form dwarfed by his height yet somehow not diminished by it. Her sharp eyes scanned the room, cataloging threats and exits like the scientist-turned-survivor she'd become. The connection between them vibrated like a physical thing, the bond still fresh enough to send jealousy stabbing through my core. They'd found each other in chaos, yet something real had formed.
Then Jenna stepped into view from the opposite corridor, and my heart seized. Her auburn hair fell in messy waves around her face. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, evidence of the sleepless night since I'd dragged her from Earth. My mate. My supposed complement. My fucking prisoner. My stomach twisted at the thought.
I expected her to shrink from the newcomers. Instead, Maya broke from Vylit's side without hesitation, crossing the chamber with purposeful strides. Before I could blink, she wrapped Jenna in a fierce embrace… human to human, survivor to survivor.
Jenna stiffened, surprise flashing across her features. Then something inside her crumbled, and she melted into the embrace like a woman starved for understanding. Her arms lifted, hesitant at first, then locked around Maya with desperate strength.
"They didn't tell you either," Maya said, not a question but a statement of shared experience. "Just yanked you through without consent."
