Page 20 of Kazmyr: Molten for Her
"They can detect the chemical markers," Vylit confirmed. "But they can't determine the stability of the match or your willingness to bond. That's what makes unbonded pairs so valuable… the potential remains open."
Jenna's hand turned beneath mine, her fingers intertwining with my much larger ones. The moss hammock thrummed beneath us, responding to the contact. Her eyes held mine, something unspoken passing between us.
"I trust you," she whispered, the words so quiet that only I could hear them.
Those three words shattered whatever resistance remained in me. My marks blazed with sudden, fierce heat, patterns shifting across my obsidian skin in complex declarations of protection, of devotion, of... something I hadn't dared name even to myself.
"And I you," I answered in my native tongue, the ancient words carrying weight beyond their simple translation. I switched back to common language, my voice rough with emotion. "I will hold you through this. Protect you. Burn for you if necessary."
The Heartforge trembled suddenly, a warning klaxon piercing the moment. On the tactical display, the Voraxx ships had moved in unison, firing a coordinated volley that struck our shields with precision.
"They're testing our defenses," I snarled, rising to my feet though I kept my hand linked with Jenna's. "Reality, what's your status?"
"Shields at ninety-three percent," Silvyr reported. "We are repositioning to provide overlapping coverage."
Through the viewscreen, I watched as Silvyr's crystalline vessel slid alongside the Heartforge, its defense grid activating to create a barrier between us and three of the Voraxx ships. A strategic position that left both vessels protected while maintaining our mobility.
The enhancer pulsed again, stronger than before. Jenna gasped, her back arching against the moss hammock which tightened its hold, supporting her through the surge. The filaments beneath her skin glowed bright enough to shine through her clothing now, a beacon of genetic potential that had drawn our hunters straight to us.
"Signal at maximum intensity," Silvyr announced, his projection splitting into a dozen instances that danced around the chamber, monitoring systems, analyzing the Voraxx response, tracking the enhancer's effect on Jenna's physiology. "And we have confirmation—they're watching. Not just the ships around us, but someone else. The signal's being relayed through a quantum channel."
"Asset P," Vylit breathed, looking up from his console. "They're reporting directly to Asset P."
Silvyr's primary projection coalesced before us, his usual chaotic energy replaced by predatory focus. "They're here. And watching." His code-streaked face split into a grin that held no humor. "Just as we planned."
Another volley from the Voraxx ships rocked the Heartforge, the impact vibrating through the obsidian floors and walls. The ember-veins running through the ship pulsed in response, drawing on my heat to strengthen the shields where they'd been struck.
I tightened my grip on Jenna's hand, my marks blazing like magma rivers across my skin. The plan had changed, but the goal remained the same—draw Asset P into the open, force them to reveal themselves by dangling the bait they couldn't resist.
Jenna squeezed back, her eyes fever-bright but focused. Even now, trembling in the moss hammock as the enhancer wracked her body with pulses of genetic amplification, she remained unbroken. Unbowed.
"Tell Silvyr to trace that quantum channel," she ordered, her voice steadier than I expected. "If Asset P is watching, we need to find out from where."
I relayed her command, pride surging through my marks as Silvyr's projections scrambled to comply. She wasn't just enduring this, she was fighting back, using her position as bait to turn the trap against our hunters.
"The real battle has only just begun," I murmured, bringing her hand to my chest where my heart pounded beneath blazing scars. "But we face it together."
Her smile was fierce despite her pain. "Not as predator and prey," she agreed. "But as hunters with a common target."
Outside, the Voraxx ships tightened their formation, preparing for another, stronger assault. The Reality's crystalline form gleamed beside us, its defenses aligned with the Heartforge's in perfect synchronicity. And somewhere beyond them all, Asset P watched through quantum relays, drawn by the siren call of Jenna's unbonded genetic signature, unaware that they were being hunted in turn.
CHAPTER 9
JENNA
The Heartforge screamed like a wounded beast, its obsidian frame shuddering as Voraxx fire raked across the hull. I clutched the moss hammock's edges, its tendrils wrapping tighter around my limbs as if sensing my terror. Each impact sent vibrations through my bones, the enhancer beneath my skin pulsing in horrible synchronicity with the enemy's assault. My body burned from the inside out, broadcasting my genetic signature across the stars while the hammock tried desperately to anchor me to reality. The bitter irony wasn't lost on me… I'd volunteered to be bait, and now the predators were tearing apart our shelter to get to me.
"Shields at sixty-two percent and dropping!" Maya's voice cut through the chaos. Her fingers danced across the console, compensating for systems that flashed red with each new hit.
Kazmyr stood at the command interface, his massive frame vibrating with barely contained rage. The marks across his obsidian skin blazed like solar flares, casting long shadows across the chamber walls. His molten eyes never left the tactical display, where eight Voraxx ships circled us in their perfect, practiced formation.
"Heartforge, reroute auxiliary power to the dorsal shields," he growled, his massive hands pressing into the console until the metal beneath them glowed in response to his heat.
Another blast rocked the ship. Warning klaxons wailed as a section of ceiling panels crashed down, narrowly missing Maya. Silvyr's projection flickered wildly, his silver form splitting into multiple instances that raced from system to system.
"Wait—" Silvyr's voice sharpened, his primary projection suddenly freezing mid-motion. "Something's wrong. They shouldn't have our shield frequency. They shouldn't know exactly where to?—"
His projection fractured, code streams scattering across the chamber before reforming with frantic energy. "We're compromised! Asset P isn't just watching the Voraxx… it's inside our systems!"
