wanted to make you proud,”
Cy finally said.
“How can you make me proud if you both end up dead?”
As Oz strode toward them, their father pinned them with
one last glare. “This is not over. We’ll continue this conversation at home.”
The king glanced at Oz. “I can tell by the look on your
face, that wasn’t good news.”
Oz released a heavy sigh. “It was headquarters. A large,
Haagon mothership has stopped just outside our airspace. I told them to launch
a surveillance pod and place our forces on high alert. We must go home
immediately.”
“I guess our worst fear has finally arrived. We’ve known
this was coming for over a century. Even though we have prepared, I’m not ready
to lose our planet.”
“None of us are, Cieran,” Oz said. “Let’s leave our
supplies here and send someone to get them later.”
Cy’s father picked him up to transport home. He’d been
able to transport on his own for over a year. No one had the ability until they
reached puberty. But if they become injured enough to lose blood,
transportation ceased to work.
The air around them shimmered as Sivadia’s
electromagnetism connected with their cells. Their bodies dematerialized and
shot through the air at rocket speed. It was the most freeing feeling in the
world.
They materialized inside the infirmary at the castle.
His father laid him on a gurney and motioned one of the doctors over. “I’ll
call your mother to come down here. I need to join Oz at the military command
center.” He answered the doctor’s questions and then left.
Doctor Regan went to work cleaning Cy’s wounds, while
the nurse hooked him to an IV of blood. Vind never showed, not that it was any
surprise. He would probably lay low for a while, not wanting to risk Father’s
wrath.
Once the doctor finished, Cy laid on the cot and thought
about everything that was going on. Once, when father and Oz hadn’t known he
was around, he’d overheard them talking about what the Haagons had been doing
for the last three centuries. They had gone from planet to planet, raping each
one of its precious resources. By the time they were done, everything and
everyone was destroyed. If the Haagons were here to take Sivadia, everything
was about to change.
A knot formed in Cy’s throat. They would have to leave
their beautiful castle, the only home he’d ever known. Father had said the
planet they were going to would be safe. But it could never be as beautiful as
Sivadia. Cy fought back tears. Nothing could be worse than this.
His mother hurried through the infirmary door. As soon
as she saw him, she burst into tears and put her arms around him. “Darling,
what were you thinking? It isn’t like you to be so reckless.” She pulled back
and looked into his eyes. “Did your brother talk you into this?”
As much as Cy wanted to tell her what Vind had done
inside the cave, she didn’t need to worry about him, especially with everything
else that was going on. “Tracking the Nyrubi was both of our ideas.”
Her brows drew together. “Well, you both knew better.”
She gently touched his bandaged shoulder. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse than
you are. But that doesn’t mean you’re not in trouble.”
Cy looked down and fumbled with the blanket. “Yes,
Mother.”
Moments later, the nurse came over, removed the empty
blood-bag and replaced it with a full one. “Are you feeling strong enough to
leave?”
“Yes, I feel much better.”
“Once this bag is empty, I’ll release you into the
capable hands of your mother.”
As soon as the blood finished, the nurse removed the IV
and monitors.
He dressed and followed his mother upstairs to their
living quarters. When they entered the living room, Vind was sitting on the
couch playing with a deck of cards. Once his mother’s back was turned, he
glared at Cy, giving him a silent warning that he’d better not open his mouth
about what happened in the cave. He wouldn’t tell their parents, not
Lisa Mantchev, A.L. Purol