Mordjan Read online

  “Yes.”

  “And before, we couldn’t heal our people, but the cyborgs could with their manufactured cure.”

  “Yes.”

  “What will we do if they never work?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I guess we can hope they might suddenly begin working once the Ardaks attack.”

  “Hope is always important.” The queen was silent for long moments, and when she spoke again, it was with a slow and thoughtful cadence that had Fayelle hanging on each syllable. “Or perhaps we can try something else.”

  Fayelle glanced over at her, a tiny spark of hope blossoming inside her. “What do you have in mind?”

  “There is a ship leaving to find the resistance. I’d like you to go along.”

  That startled her. She’d never considered going off-planet, not when there was so much to do here to get ready for the Ardaks’ return. “Isn’t it a little . . . late? The Ardaks are supposed to return in five days.”

  “It makes your mission even more important. I still believe that if we could get those crystals from the Crystal Cave to work, we might have a chance.” She paused. “But we need a backup plan in case we don’t. I need someone who is open-minded to go with the cyborgs to find this resistance. They are focused on weapons, but I want someone who is also focused on defense and healing. Perhaps we can learn something from their technology that will allow us to incorporate it into our magic.”

  That was something Fayelle had spent a great deal of time wondering about, but she wasn’t confident that technology could mix with magic. Maybe they would be able to use one to supplement the other, but to use the hybrid combination seemed unlikely. Yet, even if it were unlikely, that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible, so who was she to say it couldn’t be done or that it wasn’t worth looking into?

  “I really want to do this, but I’m one of the strongest in working with the crystals. Don’t you need me here to keep trying?” As the head healer from Garthurian, she was stronger at healing than any other elf, save for the queen sitting right next to her.

  Queen Aielle waved that away. “We have a dozen others who can do that, even other healers. They may not be as powerful as you, but I doubt that power is the problem here.”

  Fayelle secretly agreed. Valdjan had gone through the trials to get access to the Crystal Cave and become their protector. The elves had all assumed that once the cave was open, they would be able to use them for magic. But it hadn’t worked that way. The crystals seemed to be actively blocking them, and no one had any idea why.

  “Besides,” the queen continued, “as the lead healer of Garthurian, you should be the one to go on the mission. Get as much information as you can.”

  Fayelle jumped up from the log, rubbing her hands together. She was going to go off-planet and see the stars, and this mission was something she was keenly interested in. Smiling at the queen, she asked, “When do we leave?”

  “You’ll meet Mordjan at the ship at dawn.”

  Fayelle’s stomach dropped into her boots, and she slowly sank back down onto the log. “Mordjan? Oh gods.”

  “What’s wrong with him? He’s the leader of the defense force, perfect for this mission.” The queen elbowed her in the side. “And handsome enough.”

  Fayelle pressed her face into her hands, trying to keep her mouth shut. It didn’t matter how handsome he was. She hadn’t known him before the invasion, but she’d seen him plenty since. He was too angry. Too aggressive. And he tended to bring out the worst in her.

  Aielle waited for long moments, but when it became obvious that she wasn’t going to speak, the queen continued. “You know, Tordan told me that Mordjan wasn’t always so withdrawn and angry. Yes, he’s always been strong-willed, but he’s a dedicated warrior and a patient instructor. The Ardak invasion did something to his confidence. He saw so many of his warriors die, and then he had to watch as they all became cyborgs. He feels as if he failed, and I can’t imagine what he’s thinking knowing that the Ardaks are about to return.”

  Putting herself in his place, Fayelle knew the queen had a good point and it made her want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Mordjan had intrigued her from the first time she saw him. He wasn’t the tallest of the cyborgs, but he was the fiercest. He was darkly attractive, black hair and eyes so brown they were almost black. His every movement was purposeful, strong and efficient. But he was always angry, his shoulders always stiff, as if he carried the weight of Aurora on them.

  She’d brought her team of healers to him for training, and he wanted to assess their abilities for combat in the next invasion. Their eyes had met for a brief moment when she entered the clearing behind the Renwyn palace proper, and her magic had tingled.

  Then he had opened his mouth and said, “What the hell are we going to do with bows and arrows against the Ardaks? This is a pointless exercise. We should be in the lab, getting those damn ray guns to work. If each healer had a ray gun, we might have a better chance.”

  Her face had flamed, and she’d seen the embarrassment on the other healers’ faces. He didn’t have the right to talk to them that way.

  Then he’d sighed. “All right, each cyborg take an elf.” He came to stand directly in front of her, his eyes boring into hers. “You’ll be with me.”

  She refused to be intimidated by him or drop her gaze. “We might be better than you think.”

  He’d laughed then, but it had been tinged with arrogance. “Prove it.”

  She’d stood taller against his arrogance but turned to the others. “You know what? He’s right. This is a waste of time.”

  Then she had turned and left, all of the other healers leaving with her.

  “Come on,” Mordjan had called after them. “We’ll take it easy on you. We’re actually good trainers.”

  Her face flamed again as she told the story to Aielle.

  “Unfortunately, that sounds like Mordjan,” the queen said unhappily. “Look, what he did was wrong, but just to give you another perspective, I’ll tell you this. Tordan has been keeping tabs on Mordjan, and said he hasn’t slept more than three hours since they brought back the cure for the Red Death. He’s been in the lab every night, trying to get those ray guns to work so he can give them out to everyone. He really does care, and I think that beneath it all, he’s just . . . afraid.”

  Fayelle nodded glumly. That might be true. Fayelle knew from her dealings with males—especially strong ones—that they didn’t deal well with fear. His inability to process his own emotions was not her problem, though, and if she was going to be on a mission with him, she needed to know that he would be able to keep himself in check.

  “This mission means a lot, and we can’t let one cyborg with a bad attitude stop it. I need you, Fayelle. I honestly don’t know anyone else I could send who is even close to your skill level or has a fraction of your abilities.” Aielle paused, her eyes searching. “And why don’t you use this as an opportunity to get to know him better? Maybe you can break through that icy shell a little.”

  The queen stood and Fayelle rose with her, and together, they made their way back to the castle.

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Fayelle said.

  “Trust your heart, and have faith in your magic. It might not be as strong as technology yet, but I’ve never known it to be wrong.” The queen gave her a hug and a reassuring smile as they parted, leaving her to go down the corridor toward her room alone.

  She was going off-planet to find the resistance. With Mordjan. It was a fantastic dream and a horrible nightmare all rolled into one neat little package that would begin at dawn.

  She hoped she wasn’t making a mistake because once she was on that ship with him, there wouldn’t be any getting away. So either that starry cyborg was going to be nice to her, or he was going to wish he’d sparred with her a lot sooner. She had a few tricks up both her sleeves.

  Chapter Three

  Mordjan

  Mordjan clenched his jaw as he strode onto the Ard
ak ship just before dawn. Despite his resolve, he really didn’t want to be here, and that only got worse once he found Fayelle in the docking bay. “What are you doing here?”

  She raised her chin, the golden fire in her eyes burning brighter. “I’m your partner on the mission to find the resistance.”

  No. No way.

  He narrowed his eyes. “Says who?”

  “Says Queen Aielle of Renwyn.”

  Shit. “Does she know that we don’t get along?”

  “Who says we don’t get along?” she shot back over her shoulder as she headed toward the bridge.

  “You left me there on the field with my men.” He marched after her, his voice incredulous.

  “That’s because you were behaving like an ud.”

  He grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Hey! I know what that means.”

  She pulled free from his hold and crossed her arms. “I know you know. That’s why it was so satisfying to say it.” Her gaze went to the makeshift bandage on his arm. “What happened to your arm?”

  “I had a fight with an Ardak.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Did you win?”

  “Yes,” he said, with no little satisfaction.

  They stood glaring at each other until footsteps in the corridor behind him made him turn. It was Tordan and Aielle.

  “Oh good,” Tordan said mildly. “I see you two have met.”

  The gleam in Tordan’s eyes and the mischievous look on Aielle’s face told Mordjan and that they knew exactly what was going on. Clearly, they were enjoying this way too much.

  “Someday, I’m going to repay you for this,” he said to Tordan over their frequency.

  “I’ll be waiting,” the king challenged back.

  He brushed past Fayelle and headed for the control room, shaking his head. Was Tordan trying to kill him? Why in the hell would he send a female elf on this mission?

  It wasn’t just any elf, either. It was her.

  The one who had drawn his eye since the first time he’d seen her in front of the elven palace of Renwyn. Her beauty was striking, dark golden hair, gold eyes flecked with shards of bright white, pale skin with just a hint of blush to her cheeks. She moved with an almost ethereal grace that had captured his attention in its entirety.

  It was partly why he’d been so rude to her at the sparring session. He’d seen her watching him, too, and he didn’t want to go there. He didn’t have time for it with the Ardaks returning and he didn’t deserve the possibilities he’d seen flash in her eyes. The interest that mirrored the way Aielle looked at Tordan, in the way Simban looked at his mate, Irielle.

  He didn’t deserve joy after what had happened to his people. Could never look himself in the eyes again if he found happiness when everyone around him still suffered.

  He turned right and continued down the corridor to the bridge, cursing silently. The doors slid open and he found himself face-to-face with Simban. He clasped hands with the other cyborg. “Simban. Good to see you.” A sense of relief filled him to see the other cyborg. Simban was a good man to have at his back, and the more people on this mission, the better.

  Simban’s brows rose and he looked at Tordan. “But Tordan said you specifically asked for me. He said you wanted someone . . . what was it? Oh, right. Pretty.”

  Fayelle looked at him in surprise.

  Mordjan felt heat creeping up into his face as Simban’s face broke into a wide grin. Was no one going to give him a break this morning? “That wasn’t what I meant.”

  He shot a murderous look at Simban before turning it to Tordan. Friends or not, they were going to die.

  Tordan, who should have looked contrite or repentant, looked between the three of them and burst out laughing.

  It was the first laugh Mordjan had heard since the invasion, and it was so genuine, so real, that Simban began to laugh, too. When Fayelle joined in, she looked younger, more carefree than he’d ever seen her.

  Mordjan’s anger evaporated, and he even found himself grinning.

  Tordan’s chest heaved with laughter as his face turned red and tears streamed from his eyes. “Simban was going anyway,” he choked out. “I just thought it would be funny.”

  “All right,” Mordjan ground out, avoiding Fayelle’s gaze. “If you’ve all had your fun at my expense, let’s talk about the mission. Where exactly are we going?”

  “I believe that’s our cue to leave,” Tordan said around a yawn. “I have complete faith in you to plan this mission.”

  He and Aielle both nodded their goodbyes and crossed the control room to the exit. Once they were in the corridor, Mordjan heard Aielle ask him, “Was it as funny as you imagined?”

  “It was funnier, my love,” Tordan replied, mirth in his voice. “Much funnier than I’d imagined.”

  Mordjan shook his head, turning back to Simban, who wore an amused expression. “We’re going to the coordinates on the device Ouirer gave to Aria,” he said smoothly.

  “What’s located there?”

  Simban shrugged. “The Ardak star charts are blank in that area, so we don’t know exactly, but we hope to find the ARF.”

  “So, we are flying into space to an unknown location where there isn’t anything we know of but we hope to find something. Got it.” Mordjan huffed in annoyance. “Where are the others?”

  “Irielle, Borian, and Nordan are down in the lab,” Simban replied. “Irielle is showing them how to hook up to the computers.”

  Mordjan grunted, begrudgingly impressed that they were already started. Borian and Nordan would be good assets. They had been his top weapons specialists in the defense force. He understood why they would volunteer for this mission. He needed to get his head on straight and make a plan. “How long will it take to arrive at those coordinates?”

  “About twelve hours.”

  “Good. Let’s get this hunk of metal off the ground. Then I’ll take Fayelle down to the lab and get her started on the computer files.”

  Her eyes widened as she glanced over at him.

  “Don’t look so shocked. Just because we don’t get along, it doesn’t mean I’m going to let you screw up this mission.”

  Her surprised look melted to a cool, assessing gaze. She lifted her chin. “Actually, I was surprised you didn’t think I could find the lab by myself.” She turned to Simban and nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

  After the door closed behind her, Simban turned to him, an unhappy expression on his face. “That was unlike you. What’s going on between you two?”

  Mordjan went to stand by one of the flight consoles. “Nothing.”

  “That didn’t look like nothing to me.” Simban lowered his voice. “I’m going to give you a piece of advice. These elven women make powerful allies and even more powerful enemies. I suggest you make peace with her.”

  “Shut up,” Mordjan replied.

  “All right. It’s your funeral,” Simban said, taking the second console.

  As Simban set the coordinates for their destination, Mordjan glanced at the door. Part of him wanted to do as Simban suggested and make peace with Fayelle. He shook his head, angry that he was even tempted to split his focus. His job was to complete the mission, and she was just a distraction. They could work out their differences later.

  If there was a later.

  Until then, he resolved to try to be kinder to her. The Ardaks and his issues were not her fault. Her ethereal beauty was also not her fault. Since they were about to spend a great deal of time together on this ship, he’d better learn to hold his temper.

  Chapter Four

  Fayelle

  Fayelle was still fuming, trying to find the lab on her own. She had taken two wrong corridors since leaving the control room, but as she descended a new set of stairs, she thought this might finally be the correct one. The Ardak language was somewhat similar to elvish, but it was different enough to cause issues with translations.

  Just like the differences between her and Mordjan. Every time he spoke, she was torn be
tween wanting to help him through his anger and wanting to adjust his poor attitude. She’d been alive long enough, however, to know that she’d have time to change his mind. Or for revenge if he kept pissing her off. Whichever came first.

  He’d been rude to her, but worse than that, he’d made her feel bad. It was a foreign experience for her—one she barely remembered from her youth. She had spent years becoming the best healer at Garthurian, and she wasn’t a bad warrior, either, so someone having the ability to draw that emotion from her was annoying.

  She had no idea why she even thought he was attractive, but if Aielle was correct about his personality before the invasion, then perhaps . . . perhaps he might have been. But that was a long time ago.

  She turned a corner and started down a corridor lined with doors on each side. Halfway down, a door stood open and she heard voices. When she peered in, she recognized Irielle, who was working on one of the computers. One of the cyborgs grinned when she came in and strode over to her, holding out his hand.

  “You must be Fayelle. I’m Borian,” the enormous man said, his green eyes twinkling. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  She shook his offered hand and gave him a small smile as another cyborg came up behind him, elbowing him out of the way with a grin. “And I’m Nordan.”

  Nordan was slightly smaller than the other men from the Mountain realm that she’d seen, but perhaps he was also younger. He was no less handsome, his dark hair, deep brown eyes and chiseled jaw matching the others.

  “Hey!” Irielle’s voice came from behind them. “We have work to do.”

  They both gave her sheepish grins and went back to the computer station, listening to Irielle explain how to use the system.

  She listened as well, but when the ship began to vibrate, she found herself drifting toward the window so she could look outside.

  “Prepare for liftoff,” Mordjan’s deep voice sounded through the lab, and she realized there must be a system to project his voice through the ship.