Chapter 15

Aeden pushed himself up, muscles protesting. His eyes darted around the room, taking in familiar details. The worn leather armchair. The faded Navajo rug. Home. His ranch outside Roswell. The shadow of a tight, lithe body was outlined against a large window. He did not recognize it.

“How did I get here?” he asked, voice hoarse.

Anya’s eyes narrowed. “I brought you. We don’t have time for twenty questions. We need to move.”

Aeden’s head spun. Too many questions in his head, but one pushed to the forefront. “Where’s Pavlina? Marketa? And Veronika?”

“Volleyball tournament. Olympic qualifiers.” Anya’s words clipped, impatient. “They’re safe. For now. Your sister told you everything before they left. Do you not remember?”

She slid over to the window, staring out. Her body coiled, ready to spring.

Aeden responded, “I don’t remember.”

“Veronika had several conversations with you while you were out. It’s interesting you don’t remember.”

Aeden shrugged his shoulders which brought more pain and a grimace.

“There’s a shuttle,” she said. “Hidden on the west side of your property. Were you aware of that?”

Aeden attempted to rise, but his legs gave way, forcing him to grip the edge of the bed until his knuckles turned white.

The last memory he clung to was of that ambush in Prague—flashes of light, roars of cannons, screams, and then nothing.

“How long have I been out?” he inquired.

“You’ve been in a medical coma for nearly three months. Your hybrid physiology is remarkable—a regular human wouldn’t have made it,” came the reply.

Outside, the New Mexico sun scorched the desert, its heat waves distorting the distant horizon. The quiet was unnerving; there were no birds or insects, just a dense silence pressing against the windows.

“I’m not leaving without them,” Aeden declared.

Anya’s eyes flashed sharply. “They’ll be fine. Saug wants you, not them.”

“Any halfway intelligent villain would know to leverage loved ones to get their target. They are not safe.”

Anya smirked as she silently agreed with Aeden’s assessment.

Settling on the edge of the bed, Aeden massaged the back of his head and asked, “Who are you and where is Extor?”

For a moment, Anya froze. Her gaze locked with his, revealing something ancient and wild within her eyes.

“Extor is dead,” she stated.

Those words lingered between them like an impenetrable wall, and Aeden’s stomach plummeted.

“That can’t be,” he murmured softly. “He’s survived worse.”

“Not this time.” Anya moved away from the window with a fluid, predatory grace. “I’m his contingency plan. He trained me for this possibility,” she lied.

Aeden’s mind whirled: Extor—his mentor, his guardian—dead? The floor seemed to shift beneath him.

A subtle vibration pulsed through the floorboards. Anya detected it first, snapping her head toward the western property as her nostrils flared.

“Someone’s here.”

She glided over to a hidden panel beside the bookcase, her fingers deftly working an invisible keypad. A holographic display sprang to life, mapping out the property’s security grid. A heat signature moved along the southwestern fence.

“Tall. Female. Moving with purpose,” Anya whispered, lowering her voice. “Looks like someone knows what they are doing.”

The figure on the display halted at an old oak tree, crouched, then placed something at its base—a small device blinked into existence on the scan.

“Perimeter sensor,” Anya observed, her tone tightening. “Professional work.”

Gathering himself into a steadier stance, Aeden asked, “Friend or foe?”

“Unknown. But she’s equipped with some high-tech equipment that you probably can’t get down at the hardware store,” Anya confirmed quietly.

Outside, the air seemed to ripple as a figure took shape—a lithe, feminine form with fiery hair contrasting against the desert. Every movement was deliberate, each step calculated.

“Avila,” Aeden breathed.

Anya’s head whipped in his direction. “You know her?”

“She was in my circle back in high school,” Aeden explained as he steadied himself further. “I didn’t know it at the time, but she saved Pavlina and her family from Saug in 1993, and Extor hired her as my bodyguard while I was in high school in Midland, Texas. Then, after graduation, she vanished without a trace.”

“She’s heavily armed,” Anya noted, her fingers briefly grazing the weapon at her hip. “Friend or foe?”

“After all this time, it’s difficult to determine,” Aeden responded. “Since she doesn’t know you, she might be taking her time to assess the situation carefully.”

Anya gave a quick nod in agreement. It was a sensible approach for someone well-versed in dealing with conflict.

The security system chimed. A soft, insistent tone that grew louder with each passing second.

“Perimeter breach,” announced a synthetic voice. “East quadrant.”

Aeden’s muscles tensed. Instinct overrode weakness. He pushed himself fully upright, ignoring the protest of atrophied limbs.

“Weapon,” he demanded.

Anya’s laugh was sharp, humorless. “You can barely stand.”

“I can still shoot.”

She studied him for a moment, then tossed a pistol his way. The weight felt familiar in his hand. Comforting.

“Don’t trust her,” Anya warned, moving to flank the doorway. “Extor kept detailed files on everyone. Avila disappeared right before three royal sympathizers were assassinated.”

“Correlation isn’t causation,” Aeden countered, but doubt crept in. Over ten years without contact. Why now?

The security display showed Avila moving with purpose—not toward the house, but toward the hidden storage facility. The place where the final Star-Drive components were secured, but Aeden had no idea about that.

“Shit.” Aeden lurched forward. “Why is she heading that direction?”

A flash of movement outside caught his eye. More heat signatures appeared on the perimeter scan. Five. No, seven. Surrounding the property with military precision.

“We’ve got company.” Aeden nodded toward the display. “And they’re not with her.”

Anya’s lips pulled back in a silent snarl. “Saug’s death squad. Krell mercenaries.”

“How do you know?”

“Movement pattern. They’re hunting, not securing.”

A high-pitched whine cut through the air. The security system flickered, then died.