Page 19 of Chosen By the Dragon Alien
Fivra’s breathing hitched. A part of her still balked at the idea of Cyprian confronting the Axis—this impenetrable, multi-tentacled beast that had shaped both their lives. “You’re talking about going up against something that could wipe out all traces of your existence. How can you fight that?”
Cyprian’s lips curled into a smile—grim and determined, yet oddly reassuring. “Because I have more at stake than they can take from me. I’ve grown comfortable in my life here—complacent, even. I’ve let the Axis believe I was their obedient servant for too long. But now?” He reached out, his warm hand cradling her face, his thumb brushing along her jawline. “Now,I’ve been given something worth fighting for. Someone worth fighting for.”
Fivra’s heart skipped a beat at his words. Her mind wrestled with the sheer audacity of his certainty. “You’re not just talking about me,” she whispered. “Are you?”
“No.” Cyprian’s voice softened, but it held all the weight of his conviction. “I will not let the Axis dictate my life any longer. And I will certainly not let them take yours.”
Glivar cleared his throat loudly, breaking the electric tension between them. “Not to interrupt the touching moment, but if we’re going to make plans to hide—orfekit all, evacuate—Fivra, we’d better start sooner rather than later. If the rumors I’ve heard are true, the Axis won’t waste much time cleaning up their mess.”
Cyprian straightened. His demeanor once again that of the commanding and calculating director of Erovik. “You’re right,” he said briskly. “We need to move swiftly. If the Axis’ agents come sniffing around, I want nothing here for them to find.”
“That’s easier said than done, boss,” Glivar muttered. “Where do you want to stash her? You know they’ll check every hidden corner of this station.”
Cyprian considered for a moment. His sharp mind raced through the possibilities. “We need somewhere off-station,” he said firmly. “Somewhere they wouldn’t think to look. Somewhere with no connection to Erovik, or to me.”
Glivar scratched his head, his brow furrowing. “Off-station’s tricky. The Axis has eyes in a lot of places. Every port we use regularly is monitored to some degree.”
“I know,” Cyprian said. His tone was clipped. “But I have one or two places in mind. Options we’ve never needed to use before.”
Fivra watched the exchange in silence, her fingers tightening their grip on Cyprian’s arm. “You mean to send me away?” she asked. “Cyprian, I can’t just run.”
“You’re not running,” Cyprian assured her, his voice low but resolute. “You’re surviving.”
She shook her head. “If they’re coming for me, then they’ll come for you when they see you’re protecting me. They won’t stop. We’re… We’re in this together now.”
“Fivra, staying here isn’t an option right now,” he said, taking her tense hands in his own. “Not while we don’t know for certain when or if they’ll come. You are the leverage the Axis would use against me if they knew… If they knew how much you mean to me.”
Her breath hitched, but she refused to back down. “And what will you do when they come looking? Fight them off on your own?”
“If that’s what it takes,” Cyprian said simply, his head tilting as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m a dragon, after all.”
Glivar groaned, shaking his head. “Boss, I hate when you get like this. Running headfirst into the fire only works when the flames can’t burn you.”
Cyprian glanced at his assistant, his lips curling into a grim smile. “I’ll assess the flames before running through them, Glivar, and I’ll remind you that I have a few of my own. I’ll handle the Axis however I need to.”
“Then let me stay and fight with you,” Fivra implored. “You can’t expect me to just—”
“Absolutely not,” Cyprian cut her off, his tone firm but soft. He stepped closer to her, his wings curving inward to enclose her in a leathery fold. His voice gentled as he spoke, but his words were edged with resolve. “Fivra, I will not let you stay here and risk your life. I’ve seen what the Axis does to those who stand intheir way, and I cannot—will not—allow that to happen to you. If I have to burn this entire station to ash to keep you free of their grasp, I will.”
Her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat. “You can’t mean that—”
“I mean every word.” Cyprian’s hands gripped her shoulders gently but firmly. His silver eyes locked on hers with an intensity that made it impossible to look away. “You will not fall into their hands again. Not while I have air in my lungs and fire in my veins.”
“Why me?” she whispered, trembling under the weight of his fierce gaze. Her inner voice, the one conditioned by years of submission and survival, whispered that his resolve to protect her was dangerous—not just for her, but for him. “Cyprian, I’m just a—”
“You don’t get to decide what you are to me,” he interrupted, his thumb brushing along the line of her jaw, chasing away the tears that threatened to spill. “You are mine, Fivra. I felt the pull of it the moment you looked up at me, right there.” He pointed to the spot on the floor where she’d been when they’d first met. She’d been so afraid, so empty of hope. “My dragon fire burns for you. You may not see it, you may not believe it, but I do. That’s enough.”
Her heart squeezed painfully at his words, the raw emotion she heard in his voice a contrast to the impenetrable strength he exuded. “What about thecourtias? Can they be trusted to keep this secret?”
“Most of them, yes,” Cyprian replied. “Courtiasare excellent at discretion, but they have a price, of course. We’ll come up with a story for them, if they become curious. The fewer who are aware that you are a Terian the Axis is seeking, the less chance there is of information leaking to the Axis.” His claws had extended. They gently grazed the fabric of her dress where hisfingers rested. “It’s the best option for now, and temporary, until I’m certain you’re safe.”
“And where will you send me?” she asked, her voice tight, torn between despair and anger. “Do you have a secret place where the Axis can’t find me? Or anyone else?”
Cyprian glanced at Glivar. “There’s an old contact I have from my early days here,” he explained. “Kaelen. He was an old client who used to come in to see this onecourtia. He’s a smuggler, a revolutionary in his own way. He runs an outpost operating outside the Axis’ surveillance systems.”
“Outpost?” Fivra tilted her head uncertainly, her soft voice carrying her curiosity and unease. “What kind of outpost?”
Cyprian hesitated for a moment, his wings twitching slightly. “It’s…isolated,” he admitted. “Hidden in the frozen reaches of a rogue planet past the edge of Axis-controlled space. Kaelen and his group specialize in shielding fugitives, smuggling supplies, and generally making things difficult for the Axis.”
