But he didn’twantto.
He stormed off, returning to his quarters.There had to be a way.He had her location, but he suspected Ariez had moved her somewhere else.The medic couldn’t keep her locked up and undergoing pointless tests, not without putting her to sleep or notifying Kanzo.Cylo squared his shoulders.He wasn’t about to run to the adviser with complaints.For all he knew, Ariez would only keep her hidden for a few hours, and Cylo didn’t want to look like a fool or, worse, weak.He sank into a comfy and stared out the glass panels at the garden outside.So picturesque but its beauty didn’t matter.Not without Wren beside him.He raised his chin to the ceiling, his jaw clenched, his muscles tense.His fingers toyed with the bracelet she’d made for him, the only proof he had that she existed.
He’d rest now because if he didn’t hear from Ariez or Wren by evening meal, he’d come up with a plan.Darkness suited him for what he might need to do.
Issneen, the Royal City of Etteria
Days Later
“OperationsCommanderMaloetDaro,” Cylo said into the display vid.It flickered, but no face appeared.Was everything going to go wrong this day?“Data officer on duty?”
“He is not taking any comms,” a male said.
Cylo grunted.“Elite Warrior Garix et Orix.”An image appeared of Garix eating what looked like a stick of meat.“Why can I not reach Malo?”
The giant of an Etterian grinned.“This mission has been incredible, Cylo.Malo found his Dar Eth.”
Joy exploded like a supernova and twinged fresh agony in Cylo’s darkening soul.“Truth?”he managed, rubbing his chest to ease the ache.
“Why do you seek him?”Garix asked, bringing his face closer to his O.D.I.
“To inform him that I cannot yet return to theGladio.”Cylo grimaced.
Which he should’ve done days ago since arriving in Issneen, but he’d been busy, searching for his Wren.So far, none of the quarters in the medical building housed her.No one had seen her either.And Ariez had stopped taking his comms.A glance at the wall of display vids showed nothing.So many sec cams wasted.It was that or watch the entrance himself, but he’d approached this as a mission, unable to guard all the doors in and out of the building.A sensor at her supposed room had revealed no movement or heat signatures.He hadn’t picked up her scent on his scouting trips, best done at night when the building wasn’t so busy.
“His Dar Eth just came out in a revealing garment while he was on the comm with Prince Enyl.”
A memory of Wren in her dress bolted across Cylo’s mind.A crushing weight squeezed his chest, and he struggled to breathe.“Inform him of my status,” he said when he realized he’d yet to answer.
“Very well.”Garix’s image faded to black.
Breaking into the data analysis office hadn’t helped, other than to give Cylo full access to everything.He’d simply changed his designation to security which he’d used to enter Wren’s supposed quarters.She hadn’t been there.Nothing was out of place, and her scent hadn’t lingered.
A sweeping glance at his room reminded Cylo how near yet far from Wren he was.He sank into the comfy and stared unseeingly at the vids.Was this his life now?So devoid of color?The loss of her had grown almost too heavy to bear.He poked his void and scowled at its expanding mass, returning to its oppressiveness prior to Iphara.That wasn’t a good sign.
When he tried to sleep during the day, thoughts of her plagued him: her smile, charm, sweet scent, soft lips… Which was why he was awake at dawn after yet another futile search.He raised his wrist to eye level and stroked the bracelet she’d given him.
If he could just hear her voice one more time…
Prepared to beg Kanzo for help, he lunged for the door, desperate to hold her.His body shook with the compulsion.But where was she?
Throwing himself against the bulkhead, he slid down it until he was on his haunches.He activated his O.D.I.“Medic-on-duty, do you have time to assess me?”
If the male did, Cylo might catch a glimpse of Wren in a med-E.D.Hope blossomed like the birthing of a star when it was stupid to expect anything.
“Of course, warrior.How may I assist?”
“Review Medic Qaff’s findings for Operative Cylo et Endylo.”He deactivated the comm and scowled at his workbench where mangled strips of metal were his attempts at blade smithing—each one a failure.
What was he going to do?Dying on a battlefield on Gikaet was no longer possible, not with King Xeus forming an alliance with the Gika.Rebels were fighting the changes to the status quo, so there was a slim chance he could find a way.His fingers twitched with the urge to hold his greatsword.He could traverse the underground passages to hunt down the Gika.
A dismal future awaited him, but the thought of leaving Etteria… No, never holding Wren again drove a red-hot poker through his heart.He couldn’t force himself to abandon her.One week, they’d agreed.It had been three days.Time stretched before him like a desert without a spark of life.
“Head to medical,” the medic said via the O.D.I.
Cylo sprinted but skidded to a halt when he entered.The medic waited beside a med-E.D.—the only one soon to be in use.
“Is it always this quiet?”Cylo asked, throwing himself onto the bed.
