SERA
They're fighting over me like I'm a piece of furniture.
I sit in the formal audience chamber watching Director Marr and Kael argue about my future like I'm not even here. Like I don't get a say in what happens to my own life.
"The princess needs proper protection," Marr says for the third time. Her voice is all fake concern. "Colonial council custody ensures she's safe among her own people."
"Your colony was breached once already." Kael's voice is cold. Controlled. But I can feel his anger through the bond. "Security is clearly inadequate."
"That was an isolated incident."
"That was a warning." He leans forward and even sitting down he's intimidating. "Every faction in this sector now knows she exists. The marks made her visible to everyone. Assassins. Bounty hunters. Species that want leverage over humanity or the Draev'kyn. They're all coming."
Marr's jaw tightens. "Which is why she needs to remain in council protection. Familiar surroundings. Human leadership."
"Human leadership that kept her hidden for five years like a dirty secret." Kael's amber eyes flash. "She deserves better."
"And you think your warship is better?" Marr stands up. "She's eighteen. Bonded to a predator species she barely knows. This isn't protection, it's kidnapping."
"I'm not kidnapping anyone." Kael rises too and suddenly the room feels too small. "I'm offering safety. Real safety. My ship. My warriors. Resources to keep her alive."
"At what cost?" Marr's voice turns sharp. "She goes with you and humanity loses its last royal heir to alien control."
"I don't want control."
"Don't you?" Marr pulls up documents on the viewscreen. "Draev'kyn law is very clear. Bonded mates share all titles and territories. The moment she accepts your bond, you become King Consort of Earth's royal bloodline. How convenient."
The accusation hangs in the air like poison.
Kael's expression turns dangerous. "That's not why I want her."
"Isn't it?" Marr presses. "You arrive looking for the heir. The bond conveniently appears. Now you're positioned to control what's left of humanity through marriage."
I watch Kael's face. Watch him struggle to find words that will make Marr believe him. Through the bond I feel his frustration. His desperation to make everyone understand this isn't political.
But doubt creeps in anyway. Because what Marr said is true. The law exists. The power transfer would happen.
Did he know? Before the marks appeared, did he know what bonding me would mean?
"The bond doesn't work like that," Kael says. His voice is tight. "It's sacred. Not strategic."
"Everything is strategic," Marr shoots back. "Especially when it involves royalty and power."
They keep arguing. Back and forth. Debating my future like I'm not sitting right here. Like my opinion doesn't matter. Like I'm just a prize to be won or a weapon to be controlled.
The rage builds in my chest. Slow at first. Then faster. Hotter.
I spent five years being nobody. Being invisible. Making myself small so people wouldn't notice me or use me or turn me into something I'm not.
And now here I am sitting in a formal audience while two powerful people fight over who gets to own me next.
Marr says something about legal frameworks. Kael responds with something about Draev'kyn honor. Their voices get louder. More heated.
The rage keeps building. Pressure in my chest that wants out. Needs out.
"She'll remain in council custody until proper negotiations are complete," Marr declares.
"She'll come with me where she's actually safe," Kael counters.
"Over my dead body."
"That can be arranged."
The threat in Kael's voice is clear. Real. Director Marr's security guards shift nervously. This is about to turn violent.
And I'm still sitting here like furniture.
Something inside me snaps.
"ENOUGH."
The word cracks through the room like thunder. My voice sounds wrong. Too loud. Too powerful. Like it's coming from somewhere deeper than my throat.
Everyone freezes.
The air around me shimmers. Actually shimmers like heat waves rising off pavement. Pressure builds in the space. Making it hard to breathe. Making the lights flicker.
What is this. What's happening.
I stand up and the shimmering follows me. Spreads out from my body like ripples on water. The marks on my collarbone burn bright silver. Brighter than they've ever been.
Marr takes a step back. Her guards reach for weapons but don't draw them. Like they're not sure what they're facing.
Kael stares at me with something like awe in his amber eyes.
"I'm not cargo," I say. My voice still sounds strange. Layered. Like two people speaking at once. "I'm not a bargaining chip. I'm not property to be fought over or traded or controlled."
The pressure in the room grows stronger. A guard's datapad sparks and dies. The viewscreen flickers.
"I'm a person." I look at Marr. Then at Kael. "And I'm done being treated like I don't matter."
Silence. Complete silence except for the hum of failing electronics.
Then Kael does something I don't expect. He bows his head. Actually bows like I'm royalty and he's paying respect.
"You're right," he says quietly. "I apologize. This is your choice. Not mine. Not Director Marr's. Yours."
The sincerity in his voice cuts through my anger. Through the bond I feel his regret. His shame at fighting over me instead of asking what I wanted.
He means it. He's actually giving me choice.
The pressure in the room eases slightly. The shimmering fades. My marks dim back to their normal glow.
Whatever just happened, it's responding to my emotions. Getting stronger when I'm angry. Calming when I calm down.
I file that information away for later. Right now I need to make a decision.
"What do you want from me?" I ask Kael directly.
He lifts his head. Meets my eyes. "I want you safe. That's all. Safe and alive and not hunted by every faction in the galaxy."
"And the bond?"
Pain flashes across his face. "I want you to accept it. Eventually. When you're ready. But not because you're forced. Not because you have no other choice." He straightens. "So I'm asking. What do you choose?"
The question is simple. The answer isn't.
Stay on the colony where I'm familiar. Where I have Lyris and my quarters and five years of careful hiding. Except Marr will use me. Will sell me to whoever offers the best deal. And the colony already proved it's not secure when those marks appeared.
Or go with Kael. To his warship full of alien warriors. Accept his protection. Trust a male whose species failed Earth when we needed them most.
Both options terrify me.
But one of them comes with a warlord who just bowed to me. Who gave me choice when he could have just taken what he wanted.
I look at him. Really look. See the tension in his massive frame. The way he's holding himself so carefully. Waiting for my answer like it's the most important thing in his world.
Through the bond I feel his hope. His fear that I'll reject him again. His absolute determination to protect me either way.
He means it. Everything he said. He actually means it.
"I stay on the colony," I say.
His hope crashes. I feel it through the bond like a physical blow.
"You leave," I continue. "Go back to your ship. We figure out the bond situation later when I've had time to think."
Kael's jaw clenches. Every muscle in his body is tense. Through the bond his emotions war between respecting my choice and wanting to argue. Wanting to convince me his ship is safer.
But he doesn't argue.
"One condition," he says finally.
"What?"
"You accept a security detail. My warriors. Stationed at the colony perimeter. Not inside. Not watching you constantly. Just present. Ready if something happens."
It's reasonable. More reasonable than I expected.
"Fine."
Relief floods through the bond. Not happiness. He's not happy with my choice. But relief that I'm accepting some protection at least.
Director Marr looks furious. This isn't the outcome she wanted. She wanted control. Wanted to keep me locked down under council authority.
Instead I just chose neither option completely. Stayed on the colony but accepted alien protection. Split the difference.
It's not perfect. But it's mine.
Kael bows again. Formal. Respectful. "I'll have my warriors in position by nightfall. If you need anything, call. The bond will make sure I hear."
Then he leaves. Commander Thaan follows him. The door closes and suddenly the room feels emptier. Colder.
Through the bond I feel Kael's anguish. His fear for my safety. His desperate wish that I'd chosen differently.
But I didn't. I chose what I could handle. What felt right.
Marr glares at me. "You just made a serious mistake."
"Maybe," I say. "But it was my mistake to make."
I leave before she can respond. Walk back to my quarters feeling drained. The power that surged through me during the argument is gone now. Left me exhausted.
I collapse on my bed still wearing the formal dress. Close my eyes. Try to process everything that just happened.
The bond hums in the background. Connecting me to a warlord somewhere on his ship. Probably furious that I rejected his protection. Probably planning ways to convince me otherwise.
But for now I'm alone. In my own quarters. Making my own choices.
It feels like victory.
It feels terrifying.
I drift toward sleep still feeling Kael through the bond. His worry. His constant monitoring of threats. His absolute focus on keeping me safe from a distance since I won't let him do it up close.
Sleep takes me under slowly. Finally. After the longest day of my life.
I dream of silver marks and amber eyes and a male who says I'm everything.
Then I wake to screaming.
Plasma fire lights up my window. Red emergency sirens wail through the colony. People running in the corridors outside. Shouting. Crying.
I bolt upright. My door shudders. Something is trying to break through.
The lock fails. The door crashes open.
Three figures pour into my quarters. Not human. Insectoid. Chitinous armor. Weapons raised. Eyes that reflect light like a predator's.
Zha'thik.
One of them points its weapon directly at my face.
And through the bond I feel Kael's absolute terror from kilometers away.