Chapter 2 2

The very next day, he and his daughter, Cyra Riot, arrived with ten warships and two hundred soldiers.

Which was just in time, because twenty-one hours after that, three Dominion fighter ships arrived, and the war began.

We won. Vastly outnumbering Dominion, we took down the ships, and there were no survivors. We didn't lose a single life, didn't damage a single ship.

But we knew it wouldn't stay that way.

Two weeks later, we got another transmission from two Dominion Commanders, Harp and Andreas. They heard our story on The Black Hole of Truth, and they wanted to join us. Bought as child slaves from a planet on the edge of the galaxy, they had only been looking for a reason to turn against Cyrillius.

They brought with them six fighter ships and thirty-six soldiers.

Two days after they arrived, Dominion hit us with six ships.

Again we won.

Dominion's army is scattered throughout the entire galaxy. They're stationed on planets in every Sector, or out in space. So they came in waves, arriving only because they were already close.

Space is a big place.

We knew at some point we would have to defend ourselves against an entire fleet, or perhaps even The Dominion itself. Cyrillius would send everything he has after us.

But we'd had time.

One lunar after being on Kaelea, a madman hailed us. He gave no story. No history. Only his name-Raze 51, and said he wanted to take down as much Dominion scum as he could before his days ran out.

He still hasn't even touched down on the planet. This entire time he's been up in orbit, fighting every moment he can, and seemingly loving every second of it.

We're small. We're a tiny, miniscule dot against the mass that is Dominion. But we're starting the revolution. We're slapping the water, reversing the tide.

Our days are full of plotting. Full of communication. Every morning, within an hour of the sun rising, we connect with Arden Black and give a report. Of how we've grown. Of how many Dominion ships we've taken out. And she gives the report of what she's learned, what others have called in to her.

I never like what we hear.

That Isroth is abuzz with activity. That dozens of ships have lifted off the planet and are headed our way.

But worst of all, no one has seen any signs of the Nero child.

I considered that maybe Cyrillius made it up, used it to try and draw us out.

But we can't take that chance that it's fake.

With the morning report and decisions made, we disband, each headed where they're needed to get slag done. Together, Valen and I head out of the cave and down the hillside.

"They still don't trust me," Valen says when we're clean out of earshot of anyone who might be around.

"What?" I say, my eyes snapping to him. I nearly trip over a ball of roots.

"Open your eyes, Nova," Valen says, staring straight ahead, hard lines creasing between his brows. "They can hardly look at me. They rarely address me directly. I hear them talking as I leave. They have plans in place if they think I'm spying. They think they can take me out."

I stop in my tracks, my mouth agape as I watch Valen take three more steps past me. When he stops and turns back to me, I see the hard, dark look in his expression.

"What..." I stagger over words. "They don't... What are you talking about?"

He just stares at me for a moment, reading my reaction. "You really don't see any of it, do you?"

"Valen, I-"

"I knew this wouldn't be easy," Valen says, looking away. "Somehow you see something different in me, Nova. You see some kind of potential. But even I doubt myself at times. Nearly twenty solars of mental manipulation was undone thanks to you, but that doesn't mean any of this feels natural. There's still this snake that lives in my stomach that misses the power. The satisfaction of doing what I want. Of being someone people feared."

My eyes widen and I shake my head.

I hate all the words Valen is saying right now.

But that door between our minds is always open at least a little and I feel his struggle. I feel Valen's true meaning.