Page 80 of Shielded in the Shadows

The Aiphelevia was very much a city unto itself, with the main arena at its heart. Surrounding it on three sides were training facilities, barracks for fighters and staff who lived on-site, the bestiary, and a dozen other buildings. One of those contained the luxurious apartments given to the arena’s senior officials, including the Beastmaster.

Once on the arena grounds, employees fanned out to nearby structures depending on their assigned duties. We joined the group headed to Orqiel’s building and gained entry by once again successfully scanning our identity chips.

Perhaps Lumos’s smug superiority had some justification after all.

Still, despite the advanced tech and amenities aboard the Vespira, I much preferred Siber and the Nivilus. In fact, I missed them both—even my too-small bunk in my minuscule crew cabin. It was very strange to miss a place. As far as I could recall, I hadn’t missed any ship, station, or planet since I’d left Fortusia at the age of eighteen standard years to begin my GAIS training.

Keela was my home and would be until my hearts ceased to beat, but I had begun to think of the Nivilus as home as well. For a male who’d been without a place to belong for many, many years, it was a most welcome feeling.

One I would protect with my life.

With a little laugh for the benefit of surveillance, Keela drew me into an alcove in a deserted corridor. She put her back to the wall, tugged my face close to hers, and wrapped her leg around mine. To anyone watching or passing by, we appeared to be nothing more than mates enjoying a romantic interlude.

The building was spotlessly clean, as I would have expected for the residence of most of the Aiphelevia’s highest ranked officials. Once past the entrance, even the air was purified to keep out the stink of the streets and the smells of the arena complex. I knew from studying the schematics that we were a mere hundred meters from the entrance to a tunnel that led directly to the bestiary, but not even my sensitive nose could detect a trace of its inhabitants. Another tunnel farther away led to the training areas and fighter barracks.

Once they entered this building, those who lived here did not have to smell or see the suffering elsewhere in the complex. Had it been the same at the arena on Ganai where Keela had grown up? Probably so. The name of the planet could change and the color of the sand might be different, but everything else remained the same.

I lowered my forehead to Keela’s and breathed in her luscious scent to replace the too-clean air in my lungs. She smelled of me now, and I of her, thanks to our matings and how we’d slept in each other’s arms these past few days. Her scent did more to focus me than all my training and field work combined.

More than my star, she was my universe—and by all the gods above and below I would spend the rest of my days proving it.

“Scan?” I murmured.

With her arm hidden between us, she showed me the screen of her slim wristcomm—a new model provided by Byx because it was already integrated with the Vespira’s AI. The green light confirmed the presence of a Ganaian male on the third floor of this building, right where we’d expected to find him.

“He’s there,” she murmured. “Alone. No other biosignatures detected.”

“Good.” I touched her gloved hand, wishing I could caress her bare skin instead. “Lead on, Captain.”

She gave me a tight nod and stepped back into the corridor.

Unlike the fighters’ barracks and the staff residences, which were lively at all hours, the halls of this wing were almost entirely deserted. The night’s bouts had already concluded. Our intel had indicated Orqiel’s work schedule began early in the morning and ended after the beast fights, which took place after the sparring demonstrations but before the premier bouts. Data from his door scanner had indicated he was almost always in his quarters by this time. Tonight was apparently not an exception.

From a supply room, Keela obtained an antigrav cart stocked with bathing supplies such as enormous lush towels, oils, cleansers, and fur conditioners. I followed her and the cart up a grand spiraling walkway to the third level, trading nods and greetings with the employees we passed. With the employees focused on their own tasks and the few residents in the halls in various states of post-fight inebriation, we attracted very little notice. All but one of the residents looked right through us. The only one who paid attention was a Thurroth who leered at Keela but reconsidered his behavior and scuttled in the opposite direction when I growled.

According to our schematics, our target lived in the largest set of rooms on this level, a corner apartment with a view of an outdoor training yard. Without hesitation, Keela strode directly to the door of Orqiel’s quarters.

Through our bond, I sensed almost perfect calm from my mate. If she feared this male or the horrors he represented, she was very adept at crushing those feelings under disciplined focus as sharp as any blade in her weapons cache.

With her body blocking the view of the surveillance drone in the corridor, I raised my gloved hand over the scanner beside the door. The mechanism was familiar. A simple manipulation of circuits and the door slid aside soundlessly.

With the cart in tow, we slipped into the darkened room beyond. The door closed behind us.

A luxurious living and entertaining area took up nearly half Orqiel’s residence. It included a large sitting area, a magnificent and spotless kitchen that showed no signs of having been used, and a dining room.

A dimly lit corridor to our right led to additional rooms. From one of them came a low, rumbling noise. A snore.

As Keela checked her scan again to confirm our target was alone and asleep, I reached out with all my senses, including my ability to feel energy fields and circuits, seeking any indication of sensors or alarms that would be tripped by movement. I sensed nothing.

Keela touched my hand. “Shadow,” she murmured.

I gripped her fingers for a moment in a silent promise to have her back, and then I quickly removed all my weapons and set them aside before kneeling.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let go of my physical form.

Unlike in the bar on Ghira Station when necessity forced an abrupt and disorienting transition, I slipped into my shadow form as easily as exhaling. Bodily awareness gave way to totally different and yet familiar sensations. My senses changed—some becoming sharper, others more muted. And through it all my mate’s presence was steadfast beside me, the anchor I’d never known how much I wanted or needed until this mission.

Quickly and silently, Keela gathered my clothing and put it with my weapons on one of the sofas. Unable to resist touching her, I approached and caressed her face through the biomask. She leaned into my shadowy hand, her eyes closing briefly despite our precarious situation.