And that anger was back again. Hideous, like a venomous snake that hissed from within. She could feel it uncoiling in her mind, ready to strike. So suddenly, it had come over her.

“Command your soldiers to shoot her, and be done with it,” Darai told Nor.

But Klaren reached down and pressed a button on her armor, revealing a gun inside a hidden compartment. When she lifted it, Nor expected her to aim at Darai.

But she aimed the gun at Androma’s head instead, pressing the barrel against the girl’s pale temple.

“No!” the Tenebran Guardian behind them shouted.

“If she dies, the Void will never be opened,” Klaren said. “As General of Arcardius, you need her to access the weapons network, Darai. Without the nuclear arsenal, your plan is doomed to fail. But I’ll keep her alive if you set my children free. Send them to my side. Give them back their minds.”

“It’s too late,” Darai snarled. “You failed me, Klaren. Not once, but twice. And I am not foolish enough to buy into this. You won’t harm the girl, because you are in league with her. Because you need that weapons network to fight back against me, too. I saw it the moment you landed, and I planned ahead.” He looked to Valen. “Command the guards to shoot Androma’s crew.”

“Valen, no. You do not take orders from Darai,” Nor protested.

But her brother wasn’t listening. He swayed on his feet, blood dripping from his nostrils as he closed his eyes.

Behind him, the soldiers aimed their rifles as they felt his command in their minds.

“No!” Androma called out this time. She lifted her hands over her head in surrender, the magnacuffs coming loose. False ones, then. “No. I will go with you. Leave them out of this. Just take me. Take me and be done with it.”

Darai smiled. “So typical, these Mirabellians who love so deeply.” He held out a hand. “Come forth, Androma. Come forth and hand over your title.”

Androma stepped forward, eyes blazing. Behind her, her crew cried out, begging her to stop. But she didn’t look back as she crossed the space, joining Nor’s side.

“My crew walks free,” Androma said, fire in her eyes as a guard came forward and locked her wrists in real magnacuffs, sealing them tight. “Swear it.”

Darai nodded. “A deal is a deal.”

Fear trickled into Nor’s mind, trying to pick away at the anger. What was happening? She’d just stood idly by. She’d just watched, without saying a word. She had what she wanted, but why did that suddenly feel so wrong?

“Darai,” Nor started. “You need to remember your place.”

“I have remembered it,” he said. “And now you will remember it, too.”