He wanted to answer her. He wanted to say that he was sorry, too. That they had both made mistakes, both been fooled by the one man they thought they could trust in this galaxy.

But all Valen could do was take in the sight of the place that was to be his eternal grave.

The interior of Nexus was just as Valen had imagined, much like the hollowed inside of a metallic egg. Curved silver walls arched toward the sky, as far as Valen could see, lined with lights and metallic panels that hummed with life as the satellite booted up, ready to be launched into space. The Exonian godstar symbols glowed across the interior, as if the entire satellite were a shrine to the other world.

Valen saw it for what it truly was now, his head filled with visions of the truth.

A world full of monsters, swirling with eternal darkness.

A world that would destroy Mirabel, and with it, all light and life, Darai leading the charge toward the end of all things.

“I don’t suppose I can change your mind,” Andi said, as the guards hauled her forward after Darai. Her voice was so strong, so calm in this moment. “You don’t seem like a man who is easily threatened.”

Valen regretted every betrayal he’d committed against her now. For she would likely die as well when Darai was done with her, after he’d taken away her title and her power over the weapons network.

Darai didn’t answer, and so Valen continued to take in the full scope of the space.

Jutting out from the panels overhead were massive tubes flowing with what looked like liquid starlight. The Zenith virus, full of Valen’s DNA, full of his compulsion power that Aclisia had so flawlessly replicated. He followed those tubes with his eyes, numb to the horror of what was to come. They trailed from the walls like the very veins of the satellite, twisting until they formed one thick cord that led down to the center of the space, where a metal pod, much like the med bay healing pods he’d seen on starships, sat waiting.

The pod door was ajar, a light inside revealing the throne Darai had spoken of.

It would be his prison for all eternity, a coffin that would never be buried beneath the ground, but instead, cast out into the stars.

And there Valen would forever remain.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice asked. Aclisia and Darai came out from behind the pod, Aclisia’s two heads focused on the group. The left head smiled from ear to ear, while the right head spoke excitedly. “You’ve come just in time. We’ve completed our work, and now we’ll finally see the fruits of our labor!”