Chapter 64: Saving Kane

Evelyn smiled.
Vykhor growled softly.
“We’re going to have to be more discreet…”

He looked at her, long and hard.
“But if we pull him out, he stays. With us. You hear me, My’Lari? That kid becomes our problem. Not a passenger. Not temporary.”

She nodded again. More solemnly this time.
Because deep down, Evelyn already knew.

Zeynn was going to change their lives.

**A Little Off the Beaten Path — Edge of the Black Market**

They had left the cage zone and leaned against a wall lined with old piping, dimly lit by flickering neon strips. The muffled noise of the market—the vendors’ shouts, the rattle of chains—seemed to fade for a moment, swallowed by silence.

Evelyn stood with her arms crossed, eyes fixed on an invisible point on the ground. Vykhor scanned the surroundings with his usual vigilance, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Centered on her. Always.

“You sure about this?” he finally asked, his deep voice breaking the silence.

She nodded without looking up. “I am.”

“You know what that means. This kid… he’s not just a rescue. He’s a storm. In our already fragile balance.”

“He deserves better.”

Vykhor stared at her. “And you think we can give him better?”

She finally raised her eyes. “I think we can give him a future. Like you gave me mine.”

Her words struck. Deep.

He didn’t react right away. But in the calm of his golden eyes, a quiet storm gathered.

He looked away slightly. “I didn’t give you anything, Evelyn. I kept you close. For reasons far more selfish than you think.”

She smiled gently. “Maybe. But it was enough.”

A pause. Heavy.
Then Vykhor reached out, drawing her in, resting his forehead against hers. A rare gesture. Precious. Intimate.

“You’re not alone anymore. I’ll never let you be alone again. Even when you charge into a black market headfirst to save a kid you don’t even know.”

“I’m a lost cause, huh?”

“Completely.”

He brushed her cheek, then let his hand fall.

“We go back. We plan. We strike fast and hard. And if Kane is behind this…”

He didn’t finish.

He didn’t need to.

Evelyn already knew the rest.

She placed her hand over his. “Then we strike together.”

Vykhor nodded slowly.

And for the first time since this mission began, he had no hesitation left.

They were ready.

**Lower Level — Abandoned Tech Sector**

The corridors were dim, lit only by flickering overhead lamps, trembling with the distant pulse of the bustling market. Evelyn knelt in front of an old terminal, her fingers gliding over the controls with surgical precision. Blue stood beside her, silent, eyes locked on the shadows ahead, ready to pounce.

Vykhor, crouched a few meters away, examined a projected map from his wrist. It detailed the cages, guards, and security routes. Evelyn’s recon had been thorough, as always. Zeynn was held in a secured room behind two reinforced doors, far from the public zone. Too far. Too isolated. It reeked of a trap.

“I’ve accessed their local network,” Evelyn whispered. “The locks are encrypted, but I’ve seen worse. I can kill the cameras in this hallway and manually override the door systems.”

“How long?” Vykhor asked.

“One minute for the systems. Thirty seconds for the cell. If everything goes right.”

“Nothing ever goes right.” He stood, checked his prosthetic, and drew a sidearm—not his rifle. He wanted to stay silent. Precise.

Evelyn nodded. She knew. But this time, the adrenaline wasn’t laced with fear. She was focused. Resolved.

Blue let out a low growl. Something… was coming.

“Now,” she said.

They moved like shadows.

Down the hallways, Evelyn’s portable terminal deactivated one camera after another. Vykhor neutralized two guards with swift, silent precision.

Then… the door.

Zeynn was curled in a corner, staring up at them with wary eyes. Evelyn stepped forward first, her movements slow and open.

“Zeynn. We’re here for you.”

The young Nytherian watched her. He understood. Somehow, this woman—she was who he’d been waiting for, without knowing it. He stood, still cautious, and held out his hand.

And just as Evelyn touched his—

BOOM.

The lights went out.

Security shutters slammed down.

The walls vibrated.

A voice rang out through hidden speakers. Familiar. Contemptuous.

“Vykhor Kael’seth. Evelyn Ashcroft. You’re so predictable.”

A red light flickered in the corner. A camera lens.

Kane.

“Welcome to the Gorgone. This time, I hold the cards.”

**Gorgone’s Lower Level — Improvised Arena**

The cages had been pushed back. Holographic torches lit the room. A crowd had gathered—hooded silhouettes, criminals, buyers, traffickers. Silent. Watching.

Kane removed his jacket, revealing a torso covered in scars and embedded combat plates. His eyes blazed with barely contained rage.

“I had you locked in a human cell, Kael’tarien,” he growled, stepping forward. “And here you are. Stronger. Deadlier. More arrogant than ever.”

Vykhor removed his gloves slowly, set them down. His right arm—fully prosthetic—glowed faintly with blue light.

“You never should’ve laid a hand on her, Kane.”

They lunged.

The impact shook the floor.

Kane was fast. Brutal. He fought like a man cornered, ready to die if it meant taking his enemy with him. But Vykhor… was something else. A predator forged by war. A survivor. A fallen prince turned legend in the galaxy’s darkest corners.

The fight became a savage ballet. Vykhor took a hit to the ribs, sidestepped, and landed a crushing blow to Kane’s chest with his prosthetic fist. Kane stumbled back, gasping, blood at his lips. His eyes blurred.

“You’re not the man from the base anymore,” he hissed. “You’ve become… something else.”

“You have no idea what I’ve lost,” Vykhor murmured. “Or what I’ve found.”

He raised his arm, ready for the killing blow—

“No!”

Evelyn’s voice sliced through the air, sharp and raw. She ran forward, placing herself between them. Her blue eyes, burning with fierce emotion, locked onto Vykhor’s.

“You don’t need to kill him. I can save him.”

Vykhor froze.

His fist trembled.

Kane was at his mercy.

But Evelyn…

She was there. Standing. Unshaken. His anchor. His My’Lari.

He stepped back.

Evelyn knelt by Kane, now collapsed to his knees. A vein ruptured in his chest—he had only minutes. Her hands moved quickly, accessing her wrist tools, pulling stabilizer injectors.

“Don’t move,” she whispered. “This isn’t for you. It’s for me. I refuse to become what they wanted me to be. A weapon.”

Kane looked at her, stunned.

She was saving him.

Her.

And as he slipped into unconsciousness, he murmured:

“You’re… not a lab rat anymore.”

Then nothing.

Zeynn, who had watched everything from the shadows, said nothing.

But his eyes flicked between Vykhor—merciless—and Evelyn—brilliant, human, untouchable.

And in the silence that followed, he knew:

Nothing would ever be the same again.