Chapter 15

Two days later

"Liz, are you okay?" Isabel asked for the seventh time.
Liz swallowed back the nausea rising in her throat and forced herself to nod. "Yes," she said hoarsely. "I'm just fine."
She could feel Isabel's eyes regarding her with disbelief. Isabel didn't believe her and truth be told, she didn't believe it herself either. She had tried to not acknowledge the nausea and the dizzy spells, but they were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Fear was building inside of her that her previous condition had returned. When she had been so sick that she had barely been able to get through the day. Before Max and she made love and the connection opened again.

She forcefully forced the overwhelming nausea down. She couldn't get sick. Not now.
"Liz," Isabel said, the warning note to her tone making Liz look up at her, "I promised Max to make sure you were safe. And you getting sick isn't going to make him any happier. Don't try to fool me. I can see that something is wrong."
Liz met Isabel's gaze head on. "It's nothing. I'm just worried about Max." Her eyes dropped and she added quietly, "And Emma."

"Liz, I'm sorry," Isabel said regretfully, "I didn't mean to...You just look so pale. Maybe you should sit down for a second."
"Isabel," Liz said firmly, "Stop it, okay? I appreciate that you are trying to look out for me and all, but fussing over me is not your highest priority-"
"According to Max it is," Isabel interrupted.
"Well, Max isn't here right now, is he? Besides, we both know that even though Max would never admit it, he needs help. I cannot leave him to fight for himself."
Isabel shook her head, the determination in Liz's eyes scaring her. "Liz... You aren't thinking about-"
Liz turned away from looking through the bushes and met Isabel's anxious eyes. "Max wants me to stay away because that's the only way he can keep me safe. And I would comply with his wishes, if it weren't for the fact that he is risking his life out there! How can I just sit here and wait to see if he makes it back alive or not, when he wouldn't be able to do the same thing if it were me out there? And you... You have valuable powers, Isabel. We can help him. He needs all the help he can get."
Isabel looked at her with a mixture of fear and trepidation. "Liz, we can't do this! I know that Max probably needs more help than he admits, but we are not prepared to get out there-"
"We aren't just going to run out in the middle of everything," Liz said, "We are going to stay in the shadows and if they need our help, we will be there. If they are handling it on their own, we just stay away..."

Isabel shook her head slowly. "I think this is a really bad idea, Liz."
Liz surprised her by stepping up to her and taking both her hands in hers. "Iz, please," she pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion. "I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen."
"How do you...?" Isabel stuttered.
"I just know," Liz said, her teary and fearful eyes hitting something deep within Isabel. There was something about Liz in that moment that told Isabel that it was in fact a question of life and death if she listened to Liz or not.
"Did you have a premonition?" Isabel asked, thinking back to the time when Liz had ended up almost dying in the bathroom of that warehouse because she'd had a vision of the future.

A future filled with death.

"No, I can't explain it. It's a… feeling," Liz said slowly.
Isabel regarded her closely before answering her with a whisper, "Okay." She desperately hoped that she wasn't going to regret her decision.
"Thank you," Liz whispered.
Isabel nodded and pushed some errant wisps of her blonde hair behind her ears. "Okay, we need a plan."

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*You okay?*
*Yes. How many are there?*
*Twenty, thirty.*
Pause.
*That's a lot.*
*Serena, we can make this. We have been preparing for this all our lives.*
*This is really it, isn't it?*
*Yes.*
*Then why does it feel like something is about to go terribly wrong?*
*Nothing's going to go wrong. We are prepared for this. We have trained for every possible scenario. Just stay levelheaded and calm.*
*Right.*
*And no telepathic communication from now on.*
*Got it.*
*Serena...*
*What is it, Aldonis?*
*Be careful.*
Pause.
*I will. Besides, we still have that house to build, remember?*
She could hear the smile on his voice as he answered, *Nothing could make me forget.*
*I can see His Highness now.*
*All right. This is it. Rena, see you later.*
*Yes...*

Serena turned around to see Max walking towards her, his steps cautious and as silent as they could be against the stone ground.
"Ready?" she asked somewhat breathlessly.
"Where's Emma?" Max asked in a hushed tone as he came closer.
Serena pointed towards one of the windows in the large building towering up in front of them. "In there. At least, that's where she was the last time I met her."
"What if they've moved her," Max asked.
"Then we have a problem," Serena watched Max's face fall slightly, even if he was trying very hard to hide the fear, and she hurried to reassure him, "But, not too big of a problem. We just have to change the plans slightly. It will take some more time. We would have to find her new location. But we'll manage. According to the schedule I was informed of, she should be in her room tonight."
A shadow fell over Max's face. "Have you met her since they took her to the laboratory?"
Serena shook her head in negative. "There has been no time."
She didn't want to tell Max her suspicions about Emma's condition. She hadn't told Max how Emma had been before she had been taken for "examination" and she was truly afraid of what had happened to Emma's fragile mental state after that visit.

She didn't want to upset Max any further. He needed to remain focused on what they were doing. In any other case, she and Aldonis would never let anyone as close emotionally tied to a victim as Max was be the main decision-maker, because it was risky. There were too many emotions in play to keep a clear and focused head. But Max had made it impossible for them to deny his involvement. Also, he had shown that he had the capability to bury his emotions and focus solely on the task at hand. However, even though he seemed stable enough, on the outside, there wasn't room to take the risk of saying anything that could ruin that balance. Everything hung on a thin thread now. Every small detail had to be followed to the letter, or else everything could collapse. There were too many ears listening. Too many eyes looking. Not even their thoughts were secret, if they stood too close to people who were able to read brainwaves. Max, Liz, Michael and Isabel had all been trained to block their thoughts, but if they got close to someone who used their interpretation of brainwaves professionally, they would be in danger because Langolists, as they were called, were very efficient at spotting Antarians who were disloyal in their thoughts to their King. Disloyal to Khivar's reign.

"Twenty minutes?" Max asked.
Serena nodded. "Twenty minutes."
Max took a deep breath as he let his eyes momentarily drift close. Soon.
Soon he might be able to hold Emma in his arms again. Soon he might be able to take her home. To Liz.
"Your High- Max," Serena corrected herself, "Are you all right?"
Max opened his eyes as he nodded and answered with fierce determination, "Yes."
His fists clenched as he looked up on the large building. He was so close, yet so far away from his daughter.
"Let's go over the plan again," he said, pushing his emotions back to the back of his head and with a snap he shut the low simmering connection to Liz.

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Liz stumbled as she felt the connection with Max die. It wasn't gradually. It was like a door was slammed shut in her mind.
"Liz?"
Isabel had stopped beside her and her hand was resting on Liz's arm.
"Max..." Liz whispered.
"What?" Isabel asked, her voice filling with dread at Liz's pained whisper.
"He's...he shut me out," Liz said.
"What?"
"The connection. He's blocking me."
"You sure?" Isabel asked. Somehow she had trouble believing that. "Why would he do that?"
Liz stood still, barely breathing as she tried to find Max. Tried to push through his block.
"Has something happened to him?" Isabel voiced her fears when Liz didn't say anything.
"He's... " Liz stuttered. He wouldn't shut her out like this. Why had he shut her out?
"Has he told you that he would do that?" Isabel asked, even though she already knew the answer, because otherwise Liz's reaction would make no sense.
Liz took a hold of Isabel's arm and started to pull at her. "Let's go."
"No, let's stay calm," Isabel said.
Liz looked at her firmly. "I am calm, but I need to know what's going on. We need to find Kira."
"Liz..."
"Isabel," Liz said seriously, "If something happened to Max I would know. But I don't want to feel that. Ever. I have to know that everything's okay."
"You cannot see Max," Isabel said.
"I understand that. That's why I need to see Kira. He has the information I need."
"Okay," Isabel agreed, somewhat reluctantly. She had a suspicion why Max would block his connection to Liz. Because if something did happen to him, he didn't want her to feel it. He didn't want her to live through his death if it came to that. Isabel was pretty sure that Liz knew this too and that Liz wasn't going to allow it.

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Max coughed as he staggered through the thick mist of raspy smoke. His arm bumped into someone and he immediately raised his hand to defend himself.
"Michael?" He let out a sigh of relief when he found the person he had just bumped into to be his life long friend.
"Maxwell, are you okay?"
"Yeah," Max coughed again. Michael rubbed some of the black soot from his face and eyes.
"Where's Serena?"
"I lost her," Max said. "You have any other men here?"
Michael shook his head.
Max looked around him with hasty movements, trying to see anything through the smoke.
"I would try to make the smoke disappear, but that would only exhaust my powers even more," Michael said, voicing Max's exact thoughts. Max wasn't sure when his healing powers might be needed. He had already healed two small wounds on two of their men and healing took a lot of energy. Four hours had passed since the fight had started. The building where Emma was being held was filled with smoke and Max feared that the source of the smoke would be a fire somewhere. He had to get Emma out of here. He could feel the situation quickly slipping out of his control.

"Have you seen any of Khivar's men?" Max asked.
"No," Michael answered, "It's like they've vanished."
This is not good, was Max's immediate thought.
"What do you think they're up to?" Michael asked, voicing Max's concerns.
"I don't know," Max answered, constantly scanning the area around him in a almost fruitless attempt to see through the curtain of smoke surrounding them on all sides. "But Khivar's men are well-trained and many more in numbers than we are. We couldn't possibly have defeated them already."
"Exactly," Michael murmured.
"We have to get Emma," Max said.
"You know where she is?" Michael asked.
"Serena was going to show me the way, but she showed me which window belonged to her from the outside. I think maybe I can find my way."
"In this smoke?" Michael asked. He didn't want to shatter Max's hopes, but from where he was standing, the situation seemed hopeless.

"Are you with me or not?" Max asked, almost sternly. Michael immediately recognized the look on Max's face and nodded mutely.
"Let's get your girl back," he said.
Max felt his heart constrict at the protectiveness he heard in Michael's voice and the need to reopen the connection to Liz and again feel her calmness and reassurance overwhelmed him for a second. But he refused to give in to it. It was safer for Liz if he didn't have the connection open. If someone would be able to plug in on their connection, they would not only discover Max's identity, but also Liz's and what she meant to him. And that would put her in immense danger.

Together, Max and Michael blindly headed down the smoke-filled corridor. Max's hands flew over doors on the sides, trying to feel something. An energy and essence belonging to Emma. If he had the connection to Liz, he might've been able to use the connection she had to Emma to find Emma. But the risk of opening the connection was too great. He would only consider opening it if there were an emergency. That's when he felt it. A soft tickling in his fingertips as his fingers brushed over one of the closed doors.

"Michael!" he cried.
In an instant, Michael was by his side.
"Here," Max said, and without any further communication, Max and Michael fused their powers together to work on opening the highly secured door. It proved to be more difficult than they thought, but suddenly the door slide to the side and blinding white light hit their eyes.
They both squinted in the sudden brightness, Michael putting up a hand to shield his eyes from the light.
"Emma?" Max asked, not even stopping when the light had tried to immobilize him. It took some time for his eyes to become accustomed to the different light, but he didn't let the temporary blindness hamper his search.
"Emma?!" He pushed the bed to the side and his heart lurched up into his throat.

On the floor lay a ball of fragile limbs. Her dark hair was shielding her face, but because of the stark light, it was not difficult to see her trembling from where he was standing. Max's inhaled sharply and then quickly walked up to her, sliding to his knees beside her small frame.
"Emma?" he whispered.
She didn't answer. Didn't even acknowledge his presence. The relief and joy of finally finding her again was quickly being replaced with fear over what had happened to her.
"Baby, it's daddy," Max said softly. He vaguely registered that Michael had knelt beside him. Max reached out with his hand to brush her hair away from her face so that he could see her. His hand quickly recoiled when she jerked back from his touch.
"Max," Michael said impatiently.
Max's hand was hovering above his daughter's body and he was already on the verge of trying to form a connection with her to see if she had been hurt. Michael seemed to have sensed his intentions before Max was even aware of them.
"Max, we don't have time. We have to get out of here. There might be a fire."

Michael's voice broke through the mental bubble Max had formed around him and his daughter. It was words of reason and Max knew that they had to keep going. Taking a deep breath he brought his hand back to Emma's white face. This time her reaction was not as strong, but still it cut through Max's heart to see her recoil from his touch the way she did. Like he was a monster.
"Baby, it's going to be all right now. We are going home. To mommy."
Not even the mention of her mother stirred a reaction in Emma and Max could feel the dread expand in his heart.
"Max," Michael said and there was a desperate urgency in his voice, which snapped Max back into focus.
He tucked his hands under Emma's thin body and lifted her up. She was stiff in her arms, but she didn't struggle. It was as if she didn't even care what happened to her. He cradled her close to his chest, feeling tears burning in his eyes as her familiar scent flared around him.
"Blanket," Michael said, and Max automatically accepted the blanket Michael handed him and wrapped it around Emma's stiff body.
"Let's get out of here," Max said. With Emma safely tucked under his chin, her legs hanging loosely against his hips, he and Michael hurried out of the white prison that had been Emma's hell for two weeks.

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"Let me take her," Serena said as Max came running through the darkness. It was pitch dark outside. Not even the light from the planet Xerios could be seen.
"I've got her," Max said. His breathing was strained and he really needed to sit down for a second, but he wasn't ready to let Emma go. She had been unresponsive ever since he found her and that frightened him. He didn't think handing her over to someone else was going to help the situation. Besides, it felt safer if he knew where she was. In his arms.
"Where have you been?" Max demanded as he got closer to Serena.
"There were some of Khivar's men," Serena said shortly, her focus still on the stiff bundle in Max's arms, "Let me take her."
Even in the dark darkness, she could see his arms reflexively spasms as he tightened his hold on the little girl.

"There are some men coming up on the east side. We need to get you out of here." Serena looked at Max and reached out with her arms, hoping that he might understand that it would be for the best if she took Emma.
"You are tired and you need to recuperate all you can," Serena added, "If something unexpected were to happen..."
Max quickly thought over the situation. Emma was like a dead-weight in his arms, but still she weighed hardly anything, so it would be no difference in that way if he carried her or not. The difference would be that he had his hands free if something did happen. But then, if he handed Emma over to someone else he wouldn't be able to keep track of where she was.
Serena could see the hesitation flicker over Max's face and she worriedly glanced over her shoulder. The air was filled with agonized screams and the dull sound of energy hitting bodies. Other than that, the wind was holding its breath. It was as if the wind and the light from the Xerios had abandoned them in their fight. Pulling away to a safe place.

"Give her to someone you would trust with your life," Max said as he made his decision and reluctantly handed the little girl over to Serena. Emma didn't say a word during the transfer. She didn't even move.
"Of course," Serena said, and drew a sigh of relief.
She turned around and said something in Antarian to the person standing next to her. In no time another person appeared and Serena handed Emma over, marking the transfer with more unintelligible words. The recipient nodded and then they were gone. Max had to take a deep breath to will his emotions down over not being able to see Emma more. She was going to some place safe. She was going to some place safe.
"What's going on?" Max asked Serena, his role shifting from protective father to focused warrior in the fraction of a second.
"Khivar's men are advancing. They were hiding, but some have been spotted. I think they are planning an attack."
Max nodded and Serena stepped closer to him, her eyes catching his. "Max, this is it."
Max clenched his jaw and nodded. This was finally it.

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"They have her," Kira said to her left.
Liz felt her knees go out under her and she sagged against Isabel who caught her.
"Liz?"
Liz tried to take deep breath. They had found her. Her baby girl was back in the right hands. The world started to slowly spin, the nausea doubling.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Liz reassured breathlessly.
She felt Kira take a hold of her other arm and trying to get her back up on the feet which were very reluctant in sustaining her weight. She rather felt than saw the concerned looks between Kira and Isabel over her head.
"Where are they?" Liz asked.
"Emma has been taken towards one of the emergency camps. Max is out there."
Liz raised her head and followed the line to where Kira was pointing. Out there in the middle of the battle field. She closed her eyes and tried to draw strength from taking deep and slow breaths. She could feel the dizziness simmer down and the nausea calming. With some effort she straightened her spine and lifted her head.

"How much closer can we safely get?" she asked.
Kira frowned and cast a worried glance in Isabel's direction.
"It is better if we stay he-"
"How much closer can we get?" Liz interrupted, her tone forceful.
"Liz, we shouldn't get any closer," Isabel said behind Liz. But Liz wasn't listening. The voice of cold foreboding which had settled in every part of her body was still whispering of death. She had to get to Max. That was all she knew. Somehow she had to get to Max.
"How close?" she asked again, through gritted teeth.
"Pretty close," Kira answered. "You would be able to see him."
Liz nodded. "Take me there."
"Liz, if Max finds out he's going to kill me," Isabel said.
"If I don't go there, Max is going to die," Liz said and felt a shiver pass through her body as she finally spoke the words aloud.
Kira nodded and turned towards his communicator, speaking through it in Antarian.
"What did you say?" Isabel asked as he stopped.
"I called for reinforcement. If we are going to move Max's mate closer to a war zone, we need higher security."
Isabel relaxed some. She was afraid that Liz was going to get hurt due to her stubbornness. But it had always been like that when it came to Max and Liz. They couldn't stand to be apart and they wouldn't be able to survive if the other died.

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The air was filled with death. The malice and coldness of death reeked through the bodies that had caught fire, where the smell of burning flesh filled the air. It reeked through the screams of death and the deadly stares of the people crawling over the cold ground with death rattles whispering over their parched lips.

It was like she was suddenly in the middle of a nightmare. Her eyes still tried to accustom themselves to the darkness, as she fervently searched the battered bodies after Max. Her focus was on the living people, fighting further away, but her eyes couldn't stop from wandering over the masses of dead people she had to walk over to get forward. Instinctively, she knew that she would be able to feel if something happened to Max, but still she couldn't stop herself from looking everywhere for him.

She came to a sudden halt as a hand snaked around her arm and pulled at her to stop. With a look of bewilderment on her face she turned to see what was going on. Kira had his hand tightened around her upper arm, his fingers digging into her flesh. When she met his eyes she knew that something was wrong. Her heart slowed down in her chest until it almost came to a halt as she waited for Kira to say something. He brought up the small communication device, a round apparatus similar to a stone, to his mouth and some Antarian words were transmitted through the device.
"What?" Liz asked fearfully, even though Kira was still talking in the communicator.
Kira lowered the communicator and held her eyes. "Khivar has been spotted. He's headed right towards Max and Serena."

And her heart came back to life with a violent slam. It sped up and started beating erratically in her chest. Khivar. She had heard so much of Khivar in the last couple of days, none of it good. What had scared her the most were the stories about his immense skills. He was a powerful person who could do almost everything. She also quite vividly remember how Kira had informed Max to stay away from Khivar for as long as possible and let the others who were more secure in their abilities take care of Khivar. She also remembered that Kira had said that if Max would stand face to face with Khivar, Max would probably not survive.

And now Khivar was heading towards Max.

Liz watched the battle playing out in front of her, black coldness seeping into her every cell. Something was about to happen. She knew so with an ice-cold certainty. Just as another dizzy spell hit her and she had to struggle not to pass out by the intensity of it, she felt something shift in the air. Like something pulled energy from around her. Sucked the magnetism out of the air. Her eyes automatically traveled to the black figure that she without the shadow of a doubt knew was Khivar. She didn't know how she knew. Maybe it was the way he moved or the way he dressed. Or maybe it was the almost unnatural great power surrounding him like a force field.

It wasn't difficult to figure out that Khivar's power was directed at Max and Serena.
"Max," Liz whisper. Because she could see that Max and Serena had yet to turn their heads and discover the threat. Khivar had moved up from behind them and Liz couldn't see any of their men close by. Some had discovered Khivar and reported it to Kira, but it appeared as if everyone was at least at the same distance as Liz was, or they were involved in their own fight with Khivar's men. Liz knew, at the pit of her stomach, that by the time Max and Serena would be warned it would be too late.

Isabel cried out Liz's name in a loud hiss when Liz suddenly left the hiding place, stepping out on the battlefield. Kira thrust out with his hand to grab a hold of Liz's arm, but his hand groped in the air.
"Stop her!" Kira commanded in both English and Antarian to his men. But Liz was too quick and the men stopped on the border between the hiding place and the open battlefield, unsure if they should draw more attention to themselves by running out on the battlefield. With sinking heart they all watched the small woman run over the dead bodes, zigzagging between the fighting men, towards something that would be her definite death.

Liz wasn't thinking. She knew that Khivar had set his aim on Max and that he would be releasing the energy he had been summoning any second now. It was just pure instinct to get to Khivar and push him out of balance. She would have moved towards Max and tried to warn him in time, but he was too far away. Her feet carried her lightly over dead bodies and small ankle-high bushes. She was transported by air. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest and then her body impacted with Khivar's hard and muscular body.

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"Max!"
His heart stopped in his chest, because he knew that voice. And she wasn't supposed to be anywhere near him right now. He didn't have a chance to think another thought before he was thrown to the side. A figure loomed over him as he blinked repeatedly. He felt weird.
"Max... Max, are you okay?" Serena asked.
"Liz..." he croaked. "Where's Liz?"
Serena jerked her head away from his and looked at something. Max tried to get up to see what had happened. But he couldn't move.
"No," he heard Serena whisper. Then he heard Liz crying. But he could still not see her.
"Ah, Your Highness, delivering your wife to me I see?"
The voice was loud and cold. He had never heard it before, but still he knew. He knew. Khivar was here and Liz was with him.

Serena slowly stood up, her gaze fixed on Khivar, Max presumed. The only thing he could see was the black sky.
"Max?" It was Liz and she sounded so frightened.
"Shut up, bitch. Now, Max," Khivar said and Max could hear the smirk on his face, "How much do you want this woman of yours back? I was planning on just killing you, but it seems I've only succeeded half way in that, since you are still breathing. But this is actually much more fun. Let's make a deal."
Serena looked down and met his eyes, inconspicuously shaking her head. The feeling was beginning to return to his body. It was tingling all over, like when a limb has been in the wrong position for too long. And he could feel how he was getting hot. Too hot. He summoned all the power he could and turned on his side.

Khivar was standing about twenty feet away. He was everything Max had anticipated him to be. Big, dark and cold. And now he had Liz. He was holding her close to his body, one hand firmly around her waist and one around her neck. Tears were running down her cheeks. A look of relief flashed briefly over her face when he met her eyes before a mixture of guilt and fear replaced it.
"So, what do you say?"
"What do you want?" Max croaked, his voice sounding strange to his own ears. He could see Liz jerk at his voice and her eyes move to some point on his body. Where the heat was the most prominent. He briefly wondered what had happened to his body.
Khivar eyed him with a pair of stone eyes as he answered, "I want to have the kid back. And I must say that it's a good deal. I'm being extremely generous. One person in exchange for two."
Both Max and Liz's eyes widened in confusion until realization dawned over Liz's face.
Khivar smiled smugly. "What? You didn't think I would know?" His hand slowly snaked down Liz's abdomen, her body freezing at his touch. Max desperately fought to regain control over his body.

"Don't touch her!" he growled out.
"She hasn't told you yet?" Khivar said, his hand coming to a place right over Liz's stomach.
Max's eyes locked with Liz and still crying she whispered, "I'm sorry." But he could hear it as clearly as if she had been standing next to him.
"So, what do you say, Your Majesty?" He snarled the title out with a condescending hiss.
Max was looking at Liz and even though he could see that she was afraid, he could see that she was pleading with him not to give Emma back to Khivar. She was willing to give her own life to save her daughter from that torturous fate. But Max was as unwilling to sacrifice Emma as he was to sacrifice Liz. The decision was impossible to make, yet he had to make it.
"Can't decide?" Khivar asked with a malicious grin. "I'll make it easier for you."
The hand that was painfully gripping around Liz's throat moved up to her forehead. And to his horror, Max saw white light starting to surround Khivar's hand. Liz cried out in pain as the power exploded through her head and Max's roar mingle with hers as he tried to get up on his feet to get to her.
"Noo!!"

Somehow he managed to get to his feet, but stumbled when his legs were refusing to keep him upright. Serena caught him before he fell and he leaned on her heavily. Tears of fear, rage and guilt spilled down his cheeks as he watched Liz's head fall forward, shielding her face from him as her body slumped together. Max's hateful eyes were directed at Khivar's emotionless ones.
Khivar raised a speculative eyebrow and asked with the easiness of a businessman merely proposing the prospect of building a new apartment complex, "What's your decision?"
"Don't hurt her," Max whispered. It wasn't only a desperate plea, but also a forceful warning. If Khivar did, Max wouldn't be responsible for his actions.
"If you don't take me up on my offer, I could always just keep your mate," Khivar continued as if Max hadn't said a word. He slowly moved his hand to Liz's head and took a hold of the hair close to her scalp and pulled her head upwards. "I could always find some use of this one."
Liz's eyes were closed and she seemed only partly conscious as her face came back into view. Khivar slowly moved his hand down Liz's throat towards her breasts.

"I must compliment you on your taste in women," Khivar said as his hand grabbed Liz's breast.
Max's body plummeted forward, but his inability to move stopped him even before Serena reached out and snapped him backwards.
"She sure is something," Khivar continued, his hand moving lower along Liz's body, coming to a stop over her stomach. "So, what do you say, Max?"
Light had begun to simmer out of Khivar's palm again, illuminating Liz's stomach as it shone right through her clothes.
How could Max choose between Liz, their unborn child and Emma? He couldn't.
"It's really me you want," Max said. "I have the seal. Remove it from me and do whatever you want with me. Just don't touch my family."
Khivar looked at him with mock compassion. "Oh, that's so touching. And you actually make a really good point. But you see, Max," Khivar stepped a little closer, dragging Liz with him, and spoke a little slower as if speaking to a child, "You see all these men behind me?" Max tore his eyes away from Khivar and Liz and looked around. Through the darkness he could see men, dark men, glaring at him menacingly, and he couldn't help but wonder with cold fear where his own men were.

"You're a smart man, Max. Considering the absence of your own men, it wouldn't be so hard for you to figure out that it wouldn't be too hard for me to capture you with or without your consent. I will get my seal, Max, and I will reign over this planet. And nothing is going to stand in my way. Not you. Not your bitch and certainly not your children. So I think you can see where I'm going with this. I might be taking the long road to accomplish my motives, but this is just so much more fun." He grinned at Max. But he didn't let Max see his rage over the fact that Max had not seemed affected by his speech at all. He had not reacted in the way Khivar wanted him to. Instead of shrinking together and begging him on his bare knees, he had if possible just straightened up even more, and there was a fire in his eyes that disconcerted Khivar to some degree.
"Well, it's been fun," Khivar said lightly, "But I have a planet to reign, so I really don't have the time to chat any longer. Time's running out, Max."
Liz had started to regain consciousness and Max desperately wanted to reopen their connection to see if she was okay. But he couldn't risk that. Serena had explicitly warned him from having the connection open, especially close to Khivar. He could use that connection to get access into Max and Liz's heads and change things around to suit his own needs.
Liz's half-closed eyes met Max's gaze and he could see that she was prepared to sacrifice herself. She was willing to give her own life up so that he and Emma would be safe.
"You have no use for them," Max said.
"You're absolutely right," Khivar agreed, "But this is the exciting bonus. To see you suffer. Trust me, I've been looking forward to this, but I never thought the opportunity would present itself as well as it has. Even though your mate is easy on the eyes, she isn't very bright, is she? Running out here in the middle of a battle? I gotta applaud her for her courage though, or is it just foolhardiness?"

Max never saw the men creep up on the sides. His attention was completely on Liz and on being prepared to protect Liz if Khivar did something. Khivar never saw the men creep up on the sides either. He was too immersed in his own vindictive satisfaction over how everything had turned out to his benefit. Besides, what could happen when he was surrounded by his well-trained and well-prepared men? But Liz saw them. She fought through the thick mist of pain in her mind to capture Max's eyes. They were the last thing she wanted to see when she died. That was when she saw them move almost inconspicuously up through the bushes on the sides, their bodies blending almost perfectly with the darkness. And she knew what they needed to make it all work. They needed a diversion and she was the only one who could give it. She met Max's eyes and mouthed "I love you". She saw fear in his eyes, but before he could react on her good-bye she took advantage of the loosening of Khivar's grip on her body. With the grace like that of a cat, she moved away from his claws and reeled forward. Max's men reacted immediately, aiming at Khivar and his men. Commotion erupted and cries of death filled the previous eerie silence.

The battle was over quickly. Everything cooled down to a deadly stillness. In the middle of the battleground sat a young man with a young woman cradled in his arms. Half of his body was covered in blood and her body was covered in blisters, her skin burned to an almost unrecognizable crisp.
"Liz? Liz! Don't leave me, don't leave me!" His voice echoed through the darkness as people started to move towards his rocking body. Death clogged the air and they all knew by the devastating sound of his heartbreaking howls that the woman in his arms was dying or already dead.

TBC…