Chapter 3

"Hull damages have been successfully repaired. We were lucky. A few more seconds without shields could have caused irreversible damage." Ivory reports.

She's just entered her and Helena's quarters again, and her lover stands by the large window, facing away from her.
"Good." she responds, sounding hollow, and Ivory shifts uncomfortably. Past Helena's shoulder, she can see her reflection in the window, her clenched jaw and furrowed brows.

Ivory likes Helena better when she's hissing and snarling, furious, with that dangerous glint in her eyes. Rage is easy to calm, but this silent, dry misery requires an entirely different strategy.

With the gentle step of the apex predator she is, Ivory approaches her, seeing her watch every move through their reflection on the window.

Reaching past her, Ivory takes Helena's hands and forces her to turn toward her.
"My love," she begins, her voice like honey. "You have been like this for hours."
Helena's eyes seem to look right through her.

"Do you not trust me, Helena?" Ivory continues, lightly tugging on her arms, pulling her closer."You are fighting a war within yourself. Won't you let me aid you?"
Ivory feels a rush of warmth wash over her, as Helena leans against her, pulls her hands out of hers, and wraps her arms around her waist.

"I'm sorry." Helena whispers, resting her forehead against Ivory's.
"Don't be."

With her feeding slit held tightly closed, Ivory caresses Helena's cheek.
"Talk to me, love. Tell me what hurts you so."

Helena withdraws from their embrace and sits down on her bed, runs a hand through her hair.

"This is my fault." she begins, while Ivory follows her, and sits next to her. "Maybe I could have swayed them from Death, but I was angry. I was so angry, Ivory. I could have argued against Death, but I was so wounded in my pride. I could have prevented this, and now, I'm at war with Euridice, of all people."

"Your pride is inherent to your kind, love." Ivory tells her, holding Helena's left hand in hers, tracing circles on its back with her thumb. "But I would not say that you carry the blame for this. As harsh as it may sound, I do not think you could have done anything to avoid this."

Helena shoots her a confused look, and she continues.

"I have expected Queen Death to incredibly persuasive. She would not have been able to unite this many hives under her banner otherwise. When I urged you to attend her gathering, I was hoping her intentions were less..." She hesitates for a moment. "...malicious. If you want to assign blame, assign it to her, not to yourself."

"Still, if I had been less... myself, I could have at least-..."

Ivory cuts her off by placing her index finger on her lips.

"No. Listen to me." she tells her. "Nothing is gained through wondering what could have been. All you achieve is making yourself upset. This is an awful situation to find oneself in, but that is exactly why we must face forward. Do not concern yourself how this happened. Work on righting this wrong instead."

Helena closes her eyes, and breathes deeply.
"What options do I even have? Death's fleet..." she mutters against Ivory's finger, who then curls it, and moves to trace her jawline.
"We need to expand out influence. Politically, but also martially." Ivory suggests. "Right now, we're just one ship. We need more than that."

"How would we go about that? I can't exactly fall back on my old contacts, now can I?"

Ivory freezes, and Helena feels her hand tighten around her own.

"A lot of Hives are queenless," she eventualy speaks. "which puts them in a very vulnerable position. I believe, if someone were to offer them a proper Queen, they might take the opportunity."

"You're implying..."

"I am an asset in that sense. If I build influence among the Wraith, we may receive some leverage to negotiate with Queen Death." Ivory explains, and her eyes flicker up to meet Helena's. "Death's idea to ally with Vampires is not necessarily a new one. We've had this discussion before, in less dire times, my love. I believe, it is time to go through with it."

Helena doesn't respond, instead, she leans in and presses a kiss on Ivory's neck, directly on her pulse point. Humming softly, Ivory withdraws her hand from Helena's and slips it under her shirt instead, running it up and down her spine.
Feeling the familiar sting of fangs scraping over her skin, Ivory smiles. Enough talking for Helena.

They remain like this for a few moments, and when they pull apart, Ivory has that needy burn in her palm. She flexes her feeding hand, well aware that Helena is watching her.

"When did you last feed?" she inquires, but Ivory's answer hardly matters, the first two buttons on Helena's shirt have already come undone.
"Shortly before you left for Death's Hive." Ivory responds regardless and reaches out, placing her prickling palm on Helena's chest, pressing against it slightly.
Helena sinks down on her back, her lover following her. With a mischievous smile, Ivory straddles her, pushing her knee between her legs.

"I am certain you would not decline something to sink your fangs into either, would you?" she whispers, and Helena chuckles.
This is going to be a long night.

–

Erinya spends a full hour in the shower, and when she eventually turns the cold water off, the air hitting her wet skin feels like it fans the flames inside her.

Examining her face in the mirror, she groans. Her skin covered in red splotches, like a sunburn, her eyes feverish and glassy.

She knows, she does not have much time before the fire overwhelms her entirely; she needs to be fed on soon.

It's not a week-day, but she knows that Atlantis would guard Guide in shifts, he's too important of a prisoner to be left alone for just a minute.

Another thing she prefers the Genii protocol for. All she needed to do back then was steal a needle to pick a few locks. Altantis does not even have pickable locks.

She dries herself off, and slips into her underwear, the heat dissuades her from getting fully dressed. Like this, she struts back into her living area, and lets herself fall down on her bed, reaching for the tablet on her nightstand.

A few personal passwords later, she's greeted with a message from her base ship.

'We are considered outcasts from our kin now. Our allies have turned on us in favor of a newly arisen Wraith Queen, who calls herself Death. I will brief you fully when we meet in again in person. You should be safe in Atlantis. Keep me updated.

Helena'

Brief, to the point, and absolutely devastating.
Erinya rubs her temples, sighs deeply, and makes a valiant attempt in thinking clearly.

Atlantis' only way of learning about Wraith politics is locked up in a cell, and cut off from his people. There's no way they'll react in time, should this fleet move against them. Erinya's knowledge of this is hardly of any use, since she would have to blow her cover to reveal this intel.

And them learning of her nature...

She shivers, despite her heat. Never again will she find herself strapped down and cut open, just because someone wants to see what's underneath her skin.

Straightening her posture, she begins typing her response.

'Those are grave news. I cannot warn the ancient city of this, however, so I suggest standing by, in case Death decides to claim it. Additionally, I cannot remain here for much longer. My energy levels are critical, and I may not have much time. No news on Guide. I do not have security clearance to see to him. I request withdrawal from this mission.

Erinya'

She logs out, and has to take a few deep breaths to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. The pain's getting worse, and it's taken all her willpower not to beg Helena to let her come home.

The sound of her doorbell has her flinching.
In a panic, she slides the tablet under her bed, and scrambles to her feet.

"Who's there?" she manages to call out without her voice breaking.

"Jennifer Keller." the familiar voice from the outside responds. "I wanted to check on you, Cecilia. You had really high fever when you called in sick last week."

Erinya recalls her red, heated skin, and swallows hard.
"Yes, I,... It's not sunken much, but I can handle myself." she explains. "I'm afraid I might need a bit more time to recover – I don't want anyone to catch my illness, after all."

"No, no!" Dr. Keller replies, and Erinya hears that gentle smile in her voice. "I don't mean to rush you, by all means, do take your time to recover! I was simply worried, and as our superior, I wanted to make sure you were doing alright."

"I'll be alright." Erinya assures her.
"I see. But please, if you do need something, don't hesitate to let me know."

"Will do. Thank you. I'll just sleep it off."

"Do that."

She exhales audibly when she hears steps moving away from her door.
Jennifer is a good person, and also the first to grow concerned when Erinya first started showing symptoms of her affliction. Her care is, however, also a threat to her cover. Just one body-scan would completely ruin her.

Erinya likes her regardless. She's kind, and Erinya feels awful for having to lie to her.

A groan escapes her, as a series of convulsions run through her body.
She does not have much time left.