Aleigha sat in the small booth of the tavern. Finn and Drake were in their infant carriers, sitting between her and her sister, Niki. They were waiting for Guard Commander Drevick, Jada, Orik, and one of Drevick's men to show up. They were late.

The server approached their table to take their order. In the middle of ordering a Jug of strong beverage and six glasses, the door to the tavern slid open, and Orik, Jada, and Guard Commander Drevick walked in. Aleigha quickly put in their order so the server would leave, then watched the three friends walk to their table.

Guard Commander Drevick went straight to Aleigha, sitting beside her. Orik and Jada slid into the booth and sat next to Niki.

Aleigha looked over at the guard commander. "Did you find anything during the interrogations?" she asked. "We need to find Kaul before he recruits more followers, putting us all in danger again."

"Yeah, find that bastard so I can do what I was promised I can do," Jada threw in. "You and Vorik promised me I could be the one to kill him."

Guard Commander Drevick sighed. "I'm sorry, Jada, but we found nothing. We interrogated all the Ramesians in the tunnels and in the dome. No one appears to be involved. We're currently trying to come up with a plan to find him."

Jada frowned. "That means whoever helped Kaul escape isn't Romanian. What about Kreq or Humans? Do you know any of them who would go in after him?" she asked. It sounded like a challenge.

Guard Commander Drevick looked up in shock. "I never thought about Kreq or humans. The Kreqs stay mainly on one of their disks behind the moon. After they tried to attack Mia, Nevle and Krem took her to one of the disks to keep her safe. There are very few Kreqs in the dome. Renk is still here with Renn, but I doubt he would be responsible. There are several, though. We need to find a way to interrogate them the same way we interrogate our own using a truth serum," he stated. "Humans, too. I doubt any of them are responsible. Why would they help him if he's trying to slaughter them all."

Jada shrugged. "Unless he was taken to torture or something like that," she offered.

Aleigha looked at Jada, then nodded in agreement with her. "I think you might be right. Execution is quick. They normally die still under the influence of the serum. They don't even know they're being executed. Maybe someone wants to make sure he suffers, unlike all the others who were interrogated and then executed immediately."

Their table went silent as the server headed toward their table to deliver their order. After the server set the jug and six glasses on the table, they each took a glass, filled them all with the contents of the Jug, and ordered another. There were six of them drinking, although the sixth one had not arrived yet. One jug was not enough.

The server quickly took the empty jug and went to get another one. Their conversation was about to be resumed, but the door to the tavern slid open, causing them to stop and look. A man walked in, causing Niki to gasp, and then she lifted her glass to drink her beer.

The male Ramesian walked directly to the table. He was the last one to join them. It was Trei. He had been called to speak with Guard Commander Drevick.

Trei slid into the booth next to Guard Commander Drevick since it was the only seat available. He scanned the table. His eyes stopped at Niki. He smiled, holding out his hand to her. "Hi, I'm Trei," he introduced himself. "I'm a friend of Seeran's. I believe you know him?" Although the words weren't a question, the tone suggested he asked to clarify his knowledge.

Aleigha looked at Trei. I've heard of you. You were one of the five who went to Merrick wanting information about Tosh. You and your friends were trying to find out if Merrick was for or against him. He was against him." Aleigha told Trei. "Seeran was there when I was found. He helped me a lot. I like him. He's a good guy," she continued.

Trei frowned. "Seeran has a mate," he told her, taking offense. He was still frowning.

"I have a mate also. Seeran is only a friend. I only see my mate in the way you're thinking. If you're going to hang around us, you need to figure that out. Friends for humans are like family. We love our friends. We protect our friends. That doesn't mean we see them as we see our mate," Aleigha told him evenly. She remembered the accusations against her because of her friendship with Vorik. She saw him as a brother. Merrick, Rask, and Keirn used their closeness against her.

Trei appeared to think about it for a second, then smiled. "I understand. I am unfamiliar with the way humans think. I like how you feel about friends," he told her, smiling, then turned to Niki. Watching her with longing in his eyes.

Trei's eyes moved to the two infants between Aleigha and Niki. "Whose infants are those?" he asked suddenly. He looked puzzled like there was something he didn't understand.

Aleigha pulled her son out of his carrier. "This is Finn. He's my son. The other one who is sleeping is Drake. He's my sister, Niki's son." She told him as she began to bounce Finn on her lap. The infant laughed and giggled in delight as everyone watched.

Niki smiled. "Drake is sleeping," she told him. "I would bring him out also so you can see him, but I don't want to wake him up."

Trei, looking uncomfortable, then scanned the table before speaking. "Where is your mate? It is not good to leave his beautiful mate and infant alone."

"Trei," Drevick hissed. "Stop," he said firmly through clenched teeth. Drevick didn't want the girls to have to relive what took place with their mates.

Trei looked confused. Not sure what he did wrong.

"It's okay, Drevick," Niki told him before looking at Trei. "My mate was one of the ones executed When my sister Aleigha was in hiding after escaping the cells. My mate was Rask. He helped Merrick try to murder my sister. My son's father is gone. He is no longer my mate."

Trei nodded in understanding. "Then the two of you are single mothers," he frowned. "Children should have a father. You should find your second chance, mate. Your infants need them."

Aleigha groaned. "I did. My sister hasn't yet," Aleigha told Trei. Not wanting the conversation to continue.

Niki sighed. "Yes, I did," she said reluctantly. "It appears that Trei is my second chance mate."

Everyone looked between Niki and Trei. Jada chuckled but didn't say anything.

Trei smiled. "I didn't think you realized it. I knew the moment I saw you. You have stars in your eyes," he smiled. "It's as if the galaxy is contained inside you, and it belongs to us: you and I."

Their table went silent as the server returned to the table, setting the jug of strong beverage and walking away.

Jada looked at the new couple. Picking up her beer, she downed it. "Hopefully, you're an upgrade from the last one. The last one was a douche if he was trying to kill his own mate's sister because they are close. Siblings are close most of the time. Deal with it," she stated sarcastically, then poured herself another glass as soon as the server disappeared after she set the jug on the table.

After the server left, Guard Commander Drevick leaned back in the booth. "Trei, we have a situation. I need your help. Mikiel is working with Verion, so he can't help me. He told me that you are one of his friends and that he trusts you. I'm going to trust you, too, until you prove me otherwise. When Seeran was attacked, Council Leader Vorik and I came to you. The group that went after him was the followers of Medic Kaul. Medic Kaul was the leader of the Militia. Medic Kaul is missing. We interrogated every Ramesian in the dome. Jada, here, has said that it could be a Kreq or even a human. I need you to help me find out who took Kaul out of his cell."

Trei studied the guard commander. "Who is Verion?" He didn't have any information about the five who went to kill Aleigha and her infant Finn.

"He's from your side of the dome. He's very shy. He stutters a lot when he's nervous or scared. He confirmed under the truth serum that he is always nervous and afraid. He was one of a group of five that went after Aleigha and her son for the execution of Termera. Termera's brother was the ringleader of that group. Verion turned himself in after he left his group, not wanting any part of it. Right after he had left the group, his friends were caught and taken. Feeling guilty that he was originally with them, he turned himself in."

Trei nodded, understanding the situation. "You're afraid someone will retaliate against him if he goes to his own dwelling since he is the only one of that group still alive," he mused. "Others would see him as weak and feed on that weakness. They might even blame him, thinking it was he who had called the guards to his friends."

Everyone looked at Trei, surprised. He was amazingly good at listening and reading between the lines of a conversation.

"Basically, yes, that is correct," Drevick confirmed. "Originally, I wanted you to help me find Kaul. I don't want anyone to know he's missing. It's important we look without advertising the fact he's gone. After what Jada has just said, I think it would best to also look for information that leads us to who took him from his cell."

"How can someone escape the cells? There are too many guards?" Trei asked, not sure how it could be done.

Aleigha laughed. "I was in the cells, and I escaped. It was harder than you might think, but I still did it. Kaul wasn't in the prison, though. He was somewhere else in an undisclosed location," she told him.

Trei thought for a moment then nodded. "Then you need to look to those who knew where he was and who was watching him," he suggested.

Aleigha sighed. "He disappeared in between a shift. He was sedated, completely unconscious. We're trying to figure out how he got out in the first place in that condition."

Trei smiled; his tone was triumphant. "So, he didn't escape. Obviously, someone took him. Beside. You got out, so it can be done. It doesn't matter that you were inside the prison building and he wasn't. The place you had him in can't be more secure than the prison. Which means it would be easier for him to get out than it was for you to escape the cells."

"I wasn't unconscious when I escaped the prison. Kaul was." Aleigha argued. She realized that Trei was excellent at deductions. His listening to the conversation would tell him what he needed to know, the deduction and reasoning to get the truth.

Trei thought for a moment before speaking again. "Then it would have to be someone strong enough to lift him and move quickly enough to get him out before they were seen."

Niki spoke up this time. "Then it had to be a male. Males could lift Kaul's dead weight easily. Females, not so much."

"Unless they had something to transport him with. Like a hover bed, or even put him on a blanket and drag him. Either would make it simple for a female to take him out of his cell." Trei reasoned.

"Great, back to square one," Jada shot out, filling her glass again. This time, she didn't immediately drink it. "So, we've determined it could be either gender, but we need to find everyone who knew where he was."

Orik reached out his hand to Jada, trying to calm her elevated temper. "They will find him. When they find him, he's all yours," he assured her, lifting her hand and kissing it.

It was a distraction to take her drink from her. He quickly downed it, preventing her from doing so. Orik set the empty glass on the table.

"I believe I'll take my mate home. I think Trei might want to get to know his," Orik told them. Then, looking between Drevick and Aleigha. "I think you two need some quality time with each other, also. With everything you two have been doing to stop the militia and find Kaul, I think you two need some time for yourselves."

Trei looked between Guard Commander Drevik and Aleigha. "You two are mates? I bet that's a little awkward, being as your current mate executed your previous one," he stated.

Aleigha looked up at Trei. "You don't have a conversational filter, do you?" she asked him bluntly.

Trei chuckled. "Not really."

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