"Run!" Lucian shouts again and all of us take off in the opposite direction. 

I try not to look behind but I can hear the smooth slivering of the serpents scales as they glide over the icy walls, towards us. 

My legs aren't as long as the five Plutonian's and I almost slip and fall when we turn a corner. Lucian picks me up and I wrap my legs around his torso so that he can carry me easily. Even with the extra weight, he is still able to run as fast as the others. 

I hold on to Lucian with one arm and shoot at the serpents behind us with the other. I manage to hit one but it barely makes a difference. More and more serpents emerge from hidden corners. The horrid sound of their hissing echoes through the air like a deadly chant and rattles me with fear. 

We run through another passageway which leads to a much larger compartment. I look up at ceiling and see the light from outside shining through. 

Remulus, Altair, Deneb, Sirius and I simultaneously shoot at the monsters chasing us. I look back and my eyes widen in horror when I see more serpents exiting the hole we came through. There must be about a hundred of them. There is no way we can outrun them. 

One of the guys shoots a serpent that is just a few feet away from us. I grit my teeth hard, wondering if there is something we can do. The brightness from outside only illuminates how large and horrendous those creatures are. 

"Head for cover!" Lucian pants tiredly as he points at another hole in the far corner ahead of us.

And just like that, a thought suddenly hits me and I realize that the ice above must be thin enough for the light to pass through. 

I aim my gun at the ceiling while we run towards the hole and then fire multiple rounds at the ice above. Remulus sees this and does the same, getting the idea and soon the others join in to fire at the ceiling above the serpents. 

Even Lucian manages to twist around -despite the weight of my body- and shoot. 

A loud crack echoes through the hall like thunder. Some of the serpents stop in their tracks and then the ice ceiling above gives way. Large blocks of ice fall from above and crash on to them. Their wails are deafening and I watch the floor underneath them give way, taking them down with it. 

We run towards the hole Lucian pointed to, amidst the rain of rocks from above which crash into the floor, breaking it under their weight. Soon the entire chamber has a large gaping hole with serpents and rocks falling into it. 

I hold on to Lucian tightly and my body slams against his back as he runs. A loud hiss echoes through the air and I see a serpent behind us falling into the hole. It's long tail whips towards us and grabs Lucian's leg. 

It pulls him, making us both fall to the ground. The serpent pulls Lucian towards the hole and I scream in desperation. Lucian however is quick enough to shoot it right in it's tail. The creature releases him immediately and disappears into the darkness below. 

Lucian gets up and I run to him. I cast him a grateful smile but then we hear the soft cracking of ice below us. I look down warily and see a criss-crossed line forming through my feet.

"Don't move, Aria," Lucian whispers as if his voice would break the ice. He puts out his hand and gestures for me to take it. "Grab my hand and we jump."

The floor rumbles under my feet and I feel it moving. I reach out to grab Lucian's hand but then  something curls around my ankle. I look down at my feet and see a serpents cold slimy tail. 

Before any of us can react the floor gives way and the serpent pulls me down with it. The last thing I hear before I disappear into the chaos is Lucian's voice screaming my name. 

I free fall through the hole in the chamber that we created. The rubble below is a pile of ice blocks and thankfully one hits the serpent, making it release me. 

My heart is in my throat as I slam into a slab of ice and then slide down deeper into the darkness at an unimaginable speed. I look down at the hard floor below and a scream erupts from my lips despite my best efforts. All I can do is brace myself for the fall that will most likely kill me.

I expect the to hit the ground and break into a pile of bones but something tugs me back, making my head throb at the whiplash. A new panic sets in and I try to reach for my gun to fire at the thing who caught me but I realize that I lost it somewhere along the way.

"Shhh, stop shouting. You're just going to attract more of them," A woman's voice echoes through the darkness. 

I fall silent and allow myself to be pulled into the space where the voice came from. 

"General Lyra?" I ask in a whisper. 

"The one and only." She replies sarcastically. I hear her fiddling with something and suddenly the small space we are in lights up under the dim glow from her gun. 

It is the first time I am seeing her in person and up close I can see just how similar her features are to Lucian's. It is like I am looking at an older, more tired looking female version of him. 

"You must be, Aria. My son's lover," She stares at me with cold eyes and then she gestures for me to follow her deeper into the cave. 

Once we are further inside she takes a seat on a small block of ice and I do the same. She looks at the red dot on my forearm and nods in satisfaction. 

"Do you have some food?" She asks and I quickly take the packet of algae out of my pants and give it to her. 

She unzips the bag and immediately devours most of it. Once she is done, she takes a sip from a bottle attached to her uniform and then she studies my face. 

I can't help but shift under her scrutiny, her blatant staring is making me nervous. 

"We should head back to the ship," I say as I look around for my communicator. I want to curse at myself when I realize that I lost it during the fall as well. The only thing that stayed in place is the damn algae.

"Too risky. My gun's low on fuel and you've lost yours. It's better if we wait here. They will be able to find us much faster because of the tracker in your arm."

I instinctively look down at my forearm and then my gaze shifts to hers. I notice that she doesn't have a red dot glowing under her skin. 

"We'll wait for the rest of your squad," She holds out her gun and shows me the three blue bars that glow on its side. "When it's down to one bar then we leave."

I swallow hard and nod my head in agreement since I don't exactly have a better plan myself.

"Thank you," I say softly. "For saving me back there." 

The general lifts her eyebrows and then smiles. "I think I should be the one thanking you, my dear. It seems you have cured my sons problems and he is now back to his old self at work."

"Umm thank you," I reply warily. I can't help but notice that her statement is meant to show gratitude but the way she is staring at me almost feels menacing. 

"I've heard that Lucian is very taken up with you," She laughs softly like it is a joke. "My son has always had the softest heart. He used to be madly in love with that foolish girl, Luna and those nightmares must have been caused by his guilt." 

She pauses for a while and then she looks at the floor. "I suppose it's my fault he's like this." 

My eyebrows raise in surprise and I wonder what she means by that.  I don't know much about Lucian's up bringing, it's not something he talks about casually but I do know that Lucian moved out and got his own place after his father died. 

"Have you ever heard of genetic manipulation?" General Lyra asks me. 

I shake my head and she carries on speaking. 

"When babies are born from human mothers we tweak their genes slightly to make their Plutonian genes more dominant. It makes it easier for them to lead a normal life as a Plutonian."

Her words make me think of Remulus and what he said about his hair being the only recessive gene he inherited. But what if the humans were born with too many recessive genes? What happened to them?

"Is it dangerous?" I ask.

"It is but if a child has predominantly Plutonian genes then they should be fine. The thing is I've always felt that we lacked empathy in our species. It's becoming worse and worse as the generations go by. I'm sure you've noticed with Lazarus," She says. "I didn't want Lucian to end up the same way so I altered his genes slightly at birth. It is probably why he reacts differently to other species. It is also probably why he can love a human."

"Love?" I whisper feeling stunned. I don't know what shocks me more - the Plutonian's manipulating the human babies genes, that Lucian's mother did the same thing to him or that she thinks he loves me.

"I know my son. When he loves someone, he does it with his entire being," She says. "But you need to understand that Lucian is the only leader who can bring peace to the empire. Not Lazarus or anyone else." 

"I agree," I say, wondering what she is getting at. 

"But he can't become the sole commander without power. Without marrying a powerful Plutonian." The General eyes me now, gauging my reaction.

"I understand," I hold her gaze steadily even though a part of me feels like it's dying inside. I always knew that I would never end up with Lucian, but why does admitting it hurt so much?

"Women are always smarter than men," She smiles looking satisfied. She leans back and stretches her arms in front of her.

"What happened to your ship?" I ask, wanting to change the topic. 

"One of my squad members betrayed me. He altered the flight path and killed half of my crew  before we knew it. It was stupid of me to let my guard down, especially after what happened to my husband," She says bitterly and then her eyes widen at my expression. 

"Why don't you look surprised?" She asks me and when I stutter she waves her hand at me. "It seems I have underestimated you. So you know about Lazarus and General Grievous wanting to get rid of us."

"I don't know how true it is." I cross my arms over my chest and eye her cautiously. 

"It's true. All of it is even though Lucian chooses not to believe it. He doesn't think Lazarus would kill his own parents but that little shit has been a nightmare since he was in diapers." 

Her insult makes me smile slightly. It's nice to know someone hates Lazarus as much as I do. 

"We were not always like this, you know? My great grandfathers and their ancestors really did build our empire by protecting the planets who reached out to us. Some where along the way things got corrupted, greed and power took precedent and the saviors became the dictators." She looks down and the regret on her face is evident. 

"Things need to change before it is too late. Before the rot kills us all."

Her words move me and I want to believe her but how can I trust someone who played a part in creating this horrible world? I just remain silent and then we hear voices coming from the entrance. 

We rush to the hole and my heart fills with joy when I see the light emanating from a gun. 

"We're here," I say and then I hear feet scuttling above.

"Aria, your're alive," Lucian's voice immediately calms me and I can't help but smile. I notice the general staring at me and then the smile disappears.

Heyy, so they found his mother yayy. The convo was abt heavy, let me know what you think :) :)