Liam sat stiffly on the dining chair, like he wasn't sure whether he was still a hostage. His eyes kept darting, not just toward Delmar, but to K'liira, who still hadn't gone back to the bathroom. She'd pulled on one of my old oversized t-shirts, the hem practically brushing her knees, and now sat perched on the sofa like some wild sentinel. Her small hands gripped the top of the sofa as she leaned forward ever so slightly, her black eyes trained on Liam with an unsettling stillness.
It wasn't aggression. It wasn't fear either.
It was... watching.
I hadn't realized how predator-like she could be until this moment, silent and unmoving, her stare unbroken even when Liam shifted uncomfortably under its weight.
I glanced at Delmar. He was sat across the table, sprawled in the chair like a shadow made flesh, his legs spread wide and shoulders rigid. One of his tentacles still peeked out from behind his shoulder, twitching like it didn't quite trust the situation to stay peaceful.
I had tied Liam's wrists with one of my kitchen towels, nothing serious, just enough to give me a few seconds of reaction time if he tried anything. But I hadn't done it for Delmar's safety or mine. No, I knew damn well Delmar could split Liam in half before I blinked.
And I didn't want Liam to die. Because something deep in my gut told me he wasn't the enemy here.
"She's not going to hurt you," Delmar said suddenly when Liam kept glancing at K'liira. His voice low but firm, catching on the tense silence hanging in the air.
For some reason, I wasn't so sure I believed him.
K'liira blinked once, slow, deliberate. Her fingers curled tighter around the cushion, knuckles white against the fabric.
"You want some water?" I asked Liam, walking toward the kitchen to break the standoff. My hands were sweating, heart rattling in my chest. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything in almost twelve hours, and I might've been knee-deep in some mutant conspiracy, but I wasn't a heartless bastard.
"Yeah," he rasped, eyes flickering to mine with something that almost looked like gratitude. "Thank you."
I poured him a glass and brought it back. He struggled to drink with his bound hands, so I crouched down and held the glass to his mouth. He sipped, his eyes never leaving Delmar like he half-expected the merman to leap across the room and stab him for daring to hydrate.
"You can relax, you know," I said, trying for a casual shrug that didn't quite land. "They're not going to attack you."
"Yeah, sure," he muttered, lips dry. "Unless I blink wrong."
Delmar didn't respond to that. He just leaned back a little further into the armchair, spreading his legs wider like some territorial kingpin staking his claim over the room. It should've looked ridiculous, but it didn't.
It looked dangerous.
I'd never seen him like this before. Not even when he killed Vicky or when he saved me from those bad guys. This version of him... quiet, calculating, all heat and sharp edges... it made my skin prickle. And not in a good way.
"You're scaring the shit out of him," I muttered under my breath as I stood and crossed my arms. "Can we not do the whole predator stare-off thing?"
Delmar's eyes flicked to mine. "I'm being cautious."
"Yeah, well maybe tone it down a notch before he pisses himself."
Liam gave a dry laugh. "I already considered it."
K'liira finally blinked again and tilted her head slightly, her interest in Liam not fading in the slightest. Something about her made it hard to look away, like she was trying to decipher the shape of him, the bones under his skin, the reasons for his existence.
I rubbed a hand down my face and sighed. "We need answers. Let's just talk. No threats. No theatrics. Just... information."
Delmar gave a curt nod. Liam swallowed hard. K'liira didn't move.
And I sat down, ready to peel back another layer of whatever mess I had stepped into.
"We need to know everything, Liam." My voice cracked slightly, but I held his gaze. "You said there were twelve still in captivity? What else do you know? How long have they been there?"
Liam's shoulders sagged. He looked tired, like the weight of what he carried was weighing him down. "Most of them... they've been there over a decade. But one of them..." He exhaled sharply. "One was born in captivity."
Beside me, Delmar jerked upright, arms folding across his chest, the shift so sudden it made my heart stutter. His scowl wasn't just angry, it was thunderous. Tectonic. I caught the movement from the corner of my eye and almost reached for him, just to ground him, to steady whatever storm was rising in his chest, but I stopped. I didn't know if he'd even want that. If touching him right now would feel like comfort or condescension.
"Tell me about them," Delmar said, his voice tight, strained. It wasn't a question. It was a demand from someone on the edge of snapping.
Liam nodded slowly, rubbing his wrists against the kitchen cloth that still bound them. "There was a queen... one of the first captured after the Japan sightings. She was pregnant when they found her. Her harem betas were taken too, but they were separated immediately. At the time, we didn't understand what we were doing. But later, after it was too late, we learned that their queens need their betas during birthing. It's not just support... they form this cocoon. Emotional. Physical. It's sacred to them. Without it..."
"But you monsters broke her home." Delmar's voice was shaking now. "Tore her from her mates. Put her under lights and steel and wires." His jaw clenched. "What happened to her?"
"She died," Liam whispered. "Alone. On a metal table. There were IV lines in her veins. Cameras in her face. Nobody touched her. She screamed and no one understood what she was saying." His voice cracked. "The baby was distressed so we had to perform a c-section. She didn't make it through."
The silence that followed was heavier than anything I'd ever felt. K'liira shifted beside the window, her face unreadable, but I saw her eyes shimmer with something unspoken. Maybe sorrow. Maybe rage. I swallowed the lump in my throat, bile rising as my stomach turned cold.
Delmar's hands were fists now. His knuckles ghost-pale. The cords in his neck stood rigid as if he were barely holding something back. His tentacles twitched behind him, coiled like vipers ready to strike.
"What happened to the child?" Delmar asked, voice nearly inaudible. But I heard it. I felt it. The ache in it.
"They kept him." Liam looked down. "Raised him like he was an experiment. Monitored his every breath. Tracked his growth, his development. He is the crown jewel of the research now. No one without level-seven clearance is allowed to see him. I've never seen him with my own eyes. But I know he is live. The way people talk about him..."
Delmar looked like he'd forgotten to breathe.
I could feel something fracture in the room, something ancient, something deep.
"What about the betas?" I asked, throat raw.
"They're still there. Five of them. Sedated most of the time. Docile. But it's... it's like their spirit is gone. They don't sing anymore. They don't move unless poked. They're broken."
My heart sank lower. This wasn't just cruelty. It was desecration.
"They captured more later," Liam added. "Two Alphas. Three juvenile females. One omega. They're planning to breed them. Like animals. Artificial hormone cycles, stress responses, the works. But it's not working. They won't respond. They're too scared. All they do is scream."
Delmar rose to his feet. I instinctively backed up, unsure what he might do. He didn't look at me. He was staring out the window, fists trembling, breathing fast.
"This is genocide," he whispered. "And they're call themselves santient."
Liam looked at me, eyes pleading. "I know it's bad. I know I should've said something sooner. But you can't just talk about these to anyone. But I can help. I can show you the layout. I just need a pen. Paper."
I blinked, trying to clear the tightness from my chest. I nodded and went to fetch what he asked for.
Delmar stood up and took a seat beside Liam. His voice came out hoarse, scraped across the edges of rage that hadn't yet found release. "I want the scientists. I want the schematics. Everything."
Liam shifted uncomfortably under Delmar's stare. His eyes flicked to mine, then to K'liira, who, to my slight horror, was still watching him. He visibly shivered. I didn't blame him.
"Give me a pen and paper," he said after a beat. "I'll draw you what I can."
I came back with a dull pencil and the back of a utility bill pad, half-used, curled at the edges, but good enough.
When I returned, I loosened the cloth binding Liam's wrists. He rubbed them quietly, no complaints this time, just a silent exhale before picking up the pencil I set on the table. His hands hovered for a moment, then began to move. Lines, shapes, intersections. Nothing artistic, but it was clean.
"This is the east wing. Storage. Mostly aquatic filtration and specimen tanks. These rooms..." he murmured, marking small squares, "restricted to high-level staff. Keycard access only."
Delmar hovered above him, breath heavy, eyes sharp. His fingers were twitching, his entire body leaning toward the page like he could physically will it to show him the way to freedom. I could feel his tension like a live wire across my skin.
"This is from memory," Liam added, glancing at me. "I haven't been everywhere, but this layout will get you close. Tomorrow, if I show up at work like normal... I might be able to get you in. As far in as I can."
I looked from him to Delmar before talking. "Okay," I said finally, my voice low. "We'll let you go. But if you betray us..."
"I won't," Liam cut in, folding the paper. "I want them to be free too. You have to trust me, dude."
Delmar leaned forward then, looming with deliberate weight. His voice was quiet, but there was venom in every syllable. "When a Faringue sets their eyes on prey, they kill it. Always. I have my eyes on you now. One wrong move... and I'll make sure your death is something people whisper about in horror."
I cleared my throat, gently pushing Delmar back with a hand on his chest. His heart was pounding. "I think Liam understands what's at stake."
I moved toward the door and pulled it open, letting the early evening air spill in. "You're free to go. And I'm sorry for the way we handled this. But you know why we had to. Too much was at risk."
Liam stood up slowly, rubbing his wrists again. His gaze met Delmar's, steady despite everything. "We're in this together now."
The room fell silent.
I waited a beat, then said, "Go. But stay alert. We'll get in touch with you."
Liam nodded once, then slipped out through the door, not looking back.
Delmar finally let out the breath I didn't know he'd been holding. His shoulders sagged just slightly. K'liira blinked once, for the first time in what felt like an hour, she rose and walked to the bathroom like the show was over and she was going home.
I closed the door and leaned against it.
"She's started nesting, hasn't she?" I asked quietly, watching the way Delmar's jaw clenched at my words.
"Yes," he replied, voice rough.
I frowned. "What does that mean for her?"
Delmar dragged a hand through his hair. "It means she's vulnerable. The instinct kicks in strong. She'll try to seduce any male she sees fit... to pull them into her harem. Humans have no natural resistance to it. It's primal. Deep. I've told her to suppress it, older females can control the urge if they don't want to breed. But she's young. And new. It's hard for her."
I let my head fall back against the doorframe. "Fuck."
"Yeah," Delmar said, breathing hard. "Fuck."