GLADIATOR | ELYSIUM RISING 1 ✔️

⍢ | 17

Tenn shook his head. "This is a horrible idea, on both of your parts." He ran a hand across his face. "Kidnapping a Noblus? What is Mossadi thinking?!"

"Mossadi?"

Confusion grabbed his face, starting with his brows before twisting his lips into a puckered pout. Tenn cursed under his breath. For the first time, he'd let something slip. The old Before, the old man mentioned there being multiple rebellious groups. He must've been aware of the Axarian Alliance already. Iggy was certain of it.

"Mossadi au Tittanus. Elysian commander turned mercenary turned resistance fighter, apparently."

Quite the character arc.

"Who are they, though?"

"She's the current leader of the alliance."

Iggy suppressed a smirk. "You sure do know a lot about the rebellion for someone who claims not to be a part of it."

"How many times do I have to tell you, boy—"

"Yeah, yeah. You're not a rebel. Blah, blah, blah."

Tenn pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't understand the gravity of their reckless actions. If they succeed in kidnapping a Noblus, the empire won't stop until they've been destroyed. The Axarian Alliance and countless others will be crushed under the heel of the emperor. The galaxy will be pushed towards war. Every system—every person—will be forced to choose a side."

Iggy pursed his lips. Surely the empire wouldn't start a whole intergalactic war over a single person. He paled upon realizing who they were talking about.

Maybe they would.

Either way, Iggy didn't really care. An intergalactic war wouldn't mean much to him once he got back to his mother. He'd take them somewhere far away—perhaps one of the nicer planets in the Far Reaches—and stay there for as long as they needed to. The war wouldn't bother them there. No rebels, no empire. It'd just be them for the rest of their lives.

He smiled at the thought.

"What're you smiling at, boy?"

Iggy replaced it with a deep scowl. "Nothing." He shook his head at the old man. "Listen, I didn't agree to help Jaxon because I care about the rebellion. I'm doing it to help my mother. He says he can get a smuggler to bring her medicine on Novr."

"And you trust him?"

He opened his mouth to retort, but his words were stickier than syrup-coated candies. They clung to the roof of his mouth, refusing to detach. Could he truly trust Jaxon to hold up his end of the deal? The man might've claimed to always keep his word, but that could've all been smoke. As soon as Iggy gave the rebel what he desired, who was to say he didn't run off, never to be heard from again? Risking his safety without a guarantee—an actual guarantee, not just words—was foolish.

But he wouldn't be seeing Jaxon until tomorrow. If he didn't have the keycard by then, the entire deal might've gotten called off. If the man truly could get medicine for his mother, he couldn't risk not coming through because of his own paranoia. He sucked in a breath.

He'd get the keycard. After that, it was up to Jaxon to prove whether he could be trusted.

"I trust him," Iggy said. The words tasted like venom in his mouth.

"Alright." Tenn stroked his beard. "Then we must come up with a plan. Preferably, a quick one. We don't have much time until we must fight for our lives."

Iggy's eyes lit up. "We?"

"Yes, Iggorii. You're not as clever as you think. You'll need my help pulling this off."