The Alien’s Lair by Ruth Anne Scott

Deep in the Order’s lair, Ellora has found herself in the hands of a strange man who tells her that he knows something from her past. Though he can’t tell her who he is or why he is there, she feels that he is the only one who can give her a chance to get out of the tunnels. She knows that she has to trust him, even if that means not knowing what he is carrying in an old cloth bag or why he insists that the future of the Universe rests on him protecting it.

On Penthos, Severine and Rilex are continuing through the tunnels on their own, hoping that they won’t encounter the hybrid army before they are able to get back to the rest of the group. When they stumble on something both mysterious and horrifying, though, their focus shifts and they realize that they are dealing with something far bigger than any of them know. With everything unraveling around him, Rilex realizes that the time is coming soon that he will have to reveal the rest of the truth about himself and what he knows.

Knowing they no longer have the time to wait for Rilex to return, Pyra leads the rest of the team out of the ship and out into the desert. He knows that this is what they have been preparing for, but he can’t help but feel the pull inside him, longing for the warriors who are not beside him and hoping that no matter what awaits them, he can take care of the family he loves while protecting the Universe and making his father proud.