Finding this hurt, baseline human child was an insult to every prayer they had made for ages. This was the precious life they were denied, yet someone had treated it like trash.
The roar of Marquess Aslan's voice, usually so calm, blasted through every speaker in the Aetheria Galaxy. This was not a secret order. It was a furious, open command that shook the entire government.
The moment his command finished, every planet he ruled locked down. Starship traffic froze. Sky patrols instantly changed from routine watches to fierce, all-out searches. On every world, from the green jungles of Raslan to the empty mines of the Resource Outposts, the message was clear: Find the source of this crime.
The order was simple, yet terrifying in its reach. Find the parents of this untouched child. Bring them to Balthazar alive.
Beside Aslan, Lev was a silent storm. The cracks in the strong wall of the Infirmary grew wider, showing his inner rage. He didn't speak. He didn't need to. The knowledge that such a precious, rare life had been hurt, a life he and Aslan had been denied for thousands of years was too much to bear.
Aslan, having broadcast his fury, turned back to his lover. He knew he couldn't comfort Lev with words, only action would do.
"Lev," Aslan commanded, his voice low and firm, yet softening only for him.
"I am trusting you with her. Go to the Observation Wing and stay guard. I want you to be the first thing she sees when she wakes. Do not leave her side until I return."
Lev nodded once, his eyes still burning with a mix of sorrow and rage. He took the data pad with the child's impossible files and marched toward the wing, his posture hiding the deep shake in his body.
The Grand Chirurgeon waited until Lev was gone before speaking to his Lord.
"Marquess Aslan," he said, bowing deeply.
"You must understand the scale of what we have found. The lack of any modification means this child is biologically fragile. Her healing will be slow."
He pointed to the screen showing the bullets.
"More importantly, the lack of an identification chip, combined with the nature of these projectile weapons, suggests this crime goes beyond a simple family quarrel. The technology is crude, yes, but its purpose is specific. To silence."
Aslan's golden eyes narrowed.
"I hold you personally responsible for her life. I want a direct update on her condition every ten minutes. If she so much as stirs, you will alert the Marchioness and myself immediately."
Aslan spun, his wings flashing out with a metallic shing that echoed in the hall. He didn't wait for the doors. He shot through the gap like a golden missile, a blur of motion and raw power, flying with furious speed toward the central command hub.
He landed like a meteor in the Citadel of Command, a vast, dark chamber where the only light came from the floor-to-ceiling holographic maps of the Aetheria Galaxy. The air hummed with the quiet power of a thousand systems running in perfect sync.
The Captain of the Guard, a strong shifter named Kael, was already at the main desk, his back straight. He didn't flinch as Aslan appeared, but his deep bow was swift.
"Lord Marquess. The lockdown is complete. All space roads are frozen. All planet shields are at full power. Nothing leaves this galaxy."
Aslan strode past him, his golden eyes sweeping over the glowing maps.
"Report. How did she get in?"
Kael's fingers flew across the desk, bringing up a complex, layered scan of the palace grounds.
"My Lord, that is the problem. We have found... nothing."
"What do you mean, 'nothing'?" Aslan's voice was dangerously low.
"We have checked for everything," Kael reported, his tone all business.
"There is no leftover energy from a space-jump. No sign of a beaming-machine. No rips in the air from a fold-jump. The sky sensors show no fire from a falling pod. The ground is clean—no boot prints, no wheel tracks, no scorched earth. The child... simply appeared."
Aslan stared at the blank data, his fury turning into a cold, sharp dread.
"She did not appear, Captain. She was placed. What did the garden's internal security record?"
"Another dead end, My Lord." Kael brought up a new screen.
"I have checked the garden's recorded data for the last 72 hours. Our machines watch for light, sound, energy, and all types of matter."
He pointed to a timeline.
"At 14:31, the Marchioness entered the garden. At 14:37... the child was there."
"Show me the moment she arrived," Aslan demanded.
"That's just it, My Lord," Kael said, his face grim.
"There is no 'moment'. The logs show no trespasser, no spark of energy, nothing. One second, there was a bush. The next... the child was under it."
A terrifying silence filled the command center. A trespasser that could get past the Marquess's own safety field without a trace was more than a criminal. It was a ghost.
Aslan turned from the map, his mind racing. If the way in was a dead end, he would focus on the victim.
"The bullets," Aslan snapped.
"What are they?"
"Primitive, My Lord. Solid lead projectiles. Untraceable. They bear no manufacturer's mark, no energy signature. They are crude, designed to tear flesh, not pierce armor. A weapon of terror, not war."
"And the child herself?"
"Exactly as the Grand Chirurgeon reported," Kael confirmed.
"Baseline human. No chip, no augments, no genetic markers from any registered family in the Royal Fenrir Empire. She is not in any of our records. Anywhere."
Aslan stared at the glowing image of his locked-down galaxy. The enemy was invisible, the victim a ghost. A cold, clever mind was at work.
"They failed," Aslan said, his voice quiet.
"They wanted her dead and hidden. Now she is alive, and in my home. They will be nervous. They will move."
He turned back to the Captain, his orders now sharp and cold.
"I want you to search all our records. Look for the words 'untouched', 'child', or 'human'. I want every secret message found, every hidden money trade looked at. Check every ship that has landed at our Resource Outposts in the last three months. Someone supplied those crude bullets. Someone knew about this child."
Aslan's golden eyes met the Captain's.
"This ghost may have left a trail, Kael. Find it."
"Yes, Lord Marquess!"
Aslan spun, his wings flaring once, and shot away. The force of his launch created a loud, sharp crack in the air. He reappeared almost immediately in the silent, dark hall outside the Observation Wing, leaving his Captain to begin the silent, secret hunt that would tear the galaxy apart to find a ghost.