Margot strode to the cage, taking in its construction better now that she wasn’t half-dazed and being hauled through the camp like a piece of meat. It was surprisingly well constructed. Metal, not wood. And it was quite worn. This was by no means the first group of prisoners it had held by a long shot.
“Floxxia!” she called out as quietly as she could while still getting the woman’s attention.
The Skrizzit’s eyes brightened when she realized who was calling her, rising to her feet and hurrying to the bars. Margot couldn’t believe it, but the woman was actually thinner than before, and in only the short time she’d been gone. The others had that same look, sunken cheeks and eyes. Gromm had to bring them back alive, if possible, but it didn’t mean he had to waste precious resources feeding them any more than the bare minimum to keep them that way.
“Margot! We heard talk that you’d escaped. I never thought I’d see you back here. We were all so happy for you. At least one of us made it out of here. But now you’ve returned.” Her eyes noted the collar around the human’s neck. “Oh, no. A shock collar.”
“Yeah. Gromm said it’ll zap me if I wander, but he didn’t say what the boundaries were. I’m kinda flying blind here.”
Floxxia pointed to a tree at the perimeter of the landing area. “Do you see the red square on the tree?”
“Yeah.”
“That is a perimeter tracker. If you cross it, your collar will activate. If you stay inside, you’ll be fine. Just don’t wander out.”
“But how much of this place is boxed in?”
“The entire camp, but there are a few narrow paths left open for the prisoners being used as laborers to go forage for food for the men. But don’t even think about it. Those parts of the woods are still dangerous.”
“After all I’ve seen, I’m not so worried about it, believe me. But why don’t you have a collar? No one in your cage does.”
“You just answered your own question. We are in a cage. They don’t have a lot of collars and only apply them when they select someone to go on a work outing. Otherwise, we are typically either locked in here or under guard while we perform tasks within the camp. For the most part we are just stuck in here. Hang on a moment. What is that?”
“What’s what?”
“Come closer.”
Floxxia reached through the bars and pulled Margot’s shirt open, her mouth actually dropping open in shock at what she saw.
“What happened to your runes? This isn’t my work. And your pigments? They’ve changed! It can’t be!”
“Yeah, about that. I kind of met someone. It’s a long, complicated story.”
“Met someone?” she pulled at the fabric more, revealing Margot’s fully formed Infala. “It–This is impossible!”
Margot couldn’t help but chuckle at the woman’s utter shock. “Apparently not.”
Floxxia’s mind was racing. She was a Skrizzit, an expert in all things pertaining to the pigments and runes. This, however, was something she’d never seen before. Never even heard of.
“But your race…” Floxxia shook her head, a million possibilities all running through it at once. “Even with your different physiology, and even with Gromm’s strongest of pigments,thisshould still not be possible.”
“I know.”
“Do you, though? Your runes have done more than just shift and strengthen. You are Infala mated.”
“Technically, not quite. But yeah, we know. We’re both as surprised as you are, believe me. It’s weird as hell, and utterly new to me. I mean, I’d never even heard of an Infala before I met you. And now? Now I’ve got one, and it’s pulling me to him in ways I never imagined.”
The Skrizzit shook her head, processing the information as best she could. She looked around. A couple of Gromm’s men were visible at the far end of the area and had taken note, walking toward them.
“Who is it? One of the guards? Or was it that Rylinn fellow? Watch out for him, Margot. He seems kind, but he’s as cold and calculated a killer as any of them. Maybe even more so.”
“Oh, I know all about Rylinn, believe me. But no, it’s not him, thank God. Not anyone from the camp, actually. I met someone after I escaped.”
Margot saw the guards getting closer by the second. She really wanted to tell Floxxia about Braxxos, but it was too risky. This wasn’t the time or place. But despite seeing him blasted and flung into the woods in the heat of battle, Margot was absolutely certain of one thing. Braxxos was still alive. Her Infala was burning for him, pulling her. She knew without a doubt, her mate was out there somewhere. And she’d do whatever it took to get back to him.
If she could.
“What’s that?” Floxxia asked, shifting her top yet again. She poked at the pink flesh of Margot’s new scars. “I don’t recall this injury. It was definitelynotthere when I applied your runes.”
