I panicked. Couldn’t breathe. “Oh, god. We’re too late.”
Max placed a warm hand on my shoulder. “No. Look there.” He pointed to a screen on the side of the wall below that I hadn’t noticed before. “Those are his vitals. He is sedated, but still alive.”
My knees wobbled and I hung onto the chest high wall—waist high on Max—so I wouldn’t fall. I leaned over as best I could to inspect the rest of the room. Doctor Helion stood with his arms crossed at the head of Max’s bed. He looked like the demon he was.
I would hunt him down. I would find out how much one of those Elite Hunters cost and hire one to find him and kill him. He’d masterfully orchestrated Reji’s fake death. Great. Go, team. But to do it, he’d convinced Kovo to take the fall. For that, I would fucking hire all of the Elite Hunters. Every. Single. One. They would have to bring me Helion’s head. I wanted proof.
One level below us there was a smaller group of balconies, more like the box seats at a theater. Each one of them was full of what I assumed was the Atlan version of the media. They all jostled for position, peeking around one another to get a better look at the infamous warlord who had betrayed his people and murdered his own brother.
It was unheard of in a male who did not have mating fever.
Then again, they all believed he had been an out of control psycho when he’d supposedly killed his brother. Kovo told me he’d acted like a raging beast in order to fool them.
Well, he’d done a damn fine job. Idiot.
I wanted to scream the truth at them but knew I could not. Revealing the truth would invalidate Kovo’s sacrifice. It would mean his baby brother’s death.
I knew about siblings. I had Stef. If anyone messed with her I would stop at nothing to make sure she was okay. Kovo loved his brother. I could not betray his trust. I could not be the reason Reji died—for real this time.
Max squeezed my shoulder. “I’m going down there to speak with Helion. See what I can do.”
“Okay.”
“You must remain here, do you understand? If you go anywhere else, you will be hauled out of here kicking and screaming. I won’t’ be able to do anything to get you back in.”
“I know. You told me.”
“I would see you happy, daughter. Let us hope Helion listens to reason.”
I scoffed. “He won’t.”
“Then perhaps he will listen to threats.”
Shocked at Max’s words, I looked up at him. “You’re going to threaten him?”
Max’s eyes narrowed. “If he hurts you, I am going to kill him. He is Prillon. He is a spy. He has no protection on Atlan but what we choose to give him.”
I nodded. Max walked away as I contemplated his words.
Helion at the mercy of Max and the war council?
Hope flared back to life in my heart. Surely, even Helion would not want to anger the entire Atlan war council. Lots of badass, experienced warlords like Max who were not intimidated by his size or his job. If Helion wasn’t at least cautious, he was an idiot.
I turned to find the Prillon looking right at me.
Our gazes locked. All I saw behind his alien eyes was ice cold calculation.
Fucking bastard. He was going to go through with this execution. He was going to sacrifice Kovo to save Reji and whatever stupid mission Reji had been sent on.
No!
I ran in the direction Max had gone a few minutes earlier. There had to be an entrance down there. I didn’t care how small I was. There had to be something I could do. Pull tubes out of a wall, disconnect an I.V.—if they even used those.Something.
Strangle that Prillon with my bare hands. If he hurt me, Max would kill him. I was confident in that. Having an Atlan for a stepfather was turning out to be pretty handy.
I hoped.
A strange bell sounded through the corridor and I picked up my pace. I realized I was three floors above Kovo.
