We had information Kethar didn't know we had. We had defensive positions he couldn't predict. And we had three days to prepare for whatever came next.
HALLIE
The scream cut through sleep like a blade.
I was on my feet before I was fully awake, the bond telling me Drav was already moving toward the sound. Our prisoner—Tahl, he'd told us his name was—had been quiet all night. Until now.
I moved to the back chamber where we'd secured him. Found him awake, bound, trembling in ways that had nothing to do with the restraints. His skin had gone grayer overnight, the color of ash. The unbonded sickness progressing faster than I'd expected.
"How long?" I asked.
He looked at me with hollow eyes that had probably been bright once, before desperation and dying had hollowed him out. "Days. Maybe four. Maybe less." He coughed and blood flecked his lips, dark against the gray. "It's in my lungs now. Organs shutting down."
I knelt beside him. Drav appeared in the chamber entrance, watching but letting me handle this.
"We need more information," I said to Tahl. "About Kethar's plans. About his remaining allies."
"I told you everything last night." His voice was hoarse, destroyed. "Vhel and Dresh. Southern boundary. Three days."
"You said two more allies. Are you certain? Not one more?"
Tahl's brow furrowed like he was trying to remember through the pain. "I... Dresh was supposed to come. But I haven't seen him in days. He might already be dead. The sickness was advanced." He coughed again, harder this time. "Vhel for certain. Just Vhel. He's the strongest. The most dangerous."
So one ally, not two. Kethar plus Vhel instead of Kethar plus two others. Not three against two—just two against two.
"Tell me about Vhel," I said. "How does he fight?"
"Fast. Aggressive. He doesn't strategize like Kethar does, doesn't think three moves ahead. Just attacks with everything he has." Tahl shifted position, wincing when the movement pulled at his bound wings. "He's younger. Stronger. His wing membranes aren't as damaged yet. Maybe two weeks left before the sickness kills him."
"Two weeks is longer than Kethar has," Drav said from the entrance.
"Yes. Which makes Kethar more desperate. More dangerous." Tahl looked between us, and I saw something like pity in his expression. "If you're smart, you'll leave. Abandon this territory. Find somewhere else. They'll die eventually and you can come back."
"No," I said. "This is our home. We defend it."
"Then you'll probably die too." Tahl closed his eyes. "That's what happens to everyone. Desperation breeds violence. Violence breeds death. The system kills us all eventually."
The resignation in his voice was crushing in ways that anger would never have been.
I looked back at Drav. He nodded slightly—permission to continue however I thought best.
"Why did you follow Kethar?" I asked Tahl. "You're young. You had time to find a mate the legitimate way."
"I thought I had time." Tahl opened his eyes again. "Symptoms appeared six months ago. Just minor things—slightly cold, tired easily. I ignored them. Thought I was imagining it." He laughed, bitter and broken. "By the time I accepted I was dying, it was too late. The next portal opening was months away. I couldn't wait that long."
"So you decided to steal what you couldn't earn."
"Yes." No shame in his voice. Just fact, stark and undeniable. "I decided survival was more important than honor. Decided living was worth any cost. Even attacking bonded pairs. Even knowing I'd probably die trying." He looked at his bound hands. "I was right about the dying part."
The honesty was almost worse than defiance would have been.
"Did you have anyone?" I asked. "Family? Friends who'll miss you?"
"A brother. Older. Bonded successfully ten seasons ago. Has three offspring now." Tahl's voice went quiet. "He told me to wait. To be patient. To trust the system. I didn't listen."
"Where is he now?"
"North territory. Three days flight." Tahl met my eyes. "He doesn't know I'm here. Doesn't know I attacked you. When I die, he'll never know what happened to me. He'll think I died alone of the sickness. That's better. He shouldn't know I became this."
