He was nowhere near finished with it, would need to bring it with him to Troxva. Pain radiated from the base of his neck, a booming headache forming, frustration and anger and disappointment only making it worse.
He’d been in the technology wing for hours, since the dead of night. He’d neededsomethingto distract him from what his female had told him or else he thought he might go mad.
His work was only frustrating him further. There was very little that Kirov couldn’t work out, that he couldn’t understand. Like the armor.
Like Lani.
Kirov growled, running both hands over his horns, straightening from the table. His eyes felt tired, strained. He needed sleep and food and…release.
“Kirov,” a voice came from the doorway.
Kirov turned to look at Vaxa’an. “How long have you been there?”
Vaxa’an didn’t move. “Long enough to know you are no nearer to completion.”
Kirov gritted his jaw, looking at the fragments of metal on the table which wouldn’t sync and perform properly once he inputted their coding into the Coms. Thousands and thousands and thousands of lines of code he’d tried.
Vaxa’an eyed him, frowning. “What has you like this? When you first told me of this project, I assumed it would be easy to complete.”
“I did too,” Kirov said. “I have been distracted lately. It is hard for me to find my focus.”
His Prime Leader and friend didn’t ask him why, thankfully, just studied him from a distance.
Kirov forced his gaze away from the table and asked, “What time of the span is it?”
“Late morning,” Vaxa’an replied. “Come with me. Cruxan is connected on one of the Coms with an update.”
Kirov’s breath hitched, dread pooling in his stomach. Had Cruxan found the crystal?
He was running out of time and Kirov was still at a loss about what to do with Lani, how to proceed with her. Because despite what she’d told him on the terrace last night, Kirov had no intention of giving up. Not until it was over.
And it wasn’t over. It never would be.
Kirov followed Vaxa’an to the war room, where he saw Cruxan on the screen of the Com.
Cruxan nodded his head at Kirov and addressed them both when he said, “I have a lead on the crystal.”
A slight relief went through Kirov. Cruxan hadn’t found it yet.
“And?” Vaxa’an asked. “Is it viable?”
“The warrior I questioned seemed sure that he knew who had taken it. He is here, at my outpost, and conveniently had been stationed at the command center during the theft, a warrior I questioned myself. I know where he is.”
Vaxa’an exhaled a short breath. “Good. Find it. And then return it to the Golden City immediately. I will not keep the human females waiting any longer than they already have.”
“Yes, Prime Leader,” Cruxan replied. “And the warrior responsible?”
“Bring him too,” Vaxa’an replied, his voice darkening.
Cruxan nodded in acknowledgment and then signed off the Coms, the screen fading.
Vaxa’an turned to Kirov. “It seems we will recover the crystal quicker than expected.”
Kirov’s mind raced. If Cruxan tracked down the crystal at his outpost before the end of the day and immediately left his outpost, he would arrive by tomorrow evening.
No doubt, Vaxa’an would send the females away the moment the crystal arrived safely.
He was out of time.
