“Tev,” Cruxan said, inclining his head. “Why?”
Vaxa’an’s lips pressed together and he turned to the stone of the mountain wall beside them, which had once been chiseled down long ago to create that very terrace.
He searched for something, though for what, Cruxan was unsure.
Then his friend placed his palm on the stone, long fingers spread wide. Cruxan saw a blue flash and his breath hitched. A reader? Hidden into the stone of thefacev?
Much to Cruxan’s astonishment, part of thefacevwall slid open, revealing a dark passageway. A strong gust of wind whistled up through it and Cruxan was hit with that strange scent again. It momentarily stole his breath.
“There it is again,” Cruxan murmured to the Prime Leader, turning to him. “What is this?”
He’d never known about a hidden entrance onto the Ambassadors’ terrace. Especially one that wound down the mountain.
In Luxirian, the Prime Leader said, “It is an old passageway that leads from my dwelling to the bottom of thefacev.”
“Why did we not know about this?” he questioned, frustration rising again. This was a serious concern, one they should have all been informed about.
“It was a family secret,” Vaxa’an answered. “My sire’s sire had it constructed during the Polikim Wars, as a way for his mate and his offspring to escape, if the Golden City was threatened. It connects only to this terrace, to one in the marketplace, and then one at the very bottom.”
Cruxan’s lips pressed together, realization hitting him. “No one knows about this entrance?”
“I did not even tell you, any of my trusted Ambassadors. Myluxivadoes not even know because…” Vaxa’an trailed off, staring down the dark tunnel stairs. “I have not thought about it in a long time. Since I was a youth.”
“Vaxa’an…” Cruxan said lowly, understanding what he was implying. “Then this was not one of our own.”
“Nix,” Vaxa’an said, his tone heavy and low. “The only other soul in this universe that knows about this entrance, about how to access it, is Jaxor’an.”
Cruxan’s jaw clenched again.
Jaxor’an. Vaxa’an’s only blood brother. A close friend until…
Until he defected to theMeviraxafter his mother’s and sire’s deaths, abandoning Vaxa’an to rule during his grief. The Others. TheMevirax,who they strongly suspected had possession of the crystal. TheMevirax,whose females’ were rumored to be able to bear offspring.
TheMevirax, who now had two of the human females, stolen right out from their protection in the Golden City.
Cruxan’s rage unfurled, but he kept it tightly controlled. TheMeviraxhad been left unchecked for far too long. And now, two innocent human females were paying the price for it.
His eyes connected with Vaxa’an’s. Cruxan was Vaxa’an’sfixer. Out of all of the Ambassadors, it was Cruxan who did most of the dirty work that no one else wanted to do. He was the tracker, the one who pursued dishonorable Luxirians and punished them accordingly, who led them to execution or exile, whatever the trials decided. It was Cruxan who oversaw the most unforgiving and roughest of all the outposts on Luxiria, who had to travel the longest of distances to reach the Golden City.
It was Cruxan who’d gone to retrieve Lihvan and Beks when they’d been stranded onJalun. It was Cruxan who had led Levrix to exile after she’d tried to poison Rixavox’s mate, Sessela. It was Cruxan who’d discovered the truth from the Luxirian warrior who’d taken the crystal, with less than honorable methods.
It was what he did. He cleaned up Luxiria’s messy situations. It was his duty.
Sometimes, he envied his fellow Ambassadors. Sometimes, he wished things were different. But he owed it to Luxiria. He owed it to Vaxa’an. After Cruxan’s sire’s betrayal, after his cowardice when Luxiria needed him most, Cruxan felt he owed everything to his planet and to his planet’s leader, to atone for his sire’s actions, to atone for the shame it brought.
So when Vaxa’an’s gaze went from the hidden tunnel leading to the base of the mountain and then latched onto Cruxan, when his Prime Leader simply said, “Find them,” Cruxan said what he always did.
“I will.”
Chapter Three
The tunnel stairs led them down to a small exit at the very base of the towering, black mountain. An exit with no one in sight, in a secluded alcove at the very back of the Luxirian city.
Crystal’s legs shook from the seemingly endless amount of stairs they’d traveled down, barefoot nonetheless, and when they emerged from the darkness, the suns’ light nearly blinded her. But she was relieved to see sunlight again. The oppressive darkness in the mountain had been terrifying and she’d never been one to fear the dark. Not when there were so many others things to fear.
Their captor hadn’t spoken one word to them. He wasn’t big on talking apparently and something about him made Crystal think he was used to being alone. But when they emerged from the mountain, she watched as his eyes immediately fastened onto Erin. She watched as his shoulders seemed to relax.
Crystal had an ugly suspicion about his strange behavior around the brunette and she knew that Erin did as well. They’d all heard the stories about Luxirians’ Instincts. It was, after all, why four of the women from their group were now gone.
