Crystal thought back to last night, when Cruxan had easily told her he would leave Luxiria if she asked him to.
She bit her lip, swallowing hard.
“When what they love is threatened,” Beks continued, “all they want to do is eliminate the threat. That’s how they grow up, it’s what they are trained to do, from an early age and especially during warrior training.”
Crystal’s brows furrowed.
Beks turned to her. “But Cruxan can’t do that. Not in your case.”
Realization at what Beks was trying to say jolted through her.
“You think he shut down because he realized he can’t protect me from my ex? But that’s ridiculous. We’re on Luxiria, not Earth. Leo is not a threat to me here.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Beks said. “You were hurt, terribly hurt by someone, and your mate just realized that he can’t change that, that he can’t fix that.”
Crystal’s breath hitched.
“It probably threw him for a loop,” Beks said, squeezing her shoulder in comfort. “Luxirians aren’t used tonotsolving problems.EspeciallyCruxan.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Lihvan told me that Vaxa’an relies on Cruxan for a lot of things. Mostly, the messy situations because Cruxan gets it done.”
Crystal could see that. Cruxan was intelligent, driven, determined.
“Cruxan saved Lihvan and I fromJalunwhen we were stranded on that planet,” Beks said.
“He did?” Crystal asked, bewildered. She hadn’t known that.
“Yes. And you know the Luxirian female who poisoned Cecelia? Cruxan personally saw to her exile. He was the one who discovered theMeviraxhave the crystal meant to send you all back home because he was the one who tracked down the warrior who had stolen it. And, it seems, Vaxa’an also sent him after you and Erin,” Beks finished. “So you see, Cruxan gets shit done. But when it comes to you, he can’t fix something in your life that’s brought you a lot of pain. And maybe he shut down last night because he knew that and he simply doesn’tknowhow to deal with it.”
Crystal inhaled a deep breath. What Beks was saying made sense.
“It probably doesn’t matter,” Crystal finished said softly. “I told him I was leaving, that I can’t give up my home and my sister. Why get involved when I’ll be leaving? It would only hurt the both of us.”
Beks’ smile was hesitant, but knowing. Softly, the brunette said gently, “I’m sure we’ve all said that at some point, Crystal. Believe me, I never thought I would choose to stay. But I did.”
Crystal looked down in her lap. “I think about my sister a lot. And I just know that she’s really worried, wondering what happened to me. It drives me crazy sometimes, thinking about it.”
Though she didn’t see her sister as much as she used to—Lauren was married now, with a husband, and a baby on the way—it didn’t mean that their love for one another, especially aftereverything, wasn’t as strong.
“I just wish I could send her a message,” Crystal said, “just to let her know I’m alright, that she doesn’t have to worry, that she doesn’t have to think the worst.”
“Luxiva,” came a dark, deep voice from the doorway of the room, making both women jump in surprise.
“Oh my God,” Beks said, startled, turning around. “Lihvan, you scared us!”
Crystal felt sudden disappointment when she didn’t see Cruxan with him, but she swallowed it back. Standing, she asked, “Any news of Erin?”
His careful expression made her shoulders sag. “We managed to track Cruxan’s hovercraft. The signal was not far so we went there just now. But when we got there, we discovered that Jaxor’an had found the tracker and had removed it. That’s what the signal was.”
“What?” Crystal breathed, dismay spreading through her chest.
“I am sorry,” he murmured. “We know they passed close toKroratax, perhaps heading east. But there is no way of knowing where they are now.”
Beks turned to her and said, “We know that Erin is strong.”
“I know,” Crystal whispered. “I just want to know she’s safe, that he hasn’t…”
