“Vorazyr.” Kyvar appeared in my doorway, face tight.
I gave him my attention. “You heard from the Consortium?” They better have responded by now. We’d already been in three meetings with them in the last three days.
He trilled. “They are ready to solidify the trade. Here are their finalized demands.” He waved a hand over the tablet in the wall and pulled up the words.
I read it, then reread it again. “No.” Rage flooded through me. “The Consortium abandoned them to what they assumed would be death. They are not taking the humans back.” They are not taking Jacqueline.
“There’s more.” he paused. “The female they kidnapped gave birth a couple of weeks ago. Vorazyr, we must get the female and her suckling back from them. They have stated that they willback out of negotiations should we not fulfil this final demand. We’ve already gotten them down to a third of the resources they originally demanded for her return.”
I gripped the edge of the desk, my claws sinking in. “You’re saying I have to let Jacqueline go.” The words came out raw, as though claws were sliding down my throat.
His expression was careful. “I am sorry, Arrazyl. You know you will have support as you adjust from the female you’ve been mating. Others have been able to move on after losing a true mate. If we bring in another female to—”
“Stop.” I roared, rage flaring my wings out behind me. I couldn’t imagine touching another female. I could only think about waking up next to her, hearing her voice and feeling her softness.
Kyvar touched the panel and a hologram of the female who’d been taken appeared. In it she was wearing an intricate, flowing dress and a smile. “She has a babe now, in an unknown place, without the proper nurturing we give our bred females. Her mate hasn’t eaten properly in weeks.” He paused and pain flashed across his face. “I don’t want this either. But you are our Vorazyr. We trust you to make the hard choices.”
I stared at the image, only partly seeing the abducted female. There were times that needed the cold, hard leader that I could be. I had allowed Jacqueline to pull out a softer side of me, the side that would nurture a mate. But she wasn’t my mate. I had not marked her, and the time for that part of me was gone. I was Vorazyr, this was my duty.
“Arrange the final meeting. We will accept their terms.”
When Kyvar was gone I stared out at the darkening landscape for a long time. My tablet made a soft sound. The confirmation of the meeting. I slashed my claws across the stone wall as a bellow of agony and rage tore from my chest.
I’d made friends and even managed not to get pulverized by the cranky older female vorpyr who didn’t like humans, and yet it felt like there was a stone lodged in my stomach as we arrived back to the city. The vorpyr were excited and energetic, but I stayed quiet.
I’d told Jaron what I knew about the situation and he agreed with my hypothesis that there had been a second group of Consortium Military that came with us undetected. But what had they done? I hadn’t told Tatiana, but I admitted to Jaron that it was possible if they were using tranq darts, they weren’t using them for animals but for vorpyr. But if that were true, thenwhy? The potential answers to that question frightened me.
Vuldrex came to greet us as we climbed out of the massive baskets. “Welcome back. I will have the chef prepare some of our delights using gyksh layings for you to try.” Despite his friendly words, he seemed on edge.
I took him aside while the other two grabbed their packs. “What’s happened?”
The veins of his wings were dulled to a pasty white. “I’m sure if there’s anything to discuss, the Vorazyr will speak with you.” He gave me a kind smile that only ratcheted my anxiety to new levels.
“I’m going to visit Thyra before heading to the house.” Jaron said.
Vuldrex seemed uncomfortable but trilled, “I will take you to her.”
“We don’t need to be escorted to the house. Why don’t you two go directly?” I swung my pack up onto my shoulder.
“It would be best if you were accompanied.” He waved a wing at two warriors who were helping unload the baskets, and they came over. “Fly them up to the house.”
Tatiana seemed to sense the tension as well and cast me a nervous glance. I shook my head.
The warriors flew us directly home, cutting the time it would have taken us to walk in half. The colorfully decorated house greeted me and I relaxed in the familiar environment. I dropped my bag and went to the window, leaning my head out to see the familiar landscape before me. I breathed in the sweet air and rested against the wall, staring out.
“What do you think that was all about?” Tatiana joined me. “I assume it has something to do with the dart I found?”
“I think so. I think they’re in direct conflict with the Consortium again.”
She paled. “We need to solidify our position here. Let’s face it, the Consortium screwed us. If there’s a conflict right now, we can’t be in the middle.”
“And there’s no way we’re going to make it home, so we need to make sure our place here is stable and continue to show that we’re useful and not a threat.”
“Exactly.” she bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know what more to do, Jacqueline.”
I pushed away from the wall. “Your job right now is to get some rest. I’m going to find Arrazyl.” After everything, I knew he wouldn’t begrudge me a frank conversation.
“It’s more than fair.” The ugly hairless human in the hologram said in a grating voice that made me wish he were physically in front of me so I could remove his vocal cords.
