How had she mangled his words to make him sound as though he was letting her down? “My first concern is always to protect you and our tribe.”
“Then consider this. The Alterants are an unknown entity. Almost a hundred have shifted into beasts in just two days. Does this sudden change, or what is causing the change, not concern you?”
“Of course it does, and I expect a report by the time I return to VIPER headquarters, but it’s unfair to point suspicion at Evalle when none of the beasts seen so far have green eyes. And we’ve even heard of one Alterant intervening to save a teenager’s life. If Evalle was here she could help us.”
Brina’s gaze narrowed in doubt. “You’re sure? How do you know whatever is causing this outbreak wouldn’t affect her ability to control herself?”
“Because I know Evalle. She can control her beast.”
“Are you allowing your relationship with her to blind you to a potential threat from Alterants as well?”
“Of course not.” Was he? No. He didn’t think so. He asked, “What does all this have to do with the traitor?”
She lifted a hand, counting off fingers with each point. “You believed Larsen O’Meary was involved with the first Alterant incident. You met Evalle when the traitor tricked you into a Medb trap. You got a tip on the traitor because of the Alterant who shifted in North Carolina nine weeks ago.”
“I’ll concede that you have a point, but why are you so angry with me? What do you want from me?”
She scowled. “What do I want? For you to carry out my orders for the mind probe and deliver me the head of that traitor. And for you to accept that I have a responsibility to the Beladors. It’s best we stop pretending that our relationship will ever work out so that we may both move on with our lives.”
He heard her message loud and clear this time, every word slashing what they’d shared in the past to pieces.
“You got it, Your Highness.” He couldn’t enter without her invitation, but he could sure as hell leave without her permission. He lifted his hands and withdrew his hologram from the castle in the brittle seconds before she could dismiss him.
ELEVEN
She should have let Tristan kill her.
Evalle sat on the fern-covered ground, knees propped up, facing the tangled jungle growth ten feet away that had been ripped to shreds and beaten to pieces by a beast. Tristan. The same Tristan-beast that stood glaring down at her with the promise of reprisal in his hollow black eyes.
The only thing preventing him from killing her was that invisible spellbound wall between them, which he’d failed to destroy in the past three hours.
Sunrise had to be coming soon, even though it was hard to tell with this dense cover of greenery and thick clouds constantly shedding rain and holding the dark close. At this point, she honestly didn’t care if her skin fried.
Like fatback on a hot skillet,as her Nightstalker buddy Grady would say.
Evalle had no way back to Atlanta, no weapon and no ally here.
Tristan turned away and made two steps when the air around him distorted, the way heat warped away from an explosion. His body started changing, shrinking from the ten-foot-tall creature to a just-over-six-foot human, arms and legs returning to normal size.
Which meant his jeans no longer fit.
They fell down around his feet, then he stepped out of them and walked away as naked as the day he was born.
She stretched her neck, looking for him, then gave up.
Why would he come back, when he couldn’t get his hands on her? He’d left her dagger right where he’d kinetically stuck it in the ground—inside his protected area.
Probably using her dagger as bait to lure her back inside.
Evalle dropped her head onto her arms, which were crossed over her knees. Failure would be easier to accept if no one else paid the price but her. She didn’t want to be locked away like Tristan, but at this point she’d accept that over leaving Brina to face down the Tribunal.
Not to mention disappointing the entire Belador race, including Tzader and Quinn, who had to be out fighting Alterants.
Now she was letting down all humans as well.
“Thought you wanted to talk.”
Tristan? Evalle jerked her head up and there he was, still inside his area, but now he wore a pair of khaki shorts with pockets everywhere. His body was clean, his blond hair slicked back as if he’d taken a quick dip in water.
