Sophia's brow furrows. “Do you think he can shut our connection down?”
I shrug. “I think he’s tried. If he could have turned it off, he would have. He’ll keep trying. Keep watching us. Be careful.”
Sophia’s grip tightens on my hand. “I’ll be okay. You have to watch out for yourself. I can’t protect you once we’re separated again.”
“I’ll protect myself,” I say with determination.
She grins. “That’s optimistic.”
The door buzzes, signaling the end of our time together. Sophia steps back, her hands at her sides, face blank as a mask.
“Goodbye, Elena,” she says solemnly.
I hug her tightly, even though Sophia isn’t much of a hugger. I just need it, and I know she won’t mind. “I hope I see you again,” I tell her.
The guards take her away. Sophia looks back as the door seals behind her with a muted click.
The antechamber feels suddenly large and empty. If I go out there too quickly, I might cry. My heart races as I stand there for another breath and then another, waiting for the echo of Sophia’s presence to fade away.
But it doesn’t.
I straighten my spine and walk through the door to face whatever comes next.
Rythar is waiting, arms crossed, his posture coiled and watchful. His gaze snaps to my face. I wonder what he sees there, what traces I've brought back from the antechamber.
He doesn’t ask what was said between Sophia and me in those precious moments alone. Instead, he pulls me in briefly and firmly, as if to reassure himself that he’s got me back.
Rythar and his warriors escort me to the warship. The moment my foot crosses the threshold, the ship hums to life around us.
The harness snaps me in as Rythar takes the controls. We lift off without ceremony.
"The men who took me in the shuttle. Where are they?" I ask.
Rythar's mouth is a flat line. "Dead."
"How do you know?"
Rythar inhales. "Vorak had their ship brought down. To keep the pacification device a secret. They did not live past that day."
I don’t feel bad for them. "And the High Lord?"
"His control is slipping. If I thought he orchestrated taking you from me, he would already be dead." Rythar says flatly.
"You think he's innocent?"
"No. I think it is likely he knew something. But he is not stupid enough to have ordered it directly."
“What could make him order it directly? Besides the venom, is there another way to kill a biome lord?” I ask quietly.
“Moving openly against another biome lord is not done, Elena. The threat you made to Jarrett’s face is the first in many hundreds of years.”
“He needed to know that I’ll do anything to protect my friends,” I say defensively.
The corner of Rythar’s mouth lifts. “And now he does.”
“Will he retaliate?” I wince as I ask Rythar.
“No. But he will increase his defense. And it is rare, but biome lords can die. The lord of the Lightning Isles died in what they say was an accident,” Rythar says.
