I pull my mouth free. "You’re not locking me in here. No."
"Yes."
"Is this mypunishment?" I shove at his armored chest and feel nothing give. "Or do you have something worse? Like what Sophia is getting from Vorak."
His face twists in disgust. “You heard me tell Vorak that I would punish my mate.”
“Yes,” I spit.
“I would not harm a hair on your head,” he says, angry and raw. “I am engineered to protect you. From violence. From poison. From politics. Even from myself.”
“Your engineering isn’t perfect. Vorak hurts Sophia,” I say. “I’ve seen it in her mind.”
Rythar’s jaw tightens. “Vorak is not like me. He is old code. Untouched by the revisions. And left running far too long.” He steps back a fraction.
“The High Lord said malfunctions are ended,” I say. “He told you to bring proof. So bring it.”
“With what? The beast is ash. My patrol saw a serpent-panther, not the hand that loosed it. Vorak does not leave hands.” His voice flattens. “I am hunting for the proof. Until I hold it, you are what Vorak hunts. Keeping you safe from him is not punishment,” he says.
I sag against the stone, still clutching the handle of the medkit with one hand. “It feels like one.”
His armored hand comes up, bracing against the stone beside my head. “If you can undo serpent-panther venom, then you undo a balance this world has relied upon for centuries.”
“What balance? It’s a venom,” I protest.
Rythar growls in frustration. “You must understand Xytheos. Every biome has its killer. Sometimes serpent-panthers are used. Sometimes other animals.”
“Like rats,” I say, thinking.
His eyes hold mine. “Not rats. Weak animals target a weak population. Only a large apex predator can target a biome lord or upper command.”
My head is spinning.Weak population.Hushbite rats killed many on New Terra. All of us knew someone who died of a bite before the antivenom was improved.
“But what if you wait and your enemies kill more of your warriors? On New Terra we all carried antivenom in case of a bite. But it was too late. By then, we’d already had so many men die that there weren’t enough to protect us,” I say. I don’t say my other question.Who brought Hushbite venom to Xytheos?
“Elena. I do not need warriors to keep you safe. If the Green Reach holds a cure, my warriors cross any border and survive what kills everyone else. There are few things that could unite the other biome lords against one. This is one. They would unite to take the cure.” He runs his fingers over my upper arm, then gives me a light squeeze. “Or take its maker.”
“And after today, they saw who the maker is,” I sigh. I knelt in front of all those witnesses and administered the antivenom. But I couldn’t let that warrior die. I can’t bring myself to regret it.
“You will remain within these quarters,” he says. “You may visit the engineering room only under guard. No rooftop. No public presence. Drenz or I will escort you.”
“You’re caging me,” I say, shrugging out of his grip.
“It is necessary.” He steps back. “You wanted to save one life? This may cost many more. Put yourself in harm’s way again, Elena, and see how many I would kill to keep you alive.”
Then he turns toward the door.
And the lock engages behind him with a heavy, final sound.
I sink down to the floor, back against the wall. The medkit clunks on the stone next to me. I can’t really blame Rythar. Not completely. Vorak set the trap. I just walked into it carrying a medkit.
CHAPTER 25
UNREST
ELENA – RYTHAR’S FORTRESS IN THE GREEN REACH
In the morning,I wake alone in bed. The dip on his side is still warm, where our bodies touched for hours. I blink, force myself upright, and go to the window. The shield glimmers in the air above the canopy, brighter now than last night. Below, the jungle moves in smooth, slow waves, but there are warriors heading into it. More than usual. Each group is paired or tripled, never solo. Scouting for serpent-panthers or other attacks, I guess.
