Rythar grunts.
“And now they confirmed that we have an antivenom,” I reply.
He nods, grim. “They suspected before, when I survived, but only a few of my warriors knew that I received your antivenom. And they told no one. The attacks will get worse if I allow the incursions to stand. The other warlords will send more, in hopes of intercepting the cure. I will crush them fast. When they see that I do not send my warriors into their biomes, they will stop. For now.”
I smile, but I don’t feel it. “Do you think they’ll do this in other biomes?”
“Perhaps. This affects all of Xytheos. And all the females from your ship. Some may assume that all of you have the cure,” Rythar says quietly.
I’m quiet, because this is bad. I sit with him and try to learn the system as it evolves. There is chatter, calls from patrols, and data feeds streaming in with suspicious movement.
“Is this what you normally do?” I finally ask.
“No. Xytheos has enjoyed remarkable stability. This began when you and the others like you arrived.” Rythar frowns.
“Then we’ve brought the war with us,” I say before I can stop myself. It’s become a nagging worry.
“No,” he says. He sighs, then admits, “Perhaps some skirmishes. I will sort it out. Until it is safe again, you will not leave the fortress.”
I don’t resist Rythar as he sits me in a chair. I realize I’m shaking as his eyes scan me again. “Drenz will escort you back to our quarters,” he tells me. “Do not worry. I will keep you safe. And every biome lord would die to protect his mate.”
In the bedroom, I find it has been cleaned. The sheets are new.
I sit on the edge of the bed, flex my fingers, and watch the light pulse in the bride mark. It’s steady again, not the erratic flash of yesterday. Sometime between the claiming and this morning, the Stone gave back what it took. Or I stopped refusing it. With the Stone, I can’t tell who moves first. But Sophia is not in my mind.
I stare at the ceiling, wondering how long I can keep this up.
Wondering what will happen when Xytheos decides to test me again.
CHAPTER 26
SIGNALS
ELENA – RYTHAR’S QUARTERS
I waitin our quarters for hours, sitting on a soft couch that Rythar had brought in for me.
Rythar enters the room silently. He sits beside me, close enough that our thighs touch. He brushes a strand of hair from my face. “Are you frightened?”
I lean against him, breathing his reassuring scent. “Yes,” I admit.
He rests his hand on my knee. For a long moment, he just breathes.
“I was harsh with you,” he says quietly. "You did what your instincts demanded. I cannot fault you for being what you are.”
“You’re still locking me in,” I say.
“Yes.” His thumb moves across my knee, one slow pass. “And I have thought of nothing else since.”
There’s no trace of anger in his face. Just the look of a man holding too many things in place at once.
"You scared me," I tell him. "Not because I thought you'd hurt me. Because for a second, you sounded like you wanted to."
His fingers tighten on my leg. "I would sooner cut off my own hand."
"I know." And I do. That's what makes this so complicated.
He turns my face toward him, his fingers warm against my cheek. "You are brave, Elena. Foolishly brave. It will make me old before my time." The corner of his mouth lifts. "But I would not have you any other way."
