“Of course you do,” a female voice snarls from the back of the room. “Because you are weak, Dyris. You always were.”
Dyana stands in the doorway, a pulsar disruptor in one hand and the other behind her back.
“No one move,” she says, glaring around at the warlords.
Dexx chuckles darkly.
“Did you bring this one too?” he asks. “She doesn’t seem too happy about it.”
I stare at the disruptor.
“You’re among Sarkarnii warlords, Dyana.” I flash my fangs. “Your weapons mean nothing here. Your ideology means nothing here. All my warlords are mated.”
“Oh,” Dyana says, pressing the disruptor, dangerously, to her lips. “I will have to just give up.” She shrugs. “After all, if this room is filled with mated warlords, where does that leave little old me?”
She jerks her arm out and, on the end, hand encircling her throat, is Gillian. She clutches at the tight fingers, claws digging into her flesh, her eyes wide.
“I think it leaves me exactly where I want to be,” Dyana says. “I think you’ll give me whatever I want.”
GILLIAN
Dyana has the strength of an iron girder. As much as I fought against her, the drive, the glint in her eye which told me she couldn’t be stopped, I already knew it was useless. She would break all my limbs as long as I was alive for her to parade.
I chose to conserve my energy instead, wait for her to show a weakness I can exploit.
It meant leaving behind all the Sarkarnii, choruses of growls following me, Dyana and, disappointingly, Deus.
He trails us into the elevator, his tail dragging on the ground, his eyes dull.
“Why are you doing this?” I hiss at him. “Dalox helped you.”
“This pathetic creature wants his mate back,” Dyana booms. “And I have her.”
At the mention of his mate, Deus lifts his head, those half dead eyes filled with hope. In that moment, I already know everything.
Dyana doesn’t have his mate. Chances are she perished along with all the others. But Deus will do anything if he thinks she is still alive, even believe this mad Sarkarnii and go along with her insane plans.
“You let her get on board the ship, didn’t you?”
I try to glare at him with some sort of hate, but it’s virtually impossible. He cuts a pathetic, bedraggled creature who is held together by hope and pulled to shreds with grief.
Deus nods.
“If I help her, she will take me to my mate,” he says, his voice so low I can hardly hear him.
“At what price?” I toss at him as the doors open and Dyana drags me out.
“Where will they be meeting?” She presses a ray gun into my side. “Tell me, don’t lie. I don’t know much about your physiology, but I doubt you can last long without vital organs.” She twists her hand in my hair. “Don’t worry about your precious Dalox. I won’t hurt him,” she adds as I release a strangled cry of pain.
“It’s this way,” Deus says. “The clan hall is this way.”
Dyana releases her hold on my hair but moves it to my neck, shoving me forward as Deus leads the way until we reach the entrance.
“You can’t use a disruptor inside,” Deus says quietly. “Ricochet.” His eyes slide away from her and around the empty area in front of the clan hall.
“I will use a disruptor wherever I want,” Dyana says. “But I have all I need, right here.” She shakes me like she’s shaking a sauce bottle. “And you will stay quiet, unless you want your mate to have less of a head than when he started.” She sneers at Deus. “Even males can’t grow those back.”
Holding me in front of her, she pushes us through the doors and into the darkened corridor. I listen for the sounds of the Sarkarnii guards, like last time. But there is no chatter. Instead we reach the entrance to the hall, and she edges inside, pulling me behind her.
