Page 22

“De-von.” This is not the first time I have spoken her name.

Hor-ek and the healer exchange a glance I do not like.

“De-von.”

Hor-ek sighs. “She can’t come right now.”

She must. I need to see her. Make sure she is well. Plus she is the only one who soothes my pain.

“De-von.” My agitation grows. “De-von.”

Loud beeps fill the air. I flinch with each one and shift.

“We need to move outside the walls and lock the door,” the healer says. “His readings are off the charts.”

“De-von.” The fire inside me grows hotter. I climb to my hands and knees.

“Horek, we have to go.” The healer scrambles up and rushes toward a narrowly open door I have never seen before. He turns and once more urges the other male to follow. “Commander, now.”

His warning comes too late. I lunge forward and pin Hor-ek against the cell wall. My claws dig into each side of his neck. Blood slides down his flesh, and my mouth waters with the need to taste. I snap my jaws in his face, but he doesn’t so much as flinch. Not even with the wounds I’ve caused. He merely stares straight into my eyes.

“You don’t want to do this, cousin. This isn’t you,” he says. “What will Devon say if she finds out you harmed her sister’s mate?”

Hor-ek’s words give me pause. Memories return of De-von speaking of her sister being the commander’s heart’s fire. Her other sister is…Ja-nik’s. That name makes rage burn inside me, but on its heels is another emotion. Pain. Brother. That is what De-von called him, isn’t it?

Slowly, I release the hold I have on the male and step back. His blood now flows freely, but he doesn’t bother wiping at it.

“I will see if she will come,” he says. “She fears you after the last time she was here.”

My heart hurts at his words. The last thing I wish is for her to be afraid of me. I soften my tone. “De-von.”

“No promises, but I will ask.”

He exits my prison and closes the clear door behind him. It locks and whatever seams it might possess seal firmly shut and disappear. No handle is visible. I wait until the two males are gone before I make my way to the far back corner where I keep the trinkets De-von has brought me during her visits. All are accounted for. I pick up the small beast and absently stroke its wooden fur while I wait for her to show.

Murmured voices rouse me. I carefully open my eyes. Across the length of my cell from where I rest are Hor-ek and De-von. Standing just behind them is a second, unfamiliar female who is clearly of the same species as De-von, but who looks nothing like her. The female’s skin is pale and pink-hued. Whereas De-von’s hair is tightly coiled, this female’s has only a slight wave and is many shades lighter. She glares fiercely at me with blue—not the dark brown I have come to admire so much—eyes, as though I have personally harmed her in some way, but I pay her little attention. All my focus is on De-von and the way she—for the first time—holds herself rigid in my presence.

I shift to move slowly closer, and she flinches as well as takes a step back. My whole body freezes.

“De-von.”

“Holy fuck. Did he just say your name?” The other female asks, although I do not stray from my female.

“Yeah, he’s been doing that,” De-von replies in a too quiet voice.

“He would not stop saying your name when Vornak and I were in here earlier examining him. He has been ill and barely conscious for several days,” he pauses. “Ever since he lost control during your last visit.”

De-von’s throat bobs. Heat ripples through me at the movement.

“Do you know why he’s been sick?” The other female asks.

Hor-ek hesitates long enough that both females turn their full attention to him, although he continues his observation of me.

“You do, don’t you?” De-von asks.

“Vornak is almost certain, but he can’t confirm it,” he finally answers, and yet says nothing more.

“Well?” The second female prompts after several ticks of silence. “What the hell is going on with him?”