“You endangered your mate as a lure, to bring me here,” Havik said, mostly for Thalia’s benefit. Her eyes gleamed in recognition but not surprise. She had already figured out the warlord’s plot. “If you think you can threaten me to renounce my mate, you are mistaken.”
A cruel grin spread across the warlord’s face. The shifting light cast his features in stark relief, aging him horribly. “I’m not threatening you. I’m threatening her.”
Unprompted, the warrior holding Thalia twisted her arms. She cried in pain, falling to her knees.
The sound hurt him right down to his soul.
“Stop! Whatever it is, it is yours,” Havik said.
“I need an heir. For years I wanted it to be you, Havik, but I was foolish. I cherished my mate, but she was weak and gave me a weak son.” Kaos stalked in a circle around Havik. His left foot dragged slightly and only became noticeable because Havik’s entire being was focused on his father. “I tried my best to strengthen you. No coddling. Made you work for my approval. I thought I trained you properly. I thought if I presented you with the choice to take that weak Terran female or keep my respect, you would reject that female.”
“Vanessa was not weak,” Havik said.
“All Terrans are weak. The Council claim they are our allies, but they have done nothing for us. For Rolusdreus. They need, taking our technologies, and are happy to let our warriors bleed on their cold planet. What do they give us? Mates that cannot even survive the environment. Fragile, pale things that become ill if exposed to the sun. What unnatural creature is allergic to the sun!” Kaos paused, if expecting an answer.
“Vampires,” Thalia helpfully supplied.
What was she saying?
“Oh, you don’t know about vampires? It’s an Earth creature. Drinks blood. Avoids the sun. We, um, they, look just like regular people.”
“She lies. There is no such creature,” a male said. Havik recognized Skyll, even in the gloom of the shifting light.
“Have you been to Earth?” Thalia asked.
One of the males said, “She threw a bucket of blood at us!”
“That was juice,” Skyll answered.
“It was blood. It went into my mouth, Skyll. The female vampired me!”
Thalia’s eyes gleamed with amusement at the discord. “Of course his name is Skull,” she murmured.
“These are your best males?” Havik asked, already knowing they were chosen for their loyalty, not their intelligence. Kaos did not like to be questioned and always preferred the warriors who blindly followed orders, even the orders that went against the good of the clan. Havik recalled Ren listing the warlord’s many misdeeds. “You could not stop the Council from sending Terran females, so you gave your warriors an ultimatum. Their mate or their clan. How many good warriors have you driven away?”
“They were weak.” Kaos spat the words and his tail twitched wildly. “I do not need them.” Kaos paused, as if considering his words. “I did not misspeak when I said I was proud when you went your own way. You proved yourself. Became the male you were meant to be. Imagine my pride when I learned my wayward son finally returned home.”
Havik’s gaze fixed on Thalia. He wanted her to see everything in his heart. “This is my home.”
“You impossible child!” Kaos jerked back, as if Havik slapped him. “Can you imagine how I felt when reports reached me that my son returned with a new mate, another Terran, and this one smaller than the last. Parading her around, instead of hiding your shameful behavior!” He curled his lip at Thalia, disgusted. “She stinks of you. No doubt you’ll plant another feeble son in her. How could you do this to me? Renounce your weak Terran female and return to your family.”
Kaos always twisted events to be about him, and Havik fell for it every time. Not now.
“Join me. We will rebuild the clan together.”
“If I forsake my mate,” Havik said.
“I will find you a new mate. A proper mate. A Rolusdreus female.” Kaos puffed out his chest, as if he made an irresistible bargain.
Kaos and his machination to manipulate Havik was laughable. Had his father always been such a petty, self-centered male? Driving away those who disagreed with him until he was surrounded by sycophants? How many years did Havik remain blind to this?
“I will always choose my mate,” he said, keeping his voice calm and controlled as he inched his hands to the pistol at his hips. Thalia noticed the movement as her eyes went wide.
“I’ll go!” she shouted. The warlord swiveled his attention to her, amazement on his face, like he did not think she could speak. “I’m a thief and a liar, remember? I don’t love you enough for this drama.”
“No,” Havik said.
“You were just a mark, but you’re not worth this. I’m cutting my losses. I’ll leave,” she said.
“No,” he repeated, his voice thick with emotion. All the fury and frustration he had worked so hard to ignore came at him at once. She lied. She was a liar, but he desperately needed to believe that she lied. What they shared was real, the realest thing he had ever experienced in his miserable life.
His hand jerked to the pistol.
“I do not think so,” Kaos said, pulling his pistol on Thalia. “Drop your weapon. All of them.”
Havik complied, seeing no other way to avoid Kaos shedding Thalia’s precious blood.
“Cut me free and I’ll leave. Right now,” she said, raising her bound wrists. Her fists were balled together.
“You’ll perish from exposure,” he said. The night was cold and she wore nothing. If she did not freeze, radiation sickness would take her. This horrible standoff in the underground tunnels was safer than the surface.
“I’m not your problem to worry about,” she snapped. “My hands?” She shook her hands at Kaos.
His eyes narrowed. “You can
