I break into a run. Her captors didn’t have time to take her far. With every entrance and exit to the castle monitored for the banquet, the only way they could have gotten her out is through one of the not-so-secret passageways, through the garden, and into the forest.
Unless they somehow managed to smuggle her into a hydro and down the river.
Or they’ve already killed her.
Why do my hands fist at the thought? She is a human female—nothing to me.
Footsteps sound, and I draw my sword, frowning at the pained gasps breaking the silence of the forest. I move away from the main path and almost collide with Sarissa.
I stare at her, the relief overwhelming. She’s covered in dirt, with a bruise on her cheek and blood dripping down her arm.
“Of course it would be you,” she mutters, and I shake myself.
“Why am I not surprised that you’re bleeding and running through our forest?”
She smiles at that, and I can’t help but stare.
The forest fades around me.
I’m watching as she dances with one of the guards, an honorable male who I would trust at my back. She twines her arms around his neck, smiling up at him, and I grit my teeth.
“Commander?”
A beautiful female is offering me a cup of noptri, and I take a deep gulp. She raises one elegant eyebrow, her eyes dark and fathomless.
“Something wrong?”
I smile at her, and she blushes under my attention—a demure female.
“Nothing is wrong,” I murmur. “In fact, many things just became right.”
Her blush deepens, and I smile, charmed.
“Would you like to dance?”
She nods, and I spin her around the dance floor until Arix announces that Seva has begun. The female talks of trivial things and court gossip I have no interest in. Her laugh is light, however, and her dress is cut in a way that pleases the eye. It’s dark, formfitting, and not at all like the crimson dress worn by the hellion, still grinning up at my guard.
I hadn’t realized he was so amusing.
“I will go get a cloak,” the female says. “Meet me outside?”
“Of course.”
I find a secluded corner, realizing I don’t know the female’s name. I shrug, staring up at the shooting stars. I will ask her name, and perhaps I will tumble her this night. Maybe it will take the edge off the emptiness.
I pull my eyes from the sky as the female sits down, her cloak wrapped securely around her. She sighs up at the stars, for once not speaking, simply enjoying the moment.
When she leans into me, I’m hit with a bolt of lust, and when her lips touch mine, I find a part of me that has long been missing.
Laughter breaks the moment, and the female rears back. I frown, but she seems to feel suddenly shy as she gets to her feet, rushing away.
I stand, trailing her through the crowd, but she’s gone.
I toss my head, feeling the hard ground beneath me. I need to get out of this cave. Need to go after the female.
She leans over me, tears in her eyes.
“If I don’t come back, tell the other women I’m sorry. Tell Vivian…tell her I went out with a knife in my hand.” She smiles, but it’s sad. “And tell them all to have good lives. Lives they’ll be proud of.” It’s Sarissa’s lips on mine now, the kiss somehow apologetic, hinting at regret.
She walks away, her feet thudding on the cave floor with each step.
“Don’t you dare leave me,” I roar, pulling at the rope.
I come awake as my hands hit me in the stomach. The rope holding them snaps, and I let out a growl of relief.
I sit up, and the cave lurches around me, but I reach for some water, gulping it down. It’s dark, and the thudding wasn’t Sarissa’s footsteps at all. In the distance, something is exploding.
I close my eyes. What has the minx done now?
I manage to get to my feet, swiping up my sword on the way. My steps are surprisingly sure as I make it out of the cave. How long have I been asleep?
I untie the mishua, and she snorts. “I know you’re hungry,” I murmur. “So am I. But we need to go find my hellion.”
Sarissa
BOOM.
I grin from my hiding spot next to a huge tree. On the other side of the Dokhalls’ camp, Urox has started his part of the plan. Both of us insisted that Teriez stay behind—me because I don’t want to be responsible for anyone else getting hurt, and Urox because he said she had no stomach for death.
The Dokhalls do exactly what most people would do in this situation. They panic. Most of them run south, away from the explosions, many of them changing direction when Urox lets another pod loose on the west side of their camp.
But the biggest threats will be running toward the explosions. They’ll be sent to neutralize whoever is threatening the camp.
I blow out a long, nervous breath. I hope Urox is safe. Truthfully, he seems like an adrenaline junkie who’s finally getting a fix.
I’m happy to be able to help him with that.
I wait until most of the Dokhalls have cleared out around this part of the camp, and then I loop the rope around my arm again and again until it’s no longer dragging on the ground.
The climb is tough. I usually have pretty good upper-body strength, but after climbing so many trees, my hands are covered in cuts and blisters.
I aim for a branch that’s high enough to get the job done but sturdy enough that it looks like it’s unlikely to snap under my weight.
Don’t look down.
I focus above my head instead, at the canopy of dried dirt and poop that has helped hide these guys from Dragix’s eyes—and nose.
On Earth, dried animal dung is used as
