“Can’t argue with you there,” Navan said tightly.
Orion smiled. “Well, we know of your troubles with Ianthan and Jethro, and we are just as eager to ensure that this young woman’s blood does not end up in the wrong hands. If either queen were to find the key to immortality, then this rebellion would be doomed before it even began.” A tight laugh escaped his throat. “As much as you might not like it, in order to retrieve that sample, you are going to have to play on our team for a little while. Who knows, you might end up liking it…” He winked, but Navan was clearly not amused.
“Do you have details, or are you just going to talk my ear off?” Navan asked.
Again, Orion laughed. He seemed to do a lot of laughing for a man in such a high-powered position. I had expected him to fall into a mask of stern seriousness, but there was an undeniable humor about him. He was more amused by himself than anyone else, but it was still surprising.
“If you do this, Navan, we both might get what we want,” Orion said. The smile that tugged at the corners of his lips made the deep scar that ran down the side of his face crinkle, curving it into almost an S-shape. “If you do what I ask—with no errant detours or foolhardy escape plans—there will be enough time for you to track down the pod Ianthan and Jethro sent to Queen Brisha. I don’t want it reaching her any more than you do. It would take the wind right out of my sails if she managed to synthesize that elixir before I got the concoction just right.”
Navan pulled a sour face. “So I’d be doing two favors for you, for the price of one.”
“Look, neither of us wants Vysanthe to find out about Earth, though my reasons are a little less beautiful than yours,” Orion continued, with a wink at me that made the veins in Navan’s temples bulge. “In return for letting you go, to track down this pod and save Earth from imminent discovery, all I want you to do is head back and meet with Queen Gianne. Explain to her what has happened on your latest little vacation to the far reaches of the universe. Tell her of Jethro and Ianthan’s betrayal—tell her you killed them, as punishment for their treason. You know, really butter her up. Tell her that they were planning to join Brisha’s side. Make up a reason for it.”
“Anything else?” Navan retorted. “Doesn’t sound too tricky, you know, just wander into the queen’s court and make up a bunch of lies to save the skins of some people I don’t care about.”
“But you do care about one person, don’t you?” Orion replied, gesturing toward me.
My insides twisted up in anger. How dare he put me in the center of all of this? How dare he use me as a pawn in his big plan? I felt a stab of guilt, too—I was fast becoming the chink in Navan’s armor, and I hated the idea of it, that what was growing between us could be exploited by anyone who cared to.
Navan fell silent.
“I thought so,” Orion mused. “Speaking of those people you don’t care about, however, I’m going to need you to feed Queen Gianne some more lies. I know she thinks there are rebels regrouping, somewhere beyond the rule of Vysanthe, and you are going to mislead her for us. She fears an uprising— both of them do. They know their hold on Vysanthe is tenuous at best, and you are going to bolster that fear. Tell her you found a rebel base on your travels, in some dusty corner of the universe, and we were few when you came across us, eking out the rest of our sad existence with our tails between our legs. Tell her you managed to win a small group of us over to your side, and you have brought them before her, with information she will be gagging to hear.”
Navan’s expression shifted, and I could sense he was examining possible loopholes in his mind. “You’ll give me my own ship, then—”
“And I’ll be sending Lazar with you, to oversee matters, and there will be three more of my most trusted coldbloods joining the ranks,” Orion said, with a tight-lipped smile. “Two shapeshifters will also be coming with you, to keep you in check.”
Instantly, Navan shook his head. “None of those pasty little maggots. No way.”
“There will be two shapeshifters coming along, because you will need them when the time comes. You’re not really getting that this isn’t negotiable, are you?” he asked coldly. “You will need the shapeshifters so you can tell Queen Gianne that these are creatures who have joined the rebellion, whom you have convinced to come over to your side.”
“Queen Gianne will kill those shifters the moment she sees them,” Navan bit out. “And I wouldn’t blame her,” he added, bitterness dripping from his words.
At some point, I was going to have to ask to see a book, or something, on the various ins and outs of interplanetary species and why they were so at odds with one another. It wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more clued-in.
“Not if you stop her,” Orion interjected. “Tell her the shifters know important information about other rebels. Plead for their lives in exchange for information about the rebel base, its size, its location.”
Navan’s forehead furrowed in a frown. “She’ll just send a squadron after the base. When she realizes it’s not where these shifters said it was, or where I said it was, I’ll be dead meat.”
“The shifters are coming with you, whether you like it or not. If any issues arise, if you are forced to kill someone of importance, the shifters can take their place. Their presence will make your life a whole lot easier. Do I make myself clear?” Orion said coldly. Navan remained silent as the chief continued. “You will tell Queen Gianne that the rebel planet is lightyears away, in a far-off quadrant of the universe that will take at least a year to reach. You found these individuals at an outpost, closer to Vysanthe, with word that this imagined rebel base is far larger. She will be so focused on finding this place, and nipping the rebellion in the bud, that she won’t see us coming. By the time she realizes her error, we’ll have swarmed upon her like Horerczy butterflies.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Horerczy what?”
“They live in the swamps of our homeland,” Navan muttered. “Vampiric insects that smother their victims and eat them alive, gnawing them down to the bone in seconds—like tiny piranhas with wings.”
I shuddered. Vysanthe really didn’t sound like the friendliest of places.
Orion leaned forward. “While you’re at the queen’s palace, I want you to keep a lookout for any weakness in her queendom—any good spots we might strike from, or find our way into, to make the coup go all the smoother. Do all this, and you can consider yourselves free people. If you desire, we can arrange for rebel transport to return you to Earth, or anywhere else you might want. I hear Caro is nice this time of year.”
“We will owe you nothing for the rest of our lives?” Navan asked.
Orion nodded slowly. “That is correct.”
“I’ll go,” Navan said quietly. “I’ll go without a fight—if you let Riley go back to her family today.”
My heart sank. I looked up at Navan’s face, but he wasn’t returning my gaze. Even though I had known what his answer would be from the start, given what Orion would do otherwise, it didn’t make it any easier. Standing so close to him, I couldn’t help remembering the way those lips had felt upon mine, and how I might never touch them again. Once he left for Vysanthe, he might not return, and I’d never know what happened to him… My body went numb at the thought, though I tried not to let my reaction show on my face.
Orion said nothing, his curious smirk seeming to invite Navan to elaborate.
“She won’t breathe a word of this to anyone,” Navan continued. “Besides, she’ll be no use on a journey like this.”
Orion’s smirk morphed into a malicious grin, and a chill ran down my spine. “Actually, my dear boy, I think she could be of great use indeed.”
The next thing I knew, Orion was a blur, moving like lightning across the room—and something cold pressed against the side of my neck.
Chapter Twelve
Hardly daring to turn, I saw that Orion held a gun in his hand, the barrel nuzzling the fragile flesh at the curve of my throat. I gulped, feeling the cold ba
rrel more intensely.
“No!” Navan roared, but it was too late.
Orion’s finger pulled the trigger. A sharp pain shot up through my neck, bursting through every cell and nerve ending like wildfire, the agony excruciating, making my voice cry out in an incoherent scream. This was it… This was the way I died. It had come out of nowhere; I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad that it had come upon me so suddenly. At least this way, I didn’t have time to agonize over the things I’d never had the chance to do, before the searing pain took over my brain, fogging it over in a mist of pure torture.
Willing my death to be quicker, given the unbearable agony boiling away within me, I was surprised when the fog in my head began to clear, and the pain began to ebb slightly. As it faded, I became aware of strong arms around me, and Navan’s slate eyes looking into mine with such anguish, I thought my heart might break.
“Riley,” he whispered, tilting my chin upward.
“Still here… I think,” I choked out, wanting to kiss the lips that rested so close to mine. After a brief glimpse into the jaws of certain death, I wanted to feel alive again.
The sound of Orion stepping backward distracted me. He was standing a short distance away, evidently eager to put some space between himself and Navan’s furious aura. Even though Orion was likely the stronger man, I knew there was a lot to be said for adrenaline, or whatever the coldblood equivalent was. In his arms, I could feel Navan shaking with what looked like rage and despair.
“What did you do to her?” he spat, almost crushing me against his hard chest. I clung on, regardless. I could catch my breath later.
“I inserted a chip into her neck,” Orion explained calmly. “Riley going on this mission is a necessary part of the bargain, I’m afraid. You’re an unpredictable creature, at best. Did you think I’d send you with a troop of my men, and not have safeguards in place?” A cruel smile twisted up the corners of his lips, his scar twisting with it.
I could feel Navan’s heart thundering in his chest, the vibrations reverberating through my palms, which I had pressed against him. No matter how closely I held him, I could not get him to calm down.
“I said I would go,” he snarled, his fangs flashing for a moment, reminding me of the first time he’d shown his true self to me. Up close, it really was frightening.
Orion shook his head. “I can’t simply take your word for it, that you will go through with what I ask, and not harm any of my men on the way. This makes matters much easier,” he said, tapping the barrel of the gun he still held in his hand. I didn’t know where he’d been hiding it, or how he’d whipped it out so quickly.
“Take that thing out of her neck, now!” Navan demanded, but I knew there was no point. Orion didn’t seem like the kind of guy who ever went back on his decisions.
“I’m not going to do that, Navan,” Orion said silkily. “You see, if at any point I find out you aren’t toeing the line, or there’s so much as a whiff of betrayal, I will activate the chip, and I will kill Riley. That goes for trying to remove the chip, too, or telling anyone about it,” he added. “It’s not the kind of technology I like to go around boasting about, but it serves its purpose.” An almost remorseful expression crossed the scarred man’s face, but it didn’t make sense to me. Surely a man like this, who was so used to war and bloodshed, could not feel bad about one little, manipulative chip?
“I said I would go,” Navan seethed. “Why do this? Why push me?”
“Because, although you may be too important to kill, given who your father is, Riley is not,” Orion said slowly, giving a casual shrug. “If you slip up, she’ll be the one who suffers, and you will see every second of it on her… delightful face.” He eyed me like a vulture circling, and I felt a shudder run down my spine. Whether it was due to the after-effects of the chip he’d placed in my neck, or the malevolence creeping beneath the surface of his face, I wasn’t sure.
“I would have done it anyway!” Navan shouted. “You must be insane if you think I can just waltz a human into Vysanthe and not have anyone notice. You’re only putting us in more danger!”
Orion smirked. “Let me be straight with you: I don’t trust you, Navan. The Idraxes have never been the most trustworthy of families, and I need to ensure my requirements are being met.”
“I am not my father,” Navan spat, and I could see the venom burning in his eyes. Boy, he really must hate his father, to feel such fury. Not for the first time, I wanted to know more about Jareth and the life Navan had lived on Vysanthe, before taking to the skies. What had pushed him away, so fiercely, from his own people? I knew, to some extent, but there had to be more to it.
Orion shrugged. “Perhaps not, but you have his blood running in your veins. Besides, I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to keep her safe, if you wish her to live. You could always tell Queen Gianne that she’s an unknown specimen you found on your travels, and felt like keeping her as a slave, for your own… needs. From the look of her, nobody would blame you. She looks strong and lively—the perfect pet. We coldbloods take on pets so often, Queen Gianne would barely bat an eyelid.”
I looked at Navan in horror, hardly believing my ears. I knew they took resources from other planets, but to steal beings and use them as slaves? Did they think everyone else so inferior that they could just do that? It pained me to think it, but I knew they probably did. These Vysantheans clearly had some sort of superiority complex.
“She’ll know,” Navan grated out.
Orion shook his head. “She won’t. Nobody would be insane enough to take something, or someone, important into the fray of Vysanthe. It’s the perfect ruse,” he stated, grinning at me like a wolf. “You just have to keep your eye on her, make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble that could blow everything wide open. Which, if you know what’s good for you—and her, for that matter—you will do.”
For a long moment, nobody said anything. There was too much going on in the room, and my head was spinning. The pain in my neck had ebbed, but shots still fired up my nerves every few minutes, startling me. Each time, I felt Navan’s strong hand around my waist, gripping me tight.
“Is there anything else?” Navan said, at last, his tone bordering on defeated.
“I don’t think so,” Orion replied coolly. I wanted to smack that stupid, superior look off his stupid, superior face.
“Then may we go?”
Orion nodded. “I’ve had a nicer room prepared for you,” he said, suspiciously kindly.
As we turned to go, Navan’s hand steering me toward the door, I heard Orion’s voice calling us back.
“Oh, there is one more thing,” he noted.
Before either Navan or I could speak, I felt a jolt of electricity spasm through my body, ricocheting through every muscle and sinew, feeling as though it was snapping each one as it coursed through me. I caught a glimpse of Orion’s hand, pressing a button, but then my eyes filled with black spots, my knees buckling as I crumpled to the ground.
The pain and lack of control lasted only a few minutes, but it was enough to see that Orion was serious. His point was well and truly made. Putting his arms around me, Navan helped me back onto my feet, though they were wobbly to say the least. Propping me up, he glowered in Orion’s direction, but the chief merely gave a cold, amused smile.
“That is just the beginning of what this device can do,” he said, “so I urge you not to try me.”
Turning to Navan, I felt my insides twist. I knew Orion wasn’t bluffing. If that was only a taste of what the chip could do, I didn’t want to find out the impact of its full force. If that moment ever came, I had a feeling death would be a blessing in comparison.
Chapter Thirteen
As we walked out of Orion’s office, my knees were still trembling from the effects of the chip. Navan’s arm was around my waist, helping me along, and I clung to his side, longing to be anywhere but here, with the dark cloud of the mission to Vysanthe looming over us both.
A guard walked slight
ly ahead of us, ensuring we moved in the right direction, but I could barely look at him. Unless it was Navan, I didn’t want to see another coldblood until I had to. I was done with their superiority, and their penchant for aggression and manipulation. I was done with the way they thought they could control everyone and everything, to meet their own ends.
My attention snapped to the sound of footsteps approaching. Glancing up through still-foggy eyes, I saw a small group of coldbloods walking straight toward us. Grimacing, I wondered if this was another of Orion’s tricks—had he granted us a moment of peace, only to dash it with violence? These coldbloods looked particularly grim, their faces crosshatched with scars and black tattoos that webbed across their skin. It was then that I noticed the familiar figure in the center of the nasty-looking trio.
Galo.
He looked surprisingly unhurt compared to Navan, but the grim expression on his coldblood escorts’ faces made me worry how much longer that would be the case. If Galo was experiencing fear, however, his posture wasn’t giving it away. He was standing tall, his chin held up almost defiantly—as though he’d rather die than give the coldbloods the satisfaction of seeing him cower—and as he spotted me, his face softened.
“So, we meet again,” he said as we drew closer, his lips spreading in a faint, crooked smile.
“Galo,” I breathed, concern for his safety setting my nerves on edge. Impulsively, I ran forward on wobbling legs and tried to reach out to grasp at him.
“Stay back,” one of the coldbloods snarled.
“You have to let him go!” I shouted, unable to take my eyes away from the lycan who had been so surprisingly kind to me. I remembered how gentle he had been when he took my hand in his as we traveled through the compound, like someone’s much-loved grandfather. Part of him must have known he was walking into a trap, but he had come along anyway—and suffered for it.