“The violence is spreading. It’s expected to hit Sylrya within a day or two.”
“Fuck!” I exclaim, shocked as I stand, my fork clattering against the plate. “I have to help!”
“No, flower, it’s not safe,” Ben says, the pussy.
I glare. “Marie just had a babe and her husband was captured a couple months ago. She’ll need help with the kids. And Nann is old, she’ll need a cart to evacuate. I need to—”
I stop, and the guilt of what I was about to say must be clear on my face.
Theo arches a brow. “Do you really think we’d release you to fight against us? To organize a resistance to this battle?”
I raise my chin. “A partner who understood and loved me would.”
The silence is utterly deafening.
Arch stands and crosses to me, scooping me up without a word. I’m quickly deposited in my closet. The door slams in my face.
Immediately, I hear hushed voices. They’re arguing.
I grin, hope budding within me.
Who is advocating for my release? Ben? I could see him just suggesting they let me go, be rid of me.
An unusual pain flutters in my gut. Sorrow at the thought of ‘losing’ them? That’s disturbing. I ignore it, pressing my ear to the door.
“Those are her family!” One of them hisses.Theo, I think.
Holy shit.Their military leader is suggesting letting me go fight against one of their squadrons? My grin takes on a fiercer edge. I have some advantages now, specifically when they need to sleep.
“But the consequences, if we’re found out—”Ben, surely.
“If we want her to trust us, to love us, to be our true center, we must do this,” Arch’s voice, low and urgent.
True center? I have never heard them use that term.
“Will she return to us?” Ben, and I can hear the hurt in his tone. Again, a pang in my belly.He’s officially fucked up from the loss of his parents,I think spitefully.
I mean... fair.
But I wonder again at how they died. Humans, I’d assume.Rebels. My chest aches.How old was he?
Their voices drop and I can no longer hear them. A faint ringing sound.The holo-caller.
I press harder, desperate for more information. Suddenly, the door is yanked open, Theo catching me as I fall out of the closet. His flesh feels good on my arms where my sleeves have been pushed up. He eases me back to my feet and I take a deep breath, feeling warm.
“It’s for you,” he pertly announces.
“Me?” I sputter.
“Mmhmm.” He raises his eyebrows in silent question.
I hurry to the kitchen, his tail wrapped around my hip.
Ben and Arch are both standing, arms over their wide chests, staring at the holo-caller, faces impassive.
I slip between their bodies so I can see it.
Raquel.
