I feel my knees buckle, taking me to the floor. “Tell the others,” I say to Lydia, grabbing her shoulder before I feel consciousness slipping from me.
Her eyes are wide with fright, but she pulls from my grip as I fight the effects. Dalox has done as I instructed, and he grabs hold of my shoulder as Lydia darts away.
I hear her shouting at all the warriors in the vicinity to hold their breath as I manage to stand upright with Dalox’s not so gentle assistance. I give him a nod.
We are getting close to unmasking whoever is attempting to infiltrate Vorostor, or why else would they attempt to attack a hangar filled with Sarkarnii warriors?
I gesture to Dalox across the hangar from us where there is a warrior slumped against the wall. A quick scan shows the rest are still standing, and given the proximity of our fallen warrior, it would be a good guess he was closest to the entry point for the gas.
Together we stalk across the hangar. There is a small vent near the downed warrior. Dalox slams his hand through it and twists, pulling free a canister which he instantly disables.
“What the nev is this?” he growls as the air clears.
“Never mind that.” I look down at the warrior. “Look at this.”
I push his head to one side, and his scales are lifted, flaking, his skin raw.
“What is it?” Dalox says, leaning in closer.
“It’s a collar.” I use my claws to pull away the remnants of previously shed scales to reveal the thing underneath. “It’s how they’re being controlled.”
“Nev!” Dalox snarls. “How many warriors have these?”
“I can tell you,” Driok says, striding towards me. “You were right, Deus. There has been an infiltration of Vorostor by the Ulep, and what they left behind was the one thing we’d never look for. Our own warriors.”
“Wait.” I listen.
There is nothing.
“Where are the females?” I growl. “Where is my female?”
I scan the hangar, but my little Lydia, who went off so boldly to help the other warriors, all of whom are still standing, is nowhere to be seen.
She wouldn’t have gone off on her own, would she?
“We need to secure the females, immediately,” Dalox snarls, going for his comm.
“No,” Driok growls. “These collars are everywhere. We have to identify the warriors without collars first before we move on those who have them,” he says in a low voice.
“Our females cannot wait.”
“I have already assembled a cohort of my warriors whom I can trust. They have been sent to secure the mated females and the sarkarnlings,” Driok says swiftly. “We also know all the female Sarkarnii are free of these collars, presumably, because they were not on this continent until recently. They can be trusted at all times.”
“Where is my mate?” I snarl at Driok. “I have to find her. She was assisting all the warriors in this hangar.”
“Spread out,” he says quietly. “If she’s still here, we’ll find her.” He gives me a brief flash of fang.
Part of me wants to reject their assistance, to tell them not to go near her. The mating mix which fills me is still too nevving strong.
But Lydia said trust them. She said accept their help. She said we’re better together.
Dalox and Driok move silently, fanning out ahead of me. They are completely concentrated on finding my female, when their own might also be in danger.
Something sweeps through me, something I haven’t felt for a very long time.
Part of a team.
A warrior again.
