Page 41 of A Bond So Deadly

“Well, did you try asking nicely?” I say, because something tells me these guys lack basic manners and might need reminding.

Germain laughs and shoots a look at my mates like he pities them for being bonded to me. “You sure she’s up for this?”

Raith growls, and he tenses like he’s ready to slam Germain into the wall, but everyone goes silent when I slip my hand from Thane’s and move closer to the shekel.

The creature stares at me with its large, bulbous eyes, and I try to forget about everyone else in the room.

“Hi,” I say awkwardly, stopping a few steps away from the zenali. “I hope they weren’t too rough with you.” My voice sounds strange to my own ears, a flowing lyrical series of sounds, and I feel my power humming through my system. Like just being close to the zenali made it stir to the surface.

The creature tilts its head, observing me, and I almost wonder if I might have spoken the wrong language when the zenali speaks.

“So, it’s true,” he replies in a silky voice. He smiles broadly, excitement lighting up his obsidian eyes. “You can speak to us.”

I shift uncomfortably, feeling exposed as the others watch. “I’m sorry, do you know me?”

The shekel blinks, its two eyelids closing one after the other before it stares at me again. Its gaze is unnerving, but I stay where I am.

“Your new friends from the games have been talking about you. It’s a very peculiar story, and one that my kind have paid particular attention to,” the shekel answers. “You’re becoming somewhat of a celebrity, mistress.”

“My…friends?” I frown as I think about the games. I’d witnessed the nasken die, so I know it can’t be him spreading tales of me. I’d assumed the other creatures had all perished as well, but then I think of how the nemins also called me ‘mistress.’ Hope surges through me. “Are you talking about the nemins?” Okay, so sure, those little nemins are creepy as hell, and I still shudder to think about how they’d paralyzed me, but weirdly enough, I feel happy at the idea that they might have escaped the games.

When the shekel doesn’t answer, Ambrose’s clipped voice cuts across the room. “What’s it saying? What do the Xalgrith want?”

Oh, right. The Xalgrith. Clearing my throat, I focus on the task at hand. I’m desperate to know what the creatures are saying about me, but I’ll get to that later. “Look I get that you might not want to talk if they’ve treated you badly, but I need to ask you some questions.”

The shekel stares at my lips like he’s utterly fascinated that words are coming out of me.

Well, that’s not creepy at all. “When the Xalgrith first attacked this land,” I forge on, “one of the originals believes you spoke with them. We’re trying to find out what the Xalgrith want. Do you know why they keep attacking us?”

The creature stares at me for a long silent moment before laughter spills from its mouth. “You wish to know why the Xalgrith are here? Oh, I had not expected this.”

My brow wrinkles with confusion. “Well, why did you think you were brought here?”

The creature opens its mouth like it’s about to say something, but it’s as though it thinks better of it and it closes its mouth again, pressing its thick glistening lips together.

I can practically feel the others’ growing impatience, but I ignore them. “Look, I don’t like this any more than you do, but⁠—”

“To the contrary, mistress,” the shekel interrupts. “This is my honor. I had not expected I would get the chance to meet you before my time was up.”

A million questions keep firing in my head. “What’s an honor? Seeing me? You’re making no sense.”

He just blinks at me like he’s expecting all the answers to suddenly fall into my head. “Yes, I am glad I took my father’s place.”

“Wait…your father?” I press.

The shekel nods. “The destroyers wanted him, but I happily took his place. Our community needs him, but my loss will be less significant.”

My mind spins. “Hold on, are you saying it was your father who spoke to the Xalgrith?”

The shekel continues to stare at me like my questions are meaningless, and he simply enjoys watching me speak. “When history is written, I wonder if it will mention this conversation,” he mutters, his eyes brightening at the idea.

History? I’m seriously lost. “Does this have something to do with another prophecy?” I ask. “Something about me?”

The creature clicks his tongue, still seemingly lost in thought. “Yes… They may mention me as Borshoz the Brave. Borshoz who sacrificed himself for the community.”

“This isn’t a sacrifice,” I say. “Or an honor. I’m sorry, but we’re just…you know, talking. Did your father tell you what the Xalgrith are after? Please. Just tell me what you know and they’ll return you home.”

This time when the shekel laughs it’s a bitter, emotionless sound that fills the entire cell. “Who will send me home? The destroyers? No, there’s no need to spin pretty lies, mistress. I have said my goodbyes, and I will be remembered by my kind. Borshoz the Fearless, yes, that’s what they will call me. No, there is no escaping the shadow queen. Not once she has set her gaze upon you. Her destroyers will see to that.”