Page 114 of Tamed By Her Touch

They glared at each other again. At last, Sendar sighed.

“You truly are as stubborn as Varell said.”

“I prefer the word thorough,” Kaelus said.

“Come. There is something I can show you, though not the samples themselves.”

He rose and Kaelus followed reluctantly. Sendar led him through another opening in the crystalline wall and down a narrow corridor that looked markedly older than the rest of the Archive. The smooth crystal gradually gave way to dark gray stone, and the glowing vines of light embedded in the walls became fewer and farther apart.

“Where are we going?” Kaelus asked at last.

“To the old containment section,” Sendar said.

Kaelus looked at him sharply.

“Containment?”

Sendar nodded.

“Indeed. Before the Love Virus became what it is today, infected males sometimes became dangerous.”

“You mean savage,” Kaelus said—this confirmed his suspicion.

Sendar’s jaw tightened.

“That is the word outsiders prefer.”

“It seems accurate,” Kaelus pointed out.

The other male said nothing and finally, the corridor ended at a heavy metal door. Unlike every other entrance Kaelus had seen on Titus Four, this one did not dissolve or slide gracefully aside. Sendar had to place his hand on an ancient mechanical plate and pull a lever. As he did, the door opened with a groan.

The room beyond was cold and dark. Kaelus stepped inside and saw that rows of large restraint chairs stood along two walls. They were enormous—clearly designed for powerful males—and made from heavy black metal bolted directly into the stone floor.

Thick cuffs were attached at the arms and legs of the chairs, with additional restraints that would go across the thighs, waist, chest, and throat of the male sitting there. Several chairs had old medical apparatus hanging above them, including needle arrays, intravenous lines, and scanning equipment so outdated Kaelus barely recognized its purpose.

An unpleasant chill went through him.

“What happened here?” he asked, his voice coming out hoarse. “What was done to the people who were strapped to those chairs?”

Sendar shrugged.

“Infected males were brought here when they became dangerous.” He walked past one of the chairs and ran his hand across its back. “Some remained restrained for days. Others for weeks. The most severely affected were kept here until the infection burned through their systems or they died.”

Kaelus looked at the heavy wrist cuffs. He imagined what it would be like to be trapped there, out of control of his own mind and body, knowing that if the restraints failed, he might hurt the female he loved. His stomach tightened.

“Why preserve this place?” he asked. The old restraint lab seemed like something out of a nightmare.

“Historical interest, mostly,” Sendar said. “The Council considered dismantling it several times, but Varell believes we should remember what we once were.”

“What changed though? When did the virus stop turning males savage?” Kaelus asked in frustration.

Sendar gave a humorless laugh.

“You truly wish to know what I think?”

“Yes, of course,” Kaelus said impatiently.

For several seconds, Sendar studied him. Then he gestured around the abandoned room.