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He doesn’t react to my voice.
“Akuji!”
I’m hauled over a shoulder, and then something hits me and I fade into the blackness, screaming and fighting to get to my mate.
My last vision of him is his large frame lying in a pool of his own blood with his face turned to me, cold and empty.
THIRTY-THREE
ARIA
When I wake, my head is sore and my entire body aches. I try to lift my hands to feel my skull, but they are heavy and won’t move. My eyes roll behind my lids as I try to fight off the remaining darkness, and my heart is hurting so much, it’s hard to breathe, but I don’t know why.
I was at Grime’s shack—
Akuji!
I slam my eyes open and freeze, because sitting opposite me is Talia. She’s in clean, fresh clothes—a white shirt with a scoop neck. Her hair is brushed and tied back, and her glasses are perched on her nose. She has no bruises, no marks, nothing. She looks…healthy.
Her hands are clasped tightly before her on the table, the only sign of her nerves. I glance from them to her face, searching her for signs of something, anything. I ignore my aching heart and head and try to focus. I need to figure out what is happening. I notice my wrists are chained to a metal table we are sitting at, and we are in a room that is a bright, unnatural white with brick walls.
“You’re not chained,” I comment, unsure if I was wrong about her. Is she in on this? Was this an elaborate plan and I was dumb enough to fall for her friendly act?
Then I remember her fear, her friendship, and her horror at what we found and realise no, she can’t be in on this. She’s not like them.
She winces and looks over my shoulder.
“I told her if she tried anything, I would hurt you. Talia is smart enough to know her odds, unlike you. No, our scientist here is smarter than that.” The deep male voice is behind me, and I harden myself against the urge to spin around. Instead, I keep my eyes on her, wondering what is happening. Is she a prisoner? I thought she couldn’t do this, but…
She didn’t help them, did she?
She didn’t betray us and lead us here, right?
No, I know her better than that. She might be a scientist, valuing intellect and knowledge, but she agreed that what they did was wrong. I saw her revulsion and pain when she discovered it. She’s not like them, no matter what they think. They underestimated her.
Everyone does.
“I’m so sorry, Aria,” she whispers, reaching for me. Worry glimmers in her eyes, worry that I will reject her. I close my eyes and try to fight through the pain in my chest. My body sways in the chair as if I’m about to fall or give in. I need to know if he’s dead, but I can’t bring myself to ask. I’m too scared of the answer.
A man circles Talia and stands against the wall behind her, watching me. He’s in a white lab coat, his eyes are dark, and his dark hair is brushed neatly back from his face. He is clearly rich and good-looking, but he does nothing for me, despite my outward recognition of his beauty. I miss the sharp edges of my monster.
My heart pulses, and I have to swallow it down to focus on his words.
“We knew you would come for her. I’m surprised about the other monster, but we knew her mate would follow her. It’s exactly what we wanted.”
My mind whirrs as I try to keep up past the ache in my head. “A trap,” I murmur, and he nods in excitement as I share a grim look with Talia.
They planned all of this. They want the monsters here because it’s too hard to capture them. They want them, but why?
“Is Akuji okay?” I finally ask, and time seems to stop as I worry about their answer. I tell myself they need him alive, so they wouldn’t kill him, right?
He was feral, though, and consumed by the haze, killing everyone to get to me.
What if they thought he was too much of a risk?
“Is that the monster we found you with?” he asks, almost sounding interested.
“Yes,” I snap. “Where is he?”
