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The humanwomen? Had he taken Delilah too?
Vermile let out an exaggerated sigh, reaching into his robes. “But now? No one will know that you were the one to uncover this entire operation.” With a flash of movement, he pulled a blade from the pocket of his robes.
Bile rose in her throat as he pointed the weapon at Arombk threateningly.
Arombk patted his own pocket, eyeing the blade warily but without fear. Strangely enough, his lack of reaction relaxed her infinitesimally.
“I’m old, Vermile, but my mind is not frail. Did you honestly believe I wouldn’t alert her family to your scheming? Or that I would step foot inside of a transport with an abducted woman and not track my location?”
Hope fluttered in her chest as Arombk patted his pocket again. The exact pocket he’d stuffed the unknown device in. A tracker? Who had he told? Sahin, perhaps? Kylok?
Please, she thought desperately.Please be nearby.
Vermile launched from his seat and onto the older man, the blade digging into Arombk’s exposed neck, cutting him slightly until yellow blood slid down his robes in a faint trickle.
“Let me see the device,” Vermile bit out. “Now.”
Arombk did as instructed, catching Cordelia’s horrified gaze and winking at her as he pulled the object from his pocket.
Vermile hissed when he saw the small, black box, lights flashing from the side of it. “I thought you despised humans? And yet you’re aiding one now?”
“My reasons for disliking humans are valid, you mongrel, but I would never wish for my planet’s extinction, or to harm an innocent woman or child. You dissenters are a threat to us all.”
“That is true,” Vermile agreed amicably, thrusting his arm forward in one quick move. Blood poured from Arombk’s throat as the blade sank into his neck. The older man choked, blood spilling past his lips as he struggled against Vermile’s hold.
His eyes traveled to Cordelia, filled with regret before he let out one last breath, his body going still. She screamed, jerking back in terror just as the transport rolled to a sudden stop.
Not wasting any time, she rushed the door as Vermile yanked the blade free of Arombk’s body. He grabbed her arm, but the mist around her shocked him harder than it had before, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. Hissing, Vermile jerked his hand back.
She tumbled from the transport, the familiar sound and sight of the forest greeting her as she sprinted away from the vehicle, panic and fear propelling her forward.
Vermile shouted her name maniacally, but she didn’t turn around. She refused to see if he was gaining on her, refused to slow down, praying like hell that help was on the way.
She needed to find her way back to Ezul. Now!
Ezul dealt with a few more dissenters on his way back to Cordelia, slaying any enemy who got in his way. The warrior in him demanded he slay as many foes as possible, but the instincts of a mated male were stronger, urging Ezul to finish his fights as efficiently as possible so he could locate his woman.
He barely paused to catch his breath when the last dissenter dropped to the ground at his feet, dead. It had taken him far longer than he would have liked to handle the threats, but now he was in the lobby among the dead and dying.
He felt his mist still circling her from a distance, so he knew she’d made it safely from the building. It was a small relief. Regardless, he vaulted a downed column, skirting past guards who were now detaining several dissenters.
Making his way outside, Ezul’s gut twisted when he spotted his father lying prone on the ground, healers at his side.
“Father!”
Ezul rushed forward, dropping to his knees beside Jakkar.
“He is unconscious,” one healer stated, checking his father’s vitals. “It seems his ailments are from a neutralizer dart, so he should make a full recovery within the next few hours.”
“My mate was with him,” Ezul said frantically, his relief at her apparent escape disappearing in an instant. “Have you placed her somewhere safe? Do you know where she is?”
The healer shook his head. “There was no one with Senator Jakkar when we found him.”
Ezul stood abruptly, a droning in his ears blocking out whatever the healer said next.
Cordelia was gone. Somewhere with Vermile, a male he hardly knew and had never quite trusted. His heart lodged in his throat, fear making him sick to the core.
He could feel the erratic beat of her heart through his mist, his only connection to her. Instead of calming him, though, Ezul only grew more restless. Where was she? Why was her heart beating so fast? Something was distressing her, and he was too far away.
