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I clenched my jaw and stared at the floor, breathing as deep as possible to keep from reacting. I might have failed, but the court already knew what she was to me. And even more, what she was not, and would never be.
Some warrior stepped forward to second Kaelum, and no one did the same for me. No one ever had.
The fight had barely begun, though, when Kaelum leapt for the wall, climbing rows of seats like a particularly tenacious vine, dragging his body up to where terrapads passed above the throne room. He threw himself at one, riding it off and down into the jungle, some distance away as I followed in fascination.
The confident Kaelum of moments before wasnotgone, so what was this?
My mind flashed through the possibilities.
He was not fleeing as I heard Crux screeching about behind us. Of that, I was certain. No, he was looking for a more favorable ground to fight.
I hit upon the answer in my mind at the last moment, barely managing to dodge out of the way when a zintar lunged out of the foliage at me before my terrapad even landed. Its claws, aimed at my throat, barely grazed my arm, but it was enough of a blow. Zintari venom was nothing to take lightly. I had to end the fight before it started to affect my equilibrium.
I fell into a crouch on the jungle floor, surrounded by the most dangerous flora and fauna in the known universe. Aleri on one side, Kaelum on another, and out of the low brush slunk not only the one, but three zintari to aid Kaelum.
He had found a way to use his third mark despite the place of the challenge. It was genius, and entirely laudable, if it didn’t make my job much more difficult. Dodging four foes was rather more difficult than just one, and zintari were impressive hunters who sometimes managed to slay the mightiest warrior on their own.
But perhaps those warriors did not have Beau waiting at home for them. Beau, whom no one else would protect if they failed.
For Beau.
I pictured his beautiful face, shining hair and eyes, and sweet smile, as I let Kaelum and his cats circle me, taking their swipes, and dodged them all. I did not have the stamina for a long fight with venom running through my veins, but Kaelum couldn’t control three zintari for long, either. It had to be taking an immense amount of energy, using his mark so much.
Terrapads from the palace carried spectators to watch our fight, but I only sensed their tense gazes behind me.
I phased behind Kaelum as he and one of the cats sprang at me, but he managed to spin and deflect my attack.
I managed a singe to his side and nothing more, and a second later, he stabbed his plasma sword through the meat of my thigh, forcing me to swallow a hiss of pain. He seemed particularly smug about the blow, and I was reminded I had once done the same to him. A lifetime ago, in the tournament.
The tournament, which I had also won for Beau.
I pressed forward, varying my attacks in speed and angle, trying to confuse him, but something had changed in my brother. He held himself with a confidence, a strength, he’d never possessed before.
Still, one foot laid wrong, and I had him. I swept his leg from under him, and though he rolled to avoid my attack, he still landed on his knees.
“You have done better than I expected, Prince,” I told him, meeting his eye. If I were to kill him, I owed him that. “I had always thought the lack of faith our people had in hybrids was due to your softness. I see now, you are a warrior.”
But before I could end this with a fatal blow, Kaelum’s human mate rushed forward. For a moment, I feared the man would impale himself on my blade in an attempt to save Kaelum, but instead, everything about Thorzan and our people’s future changed in an instant.
The tiny human laid a hand on my brother’s shoulder, and the mark on his skin flashed silver, then gold, and Kaelum’s forcefield expanded, shoving me back and away.
Lucas the human was a mage, the likes of which had not been seen on Thorzan since the time of my birth. He was a mage, and he was Kaelum’s mage.
With Kaelum’s mark, he could defend armies. I could not defeat my brother now, regardless of Crux’s demands or threats. The fight was over.
As everyone exclaimed and celebrated Lucas’s newfound magehood, I silently melted into the jungle.
I had to get back to Beau.
CHAPTER17
BEAU
This once, the lab was practically empty during the day. I’d heard whispers. They’d tracked Prince Kaelum’s ship to the edge of their system. He was coming home. The humans were gone, taken back to their normal lives back on Earth. I’d probably never see them again.
That hung heavy in my heart. I didn’t know where my people were, and for the first time, it really hit me that I was saying goodbye to everything I knew.
It shouldn’t have been hard to do—there wasn’t much for me back there except strife. Sure, being held captive in a little cell overseen by an alien psychopath and his minions wasn’tgreat, but I hadn’t gone hungry. I wasn’t in real danger. The worst Crux seemed inclined to do was growl at me when he saw me nearby.
