Page 42 of Triplets for the Barbarians

“It came from the outside,” Shaytan swiftly agrees, pointing back at the southern skies. “From there, if I’m not mistaken.”

If I insist, they might catch on and think to look farther south. I stay quiet as Shaytan and Blaze exchange words and have their guards take me back to their private quarters while the two of them try to sort this out. There’s not much to be sorted at this point, though. It’s done. The starship was destroyed, and it leveled part of Pearl City when it crashed. All they can do is mitigate the damage and keep a lid on the whole situation.

I shudder to think what will happen when the rest of the Sky Tribe’s leadership hears about this. It was bad enough after Umok’s and Selina Sharuk’s failures. If even the mighty Shaytan Hull couldn’t get a starship off the planet, what would they do? What are they left with?

Well, they’re left with only one starship.

I’m back downstairs, pacing the living room like a caged lioness. I keep checking the wall on the clock and eavesdropping at the door. I go outside and try to make out as much as I can from the agitation that has enveloped the city. Sirens wail all over the place. People are still shouting.

The soldiers gather from all over and head toward the crash site while the civilians run screaming, scattering in the opposite direction—desperate to get as far away from the disaster as possible.

Surely they now understand the Sky Tribe cannot be trusted to lead them in any way. They have failed one too many times.

“I can’t believe they did it,” I whisper, holding the multi-tool in my hand. I’m eager to use it. The cuffs are chafing my wrists, and every second I spend in this place causes my already growing anxiety to swell.

Sooner or later, Shaytan and Blaze will be back, and they’ll be out for blood. As badly as they might want me for a wife, they may end up using me to lure the Kreek brothers out of hiding.

They’ll hurt me, and they’ll do whatever it takes to destroy every single member of the Fire Tribe. We’ve done too much damage. We’ve hampered so many of their efforts to secure their dominance over Sunna. We have repeatedly pushed them into making fools of themselves.

Their egos are too fragile and wrathful to let any of this slide. I need to get the hell out of here, and I don’t think I can sit around anymore, waiting for a sign from Kai or Maur.

THUD. Something or someone falls just outside my door. The sound is followed by a heavy grunt and a key turning in the lock. I freeze in the middle of the living room as I turn around to see the door opening.

“Yossul… Fadai…” I manage, recognizing my men.

They’re alive and well. Relief washes over me like liquid, golden sunlight as I rush over. They smile and wrap their arms around me, showering me with warm, loving kisses. I bask in their adoration, and I revel in their spicy sweetness, my hands already working the multi-tool until I lose the cuffs.

I’m able to hug them both, to feel their massive, hard bodies tightly molded around mine.

My heart thuds excitedly as they check me from head to toe. “You’re okay,” Yossul laughs lightly.

“I am.”

“For a moment, we thought Shaytan might skin you alive,” Fadai says.

I give him a worried look. “Please, tell me you were far enough away from the crash site when the starship came down. The radiation of that wreckage alone is—”

“We were already here,” Yossul interrupts me. “We knew they’d bring you here once the execution was disrupted. Kai intercepted us and gave us the coordinates.”

“All we had to do was hide in the back garden and wait for Shaytan and Blaze to leave,” Fadai adds. “Thank heavens you’re all right, my love.”

He kisses me again, and I kiss him back, caressing his handsome face as I let my fingertips explore the feel of his smooth skin. I feel scratches and bruises here and there, but nothing serious. We’ll all be pretty sore in the morning, though none of that matters.

“I’m glad you two made it out of there,” I reply. “We need to go. How are we going to get out of here? The whole city is in an uproar, and the whole Sky Tribe army is looking for you!”

“Not anymore, they’re not,” Yossul says, half-smiling. “The wreckage site needs to be handled and contained before those molten cells seep into the streets and start killing people. They have to isolate the entire scene.”

“We heard them talking downstairs. Only the black guards remain tasked with catching us, and they’re spread thin,” Fadai says. “We’ll be able to get out through the eastern gate, most likely.”

“Come on. Freedom awaits,” Yossul sighs and takes my hand.

All I can do is smile and follow them as we leave a few bodies behind and sneak out of the palazzo, disappearing into the night.

16

Fadai

It feels like a dream.

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