Page 64 of Catastrophe

She said, “Love you all. Please stay safe, and I’ll see you all soon.” She kissed me and Charlie quickly, then turned to her titan and whispered, “This will all be a bad dream soon. I don’t know if our bonds will remain fixed in the real world, but if they do, use it. Take strength from me and us. Allow me to take your pain and fear, because it will only be for a short while until I can get you out. I promise.”

“I don’t doubt you, little cat. Your strength has always awed me.” Zaide replied, his purple eyes also shining, and kissed her.

As they parted, Clawdia faded until she was gone from the dreamscape, and the three of us exchanged glances. We were lost without her.

Charlie sighed and rubbed at his face. “I’m going to see if I can get a head start on the search. Maybe call the task team and see if they have any info.” He looked at Zaide. “See you soon, mate, okay?” Zaide nodded once, and Charlie nodded at us both before he disappeared.

When it was just Zaide and me left, we shifted to face each other.

“Are you alright? Coping?” I asked gently.

At my question, the giant seemed to crumble, and the calm facade he’d been using melted away. He shuddered and buried his face in his hands. I wanted to touch him, but I wasn’t sure how it would be received.

“They are taking my blood,” he managed, his voice raw with pain. “You know what that means to me, how violated it makes me feel. I don’t even care about the beatings, but my blood …”

I knew what it meant to him. It was the same reason I was so feared among the titans. But there was no way to save him right now.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered before placing my hand on his shoulder. “Do you know what they want with it?”

“They are testing it to see how it can support their cause and to learn more about titans’ power.” He lifted his head, and his eyes were red and raw. The sight pained me. “Baelen, my blood can create life.”

I shook my head and massaged his arm. “Not outside of Tartarus and not without the pool, not without mixing with another titan’s blood. They can’t create anything with your blood. I swear it.”

“Are you sure? They took away buckets of it today.”

His eyes searched mine, so I tried to restrain my instinctive reaction to bare my teeth and hiss. My soul mate's blood was the only blood I could consume from the vein under Akar law. It’s mine. And these humans were taking it.

“And they beat you?” I asked, my jaw tight.

Zaide sighed. “They are measuring my healing time, but Clawdia healed me before I could stop her, so that will confuse them.”

“Good. You need to keep strong if you are to escape with her.”

He nodded, and I thought he believed in her, and us, to rescue him. But it hurt his pride to need rescuing, and he looked so broken. I wanted to apologize to him for failing him when he asked me to protect Clawdia and Charlie, but my guilt had no place in the face of his suffering. He needed my strength. He needed to take back control. And I had just the gift for him to regain power.

“I have something I want to show you.”

“A gift?” he asked, shocked but also pleased.

The landscape changed as I transported him to where I had spent my previous moments before joining Clawdia and Zaide here. This gift had been on my to-do list, but the opportunity to do so had only just manifested.

It was dank and dark in the caves under the fighting rings. How Zaide lived here without completely losing his mind was a miracle.

“This is the holding cells,” Zaide whispered as he looked around in horror. “Why have you brought me here?”

Perhaps I should have warned him of my intent before I brought him back to his nightmare. I felt a pang of guilt as he trembled and the color drained from his usual golden skin.

“Zaide, you are safe. I promise you this.” I rubbed his arms, and his gaze returned to mine, becoming clearer as he took deep breaths. When he calmed down enough, I whispered, “Look inside the cells.”

He steeled himself, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth as he moved to the middle to look into the cells. I was apprehensive but watched avidly for his reaction. His gasp echoed inside the stone cave walls, and he took a step back.

“Baelen, what have you done?”

I looked at my presents to see the blood dripping from gashes in their limp arms. The buckets under them had gotten full while I’d been in Tartarus, and of the five akari males chained to the bars of the cell, three had already died from the blood loss. I was only sorry I hadn’t witnessed their last moments, but I’d informed them exactly why they were going to die by my hand as I beat them before bleeding them, just as they had done to my soul mate when he was a slave.

It pained me to think we were in the same realm for so many years and I didn’t know him, didn’t find him, couldn’t save him from this torment. But I could prevent these monsters from repeating the same torment on others. I could punish those who’d treated him worse than livestock. I could banish the fear that lingered inside him and give him a way to take control back.

“When?” he asked, his voice hoarse, and he turned to me. “When did you do this?”

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