Page 61 of Tamed

“Congratulations,” Soro offered, but his expression revealed his confusion.

Movu simply waited for an explanation.

“I bring it up because we learned that she’s a traveler. Even now she is connecting with Jill and Loren so she can learn whatever she can about their situation.” He looked at Soro and asked, “Is there someone she can contact that will have the answers to your questions?”

Soro narrowed his eyes and stared past Zevon as he considered the question. “Actually, there is.” His expression brightened and he scooted closer to the camera. “I have an operative in the palace, but I haven’t been able to contact him for almost a week. Verbet locked the palace down, no one in, no one out. I thought he was just being paranoid until the conduits arrived. Ciket is posing as a palace guard, so he would have all of the information we need.”

Zevon nodded. “Kendra has never made contact with someone she doesn’t know, but it’s definitely worth a try.”

“Last time I spoke with Ciket, he had just been assigned to guard Domar. I’ll send you an image of him, but his energy pattern would probably be more helpful. Oh, his brother is currently in training at the Citadel. If Kendra imprints his pattern, it might make the search a little easier.”

“Good idea,” Zevon agreed. “What’s the brother’s name?”

“Ekit or Ekid, something like that.”

“I’ll find him.”

The holo-comm ended a few minutes later. Zevon promised to update them again after Kendra connected with Ciket. She’d planned to spend the day with Provost Nadis, so Zevon lightly touched Kendra’s mind to ascertain her location. They were in one of the small lounges, taking a quick break for lunch.

Zevon looked up the newest class of trainees and found an Ekrith. He was assigned to one of the older mentors and the class was currently in training room three. Zevon went to the training room and told the mentor that he needed to borrow Ekrith for a few minutes.

“Have I done something wrong, sir?” The young man looked terrified.

“Absolutely not. Do you have a brother named Ciket?”

His eyes widened and the color drained from his face. “Is Ciket dead?”

“I don’t believe so, but why was that your first concern?”

“He stopped answering my comms two weeks ago and I stopped being able to sense him four days ago. I thought he was blocking me, but?—”

“We have no reason to believe he’s dead,” Zevon told him. “Are you aware of his current location?”

“I know Ciket is a spy, and I’m pretty sure he’s at Mercelon Palace.”

Relieved that he wouldn’t need to guard every word, Zevon said, “He is and that’s why we need to speak with him. The reason he has stopped contacting you, and likely the reason you can’t sense him right now, is because Verbet locked down the inner portion of the palace. My mate is a traveler, so she should be able to reach him. However, she has never contacted someone she doesn’t know. Would you be willing to let her scan your mind so she has an energy pattern to match as she searches for your brother?”

“Of course. I’ll do anything I can to help.”

As they walked farther down the hall and found the lounge in which Kendra and Nadis were having lunch, Zevon reached for Arcon’s mind. Do you have some free time? I think we’re going to need all three of us for this.

I have a class, but my assistant can finish up.

We’re in lounge B.

Zevon was pleased to see Kendra smiling and her gaze filled with life. He had sensed her sadness and fear as she interacted with Jill and Loren. And learning of Heather’s death had upset her. None of it was Kendra’s fault, but she felt responsible.

“That’s one of the advantages of having two mates,” Nadis was saying. “They help keep each other in line.”

“They can also gang up on you,” Kendra pointed out. “Last week they…” Her words trailed away as she noticed him standing in the doorway. “Hi there.”

“Finish the sentence, mate. Last week we?”

Her brows arched and she lifted her chin. “Don’t you know it’s rude to listen in on other people’s conversations?”

He flashed a smile to assure her he wasn’t angry. “How did the traveling go?” He strolled into the room, Ekrith on his heels.

She glanced at the trainee, clearly curious, but didn’t ask who he was or why he was there. “It went really well. I found both Jill and Loren. They’re being held on the second floor of the palace, down the hall from Verbet’s suite. They each have a minimum of two guards watching them night and day.”

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