Page 115 of Sohut's Protection

He just had to put her down. She’d claw their eyes out with her bare fingers if she had to.

Their laughter was sickening.

It was the sort of sound that seemed to clap the air, echoing into the darkness.

“Of course, we are taking her. You sent the signal, made our work easier.”

The signal.

Cleo blinked, unmoving, her mind trying to make sense of their words.

Which signal?

Then it came to her.

The device that was blinking even right now in Sohut’s hand.

For a moment, a little voice in her head made her doubt everything.

That device was why they were there. It had summoned them, and Sohut had possessed it all along.

He’d had the means to make them find her at any moment.

“Sohut?” Her voice cracked as she said his name and she felt him stiffen even more, his growling interrupted for a second.

The guards around them laughed again.

“Qrakking human. The Merssi has developed feelings for it, don’t you see?” The guard laughed.

“Are you surprised? They are both useless beings. Excrement tends to stick to excrement.”

Sohut growled, but he didn’t move.

There was movement in front of her and suddenly she was face-to-face with one of the guards.

He bent so he could look into her face and Cleo stifled a gasp as the guard’s alligator-like snout came far too close for comfort.

“You didn’t trust him, did you, jekin?” The way he said the word made it sound as if he was calling her a bitch. “You thought you were free?” He laughed in her face. “The Merssi had the tracker for you the entire time. You belong to our lordships, the High Tasqals. The Merssi cares nothing about you.”

They were wrong.

She knew Sohut better.

They’d made love, many, many times. She’d given herself to him. Trusted him.

At that moment, she knew with certainty a thought that she hadn’t forced herself to acknowledge before: she’d rather die than let them hurt the man she loved.

The man she loved.

A ball of emotion developed in her throat, causing her to choke.

“Release the jekin,” one of the guards ordered. “Her master awaits.”

“NO!” For a moment, she thought the word came from Sohut—it was uttered with such ferocity, such power, such defiance—but the sudden strain on her throat made her realize the exclamation had come from her.

She felt Sohut’s arms tighten around her.

“She’s not going anywhere,” he spoke through gritted teeth.

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