Page 133 of Sohut's Protection

She was alive and well.

Beside him, he could hear the excited grunts of the Tasqals gathered in front of the display.

The sound of them almost had his claws protracting right there to rip their throats out.

Their attention was on his gnora. Clee-yo.

It was no wonder she’d been hiding under the tree.

She was obviously sought after by the brutes.

As she moved toward the transparent barrier, she was frowning at the Tasqals gathered at the display when her gaze fell on him.

Without realizing what he was doing, he reached out and placed his hand, now claw, against the transparent surface.

For a moment, she just stared at him before her frown became confused and she knelt before him.

She stared at him for a few moments and even though he knew that to her, he looked like the enemy, he hoped something in his eyes could let her know she was not alone.

That he was there to save her.

That he would get her out of this.

She must have seen something, because the confusion grew in her eyes before she stood again, her gaze still on him.

In the next moment, her head snapped to the side, her eyes widening before she stood and darted back under the tree.

Confused as well, it took him a moment to realize Hedgerud fighters had entered the terrarium.

They were pulling the other females not so gently toward the door they’d entered through while, on his side of the barrier, the Tasqals and their guards were moving.

Showtime.

Yet, he couldn’t leave the spot till he saw that Clee-yo was okay.

In the next second, she came from underneath the blossoms, her arms folded across her chest and a glimmer in her eyes.

He knew that look.

She was planning something.

His claw pressed against the transparent barrier as she walked bravely toward the guard, not even flinching when the beast took her roughly by the shoulder.

He was going to snap that guard’s arm and pull it from his body as soon as he had the chance.

Stepping into the shadows, Sohut activated the distorter on his arm once more, changing forms. Before his eyes, his arms changed to those of a Tasqal and he knew the distortion of the rest of his image was complete.

To everybody else, he would look like one of the awful elite.

This was it.

Clee-yo was ready to fight, and so was he.

31

Cleo gripped her lucky piece of metal and the shiv underneath each arm as she was led from the terrarium.

Her entire survival depended on what she did in the next few moments.

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