Page 94 of Rebirth

Three Vullan stand there, blades trained on He’rox, ba’clan spiked all around them in agitation. My heart leaps into my throat as He’rox’s ba’clan respond on me, pulsing at my back as if waiting for instructions.

Fer’ro, Ga’Var, and San’ten. And from the looks of it, they’ve come prepared for a fight.

“He’rox,” Fer’ro growls, taking a step into the room. The other two follow, fanning out to surround us. “Tell us we have not judged you incorrectly. Tell us you have not been experimenting on the human and on that child you brought.”

He’rox shifts, blocking me from view, a growl rumbling in his chest.

“Lower your blades,” he growls.

They do not. Instead, Fer’ro’s lava eyes narrow. At the same time, one of the others speaks. San’ten.

He’s moved to the side enough that he’s looking right at me, and I can tell the moment he spies the vein at my neck. A hiss escapes him, his eyes going even blacker than He’rox’s as his fangs extend.

At the sight of his snarl, the ba’clan shoot over my body, covering me from head to toe. San’ten’s ears flick off the sides of his head and his snarl hesitates for only a moment before he turns to Fer’ro.

“She’s infested.” I can almost hear the blades on his ba’clan sharpen as his shoulders hunch in a stance that looks like he’s about to pounce at any moment. “But she holds his ba’clan,” he continues. “He has mated her and given her his affliction.”

“No!” I shout.

“Wait,” someone else says.

It’s Adira. We speak at the same time as I dart out from behind He’rox before he can stop me, throwing my hands in the air. The Vullan’s eyes flick to me in surprise, even as Adira, Sam, and Mina glance at each other.

“He didn’t do this to me.”

Silence falls in the room, and I take a shuddering breath.

There’s no use hiding it. I’ll only put the entire camp and all they’ve built in danger. The future of humanity in danger.

So I begin.

“We found something out there.” The air becomes so thick, I can cut it with a knife. “Those veins we went to investigate. They’re…” Glancing behind me, I see He’rox’s gaze locked on mine. His tentacles wave at his back as he gives me a slight nod to continue. I take a deep breath, pushing forward. “They’re growing. Creating a network underground. Vast, more vast than you can even imagine. Already…” I gulp. Memory of what happened at that camp rushing back through me. Memory of what I saw. What I experienced. “People are infected. The network. The parasite…it’s…”

Fer’ro’s pupils narrow, blades still pointed at He’rox. His disbelief is palpable. I take a step forward, steeling my nerves under his scrutiny.

“It’s worse than we thought. We found some people in a camp. They all seemed normal except—”

“Except they’ve been changed.” Mina steps forward, piercing gaze on me.

“Mina,” San’ten warns, as if telling her not to come too close to me. As if I’m a threat. His overprotectiveness would be heartwarming if his distrust wasn’t directed at me.

And then I realize something.

In that pause, as I shift my gaze to Mina and she swallows, I hear the sound of her saliva going down her throat. My gaze flicks to everyone in the room. One by one. And with each one, I can hear their heartbeats thumping in their chests.

I can hear what I should not.

“We can block the signal,” Mina says, gaze still focused on me. “You can hear them, can’t you? The Gryken. You can hear their whispers.”

I swallow hard, shaking my head slightly.

“I can’t hear them,” I blink. Mina’s heartbeat rises and I hear it thumping hard in her chest. My gaze flicks to the spot as an urge rises within me, one that makes me want to claw at her chest just so I can see the organ beating there. The thought sends bile rising even as the urge grows and I stagger away from her, back pressing into He’rox.

Mina steps forward and my eyes widen in horror at the track my thoughts have taken. I stretch an arm toward her to ward her back.

“Don’t come closer.”

Her gaze flicks to her mate before refocusing on me. “What’s happening, Sophie? You can tell us.”

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