Page 54 of Chained

“Why should we believe a vrexing thing you say?” Maxym slams his free wing into the wall next to Retah, and plaster falls out. “Why should we follow you?”

“Why wouldn’t you? I have the answers, youngling. I’ve spent my life gathering them while you’ve been killing in the dome,” Retah snarls.

“Woah!” I shove myself between them. Maxym instantly backs down. “This isn’t helping anyone.” I glare at Retah. “I’m not happy you didn’t deign to tell me the truth,your highness, but this”—I look at Maxym—“isn’t the time for recriminations.”

With a groan, Maxym grabs at his head over where his scar strikes like a silver spear. He drops to his knees with a sudden, sickening crack.

“There’s…something…my head,” he says as I grasp for him.

Pain slices through me too, not unbearable, because Maxym is holding it back through the thoughtbond as much as he can.

“Something is in his head,” I shout up at Retah. “We have to stop it.”

MAXYM

What goes on around me is as if time has been slowed down. I see myeregri. She shouts something at the Remek. He grabs hold of me, and I can’t stop him, I can’t move fast enough. I fall, he drags, I’m limp, he’s stronger than I thought, injuries or no.

The planet might have given up on time, but I feel every bump of the stairs as I’m pulled down, anticipating the next and the next until everything speeds up, and I can hear Cleo’s voice whispering my name as Retah growls orders at his vid screen.

“They’re outside. I’ve locked everything down. They won’t be able to detect us in here,” he says to Cleo. “How is he?”

“I think he’s coming round.” Cleo is studying my face, her hand gently caressing my cheek.

“Wha—happened?” I croak, one wing flailing as I sit up.

“You said there was something in your head and collapsed,” Cleo tells me.

“There was,” Retah says grimly. “The Bogarok.” He glares at me. “Has this happened before? In the dome?”

“In the dome, I had pain when the Bogarok arrived, but I always do. My injury made me that way.” I clutch at my scar.

I look at both Retah and Cleo, searching for answers.

He looks at his vid-screen. “They’re using some sort of scanning tech. I’m not sure what it is and why not all of us are affected.”

I shake my head and immediately regret the action as my brain feels like it’s swimming in treacle.

“I’ve been…violent.” I look at my sweet mate. “Until I met my Cleo. Things changed.”

“Finding your mate has helped your healing.” The Cirmos bustles over and hands me a tankard, which unfortunately only contains water.

I take the tankard and swallow the cool liquid in three long gulps.

“Back at the dome, my colleague…another Gryn…he said his head hurt when the Bogarok arrived. He collapsed,” I say as the events in the dome gain clarity. “I had to put him into the undercroft.”

Cleo’s eyes widen.

“I mean I put him somewhere safe. I can’t imagine anyone being able to dispose of Klynn,” I say, putting my hand over hers.

“Could it be your injury was somehow blocking whatever it is the Bogarok are doing with their scanners?” Cleo asks.

“I don’t have the tech here to be able to tell, but if they’re using something which causes you pain, regardless of what the true nature of this tech is, we’re going to have to do something about that,” Retah says, looking me up and down. “Given you’re our best weapon.”

I grin at him as he strides away down the basement. I look at Cleo, and she is not smiling. What flows down the thoughtbond is anything but mirth.

“It’s going to be fine, little mate.” I trace my finger down the side of her face. “It takes more than a little pain to kill me.”

“Gryn are virtually indestructible.” The Cirmos snorts.

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