Page 74 of Hooded

I see it has curled one of its tails around Fern. All the blood in my body ignites. A growl I didn’t even believe I had rips from my chest.

Proto has my mate.

Proto will die for even touching her.

She shakes her head slowly at me.

Wait.

The word fires down the thoughtbond as clear as if she was stood next to me.

Keep it talking.

I don’t talk. I kill.

But Fern needs me to talk. I obey my mate in all things. My Fern is the only creature in the galaxy I trust.

Trust yourself, Klynn.

I’m not sure if the thought comes from her or somewhere else, but I take a breath, swallow my snarl, and stare at Proto.

“What do you want from the Gryn?”

“I want an army.” Proto writhes, exposing its belly to me for a brief moment. “I’ve been preparing for nova-centuries to take back this galaxy which once belonged to my ancestors before it was polluted by all these parasites.”

“The other species?”

“Yes.” The disgust is apparent in Proto’s voice. “They are living off what we created, what the Protoex wanted for themselves until the super-nova scattered us.”

“There’s more of you?”

“Not anymore. I am the last of the Protoex, but I will be the greatest,” it booms. “All the time, all the preparation, using the Drahon to obtain the right species, using the credits obtained by them to get the Galactic Council to look anywhere but at me. All fools, all will be ended once I rise.”

“You don’t need me or my mate. Not if this is your intention.”

“On the contrary, Gryn. I need you.” A head swoops down, hovering in front of me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see it shake Fern, who cries out in alarm. My hands itch to get hold of my sword.

But I have to trust her. I have to trust myself.

I have to keep Proto talking.

“If you need me, your plan is doomed.” I respond with a growl. “If you need the Gryn, we will fight you every step of the way.”

Instead of grabbing my sword, I touch the crystal again.

“You are merely the template, Klynn.” Proto says. “The one which got away and I now own again.”

“I’ve told you.” I grit my teeth, feeling down both the thoughtbond and the thread which binds me to the electrical impulses flowing through this place. “No one owns me.”

I risk a glance over at Fern. Something flashes in her hand, a blade. She gazes at me and runs it over the tail which binds her.

The thing parts from the whole, dropping to the floor and squirming like a heap of foul entrails. Proto raises its middle head and howls to the sky, metallic and deafening.

“Klynn!” Fern calls out as she races for the flyer. “Unleash hell.”

Whatever it is she wants me to unleash, she doesn’t have to ask me twice. I send everything I have learned from the thread back into the electrical systems, and almost instantly, there is a low, deep rumble which can’t signify anything good…for Proto anyway.

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