Page 14 of Unleashed

Nina stiffened, eyes wide.

Balir spoke before she could fully process Vortok’s words. “I laid claim upon her already. She shares my life beat.” He settled a hand on her waist and wrapped the end of his tail around her ankle, drawing her back toward him.

Vortok rose to his full height. “She sharesmine, also!”

She rocked back, wincing at his sudden flare of anger. Vortok dropped his gaze to her. She sensed the man within seizing control, reining in his fury; his features softened.

“What foolish claims have the two of you made?” Aduun asked, moving closer. The bony protrusions on his face were sharper than those of his companions, and his features bore a decidedly more predatory cast. Long, wicked quills extended from his head and neck, and his body was covered in short brown fur that was run through with dark stripes along his arms and sides. His amber eyes gleamed with reflected light as they roved over her. “We do not know what she is.”

“She is ahoomin,” Vortok said.

“And what is that? A made-up word for a strange creature.”

“We came from the sky.” Nina snapped her mouth shut; she knew immediately it had been the wrong thing to say.

Aduun’s already suspicious expression darkened, and Vortok’s heavy brow dropped. Balir’s hold on her tightened slightly.

“Not like the Creators,” she hurried to amend. “My mother’s peoplecrashedon Sonhadra against their will. They’re survivors, not…not conquerors. There are lots of humans here now. I…I think you’ve been down here for a long time and have missed much. I was born on Sonhadra.”

“You said your father’s people knew our language,” Balir said. “How did he come to learn it?”

“He is my father in all but blood. He was one of your kind and lived with his tribe before Kelsharn turned him into a…valo. He took me in when I was little and taught me everything I know.”

The valos exchanged glances. For the first time, their thoughts were too guarded for her to sense without effort.

“What is his name?” Aduun finally asked after a long, tense silence.

“Orishok.”

Aduun’s eyes widened, and his jaw went slack. “Orishok? Rekesh and Yandi’s son?”

Nina knew those names from stories Orishok had told her, knew their faces from the memories those stories had woken within him. She nodded.

“Yandi was sister to my mother. Orishok is barely grown enough to hold a spear,” Aduun said, eyes narrowing again.

Nina frowned at Aduun before glancing at Balir and Vortok. “Like I said… You’ve been down here for a long, long time.”

“How long?” Vortok asked.

“Orishok’s count isn’t certain, but…I think he was made into a valo over a thousand years ago, and he was fully grown when it happened,” Nina replied.

Vortok stared at her in silence, lips parted. Balir’s hand and tail fell away. Despite the power of their shock, it ran only on the surface. The kernel of fear in their hearts said they knew her words were true.

Aduun clenched his jaw, an intense light sparking in his eyes. Whatever emotions he’d been emitting ceased, as though he’d closed himself off to her — or shut out his feelings. “You know of Kelsharn. Where is he now?”

“No one knows. We believe all the remaining Creators left Sonhadra, but there’s no way to be sure of it. He’s been gone for hundreds of years.”

Aduun’s nostrils expanded with a heavy exhalation as he turned his head, looking around the chamber. “We cannot trust Kelsharn or this place, but we have no other choice. We must move forward. If our people live, we will find them and take our freedom.”

—and whether they do or not, I will find Kelsharn, tear his heart from his chest, and devour it before his eyes—

The cold certainty of Aduun’s thought sent a shiver along Nina’s spine. She had no doubt that death was the only thing that would deter him from his goal. She nearly told him again that Kelsharn was gone, that he could ease his fury, that he could find a new purpose, but she knew he wouldn’t believe her.

“Into the unknown, then,” Vortok said without a hint of fear in his voice.

“It is as it’s always been,” said Balir. “Not even Sonhadra’s welcoming embrace is a certainty.”

“I want to help,” Nina said.

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