Page 65 of Silent Lucidity

“I never disclose the names of my clients or the details of my business with them,” the sedhi continued, “but I can assure you that Drok was no friend of mine. News of his murder sent shockwaves throughout the Undercity because of its audacity, nothing more. I find that keeping up to date on such occurrences allows me to better protect the interests of my clients.

“That said, I don’t want to know anything more about your situation. I don’t want to know who’s after you, I don’t want to know what trouble you’re in—unless it pertains directly to the identification chips you need.”

“Good,” Tenthil said.

Abella’s tension eased, and she leaned against Tenthil. “Thank you.”

“I do it for the credits, not the thanks.” Alk sat back, though his previously leisurely position had taken on an undeniable stiffness now. The sedhi was likely rattled, but that didn’t mean he would be docile.

“How much?” asked Tenthil.

“Thirty thousand.”

“No.”

Alk’s dark brows angled downward over the bridge of his nose. He lifted his arms off the back of the couch, palms toward the ceiling. “Your situation isn’t exactly simple, is it?”

“Make us the chips and we leave. Simple.”

“I thought we were approaching this from a stance of mutual respect, zenturi.” Alk shook his head. “You need to pass through a checkpoint to leave the planet. That’s fine, my IDs can manage it. But she is part of a race that only has a few thousand registrants in a city of tens of billions, andyouare part of a race that isn’t in the registry at all. That makes my work extremely difficult, because anything I produce will need to stand up to even greater potential scrutiny than normal. If you’re one in a billion, the Consortium doesn’t care. But one of a kind?Thatwould draw their attention.”

“Fifteen,” Tenthil said, forcing his face to remain neutral; the sinking feeling in his gut was becoming too familiar as of late.

“Thirty is already low.”

Tenthil only stared at the sedhi.

“Give me the human, and I’ll make yours free of charge,” Alk said, his third eye shifting to glance at Abella.

Abella gasped and threw herself on top of Tenthil in the same instant that he surged forward; it was only some vague instinct that halted his momentum—even in the depths of his rage, he could not allow himself to do her harm. Still, his muscles bulged, his claws shredded the couch cushion beneath him, and he snarled through bared teeth.

Abella glared at the sedhi. “Are you serious? You’re basically asking to be ripped to shreds! I’m not his plaything or his property. I’m hismate.”

Hearing Abella reaffirm it once again, hearing her own their connection, was like a splash of cold water on Tenthil’s face, cooling him off enough to clear a bit of the rage fog from his mind. He slipped his arms around her and shifted her aside—he would not allow her between himself and the sedhi. It was his place to shieldherfrom harm, not the other way around.

Alk’s eyes were wide, his marks glowing bright, and he was pressed so far back against the couch that it seemed the frame was likely to snap, but he kept his seat. Whether it was arrogance, stupidity, or fear that had held him there, Tenthil neither knew nor cared.

The sedhi’s tongue slipped out and ran over his lips. “Twenty-five for both. That’s the best I can do.”

There was a gleam of something else in Alk’s eyes, something Tenthil would never have expected to see in such a situation—curiosity.

“You can make them both free and I’ll let you live,” Tenthil said, for once relishing the burning sensation in his throat as he spoke.

“I’m not keen on the idea of dying, zenturi, but as I said—this is not a charity.”

“Twenty.”

“Even if you manage to kill me, you two won’t make it out of this room alive. Is that what you want for the human?”

Tenthil tipped the corner of his mouth up in a lopsided smile; it was the only outward display of the pain and worry he felt at the thought of losing Abella that he permitted. “You’d be too dead to care.”

Abella placed her hand over Tenthil’s and looked at him. “Twenty-five. He’s not our enemy. Let’s not make him one.”

Clenching his teeth, Tenthil turned his head to meet her gaze. The worried light in her eyes and the concerned crease between her eyebrows nearly undid him. “Fine.”

Alk groaned, lifting a hand to massage his forehead. “Twenty, all right? I’ll do the damned job for twenty. Bring me half to get started, the rest when we implant. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, Idohave other work to attend.”

Tenthil wasted no time in getting to his feet, keeping an arm around Abella to bring her with him. He walked with her toward the door.

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