Page 84 of Shielded Heart

Arcanthus released a short, bitter laugh as a fresh surge of rage blasted through him. He shoved himself out of his chair and kicked Straek in the chest. The groalthuun released a choked grunt that couldn’t mask the sound of his cracking ribs as the chair slammed backward and slid two meters across the floor.

Stepping over the chair, Arcanthus lowered his foot on Straek’s throat and knelt on his other leg, bending forward so his face was closer to the groalthuun’s. Scales that had paled to white not long before were now darkening, and Straek’s eyes bulged in their sockets.

“Death in combat is a fate reserved for the brave,” Arcanthus said through bared fangs. “You and your ilk knownothingof courage. You knownothingof sacrifice. You don’t deserve a chance to fight for your life, you blubbering skrudge.”

Arcanthus swung the knife in a downward arc. The blade sank deep into Straek’s right eye, scraping the bone of the eye socket and stopping only when it punched through the backside of the groalthuun’s skull and hit the floor beneath. Straek convulsed, released a few choked grunts, and stilled.

Keeping his foot on Straek’s neck, Arcanthus tugged the knife free. Blood spurted from the open wound and splattered his arm, chest, and robe. Frowning, he wiped the blade clean on the groalthuun’s shirt, stood up, and returned the weapon to Thargen.

The vorgal raised the knife to examine it. “You blunted the tip, damn it.”

Arcanthus gritted his teeth and released a steadying breath. Anger simmered in his gut, undiminished by his outburst; Straek’s death had been too swift to alleviate Arc’s pent-up aggression. Part of him regretted using the knife instead of his fists. His only compensation was the tiny satisfaction of having one less threat to his mate.

He forced an unconcerned tone into his voice and said, “Yes, and my robe got blood on it. We all have our problems.”

Drakkal grunted; he was sitting against the wall to Arc’s right, his tail rippling beside him. “I think he was about to talk. Right before you skewered his eye.”

“You know just as well as I that torture is highly likely to produce false information,” Arcanthus said. “There was no point in prolonging the inevitable.”

“Thatwas torture?” Sekk’thi asked, tilting her head. “Did I miss something during that exchange?”

“Yes, it was torture,” Drakkal said. “He had to sit and have a conversation with Arcanthus.”

Arcanthus turned his head to glare at the azhera.

Drakkal lifted his brows, sighed, and pushed himself up to his feet. He swept his arms to the sides and swung them back in a slow stretch before dropping his gaze to the groalthuun. “All right. Let’s get this cleaned up. Our guest isn’t going to find his own way out.”

“Razi, drop off that holocom in my workshop,” Arcanthus said.

The cren nodded.

Arcanthus strode out of the room without looking back. He knew there would be answers on the holocom, he just didn’t yet know the correlating questions. It probably wouldn’t help him identify Straek’s boss, probably wouldn’t grant any insight into why the Inner Reach Syndicate was suddenly after him again, butanyinformation was welcome at this point.

Besides, Straek wasn’t likely to volunteer any more information.

He clenched his fists at his sides as he stalked toward his bedroom, battling the urge to punch and kick the walls in blind, indiscriminate fury.

What iswrongwith me?

The answer came with surprising swiftness and made it clear that his query had been poorly worded.

Samantha.

She wasn’t what waswrongwith Arcanthus—in fact, she felt like the only thing currentlyrightin his life—but she had an undeniable effect upon him. Being called away from her earlier had sparked his agitation, but it wasn’t merely that fleeting separation that had stoked the fires of his fury—she was indanger, and the beast lurking within him could not rest so long as that was the case. His instincts roared for him to eliminate all threats to her.

And where would that path lead? The Syndicate presented the most immediate danger, but what about this city, this planet, the whole damneduniverse?Everythingcould be perceived as a threat to Samantha. At some point, he would have to find a means of restoring his self-control.

But he wouldn’t stop fighting for her. He’dneverstop. More than anyone he’d known, Samantha deserved safety. She deserved comfort, security, and stability. Deserved to have agoodlife.

Arcanthus was jarred from his thoughts when he turned a corner, entering the hallway in which his bedroom was located, and collided with Samantha.

He released a startled grunt; she gasped and stumbled back several steps before righting her balance.

“Are you all right, little terran?” he asked, closing the distance between them. His heart thumped, and his skin felt hot; even the thought of accidentally doing her harm was almost too much for him to bear.

But she wasn’t looking at him. Her wide eyes were fixated on her hands, which were smeared with blood.

Sixteen

---