Page 86 of Crossing Quinn

“It’s a long story, which started when the Tai-Kok killed my parents.”

I flinched at the pain in his voice. “Could you have prevented their deaths?”

“No. I was a thousand miles away. I made it my job to avenge them, but no matter how many of the monsters I killed, it was never enough. The Overlord offered my family a way to stop the carnage.”

“And you took it.”

Quinn snorted. “Not at first. Central Command rounded up my entire family and turned us over to the Coletti invaders. I was seriously pissed.”

“How could your own people betray you like that?”

“General Tasker, the traitorous bitch, said surrendering us to the Coletti was for the greater good. Billions of lives in exchange for a few psychics. It was a win-win situation.”

“For the Tai-Kok,” I exclaimed.

“Exactly. We were taken to Tanith and told we either agreed to become Coletti or the change would be forced on us.”

“What did you do?”

“I challenged the Overlord to combat.”

My jaw dropped. “Seriously?”

“My temper has always been iffy, and I let it override my common sense.”

“And Zarek didn’t kill you?”

Quinn laughed. “He gave me a good beat-down and merged his mind with mine. That’s when I realized Zarek has more power in his little finger than I do in my entire body.”

“Yikes. One of those come-to-Jesus moments.”

“It was. I agreed to be a good Coletti warrior, and Zarek agreed to let me live.”

“Wise decision.”

“It was.” Quinn massaged the tight muscles in my neck.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes and let the peaceful sound of the wildlife lull me to sleep.

In the dim recesses of my mind, I heard Detja say, “They look exhausted, and when is the last time they bathed?”

“Look at her! She practically skin and bones. Didn’t you feed them?” Mami’s voice was full of indignation.

Papa interjected, “According to their schedule, they had to clean thirty tunnels a day. An impossible task.”

“Thirty!” Detja exclaimed. “Let me check.”

I linked with Quinn. “If we ignore them, think they’ll go away?”

“No.”

“We know you’re awake,”Papa commented.

With a sigh, I opened my eyes and met Mami’s horrified gaze. “What are you doing here?” Drekk. That came out wrong.

“We’re here for your bonding ceremony.”

Quinn and I said in unison, “What bonding ceremony?”

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