Page 16 of Venomous Heart
“You’re right.” His gray eyes lifted to meet Arlen’s, not defeated like he thought they would be, but full of resolve. “I don’t trust you. But I also know the Eok nation’s protection is the only thing that keeps us safe from another round of people like Knut. I might not like it, but we need you.”
Arlen stared hard at Jonah, then nodded. He saw truth on the other’s face, and trusting his instincts was second nature.
“If not you, then who?”
The door to the command center opened to reveal Khal, who for once was serious looking as he came forward.
“We have a problem.” Khal spoke as he walked, nodding quietly to Jonah and the Relany officer. “It’s the reconnaissance team I sent to the Southern Hemisphere to complete the census.”
“Let me guess,” Jonah spoke. “Can’t reach them?”
Khal stared at Jonah in surprise, but didn’t ask any questions. All he did was nod.
“How many?” Arlen asked as Officer Shetak turned to his control panel, pulling up the record of the mission.
“Three Relany clerks.” Khal shook his head. “And one Eok. I wasn’t expecting any danger.”
All eyes went to him, and Arlen straightened. His decision had to be made carefully. “Do you have a weather report for the area they were last in?” Arlen asked the Relany officer.
“Yes.” Officer Shetak’s face was both relieved and worried in a strange, quick succession of emotions. “The Southern Hemisphere is subject to abnormally strong magnetic storms. Their transports locator and communications devices could have been affected.”
“As could the communicators of Facility Twenty-One.”
Silence descended over the room and Arlen considered his options. A magnetic storm would explain a lot—explain everything, in fact. But it didn’t explain the suspicion that had settled in the pit of his stomach. There was something else going on. Something he couldn’t ignore, but he had seen enough violence, had lived through enough combat to know his instincts were usually right.
“Send another team.” Arlen turned to Khal. “Four Eok warriors, full combat gear.”
“Full combat?” Jonah intervened, his face panicked. “Those are humans—civilians. They’re not enemy combatants.”
“You don’t know that.” Arlen shook his head as Jonah’s face twisted in outrage and outright fear. “For all we know, the Fourth Quadrant is under attack and all communications are down. Knut has a lot of resources left.”
Jonah took a step back, his face ashen and his hands trembling. “You think he’s come back?” His tone told him all Arlen needed to know. To these people, Knut was the monster in the shadows, the source of all evil. “But it can’t be. He’s in hiding, pursued by bounty hunters from every corner of the Ring. There’s no way he can hurt us now.”
Khal and Arlen exchanged a quick glance. Humans like Jonah had lived their entire lives cut off from the Ring, from its wonders, but also from its darker side. They didn’t know the extent of Knut’s power, or his resources.
“He’s not coming back, if that’s what you fear.” At Arlen’s words, Jonah bristled a bit but didn’t contradict him. “But that doesn’t mean he can’t still be a threat. Him or someone like him. Humans can still be valuable, even if their trade is illegal.”
As silence descended again, possibilities made their way into Arlen’s mind. Mercenaries, pirates, sabotage—all orchestrated by a disgraced but still rich Trade Minister Knut, hiding so deep somewhere in the vastness of the universe beyond the Ring that he could never be found.
What if he comes after Ava? What if he seeks revenge on her?
Something fierce and feral bared its teeth inside Arlen. That, he would never allow. He would keep that infuriating, purple-eyed female safe from everything—even herself—if he had to.
* * *
Ava
Ava was ready to fall down and die of exhaustion but a wide smile stretched her lips. “Come get me if she needs anything,” Ava told Edmila as she picked up her medical equipment and put it back on the tray. “Christie needs to rest most of all, but she can also eat as many rations as she wants. No rationing for the new mother.”
“You did a wonderful job, Doctor Ava,” Edmila said with a smile.
“We both did,” Ava corrected her. “You stayed here just as long as I did.” She reached for Edmila’s arm and wasn’t surprised when the girl flinched slightly. They always did.
Not all of them. Arlen didn’t, did he?
No, Arlen hadn’t flinched. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t as repulsed by her as the rest of them.
It didn’t matter. Ava smiled and looked at Christie.
