Page 26 of Venomous Heart
Kahl’s mouth hung open, then he frowned deeply. He approached without the slightest hesitation despite Arlen’s glare of hostility.
“You can’t ignore the Mating Venom.” Khal came to stand just by Arlen. “The madness will come, and then, there’s no telling what you will do. Just look what’s happened already.”
The room behind Khal bore stark witness to what the Mating Venom would push him to do. All Knut’s furniture lay in heaps of splintered wood, the mattress reduced to a pile of feathers, and expensive items were shattered on the floor. Arlen hadn’t just ransacked it, he had utterly destroyed the place.
Everything was broken, ripped and slashed. Everything except the portrait of a startlingly beautiful female on the wall. One that watched him with that expression of defiance that made him itch all over with an urge to put his mouth on her, his hands on her.
No. I’m not that young fool anymore.
“I am well aware of the effect of the Mating Venom, little brother.” His answer was loaded with enough bile that Khal looked chastised for once. “And I am not going to be victim to that curse ever again.”
Khal’s eyes widened and he took a moment to absorb his brother’s statement. His expression became cautious, but there was no mistaking the worry there. “So that’s your genius plan?” He lifted an ironic brow. “Ignore the Mating Venom because of what happened with Maral? Brother, if you think because your last mate was—” Khal didn’t have time to finish.
Arlen moved, getting into his space with an uncharacteristic aggression, splaying his talons over the younger Eok’s chest. Khal’s eyes grew wide with shock, then fear as Arlen pushed him back until his ass hit the rail of the balcony.
“Never mention that name again.” Arlen’s voice was breathless, but rage ran amok in his veins as his mind burned him with a murderous hatred. “I won’t repeat myself.”
Khal’s face twisted with hurt as he grabbed Arlen’s wrist, trying unsuccessfully to free himself from his brother’s hold. “Really? You leave us—leaveme—for a year, and I’m supposed to act like nothing happened!” Khal’s emotion bubbled up to the surface now, finally breaking the young Eok’s control over his feelings. “And I’m supposed to watch you fall to the madness also? Not a chance! I’m not letting you destroy yourself like this. You know what will happen if you ignore the Mating Venom’s call, and you know what I have to do if it becomes a danger. Whenyoubecome a danger.”
Arlen’s rage lessened as he realized just how much Khal had grown in the year since he’d left. Young, brash and funny Khal, always up for an adventure, for a new thrill. Khal wasn’t the unrestrained youth he’d once been anymore.
None of them were the same.
“I will complete this mission, then I will return to the Frontier.” Arlen pulled away from Khal, then walked back inside the room. “Karian and I made a deal. A year of peace for a year of combat.”
“You’d prefer to lose yourself to the Bloodlust than to accept that you have another chance at happiness? You think taking Doctor Ava for yourself is a worse fate than losing your soul?” Khal shook his head. “What about Mother’s soul? Father’s? Mine? No, Arlen, I’m not ready to let you do that.”
Grief, old and vivid at the same time, came back to bite him, and sadness drowned Arlen’s anger. Khal had always had too much heart, felt too much for an Eok’s own good. This would hurt him.
“Fine! I won’t interfere for now,” Khal said as Arlen turned away to walk out. “But as fun as it is to fight with you, that isn’t why I came.”
When Arlen didn’t answer, Khal continued.
“She’s here.” There was a sense of impending doom in his brother’s voice that made Arlen turn to face him. For the first time ever, he saw the shadow of genuine fear in Khal’s eyes. “Prime Councilor Aav is here, and she has a thousand Mantrilla soldiers with her. Her ship will be landing in a few minutes.”
Arlen stood mute for a few seconds, then shook his head. Tension rippled from his muscles and with a supreme effort, he regained control of his body.
“She hasn’t left her seat in the Ring in three decades.” Arlen’s mind raced with possibilities as he tried to understand what might push Prime Councilor Aav to endanger her hold on power like that. “Did she give any indication as to what she wants?”
Khal’s face became even more grim as he nodded. “She wants us to assemble all the humans in the main square. She wants to inspect them.”
Arlen cursed loudly. This was bad, as bad as it was unexpected.
“Keep Ava and Uril out of her sight. Not a word on any hybrid.”
Khal nodded grimly. Arlen didn’t need to tell his brother what would happen to them if Prime Councilor Aav got her claws on them.
Something churned in his stomach as Arlen braced his hand against the doorframe. It took him a few moments to understand what it was. Then he knew that, for the first time in his violence-filled life, he was afraid.
Afraid for the one person who mattered above all else.
8
Ava
Ava eyed the Eok standing in front of her as she held the door open. He was as tall and large as any of them, but the marks on his deep Prussian blue skin were a shade lighter. His face was broad and chiseled and he had a pleasant, almost debonair expression as he flashed her a bright, white smile. It was easy to see that this Eok was young, younger than her twenty-eight years by a good many. He was nothing like the one Eok she so desperately wanted to see, the one Eok who had haunted her dreams for the past two nights. The one Eok who had been avoiding her for so many days.
As Ava stared at him, she saw glimpses of Arlen in the stranger’s face. The same hard fullness of the lips, the chiseled strength of the jaw, the way his brows creased as he watched her.
