Page 20 of Venomous Lust
He had believed her plea when she’d demanded to be sent to Earth. He had even contacted Representative Markus, the human in charge of the population on Earth, in order to find Hazel’s sister.
Was this all just manipulation? Who are you, really?
His jaw clenched as suspicion mixed with another emotion—one he was entirely sure he should not be feeling. Hurt. Hazel’s possible betrayal hurt him like a dagger between the ribs. He was getting way too emotional where the human was concerned. The mission was what mattered, above all else.
Even above Hazel.
Khal glanced over his shoulder to Zaxis. The Avonie male was following in silence but as they locked gazes, understanding passed between them.
They wouldn’t win an outright fight with the bounty hunters. The Mother was the largest ship of its kind in the Ring. It had been capable of beaming inside the Myrador, foiling the ship’s automatic escape systems, and had anchored it by force. It hosted a crew in the thousands, made up of bounty hunters of all species, all hardened in combat and as savage as their captain. Captain Roohl’s reputation for ruthlessness and violence had been hard earned amongst the generally disreputable profession, and Khal wasn’t eager to provoke him. Not with Hazel in the line of fire.
I know what Roohl is after. He’s after the prize of a lifetime. The prize to top all prizes.
Finally, Celaith stopped in front of the control room, then turned to face them again.
“You two, wait here.” She spoke curtly to the Shriklas. “Let me know when the captain gets in.”
The Shriklas hissed in tandem in response to the Arvak female’s order, but made no move to follow as she entered the control room, leaving the door open behind her. Hesitating for only one second, Khal entered, with Hazel close at his side and Zaxis closing the ranks.
As soon as they were inside, a sharp nod from Celaith had Zaxis close the door behind him. With the door finally closed, Celaith’s entire demeanor changed, going from arrogant confidence to urgent worry.
“We don’t have long.” Celaith spoke low, all traces of bravado gone from her voice. Her expressive skin turned a shade darker and whitish streaks marred her cheeks and forehead. “You need to tell me all you know on Knut before Roohl gets in.”
Shock made Khal blink, then blink again as anger replaced the surprise. This was definitively not a chance encounter, then. Someone had betrayed him.
“And what makes you think we know anything about Knut’s whereabouts?” Zaxis answered Celaith, his composure one of pristine countenance, betraying nothing of his emotions. Khal watched, a new respect coming up inside him at the sight of the Avonie. Zaxis knew how to react under pressure. “We are on a trading mission, nothing more.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Avonie,” Celaith retorted aggressively, her cheeks flashing dark purple and pink. “You might be nobility, but in Roohl’s eyes, you’re nothing, just like the Eok.”
Zaxis’s pupils shrank until his eyes were entirely pure amethyst anger, but still he didn’t move, his face as polished as before. Khal considered the Arvak’s words as Zaxis stood straighter. The Avonie could well be nobility indeed, but it made little sense. Avonies were a chokingly conservative society, based on bloodlines and birthright rather than individual merits.
That one born into the elite class chose to run around with an Eok on a mission beyond the Ring was more than surprising. It was an anomaly.
Once again, Khal was reminded how little he knew about his only ally in the mission. And how much his life depended on it. More importantly, how much Hazel’s life depended on it.
Why more importantly? She might very well be the traitor who sold me out.
Khal raged against his own instinct, against the protective streak in his mind every time the human female was involved.
I really need to get rid of her, and fast.
“If you know I’m nobility, then you know I’m speaking the truth.” Zaxis’s voice was haughty, his brows lifted high in a typical Avonie display of superiority. “What else would a Duke’s son be doing aboard such a miserable little ship?”
The Arvak female locked eyes with Zaxis for a long time, then she shook her head. Her skin shimmered in tones of pink and purple, but her face remained closed off.
“It doesn’t matter what I think.” Celaith looked away from Zaxis and to Khal. “Roohl wants Knut, and believe me, you don’t want to stand between Roohl and what he wants.”
There was something ominous in the female’s voice. Something that spoke volumes about who the captain of the Mother really was—a monster, one who was every bit as bad as the one Khal was hunting, except for one thing. Captain Roohl was a bounty hunter; he wasn’t trying to overturn Prime Councilor Aav and push the entire Ring into a civil war that would cost billions of lives.
Not my problem, Khal decided. “Why are you telling us this?”
“Because I can help you,” Celaith spoke low, her voice hurried and her eyes darting to the door. “I can get you away from Roohl.”
“And why would we trust you? You work for Roohl.” That wasn’t really the question, was it? No, the real question was much more obvious. “Why would you help us?”
Her dark pink eyes locked with his, then darted to the door and back.
“I want out,” the Arvak female whispered, her eyes suddenly haunted and full of fear. “I can’t do it on my own. He won’t let me leave. He won’t let any of us leave.”
