Page 63 of The Stone Survival
“We too are graynites. But we are bound to this voice by a mystical web. Surely this means that you can free us too?”
“Kill the voice and free the infernals?” Orix said.
“Yes!” Ubron sat up straighter. “The voice cannot open the rift without this body.”
“How does he plan to open it?” Levi asked.
“I do not know the mechanics, but I heard them speak of a machine. One they were perfecting. They called it The Channel.”
“They can’t use it without Serath,” Palia said. “As long as we have him, the rift is safe.”
“And we’re sure there are no other Halle Sigmas?” Curi asked Orix. “We didn’t know Romi was a sigma. Lionel hid that fact.”
Something I’d neglected to ask him about.
“If there is another sigma, then they obviously don’t know where he is any more than we do,” Palia said. “They wouldn’t be coming after Serath otherwise.”
“Good point,” Orix said.
“So we work on finding this linchpin and kill him…or her,” Levi said. “That has to be our focus.”
Ubron nodded. “Yes.”
But I was done with this. Done with watching him use my mate’s body like a pretty suit. Done with the intrusive thoughts that kept pushing at my psyche. “I want to speak to Serath.”
He sighed. “You can’t. Not yet. He’s still unconscious. But soon.”
“So you can only take control when Serath is unconscious?” Orix asked.
“Yes,” Ubron said. “Unconscious or…asleep.” His gaze flicked my way. The implication of his words sank in, confirming my awful suspicions, and my stomach dropped.
I cleared my throat, needing to know for certain. “And have we…you and I…Have we spoken before? When Serath was asleep?”
“Yes, we have.” His tone was bland. Neutral even as claws of guilt burrowed beneath my skin.
“When?”
He swallowed hard. “Early this morning and two nights ago. I woke up to scout, and it woke you. We…talked.”
“Cameron?” Shar touched my shoulder. “You’ve gone pale.”
I couldn’t let her know. Couldn’t let any of them know. This was between me and my mate…mates. I was mated to him too. I couldn’t deal with this. Not here in front of them all.
“I’m fine, just exhausted and…shocked.”
“I should lie down,” Ubron said. “Serath will wake soon, and he will have questions.”
“You can take the sofa here,” Orix said.
“No.” I licked my lips. “He should get into his bed. We want to minimize how disoriented Serath will be. I’ll speak to him first and then bring him here. Okay?” Everyone stared at me, and for a moment I was sure they could see right through me. See the dirty things I’d done. “You work on figuring out how the faction could have known we would be at the building tonight.”
That was enough to get them talking among themselves. I jerked my chin at Ubron then hurried out of the room.
He’d find me. He knew where our bedroom was.
Breathe,Cameron. Just breathe. You weren’t to know. You didn’t know. It’s not your fault.
But I should have known. How could I have not seen it? Sensed it? Questioned it?
