Page 60 of Taming the Alien Outlaw
“And the messages from Alik requesting meetings? I suppose you were also responsible for those never reaching me?”
She stares at me with pity. “Of course.”
I nod. “I probably shouldn’t bother asking about Konek, then.”
“Who?”
My gut aches. “Konek. The Bohnari killed in the mine when the equipment malfunctioned.”
Her confusion clears. “Ah, yes. That was unfortunate, but also necessary.”
I run my hands down my face. Everything is a lie. I have to know. “Did the king truly even do to you what you have said he did?”
Mohneek rushes forward a few steps with clenched fists. “Of course he did. He took everything from me with complete disregard. My dignity. My life. My son. In return, I took his.”
I nearly stagger at her words. “What do you mean, you took his?”
She laughs maniacally again. “He didn’t even recognize me. He destroyed my life but it was clearly of no consequence to him. I wasn’t worth remembering.”
“What did you do?” The question is ground out through clenched teeth.
Mohneek’s eyes go blank as she speaks, and she stares straight ahead as if she’s reliving the past. “Our son was sickly from the moment he was born. A small, pitiful thing. Whimpered all the time. He wouldn’t eat, and soon, he wasted away. I buried him next to my mother.”
By the gods. I pity this poor female.
“When did you decide to take me to replace your dead son?”
Mohneek’s vision clears and she glances my way. “The grief of losing my child nearly took me to be with him, but the seed of hatred grew bigger and stronger until it nearly consumed me. I knew then what I would do.”
“So you go to Preska and wait for the perfect opportunity.” It’s not a question.
“You were the perfect revenge,” she says. “You’d kill the false prince and take his place. Of course, I would join you in the palace.”
Pain stabs me in the heart. All my life, I have called this female Mother. The one person who was supposed to care for and love me. Yet, I have been nothing more to her than a tool to use. My entire existence is a lie.
“Earlier, you said ‘we’. Who else is part of this scheme? And where are all the rebels, now?”
Mohneek grins. “They’re all doing their part in rising up against the prince.”
I step closer, the threat clear. “What are they doing?”
She cocks her head as though listening for something. I do the same. Faint sounds of explosions reach me. I whirl on her and grip her arms tightly, shaking her slightly.
“What did you do?”
“What I have always planned on doing.” Mohneek laughs and it sends a chill racing down my spine.
I shove her away and race out of the camp back toward Preska. The closer I get to the city the more I hear a shrieking alarm. The scent of smoke reaches me and burns my eyes. Through a small break in the trees, flames lick the sky. Buildings are on fire and cries of people ring out.
Olivia.
The gated entrance has been flung open, but no one guards it. I race through the opening and make my way down street after street toward the females’ dormitory. Bohnari stumble around, either injured or confused by the chaos. Guards race through the city, searching for the source wreaking havoc. I nearly collide with someone.
“Ryvik?”
“I thought you were in the pit,” he says.
“What’s happening?” I demand.
