Page 61 of Rifted Hearts
Kaveh climbed to his feet, every fiber of him wanting to call up the poisonous fire that would end Rhys’s life.
He forced himself to control that impulse and rushed over to the saguaro. There was an animal strung up against the thorns, larger than the Earth chinchillas Kaveh treated. The species was a fragile prey creature, with delicate bones that could be easily broken. A bloodstained rawhide string encircled the animal’s neck, a small tooth hanging from it. A collar, too tight and oddly familiar, was in place above it.
Remi opened his blue, limpid eyes and stared up at Kaveh.
He was alive.
Relief and renewed fury coursed through Kaveh’s veins.Remi had lived long enough for Kaveh to get here only because Rhys had decided to slowly torture him to death.
The string was the living leather armor, and the collar was the device that had held José in his cadejo form. Green fire flickered over Kaveh’s thumb and forefinger. A sudden certainty that his summ couldn’t harm his matched partner swept over him, and Kaveh pulled his utility knife out and pinched the blade until it glowed green. Protecting Remi’s delicate neck with one finger, he cut through the constricting band, leaving the string of the living leathers in place.
The collar sizzled away into a viscous slime that fell to the ground. Remi morphed into his human form, naked and bleeding, and as Kaveh carefully lowered him to the ground, the living armor activated and spread out to protect and cover Remi’s bruised and battered skin.
A few meters away, Rhys staggered to his feet, staring at Kaveh in a mix of shock and anger.
Kaveh took another moment to check that Remi had a decent pulse at his wrist and regular respiration before standing up to confront his former lover.
“You sadistic bastard.” Kaveh’s fists were curled by his sides. He was afraid if he relaxed them, the fire burning inside of him would explode out and immolate everything in his path. “Tell me the truth. Was this your idea, or did the clan give you permission to attack someone granted safe passage out of our lands?”
“I did what you should have done.” Rhys held himself stiffly, a trickle of blood running down his left temple from the rock’s impact.
The air around them was hot and motionless, without even a trace of a breeze. Rhys’s ability to impact the air around him wasn’t unusual for an air drakone, but his talentfor using it as a weapon was. There was a reason even older members of the clan deferred to him on matters of security. Rhys had adopted some of the dress and mannerisms of the Welsh warriors of the past, and this habit often went beyond affectation to worship of all things martial.
“He tricked and humiliated you,” Rhys growled. “You’ve come into some of your Azdaha powers, for better or worse. At least use them against this filthy enemy.”
Kaveh pulled the amulet out of his pocket, the watch’s gold surface flashing in the glare of the noon sun overhead. “Remi has been selected by the Matchmaker for me. This transformed when he touched it. I don’t care what he did or who he works for. He’s mine to protect, and you had no right to assault him.”
Rhys froze, his eyes fixed on the watch. “That’s not possible. The Matchmaker wouldn’t select one of the ratkind to marry into our clan. It’s unnatural, an abomination.”
“Don’t worry.” Remi drew himself up to a standing position, and Kaveh reached out to steady him. The streamer spat out blood at Rhys’s feet. “I have no intention of becoming your fucking brother-in-law.”
Earth chinchillas might be fragile, but human-ratkind hybrids like Remi had impressive resilience. Remi also had a terrible problem with authority figures, but Kaveh could hardly fault him for that.
“How did the rift move to encompass the city?” Kaveh felt a growing suspicion that Rhys had done more than attack Remi. “The matriarch promised the ranch would be in its usual interzone by morning. Instead, our riftland has spread over a vast human city and put thousands in danger.”
“Our enemies stole the control object.” Rhys responded too quickly, as if he had an answer planned out. “Yourbeloved Colony spy came here with one of our hellhound enemies. They would love to use our own creation against us.”
“You’re a shitty liar.” Remi sounded hoarse, but his voice grew stronger as he continued. “Lyall would have destroyed it if he found it. Pissing off both the Saguaro Rift drakone clan and the Colony would be his idea of a good time.”
“And you’re an excellent liar.” Rhys spread his hands and laughed. “You’ve done nothing but deceive and manipulate everyone around you.”
There was blood visible on his hands, crusted under the claws at the tips of his humanoid fingers.
Remi’s blood.
Kaveh took another step forward, the need to punish Rhys for what he had done pounding in his ears. “I don’t care about your opinion. Remi was under my protection when you attacked him. You didn’t know then that he was my match. Now you do. I’ll kill you to keep him safe, Rhys, and since you were chosen by the Matchmaker yourself, I know you understand why.”
“You’re a child.” Rhys sent a dust devil spinning toward them, a reminder of his power.
Kaveh moved forward to block it from hitting Remi, but it left the two of them coughing and briefly blinded.
“A child with a dangerous trick, yes, but that’s all you have,” Rhys continued. “Maybe in another decade or two you’ll grow into the weapon that Xiang Jao wanted when she took in the spawn of our enemies. You can’t fight me, any more than the pathetic humans you spend so much time with could. Your body is as weak and useless as theirs are. I understand you can’t kill the spy. But you can leave him to me, and I’ll do it for you.”
Kaveh lost control. His summ flared out, and he sent a green fireball directly at Rhys.
His ex swore and deflected the flames with another swirl of wind. The two of them faced off, and Kaveh made sure Remi was protected behind him.
Rhys wasn’t going to get a chance to hurt Remi again.
