Page 124 of Shifter King
Everything brimmed in heat and near madness. Cunning had been his strength, his foundation. Now when he needed it most, rage nearly consumed everything.
His world burned.
This world needed to burn.
The right fire might break apart their technology. He had been planning to do something with that.
He halted in the clearing, clenching his fists. Yes. This was what he had planned to do. The raiku form crackled and sizzled over him, sparking out and unleashing. He brought the form to his mind and sent it through himself. It tore across him, powerful bolts of energy arcing as the dark purple scales formed. New organs pressed up in his chest as the curved black claws and high straight razor fins emerged.
It felt good to be the raiku again. It had been outlawed on every world that used tra. But he'd practiced it. Mastered it. It was one of the essential forms on the way to mastering lightning and fire and the hardest, making it the fastest on that particular track. But he knew it well just as he knew they had hidden her from him. Hidden her somewhere dark and cruel. Covered her. Masked her. Trapped her.
But he would find her.
He always did.
* * *
AaQar flewwith QueQoa in the relative safety between the canopy and the high straits. A massive besred kill a few miles to the west had drawn many of the aerial predators. Even on the currents at this height, the stench struck his nostrils.
This plan didn't settle well.
It would be wise to assume the Bealorns might intend to doublecross them at the wedding. AaQar still found it hard to accept that Zorna intended to let them live. It was one thing to have them come and prance and preen and grovel before her, declaring her superiority. But what better way to demonstrate her superiority than to kill or incapacitate them and claim she had thwarted some great threat to all the other Bealorns as well.
Especially if they had heard any word about Naatos's antics. Turning the Abliato conservator to glass. Turning one of the contenders into a display while freeing all of the Vawtrians from the processing arena. Well, Naatos had a particular skill for becoming infamous.
If there was anyone the Abliatos wanted present for Withercrown, it would be him. Taking him alive would be hard. But at the wedding, he—they would be vulnerable. But especially Naatos. And these Bealorns had to know that.
Bealorns never brought weapons into sacred places unprovoked. Opotwo and Chiriese both confirmed that tradition had not changed. Their own warriors who would assist them would have to wait outside the temple for the signal before they could enter. This particular location was an ancient temple that the Bealorn nations had restored together. One which some Abliato friends had erased from the Abliato databases. It wasn't one he'd ever seen, but if he was able to guess one thing, it was that there would be weapons. Weapons designed to handle Vawtrians.
"Do you need to talk?" QueQoa asked, flying a little closer.
"We need to be prepared for them to betray us."
"Does their betrayal change anything else we'd do?" QueQoa asked. "We have to go in. Get Amelia. Get out. They would attack us anyway when we try to leave with her. If we can leave before the end of the proclamations, we will."
"You think they will have their weapons then and not wait outside?" AaQar glanced back at his brother, guessing what he would say even before he opened his mouth.
QueQoa dipped his head. In his copper dragon form, he had particularly squared features that gave him an even more contemplative look. "There will always be a reason for them to have their weapons. Even if they don't let anyone see them. But even though they don't allow weapons in their sacred places, they at least put people outside with them. It's what our allies will do."
A fair point. It was wisest to expect betrayal. Though most likely the queen would allow the whole "first husband speech" to go through without incident. She'd likely want Naatos to witness the entire ceremony. That seemed something that would appeal to her.
But before the feast or during, she'd find some reason why execution was justified. They had to be gone before then. So long as the roof wasn't solid stone for more than a few feet, they'd be long gone. Especially with Naatos there. He might not be capable of grabbing Amelia for the escape, but he could break through layers of stone—
A loud cracking exploded down in the forest below. A strong scent of ozone as well as a plume of smoke followed.
He groaned inwardly. No. Naatos!
Swinging around, he swept down into the forest, sliding between the maze of branches.
Three mantis corpses lay on the ground, the belts and trackers flaming from tra overload.
At least the forest was damp from the previous night's rain. It would not easily catch fire. He sprayed the flames with the salt water foam he generated in the back of his throat. Steam rose from his jaws. It burned a little as he drew in another breath.
QueQoa finished putting out another small fire with earth. "We have to get rid of the mantises and their trackers—"
"There isn't time. We have to follow him. Come on!" AaQar leaped back up into the air. He snaked his way through the branches and back into the open air. Where was Naatos going if he couldn't find Amelia?
* * *
