Page 19 of Zylonn's Human Bride
Panic swirled and her vision darkened, as she blinked hard and fought to remain conscious. She wasn’t sure if she was on the verge of fainting from pure terror, or if it was only the lack of oxygen leaving her weak. Thankfully, he shifted his hand a bit and she was able to get a few much needed breaths of air. She glanced at the doorway, praying for a sign of Zylonn. She could hardly think or hear over the pounding of her heart in her ears.
Then two things happened in quick succession.
Zylonn appeared in the doorway.
And the cool sharpness of a knife pressed against her throat.
Nova’s stomach dropped and she ceased all movement. Her captor uncovered her mouth and chuckled, while she gasped for breath. Zylonn growled, a deadly sound, and his muscles tensed as he directed a dark, menacing glare at Hethron.
“Nice of you to join us, Zylonn. As you can see, I’ve come to collect the blood debt your family owes mine.”
“My family owes yours nothing, Hethron. Now let my mate go, or it will mean your death.”
The blade pressed harder to her throat.
Oh, God.No, no, no. Her heart pounded. Had she arrived on this planet, only to meet her demise not long after? Tears burned in her eyes and her throat became clogged with emotion.
She looked desperately at Zylonn, wishing he would meet her gaze, but he kept his stare steady on Hethron.Look at me, she thought.Look at me, so if I die, your dark handsome gaze will be the last thing I see. It was ridiculous to wonder if Zylonn would miss her when she was gone in this moment, but such thoughts entered her mind unbidden.
She’d once heard when a person was about to die, their life would flash before their eyes. But instead of her life flashing before her eyes, all the things she would never have flashed before hers. Watching yet another sunrise in Zylonn’s arms. Both of them smiling down at their first baby. In a few years, the laughter of children as they ran around the house.
Yet none of these events would come to pass. Not if she died. Not if Hethron used her to exact some kind of vengeance against her mate. Vaguely, she wondered about the so-called ‘blood debt.’
Had Zylonn harmed one of Hethron’s family members? She studied her mate, and it wasn’t hard to imagine him killing another male. He certainly had the strength, but she didn’t think he would murder anyone in cold blood. Whoever had died that Hethron cared about enough to avenge, Nova supposed the perished male had invoked the wrath of her mate, perhaps trying to kill him first.
She held her breath, praying for a miracle. Zylonn was strong and larger than Hethron, but would he be able to reach her in time, before the knife was drawn across her throat?
Chapter 15
Zylonn seethed with fury.
How dare this male touch his mate? He owed Hethron nothing, least of all a blood debt. Worry for Nova echoed in his heart, but he pushed the vulnerable emotion away and focused on his wrath for Hethron. The Tarkkuan would pay dearly for threatening the life of his mate, as well as scaring her. Fear glimmered in her tearful gaze, her hands shook at her sides, and her lips were trembling. The sight of her visible fear strengthened his building rage.
He concentrated on the hand that held the weapon, as his peripheral vision blurred and swirled with bright colors. Pressure built behind his eyes, interspersed with sharper pains, but he didn’t dare blink or glance away from the blade.
“What are you doing?” Hethron’s tone wavered. His fingers began to uncurl around the knife.
Zylonn increased his mental energies on the weapon, willing it toward him and away from Nova, and far from Hethron’s reach. Sweat trickled down his temples. He walked further into the room, careful not to break his concentration as he approached Hethron and Nova.
“What are…” Hethron’s voice trailed off as he watched the knife float out of his hand, his grip on the weapon now entirely loosened. “You-you’re an aberrant!” he eventually said in shocked disbelief. “I thought they were all dead.”
“Not all of us.”
Once the knife was close enough, Zylonn reached out and plucked it from the air. Hethron’s arms began to open up, again under the force of Zylonn’s focus, and Nova soon fled out of his hold and hurried to stand behind Zylonn. Relief swept through him, to have his little human safe again. He longed to hold her and soothe her fears, but he couldn’t comfort her yet. First, he had to deal with the intruder who’d threatened her life. He would show no mercy.
The instinct to lunge forward and throttle Hethron to death, or perhaps stab him with his own knife, pressed at the forefront of Zylonn’s mind. But he couldn’t commit such a violent act in front of Nova. Not unless it was a matter of life or death. In this particular moment, it wasn’t. He could vanquish the enemy by shifting his focus to Hethron’s throat.
And that’s exactly what he did. He glared at the man’s neck and imagined it collapsing on itself. Not long after, Hethron started making wheezing noises. He clutched at his throat and fell to his knees. Zylonn reached one hand behind him and urged Nova to leave the room, and thankfully, she didn’t argue. By the time her footfalls hit the creaky board on the bottom step of the staircase, Hethron was sprawled motionless on the floor, no longer making a sound.
He was dead, and Zylonn wasn’t sorry for it.
If not for his powers of the mind, abilities his ancestors had passed down to him and his father had helped him understand as a young child, Nova might have gotten injured. The very thought of any harm coming to his mate, no matter how small, left him seething with rage all over again. He took a few deep breaths and willed himself to calm down. He didn’t wish to frighten his little human any further. When he went to find her, he wanted to offer her nothing but genuine comfort.
He set the knife down, turned, and ran downstairs. “Nova!” he called. “Nova!”
“I’m here,” a small voice whispered from a darkened corner of the living room. He found her curled up on the other side of a sofa, hugging her knees to her chest. She peered up at him, her expression a mixture of fear and curiosity. “Is he dead, Master?”
“Yes, little human.” He knelt before her and looked her over, making sure no blood had been drawn. Fortunately, she didn’t even have a scratch. He reached for her hands and gave them a squeeze, and to his relief, she didn’t flinch or pull away from him.
