Page 34 of Fractured Souls

“Best not to think too much about it. Just get it over and done with.” Nythian’s brow creased in the most delicious way, giving him a certain boyish look. He could never be called pretty, but he was definitely handsome.

Roguish is how she’d describe him. Strong features, masculine cleft chin, slightly bent nose, as if it had been broken at some point in his life.

And when he smiled…

Stars. What the hell was wrong with her? He was an alien. Had this whole dying-reviving thing messed up the logical part of her brain?

“I get to stay conscious, right?” She wanted to be awake while Zharek did whatever he was going to do to her. She needed to be in control.

“I won’t sedate you unless it’s absolutely necessary. Stasis is necessary to stabilize your vitals while I run some diagnostics and try to figure out if the cellular changes can be reversed. It’s also a safety net. If Anuk tries anything, I can shut down both of your consciousnesses, and hopefully stop the transformation. I am dying to figure out how she can kill with a touch, no human pun intended. I suspect poison, but I won’t know for sure until I get a sample of tissue. Do I have your permission to take a biopsy? It will only be a few cells; you won’t notice a thing.”

“Let’s do it,” she said, throwing caution—and fear—to the wind.

Nythian grunted in approval, his hand still on her shoulder. He gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Never thought I’d say this, but I like you, human. I don’t care if you turn blue. Just keep that calm head on your shoulders and you’ll be fine. We’re going to do everything in our power to stop this thing from spreading.” He smiled, giving her a glimpse of his gleaming white fangs.

Something had changed between them. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but ever since Nythian had barged into her room and held her freezing hand between his strong, callused fingers, grasping her arm protectively…

She’d felt more relaxed around him.

Zharek gave them an enigmatic look. “Let’s move into the stasis chamber. I will, uh, need you to undress.”

“Undress?”

“You probably don’t remember what happened last time, but you were mostly unclothed, apart from your undergarments. It’s standard procedure for anyone entering stasis. These brutes,” he nodded toward Nythian, “don’t even bother with the modesty stuff.”

Holy hell. The image of a naked Nythian flashed through her mind. She’d already caught a tantalizing hint of what lay underneath his strange obsidian armor—the suit accentuated every line and contour and bulge—but to see him in all his silver glory.

Wouldn’t that be something?

Nythian’s smile had disappeared. He was watching her with great intensity. The affable look was gone, replaced with an expression that was distinctly predatory. “Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said softly, and for a moment, she forgot to breathe.

She almost got the impression he was looking forward to this.

Her heart forgot to beat.

Then it skipped into overdrive, and the thought of being suspended in cold liquid in confined quarters…

A feeling close to death, one that used to fill her with dread and disgust.

It wasn’t so scary anymore.

Nine

Nythian watched Alexis through transparent walls of thick glass as Zharek plugged himself into the sylth and ran data through his holos.

She was tense, her beautiful long-limbed body unnaturally stiff as she floated in the blue stasis liquid. After they’d agreed on the stasis bit, she hadn’t whinged, hadn’t complained, hadn’t hesitated.

Steely-faced and determined, she just got on with it, every now and then stealing a glance at him, seeking some sort of reassurance.

Those little glances quietly blew his mind.

Without him there, she might very well struggle with the whole stasis process, although she’d surprised him with her inner strength more than once now.

Ordinarily, he’d go looking for Abbey or Layla, because a friendly human face was a useful thing indeed, but Tarak had temporarily prohibited Alexis from having any further contact with the human women.

Until the Tharian issue was under control, it was just too much of a risk, even with Nythian or Enki standing guard.

The General was indulgently lenient with his mate—but only up to a point.

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