Page 41 of Fractured Souls

The assistant—Mareth—was intimidating in his own right. Almost as big as Nythian, he was all muscle and power, more warrior than medic. A pale scar crossed his left eye, giving him a roguish look.

But he deferred to Nythian immediately, disappearing and emerging seconds later with a dark robe in his hands.

There was a hierarchy here. Tarak was the boss, but Nythian was clearly able to command these medics.

Zharek was even a little bit afraid of him.

She stared at Nythian, then at her arm, experimentally flexing her fingers. Everything worked fine. It just looked like her hand had been dipped in ink. How was she supposed to explain that one away? Tell people it was a weird tattoo?

“I’ve stabilized all of the, uh, infected cells with Callidum nano-particles,” Zharek explained. “If you want to understand the molecular genetics behind it, I—”

“It’s okay, Zharek.” Alexis shook her head. “I’m not interested in the details. Bioscience was never my strong point. Please just tell me I’m not going to wake up to any more random surprises.”

“Nope,” Zharek said. “And enjoy the solitude.”

“Huh?”

“Well, she’s gone to sleep, hasn’t she?”

“Anuk?” Alexis blinked. “You can tell all that?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the electrical activity in your brain. She’s definitely gone to sleep. Oh, and you can still do the thing,” Zharek said quietly.

“The thing?”

“Death-touch. It’s poison, a powerful neurotoxin. The glands are innervated; they respond to mental commands. I’m guessing there’s some sort of technique to it, though. Probably doesn’t come naturally. You’ll need to learn, but in the meantime, be careful. Between Anuk, yourself, and the Silent One, you should be able to figure out how to make it all work.”

Nythian silently accepted the deep blue robe from Mareth and draped it across her shoulders. Alexis pulled it around her cold bare skin It was thick and sumptuous and deliciously warm, just like him.

“Well, Alexis, with a bit of training, you will still have the ability to kill with a touch—at least Kordolians, and by extension, humans. I would think that might come in handy in this post-Imperial Universe, no?”

“Hm. That’s interesting.” Not sounding surprised at all, Nythian rubbed her upper arm, his touch intimate and reassuring. “A useful weapon. You’re a warrior, aren’t you?”

How did he know? “I’ve had basic combat training.” She shrugged, feeling weirdly self-conscious.

She never got self-conscious like this.

“This weapon of yours is only as dangerous as you want it to be,” Nythian said softly. “With time, you’ll learn how to control it.” He leaned in, and she drowned in his warmth, his scent, the roughness of his voice, the dazzling sheen of his skin. “If you have enemies that are out for your blood, you shouldn’t take any advantage for granted, Alexis.”

Zharek and Mareth faded into the background as Nythian invaded her entire awareness. Her cheeks grew warm, her heartbeat went into overdrive, the spark in her belly became a wild coil of heat. “And if they’re Kordolians like you?” She sounded a little breathless.

His expression hardened, and for a moment, she thought she’d made a misstep.

“Trust me, they won’t be anything like me. Those Kordolians are my enemies, and I tend not to be very nice to my enemies.” He smiled then, and she’d never seen a smile that was so contradictory—it was both tender and chilling, and she instinctively knew he would kill anyone that tried to lay a hand on her.

Suddenly, the attack in the forest seemed so very long ago, and the enemies that had loomed so large and menacing in her nightmares were nothing but distant shadows in her mind. “Just like that? You’d take my word over theirs?”

“I know perfectly well what my people are capable of. Don’t worry, Alexis Carter. I don’t care if they’re Kordolian. Anyone lays a hand on you, I’ll rip them to shreds.”

Somehow, she completely believed him.

Eleven

“There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep after that,” Alexis grumbled, lengthening her stride to keep up with him. Her right arm was tucked inside her robe as if it were some sort of dangerous secret.

“So, what do you want to do?” They were walking, not in the direction of her quarters, but somewhere else. She didn’t want to be confined in a small space right now. He didn’t blame her. Zharek wanted to run more tests, but when Nythian realized that she was close to breaking point, he’d quickly pulled her out of there.

The Tharian in her head was asleep for now, but he sensed that his female was still very fragile. Oh, she put on a brave face, but he knew.

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