by G. K. DeRosa
He would never get that chance.
I leaned forward, pressing my lips to hers. Of course, I wasn’t leaving without a proper kiss goodbye.
My hands slid to her hips, pulling her against me. She tasted as sweet as honey. Her body molded to mine, warm and soft against my hard exterior. It was where she belonged. Always.
“Kaige,” she whispered. Her heart fluttered against my chest, wild and desperate. Desire flooded the bond, making my knees quiver.
When I pulled back, her lids were heavy and lips swollen.
But it wasn’t enough. Nothing would be enough.
Without thinking, I took her thumb. Her breath caught. She knew what I was doing—and she didn’t stop me.
I slid the tip along my fang, a burst of her blood coating my tongue. Electricity pulsed through the bond, white-hot and vibrant. I could spend hours tasting tiny droplets of her life’s elixir. I was addicted to it and to everything about her.
Her breathing was ragged as she watched me, her lips parted and pulse jumping. She was the most beautiful thing in this world. She drove me wild in every sense of the word.
I reluctantly released her before my hunger got the better of me. My jaw clenched as I choked back the waves of thirst and desire. But I wasn’t finished saying goodbye.
I cut my own thumb. Instead of rubbing it along the tiny sliver of a wound on her finger, I offered it to her. We weren’t going to see each other for days. The thought of it was already tearing a hole in my gut. I needed to feel close to her again, just for a moment.
Solaris understood. She needed it just as much as I did.
She pulled the blood from my finger, her tongue like silk on my skin. I bit back the moan clawing up my chest, but the pleasure rolling through the bond made it abundantly clear how this made me feel.
After a minute, I took my hand back and both our cuts healed in sync.
“Please be careful,” I whispered.
“I will.” Her words were barely more than a delicate breath of air.
Someone cleared his throat, shattering the warm haze around us.
Solaris’s green eyes widened, and her cheeks stained the color of fresh blood. “Oh my god.” Embarrassment oozed through the bond. “Gav, I forgot you were there.”
The edges of my lips twitched. I hadn’t.
He blinked, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “I-uh-I…” He continued to stutter, awkwardly shifting and rubbing a hand over his buzzed hair.
“If anything happens to her, I’ll kill you.”
“Kaige!” Solaris smacked my chest. “He’s not serious, Gavin.”
“Yes, I am.” My silver eyes narrowed on the human soldier, and his fear leaked through the air.
Gavin swallowed hard. “We better go, Solaris.”
She took a step away from me, her feet heavy. “Bye, Kaige.” A storm of agony raged through the bond, ripping my insides to pieces.
“I’ll see you soon, Solaris.” Gods I hoped so.
Chapter 31
Solaris
The silence in the car was so thick I could barely breathe. Gavin hadn’t even looked at me since we left Kaige. Could I really blame him? I hadn’t even given him an explanation, just forced him to trust me without question.
I twisted my fingers in my lap as I tried to come up with the right words, but nothing seemed good enough—not without giving away everything I’d discovered. And I hadn’t decided if I wanted to burden my friend with that knowledge, putting him in even more risk.
Then there was the suffocating pain in my chest at the thought of not being with Kaige for the undetermined future. The blood bond pulsed hot and angry as if it had a life of its own.
“I’m sorry, Gavin,” I finally blurted out.
He refused to meet my gaze, keeping his hazel eyes intent on the dark road ahead. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, the knuckles whitening.
“I want to explain, I do, but anything I say could put you more at risk.”
Gavin spun his head toward me, his eyes wide. “More at risk? Are you serious right now, Solaris? First, I snuck you out of AirComm right underneath Turstan’s nose, then you show up out of nowhere and convince me to help you hide, and now I’m risking a death sentence just for being within spitting distance of a damned nocturne.” He smacked his hand down on the Hummer’s dash. “I deserve an explanation—the truth, no matter how much you think it puts me at risk.”
I turned to face him, the knot in my stomach unraveling. “You’re right.” He deserved the truth.
For the remainder of the car drive, I told him everything starting with the stolen plane to the blood bags, Kaige, the trials, Xander, all of it.
And for the first time in weeks, it didn’t feel like I was carrying a five-ton elephant on my shoulders.
The Hummer ground to a halt in front of the old shack, and Gavin stared straight ahead with his jaw hung open. “I can’t believe Turstan is keeping humans as prisoners to sell their blood to some filthy nocturne king.” He gritted his teeth, the sound making my skin crawl. “I knew he was bad, but this?”
“The only way we can take Turstan down is with Kaige’s help. He’s going to be king. He promised me he’d find a way to stop him.”
He scoffed. “You really think he’s going to put his own people at risk to help ours? You just told me they need our blood to survive.”
“I know Kaige, and I trust his word. He’ll make it happen.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Do you really have feelings for him?”
My chest tightened, a relentless ache piercing my heart since Kaige left. “Yes,” I whispered.
“What about the prophecy?”
I raked my hands over my face and blew out a sharp breath. “It can’t be about us.”
“I don’t know, Solaris. It sounds a lot like it might be.”
I didn’t need to hear that right now. “Don’t look at me like that. I tried—we tried everything to stay apart, but I just can’t. Now that we’re bonded, it’s like he’s a part of me. Like half of my soul belongs to his, and I wouldn’t be whole without him.”
His lips twisted and for a second, I thought perhaps Kaige had been right. Maybe Gavin did have feelings for me, but it didn’t matter now anyway.
“So, what’s the plan?” he asked, schooling his expression back to normal.
“Have you seen my dad? Do you know where Turstan is keeping him?”
He shook his head, his lips pressed in a straight line. “I never thought to look until you contacted me a few hours ago. I assumed you and your father had run off together.”
The lump in my throat was getting bigger, and I could barely swallow. “It’s all my fault. Turstan warned me, but I didn’t think he’d actually follow through with it. What if he’s done something horrible to my dad?”
Gavin reached his arm around and pulled me into his shoulder. “He’ll be okay, Solaris. I’ll find him; I promise.”
I breathed in his familiar scent, but a pang in my gut made me pull away. My skin practically recoiled from his touch. Kaige’s jealousy pulsated through the bond, reminding me of his constant presence.
“Come on. Let’s unload your stuff. I gotta get back to the base.”
I threw the bag of supplies from Kaige’s mom over my shoulder, anxious to get a look at the goodies she’d sent me. The doors of the Hummer slammed shut, and Gavin walked me to the small shed.
It was a relic of the old days, sitting at the edge of one of the few remaining strips of woodland in Imera. Everything else had been cleared out for the construction of shapeless gray buildings.
“Thanks for letting me stay here, Gav.”
“Yeah, no problem. I doubt my dad even remembers it exists. My grandpa used to tell us stories about his great hunting cabin when we were little. The first time I saw it, I was highly underwhelmed.”
A slight chuckle tumbled out. I’d missed my friend.
The door creaked open and he handed me a fla
shlight, turning his on. The room was about a quarter the size of the cabin in Draconis, but for a second I was back, staring at the creepy animal heads on the walls. None here thankfully. Old gardening tools and a rusty lawnmower took up most of the space.
Gavin cleared a spot in the middle of the shack and placed a pile of blankets on the floor. “You sure you don’t need anything else?”
“Nah, I’m good.” I lifted up my pack of supplies. “Just please find my dad.”
“I’ll be back first thing in the morning. Try to get some sleep.”
I nodded. Yeah, right.
The door shut behind Gavin, and unease crept into my gut. What if I was too late and Malcolm was dead? I shook my head, chasing away the dark thoughts. I couldn’t go there. I unzipped my bag to distract myself, hoping for some tasty Draconian specialties. I’d become spoiled with the royal chef’s fancy fare; nothing in Imera would ever taste good enough anymore.
I rifled through the clothes and went straight for the neatly packaged sandwiches. As I dug around, my fingertips brushed against cool glass, reminding me to be more careful. I pulled out the four small vials filled with Garridan’s cloaking potion. Each one only lasted a few hours so I’d have to be cautious when using them.
I unwrapped the sandwich and took a big bite of the crusty bread and a dribble of grease rolled down my chin. So good. I inhaled the snack in minutes, and sleepiness began to set in. With a full belly and renewed hope in finding my dad, I curled up on the blankets and fell asleep.
The first rays of sunlight seeped into the small window of the shed, bathing it in a warm glow. My eyelids fluttered, my body soaking in the sun. It was the one thing that was missing in Draconis.
The rumble of an engine approaching drew my attention outside. I jumped up and peered out the window, and the familiar tan Hummer rolled up the path. My pulse quickened as Gavin got out of the car and headed toward me.
Oh please, let him have found Malcolm.
I ran my hand through my disheveled blonde locks and opened the door.
“It’s you.” Gavin scanned my face.
“Oh right. The potion must have worn off.” I bounced on my tiptoes as he came in and shut the door behind him. “So? What did you find out?”
A small grin pulled at his lips. “I found your dad.”
A smile burst across my face, and I leapt into Gavin’s arms. “Thank you, thank you! And he’s okay?”
His expression darkened. “For now. He’s being kept in a maximum-security section of the prison at the AirComm base. It’s highly restricted access. I had to bribe one of my buddies to let me in. But the good news is he’s being moved to the hospital today.”
I gulped. That didn’t sound good.
“How are we going to get him out?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know that we can.”
Kaige could. He could compel the soldiers to let us in and with my blood in his system, he’d be strong enough to fight his way out. We just needed to wait one more day. The coronation was tonight, and he could be here by tomorrow.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking I know how we can get my dad out, but we need Kaige’s help to do it.”
He frowned, his hazel eyes narrowing. “You’re going to let a nocturne on the AirComm base?”
“It’s the only way.”
I paced, the wheels in my head spinning. We’d need a distraction, something big. Maybe Isla could help with that. Isla… I still hadn’t told her about her sister being alive. I promised myself that would be the first thing I did after finding my dad.
Now I just had to figure out how to get Kaige here. He said he’d contact me somehow, but I couldn’t wait another whole day to find my father.
“Gavin, can you get me in to at least see him today?”
He scratched at his buzzed head, his lips twisting. “I don’t know. Even with that magical potion you have, it’s not going to be easy.”
“Please, Gav. I need to see him. He has to know that I’m okay and that we’re coming for him. He can’t end up like one of those prisoners—” A dark thought took shape in my mind, and I cringed. “Do you think my dad knows about the lab?”
Something flashed across his eyes. Regret? Guilt? My eyes narrowed as I scrutinized my best friend. “Did you know about the lab?”
He quickly shook his head. “No. Well, not exactly.”
“Explain.”
“There were rumors that the Collective med team had been doing experiments. A couple of us knew it was being done at that lab, but I’d never been down there. I swear. I had no idea what they were doing to those people.” He paused, then opened his mouth to continue but decided against it, clenching it shut.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Gavin, spill.”
“I’ve seen your dad go in and out of that part of the hospital before.”
An icy chill scurried over my skin, inciting a wave of goose bumps. No.
“It doesn’t mean he knew, Solaris. We can’t be sure.”
I swallowed down the acid crawling up my throat. I’d gotten into the lab with Malcolm’s ID card. If it were so top secret, how would that have worked? He must have been granted access.
I clenched my teeth. “Can you get me in or not?”
I wasn’t risking everything to save a man who sat by and let Turstan commit those atrocities. Even if that man was my father.
Chapter 32
Solaris
I uncorked the vial filled with Garridan’s cloaking potion, and the thick, dark brown liquid swirled under the overhead light in the car. I had to suppress the urge to gag just from looking at it. I held it up against the light, the color darker than I remembered.
“Come on, we gotta go.”
I replaced the cork after downing half the vial, sticking it in my pocket. If this expedition took longer than expected, I could always take the rest later. Every drop was precious; I couldn’t waste a single one.
Adjusting the standard issue AirComm cap and smoothing over the khaki button-down shirt, I nodded at Gavin. “Let’s do this.”
We marched up to the back entrance of the hospital, Gavin’s ID getting us in without any problems. The halls were quiet. He had timed our entrance to coincide with the guard shift change, and he’d been spot on.
Our footsteps echoed across the vacant corridors, my racing heartbeats matching our frenzied pace. A nurse in beige scrubs walked toward us, and my pulse skyrocketed. She looked up from the medical chart in her hands, noticing Gavin then glanced in my direction.
“New recruit?” she asked.
“That’s right.” He gave her a tight-lipped smile without stopping.
I wiped my sweaty hands on my khaki pants and kept walking with my head down. The unending hallways began to look familiar; the patient rooms emptied out. We were almost at the south wing.
“This way.” Gavin turned to the left and a sleek elevator appeared. He swiped his card on the reader, and the doors slid open. “The cells are on the basement level. The guard stationed at the entrance won’t be there thanks to a buddy of mine. You’ll have seven minutes, tops. Any longer and we’ll both end up in a cell next to your dad’s.”
I nodded, snagging my lower lip between my teeth. “Thanks again for doing this, Gav. I really owe you.”
“You can thank me when we survive this.” He buried his hands in his pockets and assumed his tough military persona.
The doors opened, and all the air was sucked out of my lungs. Get it together, Solaris. I clenched my jaw, steeling my nerves.
“I’ll stay here to keep watch.” He pointed down the narrow corridor. “He’s in the third cell to the right. The other ones on this level are empty so no need to worry.”
I stood frozen like a deer in headlights watching Gavin’s mouth move, but I could barely comprehend his words.
“Solaris, go!” He grasped my shoulders and shook me.
“Right.” I released the breath I hadn
’t realized I’d been holding and darted down the hall, setting the timer on my watch as I ran. What if my dad had known about this all along? What if he helped torture those people?
I pushed the terrible thoughts to the back of my mind. I’d find out soon enough.
I stopped in front of the thick iron bars and peered into the dim enclosure. A figure sat huddled against the far wall.
“Dad?” I croaked, barely recognizing the sound of my own voice.
Green eyes flashed, catching the light from the passageway. His head lifted, a weary gaze connecting with mine and shattering every remaining ounce of self-control left.
“Solaris?”
“It’s me.” Tears streamed down my face, and I wedged my arm through the bars, trying to reach him.
My dad pushed himself off the ground, wincing as he rose to his feet. He moved closer, and my breath caught in my throat. He looked like he’d aged ten years since I last saw him. Dark circles encased his fatigued eyes, the wrinkles much more pronounced than they’d ever been. His skin was tight against his cheekbones and much too pale.
“What did Turstan do to you?” I choked out.
He clasped my hand as he neared, his eyes scanning my face. “It doesn’t matter now. Is it really you? How is it possible? You look like a completely different person. If it weren’t for your voice—”
“Dad there’s no time to explain, but yes it’s me.” I wrapped my arms around him, getting as close as I could with the bars in the way. My cheek brushed his, and it was moist just like mine, our tears mingling in a salty puddle. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. This is all my fault.”
He squeezed me more tightly and ran a finger under my eye, sweeping the tear away. “It’s not. I’d gladly take the punishment than have you suffer.”
“We’re going to get you out of there.”
Fear flashed across his dull green eyes. “No. You have to leave, Solaris. Now. Forget about me and forget about everything you saw in this hospital.”
I swallowed hard. “You knew? About the blood slaves?”
