“Where did Faro take her?” I asked.
“I do not know, my King.” Galan groaned loudly, and his green skin lightened when Krey sat him up. “I am sorry. Faro took me by surprise and stabbed me. I failed you.”
“You did not,” I said.
“Why did Faro even take her?” Krey said. “Bitta said that he would not be interested in her because she is breeding incompatible.”
“She is pregnant with Quill’s baby,” Galan said.
I stared blankly at him. “Did you get hit in the head as well, Galan? That is not possible.”
“It is the truth,” Galan said. “Teo noticed her eyes were purple when she was upset, and he said it was an indication that she was pregnant. She threw up as well and he said human women do that when they are pregnant.”
“It is not possible,” I said. “She does not carry the gene.”
“Teo thinks the humans screwed up the test,” Galan said. “Your mate’s breasts are fuller and more sensitive, she said so herself, and her belly is much rounder than it was even two weeks ago. We were about to return to the palace when Faro stabbed me and knocked out Teo. He took your mate, my King, because she carries your child.”
I stared at him again, barely noticing the cold wind. “She carries my child.”
“Yes,” Galan said.
Joy swept through me as well as a fierce need to protect my mate and the child she carried. Feeling half-mad, I stood and paced back and forth, rubbing my hands through my hair as panic settled around my heart. “I – I do not know how to find her. How do I find her?”
“My King.”
The voice was low and weak. I ran to where Teo was being supported by Henden and Laos.
“Teo, I am sorry.”
“No, my King. I am. I should have noticed her eyes before. Should have seen the way she…”
I gripped his arm. “We will get you back to the palace and get some gallberry juice into you. You will be fine, Teo.”
“Your mate,” he said. “Use the identification chip to find her. It is a tracking device as well.”
I took a deep breath. In my panic, I had forgotten about the identification chip. “Thank you, old friend.”
I ran to the land vehicle, grabbed my tablet and punched in a number. Bitta’s face appeared in front of me.
“My King?”
“I need you to find the coordinates of Sabrina’s identification chip. Remember, it is Evelyn’s you must look up.”
“Yes, my King.” The hologram of Bitta’s face was already looking away as he turned to a different screen I couldn’t see. After a moment, he turned back. “I have her. She’s on the move. I can send the coordinates to your tablet.”
“Do it,” I said. “And tell the kadana that Galan and Teo are on their way to the palace and both are injured. They will need to be examined immediately.”
“Yes, my King. Should I send more men?”
“No. We can handle Faro.”
I closed the hologram and turned around. My men had already loaded Galan and Teo into the land vehicle and they were urging both to drink gallberry juice as they wrapped blankets around them.
“Hendren, Laos and Krey you will come with me. The rest of you return to the palace.”
Hendren and Laos climbed into the back seat of the land vehicle as Krey slid behind the wheel. I sat in the front seat, my hand gripping the handle of my sword, my head buzzing with the bloodlust of impending battle.
“My King, you are forbidden to fight,” Krey said.
“Is it your intention to try and stop me from going after my mate and child, old friend?” I squeezed the handle of my sword.
“No, Quill,” Krey replied.
“Good. My mate is here.” I showed him the coordinates and he punched them into the tablet of the land vehicle.
“Let us go and get your mate then,” Krey said with a broad grin.
* * *
Sabrina
“Where are you taking me?”
Faro didn’t reply, and I glared at him. “Answer me, you chickenshit asshole.”
He stiffened and gave me a dirty look. “I am not a chickenshit asshole.”
“Oh, trust me, you’re the very definition of a chickenshit asshole. Tell me why you kidnapped me.”
“That is none of your concern, human. Now be quiet.”
“No. Tell me where we’re going!” I was scared to death but determined not to let him see it.
He turned right onto a barely visible road and headed into the dark forest. I looked behind us. If we went off the main road, Quill would never find us. I swallowed down my panic. Quill would find me. Galan would live, Quill would figure out that Faro was the betrayer and save Galan, Teo and me. He had to.
“Do you even know where you’re going?” I said as Faro squinted out the windshield. “Who were you talking to before?”
About twenty minutes after Faro kidnapped me, he’d pulled the land vehicle over and stepped outside. He had made a call on his personal tablet as he paced back and forth in the deep snow. His voice was muffled, and I didn’t understand the language he was speaking, but it was clear he was excited.
“The Gokmards.”
My mouth dropped open. I hadn’t expected Faro to answer me. I gave him a cautious look. “It was you who was sending the encrypted messages.”
He jerked, the vehicle nearly veering off the road and gave me a quick and anxious look. “How do you know about the emails?”
“Bitta found them. He told Quill. Bitta’s probably cracked the encryption as we speak, and they know it’s you.”
“They do not.” There was doubt in his voice. “No one can crack my encryption.”
“Bitta is brilliant,” I replied even though I had no idea if he was or not.
Faro didn’t answer, and I glared at him. “Why are you even talking with the Gokmards and what the hell do you need me for?”
“You are stupid for a human,” he said.
“Fuck you!”
“Watch your tongue,” he advised. “The Gokmards will not like it if you speak back to them.”
My blood ran cold. “You’re taking me to the Gokmards?”
He nodded, and I pulled at the cuffs that bound me to the door. “Why?”
“Because Quill loves you and you carry his child.”
The anger in his voice chilled me to the bone. “Quill doesn’t love me.”
Faro turned to stare at me as he laughed. I cringed back at the madness that gleamed in his eyes.
“You pretty little human fool. Quill loves you and we all know it. It will destroy him when the Gokmards kill you.”
I thought I’d been scared before, but it had nothing on the fresh fear that knifed down my spine. I swallowed thickly. “Wh-what did you say?”
“I am giving you to the Gokmards,” Faro said. “They are going to torture you until you beg for death. Eventually they will kill you, but not until they have shown Quill how badly his mate suffers because of him.”
“Why would you betray him like this?” I whispered.
“He and his family are responsible for my brother’s death.”
“What do you mean?”
Faro sighed and drummed his fingers on the wheel as he peered out the windshield. “My brother was a member of the King’s Guard. He was on the king’s ship when it crashed.”
“That was an accident.”
“If the king had not taken him to Tribid, my brother would not have died,” Faro said with the chilling calmness of someone who had gone completely mad. “Falten is dead because of Quill. I suffered, and now he will suffer too.”
“He did suffer!” I nearly shouted. “His brother died too, remember? Quill had nothing to do with this. Jesus, you’re fucking crazy!”
Faro didn’t reply. The road we were on was getting more and more narrow. The snow was so deep that after only a few more minutes, the land vehicle slowed to a stop. We were stuck, despite the huge tires with their deep treads.
Faro
muttered a curse before sliding out of the vehicle. He waded through the snow to my side and opened my door. After unlocking my cuffs, he pulled me out. I glanced to the trees on my right, wondering if I could somehow escape and hide in the forest. The trees had massive trunks, I could easily hide behind one of them and –
Faro grabbed my wrist and twisted viciously. It brought tears to my eyes and I glared at him as he snarled, “Do not even think of trying to escape, human. I will catch you easily.”
I knew he was right. The damn snow was almost up to my hips and I was weighed down with Quill’s cloak. Of course, Quill’s cloak was the only thing keeping me from freezing to death. My boots were fur-lined, but snow had slipped inside them to melt against my socks. Already my toes felt half-frozen and my nose and fingers were numb.
Faro cuffed my hands in front of me and produced a long steel chain from inside his cloak. He attached it to the cuffs and started forward. I stumbled after him, slogging through the snow as my teeth chattered loudly. We had only been walking for about ten minutes when I realized the trees were beginning to thin. There was a large natural clearing just ahead of us and my footsteps slowed. There were a dozen Gokmards standing in the clearing. Their dark fur gleamed in the rays of sunlight that filtered through the trees and they were all at least eight feet tall.
I had come to a complete stop and Faro yanked impatiently on the chain. “Move, human.”
“F-f-Faro, you d-d-don’t have t-t-to d-d-do this.” I was so damn cold I could barely speak.
“Be quiet, human.” He yanked me forward viciously.
I stumbled and fell to my knees. Faro grabbed my arm and hauled me back to my feet before half-carrying and half-dragging me into the clearing. The biggest of the Gokmards joined us and I craned my head to stare up at him. His eyes were black and beady, and he reminded me vaguely of a bear. I took a nervous step back when he reached out and touched the hood of Quill’s cloak.
He spoke to Faro in a soft and musical tone that was completely at odds with his appearance. Faro replied, stumbling a bit over the unfamiliar words before pointing at my belly.
“A-a-asshole,” I muttered.
When the Gokmard reached to touch my belly, I slapped him on his meaty arm. Despite my gloves, my hands were so numb I couldn’t feel his thick fur under my hand. The Gokmard frowned and I cried out when he slapped me hard across the face. I flew back and landed on my back in the deep, soft snow. Shaking and trying not to cry, I stared up at the trees. Faro leaned down and yanked me to my feet.
“Do not provoke them, foolish human,” he said.
My body shaking so badly I could barely stand, I said, “G-g-g-give the G-o-okmard a m-m-message f-f-for me.”
“What?” Faro said impatiently.
“T-t-t-tell him if he t-t-touches me again, I’ll k-k-k-kill him.”
Faro glared at me. “What is wrong with you?”
He dragged me to the far end of the clearing. “You are going to die, human. You are going to die a very slow and painful death and you are not -”
One of the Gokmards whistled piercingly and Faro stiffened before dragging me in front of him. He hooked his arm around my throat and pulled his sword out as all twelve of the Gokmards removed small silver tubes from belts around their waists. There was a buzzing noise and I blinked in surprise when dark red beams of energy emerged from the tubes.
They were staring uneasily into the trees. It was obvious that they had heard something, and my heart began a crazy, jumbled beat in my chest. Quill. It had to be my mate. I stared up at Faro and gave him a ferocious grin.
“Oh b-b-boy, you are in s-s-s-so much t-trouble now.”
“Hold your tongue, human!” He snapped just as a Draax stepped out of the trees and into the clearing. He was holding his sword at his side and he smiled at Faro.
“Hello, Faro.”
“How did you find us, Krey?” I could hear the fear in Faro’s voice as two more Draax males stepped out of the trees to stand next to Krey.
“I simply followed the smell,” Krey said with another grin. He pointed his sword at the nearest Gokmard and laughed when it bared its teeth at him. “You smell worse than a glackenswine.”
“Where is Quill?” Faro held the sword to my belly and I tried not to flinch as fresh fear flooded through me.
“Why would he come?” Krey shrugged. “This woman is not his mate. What does he care what happens to her? He charged me with bringing back your traitorous head, nothing more. The Gokmards can have the woman.”
“She is pregnant with his child!” Faro shouted.
“Impossible,” Krey said as the biggest Gokmard turned to stare at Faro. “She is breeding incompatible.”
“No!” Faro snapped. “Her eyes are purple. She threw up. Teo said she was pregnant.”
“Teo is a rambling old fool,” Krey said.
“Not mate?” The biggest Gokmard spoke the Draax language slowly and he had a weird accent, but it was clear what he said.
“Afraid not, you big smelly glackenswine,” Krey said. “His true mate is another.”
“You lie to us,” the Gokmard said to Faro.
“No!” Faro said. “No, I did not. She is his mate. He loves her. I swear it.”
“N-n-no, I’m n-n-not,” I stuttered. “I’m n-n-nothing to him.”
“Enough!” Faro turned me around and shook me roughly before slapping me across the face. It made my already painful cheek burn and I cried out and fell to my knees in the snow. I cringed when Faro leaned down and raised his hand to slap me again. Before he could land the blow, there was movement to his right and a figure emerged from the trees.
“No,” Faro whispered.
Quill strode easily through the deep snow. Faro backed away, the sword trembling in his hand. His silver eyes turned the colour of flint, Quill said in a low voice, “I will kill you for touching her.”
Faro dropped his sword in the snow before falling to his knees. “Mercy, my King. Mercy, I beg -”
Faro abruptly stopped speaking. Quill’s hand had flashed out from under his cloak and his fist was resting against the bottom of Faro’s chin. I stared in stupid confusion at the dark blood that streamed out of Faro’s mouth and down his chin. Quill pulled his fist away. It was wrapped around the handle of a long, sharp dagger. When the blade slid out from Faro’s flesh, my stomach churned at the smears of green blood on the dagger.
Faro blinked slowly, staring up at Quill as he grinned fiercely at him. “There will be no mercy for the coward who took my queen.”
He released Faro and the Draax fell sideways into the soft snow. He twitched and grew still as Quill snarled in satisfaction. A squeal of pain made me turn sluggishly to see Krey dart forward and casually disembowel the closest Gokmard. Its intestines fell out in a gush of clear fluid and bright red blood and the other Gokmards stared in stunned silence.
Quill’s arm wrapped around my waist and he lifted me to my feet before pressing a warm kiss against my mouth. He pulled his sword out and I jerked against him when he shouted, “Protect your queen!”
Confused, I looked around for Evelyn. Had they already taken her from the farmer?
Moving as lightly as dancers through the deep snow, Krey and the other two Draax had joined us before the Gokmards could even move. Quill kissed me again before smiling reassuringly at me. “Be brave just a little longer, my mate.”
He stepped away and turned around to face the Gokmards. I was surrounded in a tight circle by all four of the Draax, and despite my height, I couldn’t see past their large, broad bodies.
“All that matters is your queen,” Quill said. “Protect her at all costs. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my King,” the three Draax said in unison.
I sank to my butt in the snow, barely feeling the cold creeping through Quill’s cloak. I drew my knees up and wrapped my shaking arms around them as the Gokmards, bellowing loudly and continually, attacked Quill and the others.
I could only see flashes of the
Gokmards hairy legs and the splatter of their bright red blood in the snow. Screams of agony intermixed with the low buzz of their energy blades and the loud grunts of the Draax. Quill wasn’t wearing a jacket and I watched the large muscles in his back flex beneath his shirt as he swung his sword.
Despite my terror that Quill would die, I was incredibly sleepy and I couldn’t stop yawning. My shivering had finally stopped, and I stared blearily at Quill’s back as numbness descended over my body. When the head of a Gokmard flew over Krey’s shoulder and landed in front of me, I didn’t even finch. I stared at its gaping mouth and the ragged and bloody stump of its neck before resting my forehead on my knees and closing my eyes. Sleep. I needed to sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
Quillan
The last Gokmard foolishly tried to run. As he lumbered through the snow, I turned to Henden. The big Draax nodded and, despite his size, ran nimbly after it.
“Laos? You are injured?” I could see bright blood soaking through the material of his shirt.
Laos gingerly lifted his shirt to study the gash on his ribs. “Not badly, my King. One of their blades caught me but gallberry juice will heal it.”
“Krono, I have been gone a moon and a half and return to find you have already lost your ability to fight,” Krey said teasingly as the dying scream of the runaway Gokmard echoed through the trees.
Laos rolled his eyes and lowered his shirt as I turned to face my queen. “My mate, you are safe and – sadora!”
Sabrina was curled into a ball in the snow and she didn’t move at the sound of my voice. Fear kept me frozen for a moment before I lunged forward and fell to my knees beside her. I gathered her into my embrace and my heart stopped when I felt her cold body. Her skin was completely devoid of colour and I gave Krey a look of pure panic before cupping Sabrina’s face.
“Sadora, wake up! Look at me, my mate!”
Krey kicked away the head of a Gokmard before crouching next to us. His fingers pressed against her throat. “She still lives, Quill. But we must get her back to the palace and warmed up immediately.”
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