Page 37 of Whispers of Fate

“I agree. That thing isn’t Alden. He’d never want to be left like this.” I fought the pricking of tears searing my eyes. “You were there when Zahruk was contaminated, right?” I asked Lena, who was staring at Zahruk oddly. Her vibrant eyes shifted to me and then slowly moved back to take him in with a glimmer of regret. “What did it feel like when it tried to adhere to you, as it did to Zahruk?”

“Yes, I was there,” Lena confirmed quietly. “I honestly didn’t realize he’d been infected at first. At that time, no one knew that by simply touching it, you’d be infected. I was going through some shit, too. He had it on his hand, and it appeared to attach itself to him readily.” She tilted her head as her brows knitted together. “It felt ice-cold and full of malice, so fucking dark I would have done anything to get away from it. I questioned quietly, feeling the weight of the world pressing against me.

“I still don’t understand why it wouldn’t infect you. You held some pretty powerful beings inside, and would have been the ideal target if these assholes are seeking power.”

“Lucian and Spyder think the furies protected me and kept me from ending up in a cage beside these two.” Her mouth tightened into a strained white line as she flicked a peek at Alden, who was humming oddly.

“Do you think there is a way to replicate what the furies did?

“It’s not that simple. The furies feast on the soul of the host. Lucian and Spyder had to find a way to remove them before they fully devoured mine. There’s also the unfeeling, cold-calculated mental state they induce. Zahruk in such a state would be a fucking nightmare. We might be able to contain Alden long enough for the furies to drive off whatever is infecting him, but would he want that? It would be trading one unknown for another.”

“I get that, but there has to be something we can do for them. I hate this shit. Not knowing if we’re losing him or if he’s in there begging for help and unable to communicate? It drives me fucking mad not knowing. That, and the list of what-ifs keeps growing, and the guild is starting to lose patience with waiting for answers.”

Adrian gradually shifted his focus from Alden to Zahruk, who remained in the cage beside Alden’s, his powerful arms folded over his chest, with his head leaning against the barrier. The sinful sapphire-blue eyes hadn’t left my face once in the last hour we’d spent down here. While Zahruk could still communicate, he had provided nothing useful.

“You said it was cold and filled with malice?” Adam inquired, walking back over to watch Alden continue to batter himself against the glass.

Lena released a strangled noise of regret when Alden’s focus transferred to her, and he produced disjointed sounds to lure her closer. “It was like handling ice or stepping into a walk-in freezer after sunbathing. There was also this kind of humming noise that lured you in and captivated you. I felt the pull to enter the fractured portal, and if it weren’t for the furies hissing at it, I likely would have. Lucian was actually hesitant to change me back to my true form because of what was happening to these two.”

“You’re not powerful enough to hold it,” Zahruk offered, forcing our attention to shift to him, where he smirked coldly. “Tell me, Synthia. Is the babe healthy? Does he look like Dristan?”

The agony burning in his stare made my heart ache. I wanted to deliver the news that the babe was perfect and his chubby face looked so much like Dristan, but Zahruk wasn’t entirely in control of his mind, and it was clear he was being manipulated.

“You know me,” he murmured before pushing off the glass and sliding his palm over his mouth.

“The asshole I know wouldn’t have tried to harm me,” I admonished with a frown before smoothing my expression into something stoic.

“That’s not entirely true.” He laughed. “It isn’t the first time I’ve stabbed you, woman. You and I both know that if I didn’t have some control, you wouldn’t be standing here right now. Tell me I’m wrong.” He planted his palms on the glass, displaying the coiled muscles of his abdomen, which plunged into a provocative V and drew attention to his low-slung gray sweatpants.

“Is that supposed to change what happened? Am I supposed to free you because you have some control, Zahruk? Kahleena is dead, and the prick who murdered her can reach us through you or anyone else infected by the toxin.” I folded my arms over my breasts and dropped my head forward, hiding the grief that ripped through me.

“Your daughter isn’t dead, Synthia. Not yet, at least. If she was gone, you’d feel it deeper than you do right now.” Zahruk sounded so adamant that I lifted my eyes to his, searching for deception or insincerity. I found none. “Let me go, and I will find her. I may be contaminated, but she’s my niece. Family means more to me than the itch of that prick’s influence, and nothing is going to change that. I’m still the bastard who stabbed you to defend my brother.”

“You stabbed me less than a week ago!” I yelled with bitterness dripping from my tone. I desperately wanted to believe his assurances and trust that it was Zahruk speaking, but I couldn’t. “Do you honestly expect me to trust anything you say now? You’re not in control of your mind, or you wouldn’t have hurt me, Zahruk.”

His eyes tightened, and a flicker of loathing lit up in his intensely blue stare.

“I did, but I didn’t let him fucking hurt you as he craved for you to be, did I? He wanted me to aim for your heart. Instead, it pierced your shoulder, and you healed within hours, right?” When I just narrowed my eyes at him, he sighed. “I understand your hesitation. I do. But I feel the order to go to him, and he and Kahleena are in the same fucking location. Let me go protect her. Let me the fuck out to go protect your daughter.”

“Compelling argument, brother,” Ryder rumbled from the shadows. He slowly moved from them, leveling his anguish-filled expression at Zahruk. “You’re correct, and while we know that you retain some control, it only matters that you don’t havecompletecontrol. The cage isn’t solely for our safety. It’s protecting you and keeping you safe from whatever they plan to use you for as well.”

“I don’t fucking care what they do to me. I’ve never cared about myself,” Zahruk stated without hesitation. “I’m telling you now, Kahleenaisalive, but she won’t be for long if you don’t release me. I’m lost to you, but I can do this before I’m gone, brother. You know me better than anyone else. When have I ever fucking missed a target? Never, and you know that. Tell me I’m wrong. That asshole wanted your pretty wife dead and buried. Is she? No, she isn’t.”

“It changes nothing. I won’t lose you to them. We will fix this and get you back.”

“No, you won’t! Don’t you fucking get it? I am infected, and my need is insatiable. My cock is so fucking hard it aches and throbs until I’m forced to feed for their pleasure. I am poisoned with their taint, and influence. I still have control of my mind, but for how long? I’d rather die with a shred of myself intact than live a single day as the monster they’re turning me into.”

Ryder was perfectly still, as if frozen in place with emotion churning in his visage. I felt the conflict brewing in his soul and the hope Zahruk’s words ignited there.

I wanted to cling on to the lies he spoke too. The thing was, we knew hope was dangerous, and more often than not, false. It made you believe lies, and it exposed your weakness to those who sought to break you. It was better to live in the stark pain of reality. At least then you knew to expect the blow that cut deeply and left you bleeding and broken.

“No,” Ryder said after he’d gained control of the emotions. “I won’t open this cage knowing it will be the last time I ever see you, Zahruk. You don’t get to give up. We’ve come too far and have overcome too much together to admit defeat. I will figure this out and undo it.”

“You can’t stop what is within me,” Zahruk warned with something churning in his jeweled colored depths.

“Zahruk,” Ryder hissed unevenly. He pressed his forehead to the glass while Zahruk did the same. “I refuse to lose you, as well. If Kahleena is alive, we’ll find a way to save her that doesn’t come at the cost of your life. We will find a way to reverse this and save you, too.” His palms pressed against the thick glass. Ryder’s body trembled with the promise he made to his brother.

Zahruk issued a choked sound before he slammed his palms against the glass. The runes ignited, covering the barrier with a warning glow, which had Zahruk backing away.

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