Page 87 of Needed in the Night
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Atolani do not forgive. I lost honor when you refused to join my raider squad. I would never be made a squad leader among our people with tarnished honor. The only way to regain it was to avenge your betrayal.”
It was a logical explanation as far as it went, but her actions today still made no sense. “Then why not kill me if it was my supposed betrayal you came to avenge?” I demanded. “Why target Isla?”
“What satisfaction would there be in killing you?” she snarled. “You always cared less about your own life than the soldiers you served with or who were under your command. You certainly care more about that screeching human you stole from Nubo than yourself. So why would I killyouif I wantedyouto suffer? I regain my honor either way, and this gave me far more pleasure.”
Gods, she was heartless. The thought I had once shared a bed with her made me want to be violently ill.
In my mind, I envisioned ripping her away from Brae and the soldiers and tearing her apart a piece at a time so she could feel the pain and fear I had experienced seeing my mate’s blood spurt through the air, and my terror that neither I nor anyone else would be able to save her life.
I would have done it in a heartsbeat given a chance, but it would be murder in full view of a half dozen soldiers. Evenpleading provocation, I would be taken away from my Isla. Even my beastly hearts told me revenge would be sweet but not as sweet as my life with my mate.
Kona could go to the deepest hell. It would be a hell of her own making.
“You are a coward,” I said, my voice cold. “You have no honor at all. You stabbed a human woman in the back. I hope whatever prison you end up in, everyone knows the cowardice of your crime. I will do everything in my power to see they do.” I glanced at Brae. “Give her to them, please. We have no use for her anymore. Isla needs us.”
“She must be dead by now,” Kona said, making Brae hiss and sink his fangs in deeper. “That was a very special blade. By the time they got her to the medical bay, she bled out. Poor, sad Commandant.” She slid a glance at Brae. “Poor worthless little bat. Left all alone.”
Brae gnawed on Kona’s neck. She twitched and groaned in pain.
“Brae,” I said quietly. “She is trying to get you to kill her so she does not go to prison. Isla is not dead.”
“Liar,” Kona spat.
“I am many things, but I am not a liar.” I crouched to bring myself eye level with her and raised my bloody arms to show her the wounds I had made with my own teeth and claws. “Isla is my true mate, Kona. That means my blood heals her.”
Her head jerked as if I had punched her. A half-dozen emotions flashed in her dark gaze: shock, fury, dismay, and most of all jealousy.
It was very possible shehadfollowed us here to kill Isla entirely of her own accord and not on Nubo’s orders. If she did not admit the truth, we might never know whether he was behind this brutal act. That was a bitter pill to swallow.
“My mate will not die,” I said. “But even so, you are going to prison for a very long time.”
Kona’s breathing turned ragged. “Tor’gar efet,” she hissed.
An Atolani insult—a very vicious and vile one. One last attempt to get me to attack. But nothing she might say could reach me now. I was done with her. Only Isla and Brae mattered.
I rose. “Come with me to see Isla, Brae.”
With one last rip at her flesh with his claws, he released Kona’s neck and took to the air. The soldiers did not try to stop him as he passed overhead and flew away in the direction of the promenade. I turned my back on Kona and followed.
Scuffling sounds and cursing indicated she was trying to fight the soldiers despite blood loss and paralyzed limbs. Just as I turned the corner, a sizzle told me the soldiers had thrown a stun net over her. Her truncated shriek was a very satisfying sound.
Halfway down the ramp, as Brae followed above in shadow form, I encountered a soldier coming from the opposite direction. “Auren,” he said, with a nod. “Protectorate Morolo has asked me to escort you to your mate’s bedside.”
“Thank you,” I grated.
I had feigned certainty about Isla’s condition when speaking to Kona, but my guts churned and my spines bristled with fear.
Brae landed carefully on my shoulder and hooked his talons into the fabric of my tunic. “She lives,” he said, his voice pitched so only I could hear him. “But she isn’t awake.”
“No,” I murmured. “She lapsed into a healing sleep after consuming my blood.”
Brae made a rough sound. “I didn’t see the danger. I only saw someone hidden in protective gear. It wasn’t until Kona left the scene and removed her helmet that I realized who she was.”
“You did what I could not and captured her.” My throat was tight with rising dread at what we might find when we reached the medical bay. “If you had not, she would have escaped justice. I am forever in your debt.”
“You saved Isla.” He whined softly. “The debt is on my side.”
Like on most ports this size, the medical bay was enormous, as it could be called upon to deal with a wide variety of potential emergencies. The moment we entered its main doors, however, I knew precisely where my mate was: to my right and down a short corridor. The scent of her blood and pain was unmistakable. I rushed past my escort and down the hall with Brae still on my shoulder.
