Page 74 of Zalis
Zalis blocked and swung with his wrench, colliding with the chitin of male’s tail. Frustratingly, it creaked but did not crack.
Ren lunged. Zalis caught the male in a grapple. They strained against each other, neither having enough of an advantage to break the hold. Ren lacked stature and muscle mass. The height limitation of the tunnel required Zalis to be hunched over. He simply could not leverage his superior height against the wiry male.
His foot caught the toolbox. Combined with the slippery foam, they both crashed to the ground.
Ren released his hold and rolled away.
Zalis sat up and laughed. The sound bounced off the tunnel walls, echoing down the corridor into darkness.
Ren looked alarmed. “I hit your head too hard. You are damaged.”
“That was a good fight.”
“I have never heard you laugh.”
“No, you haven’t,” Zalis agreed.
Ren rubbed his upper arm. A blow from the wrench tore through fabric and broke the skin. Blood stained the cloth. “I never lied about my mate. I withheld information.”
“Omission of truth is effectively a lie.” Zalis pushed aside a damaged panel covering and leaned back against the wall.
“When I joined this clan, I was unsure how a human mate would be received. Humans were not welcomed in my previous clan.”
“You have been in Paax’s clan for some time. You know humans are welcomed. Celebrated. You kept Emry a secret.”
“No one asked.”
That seemed unlikely to Zalis. “Not even Havik? He is your friend.”
“He had trouble of his own and perhaps you have noticed that Havik can be selfish and inconsiderate.” Ren moved to sit next to Zalis, stretching his legs out. His tail unfurled next to him, and he made a noise that sounded supremely relaxing.
Ren bumped their shoulders together and said, “Regardless if you like me or not, our mates are twin sisters. We are in each other’s lives.”
“That is true.”
“The warlord is also a twin.”
“That is also true. It is common knowledge,” Zalis said. He was unsure where Ren was headed with this line of questioning.
“Is Paax similar to the previous warlord? No one speaks of him.”
For good reason.
“His name was Omas. They were similar in appearance only. Their temperaments were very different.” Zalis had been a young recruit when he joined the clan under Omas. He had known of Paax, a respected scientist, at the time, but they had never met. “You are fortunate that you never served under Omas. He was cruel.”
Zalis wanted to explain more. Omas had not always been cruel. Grief twisted him after losing his mate. He made unreasonable demands. He forbad new mate matches and drove away those already mated. Zalis had been on the verge of leaving when Paax defeated his twin in battle and became the new warlord.
“My previous warlord was also cruel,” Ren said.
Zalis sensed there was more to that statement but did not press. Ren would share in time. He said, “We fight like brothers.”
Ren’s posture perked. “I never had a brother.”
“Nor have I. The idea intrigues me. I must warn you; my mother is very… enthusiastic.”
“Mothers love me,” Ren said with confidence and his tail thumped against the floor. “They are forever feeding me. What is her name?”
“Lyresh. My father is Zamos.”
