Chapter 21
Laro loomed behind Uma, his fur bristling to make himself seem even larger and more intimidating as the human male anxiously glanced over at him, repeatedly. It was one of the few times he did not mind the fact that his hideous scars inspired fear.
Although the human was clearly inferior compared to his captain, he did not trust him to not do something stupid in a moment of desperation. Even a rog would fight to kill if cornered, fearful and desperate to save their own life. He did not even wish to wager what this human might attempt to do to Uma in order to escape the station.
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and the male flinched. Given that he was determined to live a peaceful existence among humans, that should not have pleased him as much as it did, but at least the male’s mouth was no longer moving. In fact, not much of him was moving at all since the guardswomen had his hands chained and shoved into a chair. A clever male could still improvise for the attack—a smart male, however, would start talking—and quickly before Laro, or worse, Vrin, whose temper seemed to be fraying by the moment judging by the ferocity of his snarl, lost his patience.
Truthfully, if not for Vrin, he would not mind the male resisting just a little to give him a reason to teach the male some respect for his captain. But Vrin... Laro sighed inwardly. While Kam was, as usual, the dubious picture of good humor, Vrin was more likely to cause an incident that would get them killed on the spot before they ever had a chance to escape the citadel with Uma.
He mentally paused over that, his ear flicking. He had not thought too closely about it since his focus had been on getting through the Withering Days—but leaving was a better reward than he imagined, all because they would have Uma with them. Out in the border lands, she would be free from her responsibilities within the citadel—free to experience a new way of living that he and his triad could show her. They would offer a glimpse of a future she had likely never imagined, and if she agreed to be theirs, out there no one would be able to take her from them.
And they could already be far from the citadel by now if it were not for coming across the miserable little male and the warder. He bared his teeth reflexively, and the worm flinched and shrank into his seat at the sight of Laro’s fangs. Uma’s head turned his way, however, and Laro immediately resumed a neutral expression as he met her gaze. Her brows raised slightly but he could almost see her internal shrug as her shoulders twitched and she turned back to the male. She lifted two fingers toward the guardswoman she called Katiera, who nodded in turn and lifted a small metal stick to set the tip on a small collection of paper that humans seemed to collect obsessively by his observation.
“Name?” She squinted at him. “And I would suggest not lying to me. We have Ragoru here, and they can sniff out lies.”
She glanced over at Laro, seeking affirmation and he merely blinked at her for a moment, caught by surprise. While it was true that particularly nervous individuals could give away their thoughts with changes in body scent, it was not as common as she seemed to think. Or she was simply trying to scare the male into telling her the truth. Settling on the latter, he inclined his head, and she turned a sharp smile on the human who appeared to look even unhappier and more nervous.
“You see? And he really isn’t the sort you want to lie to if you want to keep all your limbs attached and the features of your face in the right place,” she added in such a matter-of-fact voice that Laro just barely refrained from scoffing.
Thankfully his brothers had the discipline to maintain an unaffected appearance as well so that he did not have to worry about them giving away the game. At best the corner of Kam’s mouth twitched faintly and Vrin’s brow over his right secondary eye climbed slightly in reaction. It was noticeable enough to Laro since, as lead, he always paid close attention to the shifts in mood among his triad, but it was obvious that it was far too subtle for the human to pick up on. The male’s expression turned sour, but his reluctant sigh was the sound of their impending victory over him.
“Adrin Meril,” he grumbled.
Uma nodded as Katiera marked quickly on the paper in her hand. “Meril. That would make you a relative of warder Ava Meril, who you were seen with?”
He glanced up at her petulantly but nodded. “She’s my cousin.”
“I see.” Uma folded her hands behind her back as she pinned the male with a hard stare that might have given Laro a moment of concern if it had been directed at him. “And is it every day that you attempt to poison Ragoru?”
A sly smile stretched across Adrin’s face as he leaned forward against his constraints. There was something within his eyes, however, that disturbed Laro. He wanted to strike, to swipe the male back away from Uma to put distance between her and the stark glee in his expression. He had enjoyed it, that much was obvious.
“Poisoned a triad? Are you speaking of my brief time at the Lucky Bull? But didn’t you know? I was merely a server there. It was that triad there behind you that gave me coin to poison them.”
“Lies,” Vrin snarled. “We never would have asked you to poison them! It is far too cruel for any circumstance between rivals to justify.”
Laro glared down at the pitiful human and inclined his head, knowing that all the eyes of the guardswomen were upon them. Although some had heard of the situation already from encountering the other triad on the street, he knew he needed to make the situation clear at that moment to all of the guardswomen gathered in the room. Holding up a hand in a silent command to Vrin to control his anger, Laro spoke directly to the restrained human.
“Vrin is correct. More than that, you know I did not ask you to give my rival poison. I approached you to make the male sick so that he would wish to leave, that is all. I even gave you an herb that is a mild purgative to add to his food. Poison was never involved.”
Adrin smirked at him, unrepentantly. “That may be true, but poison is a lot more effective, and much more fun.”
“And were you put up to this by the gentlemen’s club? And why would they wish to harm Ragoru?” Uma demanded. “Is this more of their sick support for the Order? Or are they under orders from the disbanded huntsmen? If so, you should know that collaboration with them to attack Ragoru is not only illegal but will call the entire club into question for treason.”
“Will it?” Adrin’s brows flew up as he gave her a mocking smile. “You seem pretty confident of that despite the fact that most of the members are spouses and sons of prominent families on the Council.”
“That may be true,” Uma admitted, “but they will find a way to take control of the club’s activities. They do not wish for the return of the Order.”
The male shrugged. “I am not admitting to any affiliation, but I am aware that the club does not wish for the Order to return and regain power.” He ran his tongue against the roof of his mouth thoughtfully. “They just find them useful to keep certain unsavory elements under control.”
Laro knew exactly what those unsavory elements were—any nonhuman male who dared to draw a human female to himself. All four of his hands curled into fists, but no one seemed to notice, least of all the idiot chained in the chair.
Uma shook her head as she took a threatening step closer. “The club thinks to control the Order, but they do not respond to what you desire. The Order of Huntsmen serve no one but themselves, and the moment anyone or anything has fulfilled their usefulness and will no longer be a tool for them, they get rid of them,” she spat.
The male cocked his head as his gaze raked over Uma in a manner that offended Laro to the point of wanting to pluck his eyes right out of his skull. Although there was no hint of lust on his face or in his scent, the icy speculation as his gaze moved over her threatened far worse.
“Such hostility.” He chuckled quietly. “I would expect that from you, Captain Uma Stacy. After all, wasn’t the Stacy family closely entwined with the Order? Most of the men in the family, if they didn’t become trained in the family trade, became huntsmen. Or is it because your father was branded a traitor and died ignobly for it as he deserved?” he hissed with a wide smile.
Laro narrowed his eyes at the male. Was he trying to provoke her? For what purpose? Thankfully, his female was far too smart to be baited by an inferior creature.
Uma’s brows rose, her expression closing entirely as she regarded him like a predator sizing up her prey. “Interesting that you say that. You certainly do know a lot.”
“Uma,” Katiera whispered. “Don’t let him distract you into forgetting what you should be doing. If you wait too long, you won’t be able to leave before the gates close for the night.”
Laro’s ears pricked toward his female, but she waved the guardswoman’s comment away and nodded.
“Fortunately, I have many excellent guardswomen under my command who know exactly how to get ‘interesting information’ out of our prisoners. As it happens, we just had a special cell open up.” She glanced over at a smaller guardswoman that Laro vaguely remembered accompanying them around the citadel. “Jesse, has the special cell been cleaned up?”
The female in question balked for a moment, then nodded with a tiny grimace. “It has been but it really needs to be aired out and another cleaning or three to remove the harder stuck-on... stuff.”
“That will work,” Uma replied dismissively. She smiled down at the male. “Please enjoy your stay in the lower district station. The ladies here will keep you company until I return from my little errand. I do hope you enjoy our hospitality.” With that she turned to leave but stopped at Katiera’s side. “Do not allow him to leave. I don’t care if you get instructions from Renny herself. He is to remain in our custody until I return.”
“Understood, Captain,” Katiera replied coolly before turning a cold smile on the male being hauled to his feet. “Right this way, Mr. Meril.”
Uma watched them go with a chuckle before turning to their triad with a smile and waving them forward. “Let’s go. I think they have things under control here and we have a date with the border.”
Laro fell into step behind, excitement stirring within his chest. Finally they were leaving, and soon he would have her far from the citadel where she could no longer hide from him behind her duty.