Chapter Twenty-Three
Elaina
I followed Drazien into the main room in silence, expecting him to begin issuing orders, but instead, he crossed directly to the wide stone table and swept everything from its surface except a datapad. He moved to one side of the table before looking at me and gesturing to the datapad.
“You said I should have asked, so I’m asking now.”
The words were quiet, his kethra a calm violet, but his gaze was intense as he stared at me.
“We need another plan.”
For a long moment, I simply stood there. I had expected another argument. Or another string of excuses and attempts to convince me he'd done the right thing.
Instead, he'd done exactly as I asked.
“I don't know if I have a better one. If they’re targeting Humans, using me to lure them out is a good strategy.”
He dipped his head.
“But you noticed what I missed, so your insight will help.”
Huffing, I shook my head but moved closer, curious what he had on the datapad.
“I noticed one thing.”
“More than one, and it likely saved both our lives.”
His voice remained level, his gaze steady, and my cheeks warmed.
“No one has done that before, Elaina. I’m the one they send to fix problems, because my plans work, but this time it almost failed.”
The compliment caught me off guard, and I forgot to be angry for a heartbeat. I was so used to being overlooked and forgotten that having someone see me was intoxicating.
I crossed the rest of the distance between us and took a deep breath. His scent filled my lungs, making my chest ache when I let it out and pushed aside the feelings it stirred.
A map of Korvashan spread across the screen, broken down by level.
Veyrdrahl’tharvek on the surface, the High Ledge, the Cavern Markets and gardens.
All the way down to levels beneath the River Caverns I hadn’t known existed.
It showed guard positions, primary tunnels and secondary passages.
Tiny winding paths that seemed too small for more than a single person.
“Where would you set a trap?”
I looked at the map for a long time, going over what I knew of Korvashan.
“The festival area on the surface won't work.”
He tipped his head, still watching me instead of the map I was moving across the screen.
“Why?”
“Too many people.”
It was the obvious answer, but it wasn’t as simple as that.
“That didn’t stop them yesterday, but they weren't trying to fight. They were trying to remove me without it looking like an attack.”
He nodded.
“They proved they don’t care about Morraki lives if it means removing the threat you represent, and it shows they know we’re going to be looking for them.”
Glancing up from the map, I realized how close he was. Since the moment I awoke after the serum, he’d touched me every chance he had, and yet his tail wasn’t wrapped around my leg or waist, his hands were on the table, and he was careful not to let his chest brush my shoulder even when he inhaled.
A pit hollowed my stomach, but I pushed the sensation away. I had to remind myself what he’d said. What he’d hidden from me.
“I need to know about the other attacks. Details. Where they happened, how many were involved.”
I listened as he told me about each, and my jaw tightened when I realized how much he’d kept from me.
Every single woman who’d come to Morrakan had been attacked.
It had been inevitable that I would be as well, yet he hadn’t bothered to make that clear so that I could be better prepared and protect myself.
He must have seen the growing anger on my face because he reached for me before pulling his hand back.
“I am sorry.”
Even if part of me wanted to, I wasn’t ready to forgive him.
We ruled out the River Caverns next.
“Too many exits, and families might be caught in the middle if a fight breaks out.”
He arched a brow, his lips twitching in that familiar way that told me he was holding back.
“If?”
Rolling my eyes, I sighed and focused on the map.
The Market followed.
“Too many exits, too many people, and there’s already been an attack there. They know you will be more vigilant in a place like that, and they’ll spot a trap before we can spring it.”
He nodded, agreeing. We discussed possibilities for what felt like hours, the crystals in the ceiling brightening enough to overpower the dim lights along the walls.
Eventually my eyes drifted toward one section of the map, and my lungs froze. It was hard to choose a favorite place in Korvashan, but it was somewhere I’d have spent unlimited time if given the chance.
“What are you thinking?”
I took a moment to consider the idea, deciding it had enough merit to share.
“The Archives. If they’ve been watching me like you assume, then they already know I’ve spent time there.”
He straightened, crossing his arms.
“I’ll admit I thought the same thing. What are your reasons?”
I tapped on the map, zooming in to the area around the Archives.
“The entrances are limited, the shelves create cover, and it’s believable that you might leave me there, thinking the High Ledge is safe.”
He was nodding when I glanced up at him, his kethra flickering the tiniest bit.
“The keepers can be warned to stay away, and there are rarely others in there. The Zha’torin are the main ones who use it, but they’ll be recovering from Khavren.”
“That means the only person in danger would be me, which is best.”
Silence stretched. Despite the fact that he was the one who came up with the idea of using me as bait to begin with, he seemed as if he didn’t like the last part and wanted to object, but eventually he leaned on the table and tapped the datapad.
“I can place warriors here.”
He marked two side tunnels.
“And here.”
He pointed to a nearby room without a label.
“I can appear to leave you in the Archives alone, but I will circle around and return and be inside the Archives with you.”
Swallowing, I fought back the desire to thank him. Being there to protect me was the least he could do after risking my life without my knowledge.
At least this time I would know it was coming, even if I couldn’t predict what might happen once they were there. But for the first time, I had a chance to control how it began.
Drazien studied the screen a moment longer before straightening once more and looking me over. His gaze didn’t hold the same heat it had before, and part of me mourned the loss. It had been nice to feel desired.
“You still need training.”
I arched a brow before sighing in defeat.
“I know.”
He hesitated before gesturing to the workout area he’d set up inside his home.
“It would be better if they didn’t know. We could go to where I trained you before, but…”
He didn’t have to finish. If the rebels thought I was a weak, untrained Human, I had a better chance to surprise them and get out of anything that happened. Training in a public place meant they might hear of it.
“No, here is fine.”
I rose and moved over to the thick mat on the floor. It barely cushioned the stone beneath and wouldn’t be as forgiving as the sand, but it was better than nothing.
Drazien followed me and I moved into the position he’d had me work on before. He reached for me the way he had then, but his hand hesitated and he raised his eyes to mine.
“May I?”
It took several seconds for me to understand what he was asking, and I had to swallow before I could nod. His fingertips settled against my hip, shifting my weight as he reached up to turn my shoulder.
“Better.”
I was hyper aware of where he touched me, the heat of him lingering long after he pulled away. He’d kept the contact light and clinical before he stepped back again, but I couldn’t help the way my nipples tightened and my breathing grew heavier.
Despite the anger and hurt, my body still wanted him.
“Strike.”
I didn’t hesitate the way I had the first time, trying to move the way he’d taught me. He stopped the blow with ease, and then I repeated the motion, correcting it before he could.
He nodded and then began to circle slowly. I didn’t wait for his command, recognizing an opening and taking it. Instead of retreating, I stepped inside his reach, trapping his forearm beneath mine while twisting my hips.
It wasn't elegant. It certainly wasn't the way the Morraki fought.
But it made him lose his balance.
He caught himself before falling, a startled expression on his face. For one long heartbeat, neither of us moved, then his grin spread, canines flashing red in the light.
“That was dirty.”
Shrugging, it was a struggle to keep from grinning in return. It felt good to be able to advance in an area I had thought I was hopeless.
“It worked.”
He nodded as he straightened.
“It did.”
His tail flicked once.
“Do it again.”
I was sore and panting before he was happy that I could pull the move on someone his size and possibly send them to the floor, or at least break their hold on me so I could get away.
We both knew there was no chance of me winning a fight against one of his kind, but anything to buy time for him to save me could mean the difference between me walking away, or him adding another tally to his list.
“Okay, I’m starving. You can torture me more after you feed me.”
The comment slipped out before I thought it over, and the heated look Drazien aimed at me stole what little breath I had left.
Sore, sweaty, and too tired to be angry at him for the moment, my body responded to the hungry invitation the way omegas were apparently programmed to respond to everything.
By producing slick and sending more blood flow south. All those jokes about men and only having enough blood to run one head at a time? They applied to omegas too.
Or maybe I just wanted to blame it on my new dynamic.
“It would be good to be seen so they think we believe yesterday was only an accident.”
I was surprised he was able to think if he was experiencing the cloud of lust hazing my thoughts, but I managed to pull myself together and agree.
I slipped into the tiny bathroom to wash up as well as I could in the simple wash basin before changing into a new pair of clothes that weren’t damp enough to cling to me.
Glancing at the clothing Drazien had bought me in the market with a yearning that didn’t make sense, I dragged on the clothes I had brought from Earth to make sure I would be spotted, even with the thavren on, then we climbed back toward where everyone was celebrating Khavren.
The surface was no less alive than the day before. Music drifted on the wind right along with the sand, and smoke from roasting meat curled up into the red sky.
I had thought there was no chance of a red sky becoming normal, but somehow, it was more awe-inspiring than strange to look up and see magenta- and raspberry-colored clouds on the horizon, framed by the deep burgundy mountains, with Vorrashan spilling highlights over them as it sank towards the horizon.
I let out a sigh before I could stop it.
Drazien glanced down at me, arching a brow before it disappeared behind his thavren. The winds were stronger than they had been the day before, the sand thicker in the air, but we both understood why we were there.
He offered a hand, leaving it up to me whether I took it or not. It was a struggle to remember I was still mad at him, but no matter what, we needed the rebels to think everything was fine.
I laced my fingers with his and swallowed the surge of feelings it brought. It had felt so natural less than a day ago, but now I was aware of every inch of flesh touching his, of the pressure he applied without crushing my hand the way he easily could.
We drifted, making sure there were plenty of opportunities to be seen, but didn’t linger anywhere.
A familiar booth sent a pang of regret through my chest when I realized we had lost all the books Drazien had purchased for me when we’d had to escape the cart, but I shook my head when he moved towards it.
There was no need for him to waste more money when I already felt bad over what he’d spent on me while I’d been hiding a secret as well.
Guilt churned in my gut and bile burned at the back of my throat. I had always had a hard time remaining angry at anyone, and trying to blame him for his omission when I’d been doing the same left my heart torn.
At the next stall he handed me a plate. Nothing more. He didn't insist I eat or attempt to feed me himself the way he had each time before. He didn’t even look in my direction as he stood guard and waited for me to finish the meal.
I found myself reluctant to lift the sahvey to my lips. It wasn’t that I couldn’t feed myself, we both knew I could, but the act of him feeding me had become intimate. Not in a sexual way, but in a way that showed he cared.
The crowds thickened as the afternoon wore on. Without really thinking, I reached for his tail and tucked it around my waist.
He looked down, eyes intense but head cocked, as if he wasn’t sure what I was doing. I wasn’t sure myself, but having it there made me feel better.
“If we're pretending yesterday was an accident, it might seem strange if you stop acting like I’m your korravalryn.”
His eyes flashed and the skin around them tightened before he dipped his head.
“True.”
He kept his tail exactly where I placed it. He didn't tighten his grip, or pull me along the way he had the day before. The tip of it didn’t wag the way it had that reminded me of a lazy cat. He simply kept it where I’d placed it, deceptively relaxed.
We walked the rest of the festival that way. Speaking little, watching everything, until he deemed enough time had passed to be sure we had been spotted without giving them a chance to set up another accident.
The walk home felt quieter than any we'd shared before. Neither of us spoke of the purpose behind going to the surface instead of the Cavern Market to eat. Or the trap we planned to set. Or the argument we’d had the night before.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable, just… careful.
When we reached his door I slipped my hand from his and he pulled his tail away, the missing weight of it a loss that left me feeling unbalanced. I studied his profile for a long moment as he palmed open the door and then stepped aside for me to enter first.
It would have been easier if he'd argued.
If he had insisted he'd done the right thing.
If he hadn’t changed in ways that showed he’d listened.
It didn't erase what he'd done, and it didn't make the hurt disappear, but it made forgiving him feel dangerously possible.
Especially when the weight of my own guilt was dragging me down.
I wasn't ready, not yet, but I realized I wanted to forgive him. Because if I was being honest, facing rebels with him was more appealing than returning to Earth, alone.