Chapter 57
Therxian slipped silently from his nest, his gavo slowly lifting as he made his way into the corridor.
It was late, the air oppressively thin and dry with its reduced ganda.
The sun was likely blazing high overhead, the intensity of its heat scorching everything on the surface of the desert.
If he was in the Vir, he would have been reclined within his nest sleeping through the most oppressive period of the great heat.
Even deep within the shinara, the thin air made him want to sleep.
It was only his desire to be reunited with his mate and his awareness that this was his best opportunity to do so that had him venturing out into the corridors.
As thin as the air was, there was an unexpected weight to its silence. Or perhaps he was projecting his own disquiet. Despite the unlikelihood of encountering anyone, part of him expected Gareiia or another female to materialize around the bend to descend upon him before he could make his escape.
Keeping his wings flattened tightly to his back to keep his movement as streamlined as possible, he glided across the stone floor, his tail winding over its surface, propelling him silently forward.
Although the passage was closer to the queen’s nest than his own, it still was not far.
He prowled stealthily down the corridor, his gavo inching upward as he moved in rapid, short bursts of speed.
The main corridor opened up just ahead of him and he could see the heavy darkness of the veil covering the entrance into the lower tunnels.
He paused, excitement stirring within his hearts.
Abandoning the shadows of the residential corridor, he darted forward, his focus trained on his destination with every intention of going directly there, but a crumpled form in the midst of the corridor that he had previously missed suddenly rose upward.
Startled, he drew to an immediate halt to stare at the familiar lavender male crouched over a female that he had seen only a short time earlier within the throne chamber.
Except that this time Gareiia was entirely prone, her body stained heavily with the same blood splattered on the male.
His glowing eyes were fixed on him, and Therxian drew to a stop as he stared at the male bending low over his coiled tail, his body hunkered over the female.
Dehv slowly straightened as he returned his stare.
There was something so cold and brutal within those eyes that he seemed entirely unlike the male he had spoken to before.
Which was the real Dehv and which was the illusion?
Dehv’s smile inched upward, cold and remote.
There was no remorse, just cunning cruelty that bewildered Therxian.
It was unnatural. No male should have been capable of doing this to his mate.
“You? How could you do this?” Therxian rasped. “You were pheromone-bonded to her. No matter your hatred, you should have been incapable of harming her.”
Dehv gave a shrill giggle, his smile conflicting with the hatred, disgust, and self-loathing brightening his mad gaze.
“She believed I was, and I was instructed to encourage her to think so, but in truth, she was too late. Another came to me first. She bonded me for her purpose and set me in the noble house of Shel to watch and wait for orders. But Gareiia... she did not follow orders very well,” he hissed in amusement.
“She was to play the game but not interfere. She knew this from the beginning when she entered the palace with her mother. But Gareiia decided she wanted the prize for herself, and after tonight... well, my hithana knew it was time to remove her. No one can be allowed to compete with the rightful heir.”
Therxian frowned in confusion. His orders? “Are you saying that Gareiia is not the offspring of Yilada?”
The male’s smile widened. “Who told you about the daughter of Yilada? It seems that my hithana’s caution, and the arrangements that were made in her youth, were well-warranted.
It was her idea, however, to encourage that perception should anyone even consider the possibility that Yilada’s nestling had remained in the shinara.
Tell me, did you truly believe it was her? ”
“I believed it was possible,” Therxian slowly replied in an attempt to delay the male further—at least until he could get close enough to get a hold of him.
His tail slowly, casually dragged across the floor as he slid forward very slightly.
Slowly, so that Dehv did not note the movement.
His eyes narrowed on the male. “But that still does not explain why you would kill her.”
Dehv laughed. “Because it pleased my hithana. And because it serves her purpose.”
“Purpose?”
The male’s smile widened. “You will see. And then you will lose that which you believed you have kept well-hidden.”
Therxian’s gavo shot up threateningly, but he tensed as a shout rose, drawing his attention to a pair of guards at the end of the hall.
“Therxian! Remain where you are.”
His gavo rose in surprise, but Dehv’s eyes flicked knowingly in the direction of the commotion, his smile growing.
“And now, it is too late for you,” he rasped with one last giggle as he spread his wings and dropped from the parapet that he had once led him across.
Therxian lunged forward, his own wings spreading, determined to capture and ring the life from the male but drew up short as a velkat whipped past his ear.
It hit the crevice between two stones of the parapet wall with enough force that the blade buried halfway into it.
He stared at the quivering velkat in shock.
His tail thrashed, and he whirled away, intent on finding another way around to continue his pursuit, but was immediately blocked as guards descended around him, their wings creating a chaos of confusion, preventing him from taking to the air.
A guard straightened in front of him, her velkat pointed menacingly at his throat.
“Do not move, Therxian,” she hissed. Her eyes flicked to the body of Gareiia, her expression hardening. “It seems that our informant was correct. This is what allowing an unmated hunter loose within our shinara comes to: you will not cease to control females without violence. Murderer!”
Another female joined her, her expression hard as she peered at him. “Your freedom within the shinara is over. You are wanted for questioning by the Council of Noble Matriarchs. And not even your mother can save you now, Vehal.”
Wings snapped violently, the acoustic sound breaking the air anew and distracting the guard as three females dropped to the parapets to join them, their velkats raised and dwarfing the other guards present as they straightened regally.
Therxian had never been so grateful to see Jathella and her sisters.
“Dioya, move aside,” Jathella barked.
Dioya sneered. “I think not, Jathella. Look at the evidence of what he has done with your own eyes.”
Jathella’s gaze flicked to Gareiia’s body, and her jaw tightened. “This proves nothing. Therxian had no reason to kill Gareiia.”
“Unless she had proof that he was lying about being mated,” the female at Dioya’s side sneered.
“We have a witness who overheard everything. A male promised to the second family by the name of Dehv. He was privy to everything that happened. Gareiia’s vengeance—and Therxian’s sinister invitation to meet privately.
He knew everything—even down to when and where they were meeting. ”
Therxian trembled with fury. “That creature! You would so easily believe him? By what evidence? What proof did he have beyond his word?”
Dioya regarded him. “What reason would he have to lie?”
“To cover his own crime,” Therxian hissed. “He killed her! His scales were stained with her blood when I came upon him here.”
The other guard scoffed. “Do not be absurd. He has no reason to harm Gareiia, or anyone in the family he was already being bonded into. While we do not condone the methods, it is a common practice within the noble families and creates certain fail-safes. He absolutely could not have harmed her.”
“Unless he was not truly bound,” Therxian rebutted, to which the other guards around him glanced at each other doubtfully. That was a start. “You are assuming he was bound without real evidence of it. And where is he now?”
An uneasy look crossed Dioya’s face. “Perhaps this requires further investigation before we present the matter before the council. But he cannot go with you,” she continued when Jathella began to move forward.
“While the queen’s tenderness for her offspring is admirable, our duty is foremost to the shinara, and we are likewise answerable to the council itself.
He must be confined while we investigate the matter and locate our informant. ”
“There is no reason to place him in a cell on the accusation of a possibly unstable male you do not have within your custody,” Jathella countered. “Did he even report this in person?”
Dioya’s tail twitched uncertainly. “No, he did not come in person, or else we would have insisted that he remain within the guards’ compound. That is procedure. But so is confining the suspect,” she added meaningfully.
“Then at least allow him to be confined within his nest, for the sake of the queen.”
Dioya inclined her head, and she peered over at Therxian doubtfully. “Very well. Come along, Therxian. We will get to the bottom of this.”
Therxian’s tail whipped restlessly. They were really confining him.
And his mate was out there, vulnerable. He wanted to fight his way out and rush to his mate’s side, but he also knew that ultimately such actions would not protect her but would bring the wrath of the entire shinara down on both of them.
Though he trembled with anger, he fell into line between the guards, his head held high.
The guards still held their velkats pointed toward him as they moved back toward the residential corridor.
His eyes dropped briefly to Jathella as he drew parallel to her. “Send Buosoa,” he hissed in a low voice. “She is in danger. The threat is imminent.”
The captain’s gaze swung to him and widened in horror. He averted his gaze, but he heard the gentle snap of her gavo as they departed the corridor.