Chapter 49
Atem
“This is the area here, vi Dominani.”
Atem growled, a combination of anger and impatience forcing the sound from his throat. Romival didn't seem to mind as he enhanced the holomap, sharpening it so that more details appeared in the three-dimensional topography.
The two of them had gathered and locked themselves in the council chamber and gone into the alcove that held the rather large and impressive map table.
It could zoom out to display the entire planet over the table entirely, then zoom in to a topographic map closer to the surface.
Their satellites over the planet kept the scans updated at least once every tenday in the more remote areas and every two or three days in the major cities.
Currently, they were zoomed in on Spear Rock – one of the three major space ports on the planet.
This was one of the seaside ports, a city named after a geological feature that had been long lost. Romival was focusing the city map, adjusting one of the satellites using Atem's clearance codes so that the feed would be live.
He was working fast, but it still wasn't fast enough for Atem.
Peony should have reached the healing center already. Even now, she was probably being scanned and their pup fully visualized. And he was missing it.
To protect her, he reminded himself firmly. Her safety had to come before everything.
Romival had already been hard at work when Atem came in.
His program had managed to catch a message from the device he had been watching.
It had nothing to do with the ratchi and didn't even appear to be talking to them – it was a request for fresh blood that, if it was a code of some kind, was impossible to break.
There had been an issue sending the message and it ended up garbled.
The person receiving it even responded asking what the message was supposed to be.
But that issue meant that the message was returned to its device, then resent.
The delay in subspace meant that Romival had been able to grab it and trace it back to the original device.
And the location was here, at one of the seaports. The city had originally been used as a ship port, supplying the surrounding islands, but with the expansion of space travel, it had also added a space port that transformed the city into one of the largest, most densely populated on the planet.
Finding someone there should be impossible.
But that's what Romival was working on. He had been working on it since he commed Atem. The moment they found the person, he was going to be apprehended. Atem had already brought up the contact information of the guardian in charge of that city.
It was taking everything in him not to rush Romival. He could see him working fast, but all he could think about was the fact that he wasn't with his Peony.
Realistically, if he thought about it, there was no reason he had to be here.
Right? Havali could do this. He was First Guardian.
Even Tuvo could be in charge of this. It wasn't like they were going to Spear Rock themselves.
It was marks away by hover, at least a mark by space craft.
The guardian of that city would be apprehending whoever was plotting against him.
Havali could order that. Tuvo could order that. With Atem's permission, Romival could order that. So, why did he need to be here?
The immediate response that he had always given himself, that he had to be there to make sure it was done right, or done at all, seemed flat and weak.
If he wasn't here, he could be with his female.
He could be seeing his pup's first full scan.
And did he really think he could work as long as he did when his female was whelping?
The longer her pregnancy went on, the shorter the time he could be away from her and, as it got into the last quarter of the pregnancy, she wouldn't even want to leave her nest. Nor would he be comfortable with her leaving her nest.
If he was going to be a good mate and sire, he had to trust his council.
An idea that curdled his gut. Relinquishing that control, trusting the others to do their job correctly without his oversight, meant that he would have to trust they weren't going to betray him. A difficult concept to believe.
But maybe he didn't need to believe.
Maybe he could just give them the benefit of the doubt.
Peony's wisdom seemed to settle something in him.
“Romival,” he addressed the male. “I give you the authority to have this person apprehended. I'm going to go the healing center.”
Romival looked surprised only for a moment before grunting in affirmation. “As you say, vi Dominani.”
Satisfied with his decision, Atem turned to leave the room. He didn't get more than a single step before his combot went off in his hip pouch. He didn't stop moving as he pulled it out and accepted the comm from Tuvo.
“Atem! Peony has been taken!”
The harried words brought Atem up short as he suddenly found it hard to breathe. Romival stilled at the terminal as he turned to look at him, eyes wide.
“What?” He barely managed to push past his numb tongue. “How-? What happened?! Where is she?!”
“She left the healing center with Temnavi. They got into the same hover they took to get here. But then it began flying away from the palace. The hover took off into the forest. My men lost them under the canopy. One of the security team at the healing center found the body of the servant that drove them there hidden under a different hover, his uniform stripped.”
“Which direction did he fly?” Romival asked, half standing from the terminal.
“He was heading south-east.”
“Towards Spear Rock,” Romival said even as he was turning back to the terminal. His face pinched as he continued trying to work through getting exact coordinates on his new tracking program.
Atem snarled, unable to keep his claws from extending with his fury.
“Head towards Spear Rock,” he ordered Tuvo. “I'm heading that way now-”
Before he could approach the door, however, it opened on its own. Donivi stepped inside, his face alight with excitement. Scarlet was just a few steps behind him. She had a smile on her face as well – an indulgent grin that she aimed at Donivi.
“Vi Dominani, did you hear?!” First Healer asked, far too happy to be referring to Peony's capture. “I couldn't believe it when I saw! But I scanned her twice. It's absolutely true!”
Atem opened his mouth to tell Donivi that he didn't have time for this, but he couldn't bring the words up through his throat. Because there was only one reason that the First Healer would be here, looking this excited, and the idea was choking with its possibility.
“Donivi, please,” Scarlet laughed. “I told you, Peony would want to tell him herself.”
“It's not true, is it?” Atem finally managed, barely whispering in his horror.
Donivi beamed. “It is! A hybrid! Real, honest, proven hybrid! Half her DNA, half yours! If I didn't see it myself – twice! I saw it twice! I-I would never have believed it!”
She carried his pup. His pup. She had never lied to him. She had never been deluded. Every word she had spoken was true.
And now she, the mother of his pup that shouldn't exist, had been taken away from him.
That knowledge nearly brought him to his knees. Only knowing that Peony needed him, that he had to remain strong to get her back, kept him upright.
“Atem?” Scarlet frowned, finally seeing his expression. “What is it?”
“Scarlet, find the others and go to your room. I'm sending guards to watch over you. Donivi, return to the healing center and prepare just in case.”
Donivi also caught onto to his mood, frowning. “Of course, vi Dominani, but-”
“Peony has been taken,” he snarled, his hands shaking in his anger. “I need to make sure the other humans remain safe, and you must be ready in case she's hurt. Or if I somehow manage to avoid killing her captor and want them questioned.”
Both of them looked surprised but, to his relief, it only lasted a moment before a stern expression came over both of their faces. Scarlet nodded once and Donivi saluted him before they turned to leave, obeying his orders.
Atem turned back to his combot. “Tuvo, Romival is narrowing down your target now.”
“We're already on our way, Atem. He won't beat us there by more than a quarter mark.”
“I'll alert Havali so he can coordinate with the city guardians.” He practically heard Tuvo's surprise at him willingly putting his trust into one of his Firsts, but he ignored it.
He should have trusted Peony. He should have trusted his Firsts. If he had, he wouldn't have had that fight with his mate. If he had, he would have been with her and could have prevented this.
He would not doubt her again, except beneficially, and he would put his trust into his Firsts, giving them the benefit of the doubt until they proved themselves unworthy.
And this would never again happen.