I’ll send someone across.
Brace had been following my conversation with Lallielle. Most probably he’d taken care of that before I even asked.
“Can’t we just smash Josian out?” Lucy was at the end of her patience. “Let’s just break the glass, get rid of that ugly pink goo and free him.”
Colton snorted. “I love it when you talk Earth to me … pink goo.” His white teeth flashed as laughter shook him.
Lucy elbowed him. She had to flutter higher so she could reach his ribs. “Shut it, wolf-man. Don’t forget I know exactly where you like to be scratched. Be a real shame if I stopped scratching that itch. You know the spot … your leg does that little kicking thing.”
Colton’s laughter died off. He narrowed his eyes before looking around at all of us. “My leg does not do that little kicking thing. I’m not a dog.”
Lucy and I exchanged glances before cracking up. “Someone is trying a little too hard to deny that,” I said. “Methinks that Colton loves a rub on the belly.”
“Scratch behind the ears,” Lucy trilled.
He straightened to his massive height. “Get a mate, they said; it will be fun, they said.”
Lucy and I lost it again, and even Lasandra cracked a smile, which for her was the equivalent of full-on belly laughter. Our mirth and teasing of Colton was definitely some sort of stress-related over-compensating. It was easier to laugh than deal with the fact my world was falling apart and my father was in a cage. I needed these lighter moments; they kept me from losing my mind.
“Aribella.” The low, shaky call from my mother washed away the last of my humor.
I turned to find her descending the stairs, Grantham towering above her as he followed. Their movements were graceful and smooth, despite the ravaged expressions both wore. As soon as she reached the halfway point, Lallielle’s eyes locked on to her mate, and the lines of distress deepened. Her steps quickened.
I crossed the room to meet her at the base of the stairs; she wrapped her arms around me and I held her tightly. She seemed fragile, like she would shatter in my arms. I had never felt her like that before and it scared me. The past year was the first time in my life I’d had my parents around. I’d idolized them both, painting them as larger than life and able to handle anything. The laluna thing with Josian had been my first reality check. I’d taken off the rose-colored glasses and started to realize that despite their powers and longevity of life, my parents were not perfect. They were real, and real meant fears and flaws.
Personally I wouldn’t have them any other way. Perfection was boring and totally overrated.
Lallielle pulled back to see my face. “What happened to Jos, baby girl?”
Grantham strode beside us, his cat-like green eyes resting on me. He dropped his hand onto my shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.
“It’s some sort of Walker regeneration chamber,” I explained as we crossed the room toward the tanks. “From what we can tell Josian is just being held in stasis. Que’s tank, on the other hand, is actually regenerating him. With his own energy, and a few new additions.”
Lallielle and Grantham must not have even looked away from Josian long enough to notice that there was a second tank. As they shifted their gaze to the other container, a sharp intake of breath was audible from both of them.
“Like the originals,” Grantham muttered.
Walkers were incredibly intelligent; they clicked on to most things in an instant.
“Yes,” Brace said as the Relli princeps reached his side. “We think that Que’s been capturing any free original energy in the star system. His power is muted within the gel, but still, I can tell it’s changed.”
Lallielle lurched forward, her hands landing on the glass barrier that separated her from her mate.
“What about Josian? What’s this tank doing to him?” Her voice rose and broke on the last few words.
Brace reached out and looped his arm around her shoulders, offering comfort. He loved Lallielle, having spent a lot of time with my family when he was pretending to be a First Worlder. “As far as I can tell, Lalli, it’s simply keeping him in a sleep stasis. Energy flows into Que’s tank, but the opposite is happening with Josian’s. His energy is leaving the tank. They’re draining him to keep him from awakening.”
“Draining him!” she cried.
Brace’s arm tightened further, his features darkening. His rage was bubbling up again. Luckily he’d just gotten much of it out of his system. “We’re going to try and free him now, but I don’t want any of the females in the room. In case something goes wrong.” He locked me in the velvet of his eyes. “Including you, Red.”
I sucked in deeply. The urge to fight him on this rose in an instant, but I pushed it down. I just wanted my father freed, and we were wasting time.