Hotbloods 5: Traitors

“With so many other things going on, your father must be frustrated about the progress of the immortality elixir,” I prompted, hoping Kaido wouldn’t let me down. Up until now, he’d been more than forthcoming with his information.

To my surprise, Kaido looked me dead in the eyes, a stern tut sounding from his lips. “You should not ask such dangerous questions, Riley. They will only get you into trouble. I would not wish harm upon you, but if you follow that line of inquiry, the outcome will not be a favorable one. Not for you, anyway.”

“I didn’t mean to ask anything bad,” I insisted. “Are you threatening me?” My voice trembled slightly. I wanted him to think that I was vulnerable, instead of deceitful.

“No, I am not. It is a warning about others who would punish you,” he explained, apparently buying my damsel act. “I can see you are frightened, and I did not mean to scare you. I would simply ask that you do not speak of such things again, as it will only end poorly for you.”

I lifted my hands from the chair’s arms and rubbed my stiff wrists. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” I promised. “I was just curious, that’s all.” I doubted Kaido could sense my lie. He wasn’t stupid, by any means, but he was susceptible to certain visual suggestions—the more obvious, the better. Right now, he was looking at a frightened, sad young woman.

“You should go, Riley,” he insisted. “I will examine the raw readings you have given me and come to you later with my findings. Thank you again for agreeing to assist me. I know you did not have to.”

“It was my pleasure, Kaido. If you need any more tests, let me know. I look forward to seeing what you found,” I said as I got up from the chair. He led me out of the lab, before closing the door behind him, sealing himself into his dark utopia of glowing plants.

I darted into the corridor beyond the small drawing room, where Kaido’s lab was hidden, and paused to stretch out my strained muscles. They had been held in one position for what seemed like hours. I could still feel the pinprick of the node needles in my temples, but at least I could think clearly again.

I was just in the middle of cracking my spine in the most satisfying way when I saw Ronad approaching from the opposite direction. He was walking fast, his expression filled with intense purpose. As he noticed me, he picked up the pace, skidding to a halt beside me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking slightly concerned.

“Just a few knots and aches. Nothing I can’t handle,” I replied with a smile. “What’s up with you?”

“Is Kaido busy?”

I nodded. “He’s got readings to study. I think he’ll be occupied for a while.”

“Good,” Ronad murmured, “because there’s something I need to show you. I think I may have found something useful.”

“You have?” I hissed excitedly.

He grinned. “Come on, we’d better not waste any time. Graphs and charts will only keep that poor dork busy for so long.”

I didn’t like him speaking about Kaido that way, despite the kidnapping. However, I figured there was a lot of history between the two of them I didn’t know about, and I didn’t exactly want to weigh in on it, if I only knew some of the story. Besides, a reprimand could wait—whatever Ronad had to show me couldn’t.

With my heart racing, I followed Ronad down the corridor, praying for good news.





Chapter Three





“Are you making any headway with our strange friend?” Ronad asked as we walked along, stopping at every corner to peer around walls and make sure nobody was watching us, like spies in a comedy.

It was weird—there never seemed to be anyone around this place, except for Kaido and occasionally Jareth, when he returned from a day at Gianne’s beck and call. Ronad visited Lorela now and again to keep her company, but I was never invited along. I got the feeling Lorela didn’t particularly care for me, and neither did Jareth. I was a necessary thorn in his side, one that I sensed he couldn’t wait to get rid of, once he had his son back.

We stopped at the intersection of another set of hallways. “You mean Kaido?”

He nodded. “How’s your bonding coming along?”

“He’s a tricky one to read. Sometimes, I think we’re getting along just fine, and then he says something and I’m back at square one.” I shrugged.

“Yeah, he’s like that,” Ronad said.

“Well, it’s not like he can help it.” I felt suddenly defensive again. “He was born that way. He doesn’t process things the same way we do.”

Ronad arched an eyebrow. “You really think so?”

“I know so. I’ve seen humans like him before. They’re just wired a little differently, that’s all,” I explained. “We might think they’re hard to read, but, to them, we’re even harder to gauge.”

“Guess I never thought of it that way. I always assumed he was deliberately being awkward, to get attention. I doubt it’s easy being one of eleven boys in a house of twelve kids,” he mused. “Anyway, do you think you can convince him to help us?”

I made a doubtful sound. “I’m going to need more time, and that’s something we don’t have. For now, I say we stick with plan A. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to use some of my finest friendship moves and hope they register with him.”

Ronad smiled. “I have to say, I’ve never seen that kid warm to anyone except his mother, but he seems to gravitate toward you. He likes you.”

I pulled a face. “No, he doesn’t!”

“Not like that, I’m sure.” Ronad chuckled. “I just mean, he sees you as friendly territory. You don’t speak to him the way other people do, and I think he responds to that. But you’re probably right—we need to get word to the others fast, and this bonding stuff is anything but fast. Plus, you’ll end up looking like a pincushion if you keep doing those experiments!” He tapped one of the tiny holes in the side of my head, sending a dull ache across my temple.

“Tell me about it.” I grimaced, still feeling a little woozy from whatever Kaido had given me. “So, we’re sneaking out tomorrow then, during the public execution?”

We’d discussed a few ways we might get word to Navan and the others, in the days that had followed since our arrival at the Idrax house, but only one solution had presented itself so far. We knew that Ianthan might have one of the black boxes at his hidden cabin—the kind of black box Navan had once used to transfer sensitive material to Orion. According to Ronad, it was what he and the others—Navan, Bashrik, Jethro, and Ianthan—had used to secretly communicate during their creation of the deep-space tech. Those black boxes were the only way of contacting Brisha’s side without detection.

I wished Navan still had his. His cabin would be way easier to find and break into, especially as Ronad had lived there for a while, but that black box was lost to us. As far as I knew, it was still trapped at Queen Gianne’s palace, in the hands of Navan’s IT buddies, never to see the light of day again.

Ronad nodded. “It might be our only shot.”

“What about Kaido? Won’t he be watching from the lounge, like he did last week?” I wondered. “I’m not being funny, but I think he’d notice if the two of us were suddenly missing.”

A grin spread across Ronad’s face. “Already dealt with. I sent a message to his comm device this morning, demanding his attendance at the execution tomorrow. I made it look very official.”

“Who’s going to look after Lorela?”

“We’ll only be gone a few hours, tops. She’ll be fine until we get back,” Ronad assured me. “Besides, I’ve already offered up my services to Kaido, to take his place as caregiver while he’s out, and he’s agreed. He might love his mother, but he loves his queen a whole lot more.”

I sighed, feeling very nervous all of a sudden. “And you’re sure you know where Ianthan’s cabin is?”

“We used to go there all the time,” Ronad replied confidently. “I mean, I can’t promise it’ll still be there, what with Jethro being a traitor and all, but I’m hopeful.”