Hotbloods 5: Traitors

“All because of that idiot,” he muttered, glaring at the cottage.

“Forget about Sarrask,” I urged, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you about. My climpet stopped flashing, and I… was wondering why? I thought you might have lost it in the landmine incident, but I don’t think you did, and it’s got me all worried.” It had occurred to me that the light might have gone out because Navan’s love for me had faded. That’s what the seller said could happen. Even though Navan had been so happy to see me, I couldn’t help fearing the worst. What if absence hadn’t made the heart grow fonder?

He stopped in his tracks and turned me toward him, his hands slipping to my waist as he pulled me in. “Our climpets didn’t stop flashing because of anything that had to do with you,” he said. “My feelings haven’t changed, and they never will. I love you more than ever, and that love only grows as each day passes. I don’t need a climpet to swear that to you.”

I glanced up at him shyly. “Then what happened to it?”

“A fleet of Gianne’s bombers broke through the barrier and attacked Nessun. Brisha’s defenders chased them away quick enough, but not before they bombarded the big solar modules that provide all of the city’s power,” he explained. “They used electromagnetic pulsar bombs, dropping them everywhere. They took out all the power, even the temporary generators we dragged out of storage for backup in case something stopped the solar modules. Anyway, I was standing too close to one of the electromagnetic pulses that went off after a bomb dropped, and it fried my climpet. I was lucky not to get electrocuted by it, but it only made a small spark.”

I gasped. “Did you get the power back?”

“No, Nessun has been without power since then. It’s caused all sorts of problems. It’s why the production of wing-serum got halted, because nobody had any power to make anything,” he replied grimly. “They managed to get the ships and weapons back online using a couple of nuclear cells they had hidden in the hangars. I guess, in times like this, war machines take precedence over alchemical progress, communications, and civilian needs.”

“Speaking of which, what happened to your comm device? Mort said he tried reconnecting with you, after he got in touch, but he couldn’t get through,” I said, trying not to worry about the shifter’s current location. Even now, I was struggling to trust that he’d managed to get Lorela the care she needed and hadn’t just run off at the first sign of real trouble. Then again, he had come back to tell me everything, even though he could have abandoned ship.

“Ah, the weird guy who called me up out of the blue, claiming to know you?”

“Yeah, the shifter who was masquerading as your mother’s doctor,” I replied, jogging his memory. After all, I’d just bombarded him with a whole load of information. “He’s the one I asked to get in contact with you. You’d been gone for so long, with no word, and I was starting to freak out that something really bad had happened to you.”

“I told him I was fine, then switched my device off in case he was an undercover spy trying to trace my position,” he explained, pausing. “Wait, he was a shifter?”

“Yeah, I told you that. He’s been pretending to be Doctor Ulani.”

Navan frowned. “Never trust a shifter.”

“You and Ronad are exactly the same.” I chuckled, rolling my eyes. “This shifter is the one we forced into taking us to the rebel base, back on Earth. And, while he seems like a reformed guy now, I’m well aware that I need to take everything he says with a grain of salt. Which I have been doing.”

“The one from Earth?” Navan sounded surprised. “How did he get all the way out here?”

“A mission for Orion, but he decided not to go back to the rebel life. Orion killed a friend of his, and he didn’t want to work for the rebels anymore,” I summarized. Navan was about to open his mouth, but I stopped him. “I know it might all be lies, but Mort could be a great ally, and, frankly, we need all the help we can get. So far, he’s proven himself worthy, and until he does something to make me think otherwise, I say we use his assistance while we can.”

Navan sighed as we started to walk again. “I haven’t exactly had much luck on the ally front,” he admitted. “I’ve been trying to contact the Titans, but every attempt has failed. Who knew those giant bastards could be so hard to pin down?” A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, making him look even more handsome. It made it all the more difficult to say what I had to say next.

Steeling myself, I looked out across the water, watching the ghostly twist and turn of the fish that swam beneath the surface. I focused on one, following its trail as it curved in a figure eight. I let the steady movements ease my racing mind, helping me settle on the words I needed to get out.

“There’s one other thing, Navan,” I began, taking a deep breath. “I tried to tell you over the video call we had, but we got cut off before I could say much.”

“I remember,” Navan replied. “Was it something important?”

I almost burst into tears right there and then, but I held on to my sanity. “Queen Gianne is prepared to uphold her promise, to pardon you and allow you to return to the South without any consequences for your actions,” I began. “But there’s one big caveat to you staying here without being punished for defecting.”

Navan chuckled to himself. “Do you think I care about a pardon? She can shove it up her—”

I cut him off sharply. “Navan, you need to listen to me. You might not care about the pardon, but there’s more to it than that. There’s something else you have to do—something you really have to do.” My breath was coming in short, painful gasps, my heart racing. “You need to marry her!” I blurted out, unable to bottle it up anymore.

Navan looked at me, utterly confused. “Who, Gianne?”

I shook my head vigorously, pressing my hand to my chest as I struggled to get my breath back. It felt like the world was closing in on me, but I knew I couldn’t give up. Seraphina needed me to do this.

Understanding dawned on Navan’s face. “You mean Seraphina, don’t you?”

“You need to marry her,” I rasped.

“No way, Riley. I’m not marrying her,” he shot back. “There’s only one person in this entire universe that I could ever see myself marrying, and it isn’t her. I won’t do it.”

His words touched me, making me want to pull him into my arms and never let go. The feeling was mutual, but that didn’t matter anymore. This was about more than the selfish tug of my own desires. My heart could survive a battering, if I had to watch them wed, but I didn’t think Seraphina could survive a marriage to Aurelius.

“You don’t understand. This isn’t about us, and it isn’t about love. This is about helping someone we both care about. This is about helping a friend,” I said firmly, holding his face in my hands and gazing into his eyes. It was the only thing holding me together. “Seraphina is in danger, and the only way to get her out of that is a marriage to you. You see, if you don’t marry her, then she will be forced to marry Aurelius instead.”

“I won’t do it, Riley. I love you. I won’t betray what we have by marrying another woman!”

I gripped him harder. “He will kill her, Navan. It won’t be quick, and it won’t be painless. He will drag her suffering out over as many years as he can, until he pushes her to the very edge of what she can stand,” I whispered, my voice raw. “I saw the way he was with her. He said he wanted her to resist him, so it would make it all the sweeter when he conquered her. I saw how frightened she was by him. You should see her, Navan—she looks so ill.”