Coldbloods (Hotbloods #2)

Navan’s expression shifted, and I could sense he was examining possible loopholes in his mind. “You’ll give me my own ship, then—”

“And I’ll be sending Lazar with you, to oversee matters, and there will be three more of my most trusted coldbloods joining the ranks,” Orion said, with a tight-lipped smile. “Two shapeshifters will also be coming with you, to keep you in check.”

Instantly, Navan shook his head. “None of those pasty little maggots. No way.”

“There will be two shapeshifters coming along, because you will need them when the time comes. You’re not really getting that this isn’t negotiable, are you?” he asked coldly. “You will need the shapeshifters so you can tell Queen Gianne that these are creatures who have joined the rebellion, whom you have convinced to come over to your side.”

“Queen Gianne will kill those shifters the moment she sees them,” Navan bit out. “And I wouldn’t blame her,” he added, bitterness dripping from his words.

At some point, I was going to have to ask to see a book, or something, on the various ins and outs of interplanetary species and why they were so at odds with one another. It wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more clued-in.

“Not if you stop her,” Orion interjected. “Tell her the shifters know important information about other rebels. Plead for their lives in exchange for information about the rebel base, its size, its location.”

Navan’s forehead furrowed in a frown. “She’ll just send a squadron after the base. When she realizes it’s not where these shifters said it was, or where I said it was, I’ll be dead meat.”

“The shifters are coming with you, whether you like it or not. If any issues arise, if you are forced to kill someone of importance, the shifters can take their place. Their presence will make your life a whole lot easier. Do I make myself clear?” Orion said coldly. Navan remained silent as the chief continued. “You will tell Queen Gianne that the rebel planet is lightyears away, in a far-off quadrant of the universe that will take at least a year to reach. You found these individuals at an outpost, closer to Vysanthe, with word that this imagined rebel base is far larger. She will be so focused on finding this place, and nipping the rebellion in the bud, that she won’t see us coming. By the time she realizes her error, we’ll have swarmed upon her like Horerczy butterflies.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Horerczy what?”

“They live in the swamps of our homeland,” Navan muttered. “Vampiric insects that smother their victims and eat them alive, gnawing them down to the bone in seconds—like tiny piranhas with wings.”

I shuddered. Vysanthe really didn’t sound like the friendliest of places.

Orion leaned forward. “While you’re at the queen’s palace, I want you to keep a lookout for any weakness in her queendom—any good spots we might strike from, or find our way into, to make the coup go all the smoother. Do all this, and you can consider yourselves free people. If you desire, we can arrange for rebel transport to return you to Earth, or anywhere else you might want. I hear Caro is nice this time of year.”

“We will owe you nothing for the rest of our lives?” Navan asked.

Orion nodded slowly. “That is correct.”

“I’ll go,” Navan said quietly. “I’ll go without a fight—if you let Riley go back to her family today.”

My heart sank. I looked up at Navan’s face, but he wasn’t returning my gaze. Even though I had known what his answer would be from the start, given what Orion would do otherwise, it didn’t make it any easier. Standing so close to him, I couldn’t help remembering the way those lips had felt upon mine, and how I might never touch them again. Once he left for Vysanthe, he might not return, and I’d never know what happened to him… My body went numb at the thought, though I tried not to let my reaction show on my face.

Orion said nothing, his curious smirk seeming to invite Navan to elaborate.

“She won’t breathe a word of this to anyone,” Navan continued. “Besides, she’ll be no use on a journey like this.”

Orion’s smirk morphed into a malicious grin, and a chill ran down my spine. “Actually, my dear boy, I think she could be of great use indeed.”

The next thing I knew, Orion was a blur, moving like lightning across the room—and something cold pressed against the side of my neck.





Chapter Twelve





Hardly daring to turn, I saw that Orion held a gun in his hand, the barrel nuzzling the fragile flesh at the curve of my throat. I gulped, feeling the cold barrel more intensely.

“No!” Navan roared, but it was too late.

Orion’s finger pulled the trigger. A sharp pain shot up through my neck, bursting through every cell and nerve ending like wildfire, the agony excruciating, making my voice cry out in an incoherent scream. This was it… This was the way I died. It had come out of nowhere; I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad that it had come upon me so suddenly. At least this way, I didn’t have time to agonize over the things I’d never had the chance to do, before the searing pain took over my brain, fogging it over in a mist of pure torture.

Willing my death to be quicker, given the unbearable agony boiling away within me, I was surprised when the fog in my head began to clear, and the pain began to ebb slightly. As it faded, I became aware of strong arms around me, and Navan’s slate eyes looking into mine with such anguish, I thought my heart might break.

“Riley,” he whispered, tilting my chin upward.

“Still here… I think,” I choked out, wanting to kiss the lips that rested so close to mine. After a brief glimpse into the jaws of certain death, I wanted to feel alive again.

The sound of Orion stepping backward distracted me. He was standing a short distance away, evidently eager to put some space between himself and Navan’s furious aura. Even though Orion was likely the stronger man, I knew there was a lot to be said for adrenaline, or whatever the coldblood equivalent was. In his arms, I could feel Navan shaking with what looked like rage and despair.

“What did you do to her?” he spat, almost crushing me against his hard chest. I clung on, regardless. I could catch my breath later.

“I inserted a chip into her neck,” Orion explained calmly. “Riley going on this mission is a necessary part of the bargain, I’m afraid. You’re an unpredictable creature, at best. Did you think I’d send you with a troop of my men, and not have safeguards in place?” A cruel smile twisted up the corners of his lips, his scar twisting with it.

I could feel Navan’s heart thundering in his chest, the vibrations reverberating through my palms, which I had pressed against him. No matter how closely I held him, I could not get him to calm down.