Coldbloods (Hotbloods #2)

But Queen Brisha spoke again. “I’m not quite finished with you yet, little Kryptonian,” she said, her tone eerily light.

Navan turned, his hand protectively closing around mine. “Your Highness? I was under the impression you had given us your request for proving ourselves.”

Queen Brisha shook her head. “That was your mission, Navan, but I need both of you to prove your worth to me. I have something else in mind for your dear love, but I would speak with her in private about it. It is not for your ears.”

“I would rather not leave her alone, Your Highness,” Navan replied tersely. “I trust you, of course, but if you have something to say, you can say it to both of us.”

“Excuse me?” Queen Brisha rose sharply from her seat, her eyes flashing with annoyance. I imagined nobody ever spoke back to her like that, and I wasn’t about to let Navan get on her bad side. We needed to keep her sweet if we wanted to get out of here alive.

Navan tightened his hold on me. “Either I’m staying, or she is coming with me, Your Highness. I’m not leaving her alone,” he repeated slowly, the unspoken words “with you” hanging in the air.

I had to step in before a fight could start—or Navan ended up on the end of a pike. Turning toward him, I looked him dead in the eyes. “Navan, I will be fine,” I said, trying to sound calm in spite of my pounding heart. The last thing I wanted was to be locked in a room alone with this queen. “If the queen requires me to do a task, then I will do it. If it means we can be together, without living in fear, then it will be worth it. Now, go to the infirmary.”

To say Navan didn’t look pleased would have been an understatement, but I sensed he wasn’t going to argue. Leaning down to drop a chaste kiss on my lips, he pulled me into a tight hug even as his injured arm hung limply by his side. He looked like he was going to say something else as he drew away, but thought better of it.

“Just be careful,” he muttered, before turning and walking out of the room.

“Protective, isn’t he?” Queen Brisha remarked, her tone amused. “Borderline stifling, if you ask me, but I know it’s personal preference. I, myself, can’t stand a partner with a hero complex, but I can see the appeal.”

I was surprised by her casual manner, her former irritation fading as quickly as it had appeared. In its place, her warmth had returned. I sat back down, wrapping myself up in the coat that Pandora had given me, as the flames danced higher in the firepit. I was shivering, though not from the cold.

“Now, let’s get down to business,” the queen said softly.





Chapter Thirty-Three





“What sort of planet is—what was it called again?” Queen Brisha asked, diving straight in. I had a feeling she was trying to catch me in a lie.

“Krypton.”

She nodded. “Yes, what sort of planet is it?”

I shrugged. “It has land and sea, and there are mountains and deserts,” I said, not knowing how much to give away, and how much to keep to myself. Was there a way of figuring out the name and location of a planet just by the description? I hoped not. “My people live in small towns and villages, making a living mostly by farming land and scouring the seas. We’re subsistence farmers and foragers, mainly.” The half-truths poured out of me, my pulse racing.

“And your people, do they all look like you?”

I shrugged again. “More or less. We come in different colors and sizes, but the basic foundations are the same.”

“You are the dominant species?” she pressed.

“I believe so,” I replied, ever conscious of her intense stare upon my face. Somehow, it felt as though she could see right through me, gazing into the privacy of my head.

“Interesting,” she mused.

“It is, Your Highness?”

She smiled. “Oh yes. You see, Riley, I received word from a coldblood named Jethro, not long ago, that he had collected a special blood sample, and was sending it straight to me. He wouldn’t tell me which planet he was on, only that he had found some blood that might prove extremely useful in the immortality elixir research.”

I paled, as realization dawned on me like a pile of bricks. “Wh-Why wouldn’t he tell you where he was, Your Highness?” I asked, desperately hoping I could find a way to wriggle out of this corner she was backing me into.

“For good reason, I suppose,” she replied. “He feared the message might be intercepted by my dear sister, and she might try to go after the pod herself to steal the sample within.”

I began to panic, horrified that she knew about the pod’s existence. I had known about Jethro’s deceit in sending the pod, but I hadn’t known that news had reached Queen Brisha. All this time, she had known it was on its way to her. We had been so convinced we could intercept it without anyone getting their hands on it. But now that hope had been dashed. Now there was nothing to stop her from heading out to retrieve the sample, and putting my blood to her own awful uses.

“You’re surprised?” she noted.

“Just cold, Your Highness,” I managed. I still didn’t know exactly how much she knew, and I wasn’t about to help her out, with my stupid face giving the game away.

She smiled coldly. “I must say, it’s quite the coincidence that Navan happens to be traveling with another species, considering the last time I heard news of him he was traveling with Jethro himself,” she began, twisting the knife. “Don’t you think that’s a strange coincidence that Jethro was traveling with Navan, came across a strange blood sample, and now you’re here, at Navan’s side? Even stranger that nobody can get in contact with Jethro...” A warning flickered in her silver eyes.

“A very strange coincidence, Your Highness,” I whispered, my voice gone.

She gave a tight laugh. “I’m not an idiot, Riley. I know your presence has something to do with this blood sample Jethro was supposed to be sending, and I’m hoping you can tell me why the pod’s tracker stopped beeping several days ago?”