Coldbloods (Hotbloods #2)

“How about we stop for something to drink?” I suggested, moving toward a series of cafés that were set up around the piazza.

“You won’t be able to drink anything,” he replied morosely.

“Fine, how about we go to the botanical gardens and see some of those twisty fish you like so much?”

“I don’t think they have any,” he said stubbornly.

I rolled my eyes and beckoned to Pandora, who approached us through the throngs of coldbloods. “Pandora, can you please take us to the botanical gardens?”

“Of course, though I don’t think they’re open today,” she replied.

“Is there any way we could still visit them?” I asked sweetly. Normally I wouldn’t have pushed for it, but I needed to thwart Navan’s negativity. I cast a discreet glance in his direction, and she seemed to catch on.

“Umm… All right. I’ll let them know you’re the queen’s guests—it shouldn’t be a problem,” she said, restoring a little bit of my faith in this alien species.

That was something I’d noticed about the coldbloods in Northern Vysanthe in general. They didn’t treat us as pariahs, nor did I have to wear a hood to fit in. I could wander around as I pleased, holding Navan’s hand if I wanted to. Aside from a few odd looks, they let us be, some of them uttering a casual “hello” or a pleasant “good morning”. Indeed, nobody seemed frightened or morose here. It was a million miles away from Southern Vysanthe, where everyone appeared to be frightened of their own shadow and a smile was a definite no-no.

Here, life seemed to be a little slower, a little happier, a little brighter.

At the botanical gardens, they let us in without needing much coercion, leaving us free to walk around the glass-domed structure and marvel at the bright flora and the creatures that fluttered about the place. As a strange butterfly with see-through wings and an albino body passed my shoulder, I jerked back. Navan caught me before I fell into the fishpond behind me.

“It’s just a butterfly,” he said, a flicker of amusement on his face.

“I thought it might have been one of those… hurty butterflies, or whatever they were called,” I said sheepishly, though I was secretly glad to be back in Navan’s arms.

“Horerczy butterflies,” he corrected, his tone warming. “But no, that is just an Arcan butterfly—they come from the hot springs of our moon, Arcan.”

“Is that why it’s so hot in here?” I asked, feeling flushed. There was a humidity in the air that made it difficult to breathe, like sucking syrup through a straw.

He nodded. “Nothing in here could grow without this heat.”

As we strolled around some more, he kept his arm around my shoulder, my body nestled into his. Tenderly, he placed a kiss on top of my head, and I knew he was on his way to recovery. He couldn’t stay depressed forever.

At the edge of a vast pond, we watched the skeletal fish Navan loved so much twist and turn beneath the water’s surface, and his expression grew wistful. Here, he turned and lifted my chin, pressing his lips to mine. He kissed me slowly, his hands trailing through my hair before resting at the sides of my face.

“I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk,” he whispered, parting our lips.

I brushed my fingers against his cheek. “Don’t be. I get it. I know how hard you’ve worked to keep my species a secret, how much you’ve sacrificed…” He’d even taken lives for the sake of keeping my planet safe. To suddenly learn that all of it might have been in vain was a crushing blow, and it only deepened my affection for him to see how much he cared. He might be a coldblood, but there was a humanity to him that was greater than most humans’ I knew back on Earth.

The emotion welled up in me as I leaned into him again, catching his lips in mine and pulling myself flush against his chest. I kissed him softly, tenderly, wanting him to feel how much he’d come to mean to me, until movement to our right distracted me.

We drew apart to see Pandora passing our way. Instantly, an embarrassed expression crossed her features.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she murmured. “Shall we… um… head back to the palace for lunch?”

I could have stayed in Navan’s arms much longer, but my stomach was growling. Navan and I glanced at each other, and then he nodded, as if he’d read my thoughts. “Yes, let’s head back,” he said, taking my hand.

With a relieved expression on her face, Pandora took the lead, guiding us on the invigorating walk back to the palace.

In the hallway, however, she turned. “Would you mind if I left you to find the dining room on your own? Ask one of the guards if you get lost—there is something urgent I must attend to,” she explained.

“Not a problem,” Navan said.

“Thank you,” she replied solemnly, before disappearing into the belly of the palace, leaving us alone.

Before we could enjoy the solitude, something moved out of the corner of my eye, causing me to whirl around sharply. A masked figure had slipped out from behind a pillar and was making a beeline for us. Navan immediately stepped in front of me, his eyes narrowed.

“Bashrik?” he whispered in disbelief, as the figure came to a halt in front of us.

It shook its head, gesturing to a room three doors along on our right. We glanced uncertainly at each other, but curiosity got the better of us both. We hurried through the door he’d pointed to, into an annex on the other side. The figure locked the door behind itself before turning to us. A moment later, it removed the mask.

It was a lycan. And not just any lycan…

“Galo?!” I gasped, in utter disbelief. How could he be here? The last time I’d seen him he’d been deep in rebel territory, with little hope of escape.

The elderly lycan smiled tightly, an oddly sullen expression in his lime-green eyes. Whereas before his lined face had been bright and relaxed, his gaze twinkling with some untold joke, now it sagged, as if it bore a heavy weight.

“Indeed,” he muttered.

I frowned. This wasn’t the Galo I remembered.

“What are you doing here? How did you find us?” Navan asked, his eyes narrowed and glinting with suspicion.

“It wasn’t difficult,” Galo replied. “I found a way to sneak into Vysanthe’s orbit and simply followed the trail of chaos. As fortune would have it, I picked up Queen Brisha’s transmission to you and improvised from there,” he added, with a shrug.

Navan frowned. “That makes no sense, but even if that were true, what are you doing here? The Fed have no purpose here.”

Galo smiled, a hint of sadness creeping into his eyes. “I bring a message from Orion.” There was a note of remorse in his voice, a flicker of the old Galo shimmering beneath the cold, strange surface.