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“A bloody shame,” he said.

For a moment, they just stood there staring at each other. Then he kissed her again. This time, there was something less urgent about it. In fact, if Sophia didn’t know the Mercesti better, she would have called it tender.

When they parted, Zachariah reached up and framed Tate’s face with his hands. He rubbed a thumb across her cheek.

“I do not like it when you cry,” he said in a quiet voice.

Sophia blinked. She felt like she was watching a stranger interact with her cousin.

“I know,” Tate said just as softly. “I’m sorry, Sparky. But I’ve hurt Sophia.”

Cursing the sharp vision that allowed her to see the tears that filled her cousin’s eyes, Sophia debated whether or not to shift so that she could run up to Tate and apologize for being so stupid. If it hadn’t meant being naked in front of Zachariah—and admitting that she had been watching them this entire time—she would have.

“She will forgive you,” he said, wiping away Tate’s tears as they fell. “Unlike you, who appreciates spontaneity and reacts quickly to change, your cousin requires time to process things.”

Sophia realized in that moment how much she had misjudged Zachariah. As open-minded as she considered herself, she knew that she had lumped him in with every other Mercesti she had ever heard about. It had been easy to believe that he didn’t have feelings himself or insight into the feelings of others since he never showed them. She should have known that Tate, who saw through any lie, wouldn’t willingly pair herself with someone who didn’t care about her or others.

The realization had her questioning herself and other conclusions she had drawn.

“Just because I know Sophia will forgive me doesn’t make me feel any less guilty,” Tate said, her arms encircling his waist as he continued to wipe her cheeks. “She’s like a sister to me. I love her and Quincy. I just want them to be happy.”

Sophia wondered if it was possible to spontaneously shift into a troll just because she felt like one.

“It’s hard, you know? Being able to tell when someone’s lying.”

“I know,” he said. He pulled her close, pressing her against him with her head tucked under his chin. “On the other hand, it did allow you to see through me.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I wonder what you look like with red eyes and no Gloresti markings.”

So, Tate saw Zachariah as the Gloresti commander he had once been, Sophia realized. That sure explained a lot. It also told her a great deal about the ornery Mercesti’s true character.

“What you see is the only me worth seeing,” he said.

Tate pulled back. She reached up to touch the side of his face. “I love you, Sparky,” she said.

Even in her eagle form, Sophia felt her breath catch at the words. She thought of Quincy and how he had said just that to her before she left. She also considered the fact that she hadn’t even told him goodbye.

“Do you think the time will ever come when you can say the same to me?” Tate asked.

Her cousin’s softly-spoken question made Sophia realize that she and Zachariah actually had something in common. They both had wonderful beings in their lives who loved them and they were too stupid or stubborn to let them know how they felt in return.

Nakedness be damned, she decided. She had to shift back and tell Zachariah that he was being a prize idiot, just like she was.

Suddenly, he shoved Tate from him with such force that she flew with a squeak over a nearby hedge of shrubs. A series of unladylike curses ensued. Anger on behalf of her cousin had Sophia changing her mind and her strategy. If Zachariah was so opposed to reciprocating her cousin’s feelings that he felt it necessary to manhandle her, well, she would show him a thing or two while in her panther form.

“Tate?”

Ariana’s voice stopped both Tate’s complaining and Sophia’s internal tirade. Zachariah had obviously heard the approach of the female and had tossed Tate from him to try and keep their relationship a secret.

“She needed a few moments of privacy,” Zachariah said in his cool voice as Ariana got within sight of him.

The Lekwuesti eyed Zachariah warily. Moving in a large circle, she made her way around the tree where Sophia lay and headed toward the group of bushes hiding Tate.

“That isn’t what it sounded like to me,” Ariana said, not removing her gaze from him until she got behind the bush. “Tate, are you all right?” she asked when she had disappeared from Sophia’s range of sight. “I heard you shouting.”

Zachariah stiffened. Sophia figured he had just realized that Ariana was going to question what she had seen and heard. Then Knorbis approached.

“Hello, Zachariah,” the elder said as Tate and Ariana chatted behind the bush. His voice sounded more commanding than cordial, Sophia realized in growing bewilderment. His eyes started glowing dark purple. “You will let me pass now.”

There was a moment when Zachariah’s posture eased and Sophia thought he might do just that. Instead, the Mercesti shook his head as though to clear it.

“I was afraid of that,” Knorbis said, even as Zachariah cursed and reached for the tomahawk he kept harnessed near the small of his back.

Sophia froze in numb bafflement as the Wymzesti elder slapped Zachariah on the upper arm. The Mercesti crumpled like a felled tree. Then Knorbis walked behind the bush that hid Tate and Ariana.

Sophia heard him say, “You will both come with me.”

She watched as her cousin and Ariana walked from behind the bush and followed the Wymzesti elder toward the edge of the forest. Knowing that something was very wrong, Sophia shifted back to an orangutan to shuffle quickly down the tree. Then she shifted into her panther form so she could follow them as stealthily as possible.

Maybe the elder was merely testing their defenses at Uriel’s request, she thought. There was no way that the good-hearted male she considered something of an uncle would ever do them harm.

Her opinion quickly changed when Knorbis somehow induced sleep on the Waresti warriors keeping guard at the edge of the forest. She watched as the elder said something to Ariana and Tate and gave them each something that they promptly drank. The elder then took flight, the two females doing the same without a single word of complaint or question.

Well, Sophia could certainly question things. That was what she did. The results she came up with now defied all logic.

After a brief moment in which she considered running back to camp to sound the alarm, she concluded that she had to follow them now or risk losing sight of them forever. Despite the fact that she was already beyond tired, she shifted back into her harpy eagle form so that she could fly without detection in the dark.

Then she took flight after them.

“My eyes must be deceiving me.”

Bertram didn’t reply to Tycho’s comment, but he felt much the same way. The Wymzesti elder had just walked up behind three Waresti guarding the perimeter and did something that had all three males sinking to the ground. Even more astonishing than that was when he walked completely out of the forest followed by the two females they sought. He said something to the females that Bertram couldn’t hear from their distance and then handed each of them something. Whatever it was, the females brought it to their lips and tilted their heads back as if drinking.

A moment later, they took flight.

“We have to follow them,” Tycho said. “We can definitely overpower one male.”

“That is the Wymzesti elder,” Bertram pointed out. “If he sees us coming, he will get inside our heads. He could order us to kill each other and we would do it without stopping to wonder why. We have to remain far enough from them that he doesn’t see our wings against the night sky.”

Why was the Wymzesti elder taking the two females away from the others? Was this some kind of trap?

“They sure are moving fast,” Tycho observed.

A bird took flight from the forest, startling them. Bertram’s mind raced as he considered the possibilities. This was all very strange. He understood why Tycho was so eager to take advantage of the situation, but rushing into something that made no sense could well get them killed.

Then a thought hit him. They had first started tracking the elder from Kanika’s home. What if he was headed back there now?

He thought back to the conversation he had overheard between Eirik and the female he called Metis while he and Tycho waited in the woods surrounding Kanika’s home. She indicated that she had initiated a plan to bring the females to Eirik. That plan must somehow involve the powerful elder, he decided, his respect for the odd creature raising a notch.

“All right,” he said. “We should go now before the Waresti follow. I will take the east flank. We will follow the pattern we used earlier while evading the Waresti and that damned black beast. I will work on developing a plan to get the females away from the elder.

“If we want the prize for ourselves, they cannot reach Metis and Eirik.”

Tiege paced beside the fire. He and Ariana had eaten together, but just when he started to talk to her about how she was feeling, she mentioned that she wanted to speak with Tate. Although he offered to walk with her into the forest where his sister and Zachariah had gone, she declined, indicating that she wanted their conversation to be private.

The idea of her walking alone into the darkening woods didn’t sit right with him, but he could see this was important to her. He considered following her at a safe distance as she hurried off. He could always use his second power to disguise himself as a forest creature, he thought.

“Believe me when I say that you will never live it down if you go against her wishes,” Knorbis said as Tiege edged toward the forest where Ariana disappeared.

Frowning because he knew the elder was right, Tiege weighed the options.

“Perhaps I can be of assistance,” Knorbis offered. “I’ll follow Ariana. If she sees me, I’ll pretend I was just out for a stroll.”

It was certainly better than nothing. Tiege nodded in appreciation and the elder headed into the forest just behind Ariana.

But that had been more than ten minutes ago. Possibly even close to twenty. While he didn’t know what Ariana wanted to discuss with Tate, he saw no reason why it would take this long.

He considered Knorbis’ advice. The elder had been married for a number of years and probably knew what he was talking about. Tiege’s goal was to have Ariana fall in love with him, not get angry with him for failing to give her time and space when she needed it.

Torn, he approached Uriel. He had to wait for a couple of minutes before the elder was done speaking to some of his warriors. In that time, Tiege’s concern escalated.

“What is it, Tiege?” Uriel asked at last.

Suddenly feeling like an idiot, Tiege considered keeping quiet. His clamoring intuition wouldn’t allow him to, though. “Would you please connect with
archigos
Knorbis and make sure Ariana is okay? They’ve been gone a while.”

If the elder thought the request was dumb, he didn’t say so. After a moment, however, he frowned. Tiege’s heart sank.

“
Archigos
,” said a Waresti from the edge of the clearing, “Jason, Timothy and Duncan have not reported in.”

Uriel glanced at Tiege, who didn’t even wait to be asked which direction to go. He turned and ran into the forest where Ariana and Knorbis had disappeared. Although the path wasn’t straight or easy to follow thanks to the thick trees, Tiege found their trail with the aid of a ball of light.

He also found Zachariah.

Nyx stood beside the Mercesti’s prone form. The huge creature was very protective of Zachariah, and watched them carefully with her diamond eyes as they approached. Uriel instructed the Waresti beside him to go and check on the missing guards.

Then he held up his hands. “I will help him if I can,” the elder said to Nyx, moving slowly toward Zachariah.

The kragen remained still, but watchful. Uriel knelt with Tiege beside Zachariah and felt for a pulse. “He lives,” he said. He lifted Zachariah’s eyelid, studying his pupils. Then he plucked a small barb from the Mercesti’s upper arm. “He’s been given something to render him unconscious. It must have been very fast-acting, as he didn’t even get to his weapon.”

Fear lanced through Tiege. He was torn between staying to see if there was anything he could do for Zachariah and thrashing through the forest like a demented being to find Tate and Ariana. He scanned the area for any clue as to what happened and was relieved he didn’t see any blood.

“I believe this was a dose of somnuliam,” Uriel said after sniffing the barb. “I haven’t seen the plant in many centuries, but Knorbis would know where to find it.”

Tiege barely grasped what the Waresti elder was saying. “
Archigos
Knorbis poisoned Zachariah?”

“I don’t want to assume anything,” Uriel replied, flagging one of the Waresti who had remained behind. “Find Panakeia,” he instructed. “Have her bring me one of her elixirs.”

“Yes, sir.”

Unable to think clearly, Tiege started walking and looking around to see if he might find evidence that Ariana and Tate were still in the area. Alarm and panic spiraled as he walked around Uriel and Zachariah in widening circles until he could no longer absorb the details around him or make any sense of them.

One of the Waresti soldiers returned and reported, “Jason, Timothy and Duncan are all unconscious, sir.”

Uriel issued a curse, making Tiege’s fear spike again. The Waresti elder never lost his composure. Before Tiege could dwell on that, a female Waresti hurried into the clearing from the direction of the campsite. She held a glass bottle with a vibrant green liquid inside it.

“It only takes a drop, sir,” she said, removing the stopper. “Please open his mouth and I will administer it.”

Uriel did as she asked, pulling Zachariah’s lower jaw down. Panakeia leaned forward to carefully pour a drop of her elixir into Zachariah’s open mouth.

“Back away the moment you can,” Uriel warned, making Tiege wonder what he meant.