The Bond and Other Curses || Book Two

CHAPTER 11 - ORION

The second the door closed behind us, more Thet rushed over me, surrounding me until I was cocooned in it. I didn't argue over it. I knew exactly why Tritteon was doing it. I even added my own layer for good measure.

Ahead of us, Cozmin disappeared into a lift without looking back.

A bubble of Thet surrounded both of us and Tritteon spun on me so fast I jumped and stumbled into the wall.

He stabilized me, his eyes wide as he took in every, bloody inch of me. "What the hell happened? Why—why would you let her do this?"

I batted his hands away, moving my jaw as little as possible. The fiery poison spreading through it, on top of the horrible burning spreading through my arm and shoulder, was getting worse. "I didn't have a choice, asshole. You compelled me to leave her alone. I couldn't fight back."

He shook his head. "But I don't..." His eyes shuttered as the realization hit him. He swore.

"Cozmin knows, doesn't she?" I hissed.

Tritteon nodded, his jaw set, waves of panic coursing through him.

"Did Conic smell it?"

He nodded again, squeezing his eyes shut. "Yes."

"Did he know what it was?"

"He will. Your blood is all over that room."

"Should we go back?"

"And do what? The damage is done."

I blew out a slow, shuddering breath. "I could...I could burn it away."

"It's too late for that. Besides, we need to get you back quickly."

I tried to shove down my own panic. Two people knew now. What were we going to do? I couldn't help but think if Tritteon had a real handle on his Vek, he could probably compel them to forget.

I flinched at the thought, at the extent of my own fear.

"If Cozmin knows," Lexicon said, "wouldn't that mean she knows what it is he really did?"

My own personal panic was instantly erased by a leap of...was that hope? Excitement? A little sick-to-my-stomach uneasiness?

I repeated Lexicon's question to Tritteon.

He didn't respond. He fixed his gaze straight ahead and took off at a fast walk toward the lifts, all emotion leaving his face. But his color didn't return, and his panic escalated.

"You know I can feel you, right?" I muttered. "You can't robot me."

He gave nothing but his raw emotions away. I wished I was better at interpreting them. But they were a swirling jumble of complexity. And I didn't seem to have much of a Vek instinct.

One security guard stood in front of the lifts. When Tritteon motioned to him, the guard activated the nearest one and we followed him inside it.

"Where is—" I started to ask.

"Waiting for us," he said as the lift dropped.

I looked him up and down, still in that black, scaled, bodysuit, his feet still covered in those blue-black scales, glistening talons protruding from each toe, two digging into the marble floor from each heel. "What about your clothes?"

"Aeryn grabbed them."

His words were so clipped and final I closed my mouth. Clearly, he didn't want anything else said while we were here. At least, not while we had a security guard at our back.

We stood in silence the rest of the way down, and even when we exited and followed the guard through the VIP gate to where the sleek, black vehicle waited, Tritteon refused to say a word.