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  Sohm’lan grunted in acknowledgment, taking in the minute details of the scene. The table was splattered with blood and a scattering of cream and azure scales. Rathmar.

  The manacles had been freshly drilled into the walls, as evidenced by the mounds of plaster at the baseboards, and blood stained the cuffs. On the floor was a hood that would not only blind Zeus but there was also a pair of noise cancelling ear-wraps. Sohm’lan could imagine how Zeus had struggled. The little one was a fighter through and through.

  Valdor stopped next to him, trembling. Throwing propriety out the window, he threw an arm around his best friend. “We will make those responsible pay. I swear it,” he whispered into Valdor’s earhole.

  “Why did Zeus, or even Rathmar, not trust us? We would have kept their secret,” Valdor rasped.

  Ashari appeared on the other side of him, making it seem as if they were huddling to discuss matters when it was really to give each other comfort without appearing weak to those watching. They were not only parents but leaders, and leaders always kept up an appearance of calm strength, even if they were dying on the inside. Otherwise upstarts would think it a grand idea to challenge for the throne in a time of turmoil.

  “They feared something or someone, and by what I have seen here, I would say that which they feared found them,” she replied, her tone hard.

  “If Zeus is dead—” Sohm’lan choked out.

  “No, my tie to him is not cut. He still lives,” she reassured, rubbing her chest as if her heart ached.

  “Then why has he not come home?” Valdor hissed, keeping his voice down.

  “Because he has been keeping the secret for so long, he is still caught in its web. We will find him, love.”

  Yes, Sohm’lan agreed silently. They would find Zeus and Rathmar. Then Timsah would answer for his crimes.

  Detective Clyp cleared his throat, his expression apologetic. He stood near the cold hearth where several implements sat. Sohm’lan growled and crossed the room, the desire to destroy everything almost overwhelming him when he saw the brands used for cattle and other farm animals.

  “A cursory look at the evidence tells me Prince Zeus and Rathmar were taken by surprise and subdued. The person who did this… it was personal, judging by the destruction of their sleeping chamber. Both were brought here and tortured, but they escaped. Judging by the blood, I would say this scene is three days to a week old. We know they did not go to any of the medical facilities. What about mutual friends?”

  Sohm’lan thought of Whirlwind and for some reason was reluctant to give up the name, but if Whirlwind could help bring Zeus home, then Sohm’lan would give over everything. Unable to stay in the room and inhale the sour sent of Zeus’s pain anymore, he ushered Valdor and Ashari up the stairs and out the door. The fresh air was welcome but did not wash away the horrors he had seen and smelled.

  After Detective Clyp promised to meet Valdor later in the evening following late-meal, Sohm’lan escorted them home. When they arrived at the palace, Valdor clamped down on his elbow and did not release him until they were in Valdor’s private study. All royal appointments had been rescheduled since Zeus had disappeared, and as Sohm’lan watched, Valdor cleared Sohm’lan’s schedule for the next week as well.

  Ashari ordered food brought up, though he did not believe any of them would be able to eat.

  “What do you know of this friend of Zeus’s, Whirlwind? Valdor asked, pouring a glass of the liquor, Blue Ice.

  “Only what I told the detective. It seems he has helped the Chimera with investigations before.”

  A knock came at the door, and thinking it was a servant with their repast, Sohm’lan crossed and slid it open. Rathmar stood in the hallway swaying on his feet, smelling of new and old blood.

  “Please… I need your help,” Rathmar rasped.

  Sohm’lan caught him as he toppled. Valdor was immediately there to help him carry Rathmar to the lounger near the window overlooking the Great Sea. Ashari used her data pad to contact the on-site medtech staff.

  “No!” Rathmar’s voice was weak and raspy as if from a throat wound or… hours of screaming. “Please, my father cannot know I am here. He has my siblings and promised he would hurt them if I sought help. After what he has already done, I know he will make good on his threat. Please, he cannot know where I am.”

  Sohm’lan stepped back and took a good look at Zeus’s best friend and lover. The bull was a wreck, his pheromones reeking of a terror so strong it left a bad taste on the back of Sohm’lan’s tongue. But that did not keep him from tasting the air again and again, collecting the scents the young bull carried on his body that could give Sohm’lan just as much information as the young bull’s words. Rathmar’s azure-colored scales not covered by his robes were dull, almost as if he were a youngling getting ready to molt. His robes under his outer cloak were stained with blood and grime. Sohm’lan was surprised he had not been stopped by the guards, but he suspected that Rathmar had used the same secret route Zeus did when he slipped away from the palace. It was only by chance that Sohm’lan had found the long-forgotten tunnels at the beginning of his search.

  Ashari knelt next to Rathmar, her expression fierce. “I will not allow Timsah to hurt you again. You have grown up with my sons. I will claim you as one of my own if needs be, but you will be safe.”

  “You would not be saying that if you knew what has happened,” Rathmar blinked several times as if to stave off tears.

  “We have been to the nest you and Zeus built,” Valdor rumbled and Rathmar’s eyes went wide.

  “You… You…” Tears spilled, streaming down his cheeks. “It is my fault. I knew how Father felt about Zeus. He only allowed us to be friends because he thought that I could seduce Azaes or Mestor. He has always wanted to be close to the throne. When I was a youngling, I did not understand why he insisted I befriend the princes. But this last summer he began to reveal more and more of his plans. He wants to use me to break the Vondorians’ hold on the throne.” Rathmar scrubbed at his face with his palm. “Ever since Zeus was brought into your family, my father has believed you have become weak, Emperor Valdor. But he is a coward and will not challenge you directly. Instead he sent me to make friends.” There was no mistaking the bitterness in his ragged voice. “I only recently learned he wanted me to be… to spy… wanted me to kill. I panicked and called Zeus. I thought our nest was still unknown, but I was wrong. I stepped into the trap Father set and unintentionally brought Zeus down with me.”

  The medtech arrived, and Rathmar attempted to rise. “No. No one can know.” He looked as if he was about to run.

  “Be at ease,” Ashari soothed. “Our medical staff will not speak of this to anyone.”

  After convincing Rathmar to disrobe, the medtech insisted on taking him to the infirmary. Scales had been torturously removed, the skin underneath branded. There were deep gashes along Rathmar’s buttocks and the back of his legs that needed the scales to be realigned and stitched. Several of his barbs had been clipped, the central bone exposed painfully to the air. The long passages on his back along his spinal ridge that protected his gills had been pried open and filled with sand. Last, but not least, upon Rathmar’s cheek were three slashes. In ancient times that was the mark of a traitor.

  Valdor drew the medtech to the side and spoke in a soft tone. It was obvious she did not like what she was hearing. After a moment, and a quick glance at Rathmar lying on his stomach, she quickly left.

  “She is going to gather some equipment,” Valdor said after seeing Sohm’lan’s questioning glance.

  Ashari stroked the back of Rathmar’s head, the only place not sporting a wound of some kind. “Continue, tell us what happened to you and Zeus,” she crooned, her expression not matching the soft encouragement in her voice.

  “Father and his goons were waiting on the grounds of the cottage and used a tranquilizer on Zeus. He had already been in the house, realizing it was our nest, and he lost control of his anger. He has always been quick-tempe
red, but he never lashed out at me directly, always taking his anger out on someone else. But seeing evidence that Zeus and I were lovers… We had kept our relationship a secret because I knew how Father would react if he realized I was not merely acting like Zeus’s best friend, but really was, and that I was in love with him.” Rathmar grunted and rolled to his side, looking Ashari in the eye. “He hates Zeus. Always has.”

  “Why did you not come forward?” Sohm’lan snarled. How long had Timsah planned to hurt Zeus? He had always been an unpleasant bull to deal with, but what Sohm’lan saw at the cottage spoke of someone highly dangerous and out of control.

  “When he is angry with me, usually he does not touch me but will punish either Creon or Damae in my stead. When I was younger it was something he could pretend was an accident. He once pushed Damae down the stairs, breaking her arm. She was only eight summers old.”

  Creon and Damae were fraternal twins. They were the last young that Timsah’s late mate, Stella, gave birth to. She died several moons later. It was said she took her own life, but now Sohm’lan wondered if Timsah had a hand in her death. Now the twins were… What? Twelve summers old? What else had Timsah done to terrorize his young?

  “We can get you and your siblings out—”

  “How?” Rathmar snarled in a damaged voice that made Sohm’lan wince. “There is no evidence. He has it all planned out. If anyone uncovers what was left behind at the cottage, he will be so sad and scandalized that I was the one who hurt Zeus. He will claim Zeus and I are dirty and twisted, enjoying sado-masochist play. He will say he discovered us in the act. He has an explanation for everything. All the times he has hurt me or my siblings, he explains how the ‘accidents’ happened and people believe him. They have no evidence otherwise.”

  “What of your injuries?” Ashari pressed.

  Rathmar did not answer right away, his mouth pressing into a hard, flat line. “If I come forward about this, he promised he would sorrowfully tell the world how Zeus did this to me. He showed me the holo-vid that he created… it looks as if Zeus… even if someone in holo-vid forensics can prove it is fake, Father would have already muddied Zeus’s name and his integrity. I could not save Zeus from my father’s ill treatment and lies; how can I give Father the opportunity to dirty his name as well? Do you know he told Zeus hideous things about me? And I could do nothing strapped to that damn table, gagged and unable to move. He kept Zeus blindfolded and placed noise blockers over Zeus’s ears so Zeus could not hear me scream.” Rathmar rubbed the three slashes on his cheek.

  “Even I lied to Zeus when I released him, I said… I said terrible things. I suspected Father had men waiting in the trees when Whirlwind arrived. But I knew Zeus would not leave without me. If I had stepped out of the house with Zeus, Father would have killed us both and walked away. I did what I had to, said what I had to, in order to make Zeus leave me. If shattering Zeus’s confidence in me saved his life, I would do it again with no remorse.”

  Rathmar looked up into Valdor’s and then Ashari’s eyes. “I would do anything, absolutely anything to keep Zeus, Creon, and Damae safe. I would betray my house for them. I would be your spy in House Cordyl and topple my father.”

  Sohm’lan needed a harsh drink, and he stepped away to pour himself a bitter tea from Valdor’s private stash. At the beginning, he was not sure he believed Rathmar even though he came to them terribly wounded. It could have been a ruse, a trap for Rathmar to get close to the Imperial family. But he had been close to them for summers through Azaes, Mestor, and Zeus. At any time, he could have come to them with a story that would have prompted Valdor and Ashari to take him in. He could be fabricating the story, knowing that Zeus had not confided in his family. But to what purpose? The truth of the situation would come out if Sohm’lan had to uncover every piece himself. Rathmar would know this.

  “Please Empress Ashari, Emperor Valdor. I do not care what happens to me. Just help me keep my siblings safe from Timsah. I am going to have to do some terrible things to make my father believe I am his tool. It may very well destroy me, but I do not care as long as Creon and Damae are safe. I will do whatever it takes.”

  Sohm’lan took a long sip of the bitterroot tea. His stomach’s roiling settled and the headache forming between his eyes dulled. No, he did not believe Rathmar was lying to them. He glanced over his shoulder as the medtech returned, pulling two carts draped with fabric. With her was a diminutive, barbless Mar’Sani with deep brown scales. Vyx was new to the palace. He had no family and no surname. He worked hard and was polite, having few friends. He was one of the few medtechs that the Vondorians trusted to treat them after a farseeing crash. Not once had he uttered a word or hinted at what he knew about the royal family. Sohm’lan thought the medtech chose her helper well. Vyx would tell no one about Rathmar.

  While the medtech unpacked the equipment, Vyx murmured softly to Rathmar as he cleaned the wounds on Rathmar’s back. He carefully moved Rathmar’s lax barbs around to get to the gaps along the ridge where the barbs had been cut or torn out.

  Sohm’lan blinked down at his hands cupping the empty water glass. He wished he had known about the healing saliva back then. Rathmar ended up with terrible scarring. That was not the first time they had treated severe wounds Timsah inflicted on him. The last five summers had been a living hell for the young bull, but before Sohm’lan left Atlainticia with Mestor and Azaes, Rathmar had gathered the final bit of incriminating evidence that would topple House Cordyl, as well as several other houses aligned with it. He even acquired the evidence of corruption on the Academy’s Board of Directors that Valdor had been searching for since Zeus had been denied entrance. Valdor had Creon and Damae discreetly transported across the continent, and Rathmar was ready to disappear into the desert with his friend Whirlwind. With Timsah now on his way to Valespia, Valdor could bring charges against him and House Cordyl. Timsah would not be able to use his other young as emotional hostages and force Rathmar to do anything else.

  He reached for the carafe of water, noticing for the first time Mestor’s and Azaes’ flummoxed and shocked expressions.

  “Father never said a word about any of this!” Azaes shouted, standing to lean over the table to snarl in Sohm’lan’s face.

  Pressing his lips together, Sohm’lan stared coldly back at his waterson. Azaes glanced away and sat back down. He poured himself another glass of water.

  “Neither did you go to your parents with your findings,” Sohm’lan snapped back. “I was put firmly in the middle, you and your father commanding me to keep your confidence even though I counseled you both to confide in the other. You are fools cut from the same cloth, trying to protect each other, when coming together would have made you stronger.”

  “He wanted to protect us?” Mestor asked softly and Sohm’lan’s ire dissipated.

  “In part. At the beginning, he decided the two of you needed to act as you normally would. Everyone knows how protective you are of Zeus. Neither one of you can act… could act, worth a damn. You were still learning how to keep your emotions and expressions hidden. Then later, Valdor believed it would hurt you too much to know Zeus kept such a secret. He just did not know you two had already uncovered much of it anyway. He was correct, you both took Zeus’s secret poorly.” He looked at Azaes. “Then blamed yourselves for something out of your control.” Azaes quickly looked away.

  “Your father wants to be the one to speak to Zeus about this, so you will hold your tongues.” The twins did not look pleased about that order, but they would not go against their father.

  Suddenly Mestor hiss-clicked, rising from the table and crossing to the door.

  “Mestor!” Sohm’lan barked. “Where do you think you are going?”

  Mestor spun, trembling with barely controlled rage. “I beat Rathmar. He did not even fight back. I thought he did not defend himself because he was guilty of hurting Zeus. All this time I believed I was justified, and now… Father…” Mestor looked at his hands and roared so loud that the Mon
ticore opened the door and rushed in. Mestor pushed his way through them and left.

  “I will go after him,” Sohm’lan told Azaes, rising.

  Azaes only nodded and went to his guard.

  Mestor had not gone far, just down the hall to his own cabin. Sohm’lan entered without asking permission. Mestor was behind his bar, staring at a glass of blue liquid. Sohm’lan did not think, only crossed to him and pulled him into his arms.

  “I do not think I have been this ashamed of myself in summers.” Mestor mumbled into Sohm’lan chest. His hands stroked over Sohm’lan’s back, down to his hips. He was not sure Mestor realized what he was doing. Though it would be prudent to step away, a large part of him was loath to make Mestor stop.

  “That is just one of the many reasons why you should work on controlling your temper.” He rubbed his chin over Mestor’s head, the rasp of their scales soothing... and arousing.

  “All the evidence we had showed Rathmar was involved. The things he said to his friends about Zeus—”

  “Was all a show,” Sohm’lan finished for him. “If the rumors got back to you, then Timsah would hear them as well. That was the plan.” Though Sohm’lan had hated it. Timsah was every bit as crafty as a skilled spy master.

  “And Zeus—” Mestor’s voice broke and he tightened his embrace. Sohm’lan loved the feel of Mestor against him. It took extreme control to keep his tail from swaying with his contentment.