Kael doesn’t move. He’s still holding Aelith back. But his eyes are on me.
Not Dawson.
Me.
The fit continues, violent and relentless, and I bite the inside of my cheek hard to keep my own panic at bay. Seconds stretch unbearably long. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stops.
Dawson slumps, his chest rising and falling in uneven, gasping breaths. But he’s breathing.
A heavy silence falls over the room. Everyone is looking at me, waiting for an explanation.
But fuck if I have one.
Aeroth crouches beside me, clicking something in her native language. Her brow is furrowed in frustration, her fingers trembling as she presses them to Dawson’s pulse.
“He’s breathing,” Varek translates for her. “But this—this is not right.”
No shit.
Aeroth is good. That much I know. She’s patched up injuries, healed wounds I was sure would be fatal. But humans? That’s different. And it’s clear as she frowns down at Dawson’s slack features that she’s flying blind.
“I—” My mouth opens, then shuts. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I don’t know what caused this, and I don’t know how to fix it.
But I know someone who might.
The reluctant thought settles, heavy and certain. “There’s a human,” I say, my voice measured. “A doctor. A surgeon. She passed through here a while back.”
Varek’s expression sharpens. “Iris.”
I nod. “She bonded with one of the—” I hesitate, trying to find the right word. “—less friendly species.”
Aelith exhales sharply, the tension in his frame shifting. “Where?”
“I know where they were heading. Her mate’s territory.”
Varek mutters a low curse under his breath. He already knows the problem. The species she bonded to doesn’t play well with others. They’re isolated for a reason. And if anyone else goes after them? They’ll be killed on sight. No hesitation. No mercy.
“I’m the only one who might stand a chance at getting through to him,” I finish. “Iris liked me. He almost tolerated me.” The weight of that admission settles over the room.
Varek exhales, rubbing a hand down his face. “Sonny, you can’t?—”
“There’s no other choice. Dawson needs help. We don’t have the knowledge or resources here, but she might.”
Aelith’s sharp inhale draws my attention. He’s calmer now, his earlier panic settled into something colder, more dangerous. “You’re not going alone.”
I don’t have time to argue before he turns his attention to Kael.
“You’ll escort him.”
Kael straightens, his expression unreadable. There’s the barest hesitation. The flicker of something I can’t place in his gaze. Then he nods. “Understood,” he says in Glowranthian.
And just like that, my fate is sealed, and I’m left wishing I hadn’t been so eager to push myself and keep doing things forthe greater good of the group. Why couldn’t I have continued being a selfish prick?
CHAPTER
FIVE
I have an hour.
