Sebastian turned away from Demeti, his face twisted in disgust. His gaze fell on Nikolai, and he gestured to the controllers. “Take him back,” he said.
Nikolai shook all over as his Bellatis puppeteers dragged him down the tunnel to the side alcove that was his prison.
More Bellatis in human form awaited them, and they bustled around fastening Nikolai into the restraints. They were careful, but it was a pointless endeavor—he shook so hard that as soon as they unhooked his support crew, he collapsed into the straw.
At least it had been cleaned.
With him once again securely chained, two Bellatis freed his head from his chest. Nikolai was so exhausted his chin thumped to the ground. Soon, only a few guards remained, standing along the walls.
They could have left him completely alone, and it wouldn’t have mattered. Nikolai lay in the straw and trembled.
As long as he lived, this madness would continue. Millions would die.
He had to end this. But how? If he stopped eating, they would only force feed him.
He’d sensed its lethality, the way the core hungered to scorch away everything he was, if Galeran got careless and let it go too far. Perhaps if he didn’t fight, it would take him.
Nikolai thought of the seed—and the way his life energy drained away while he poured it into the germination.
Perhaps there was a way to stop it, after all.
39
The meditation cave wasn’t designed for parties.
Not that there was anything jovial about the group that draped themselves over every available surface. Despite the dark circles beneath his eyes, Ash managed to look graceful no matter how he placed himself. Dani rubbed at her temples like she was nursing a headache, but her eyes missed nothing. And Aria managed to make perching on the edge of the cushy chair look like a pornographic invitation.
Lucas sighed. Maybe the last was just his interpretation.
His entire body ached as well as shook, but it wasn’t due to anything that had happened to him. Nikolai was an almost continual presence in Lucas’s mind, now, like a background murmur that he couldn’t squelch.
And what the Morph sensed from him made his blood run cold.
Aria kept giving him rather intense looks—she likely could sense that his energy was off. At least, he hoped that was all it was. He didn’t want her to figure out that he was hooked into Nikolai. It would raise too many other issues.
Like whether they belonged together. He wasn’t prepared to discuss that.
Ash had also met his gaze more than once, and every time the Oracle gleamed from those silver eyes. What had he seen about Nikolai? Or himself? Or them, together?
It would be enough to drive Lucas crazy if he wasn’t firmly planted there already.
He breathed a sigh of relief when scuffling sounds from the ledge announced the latecomers’ arrival. Tyrez had taken Cara back to her home to gather news from the Liberi Elders. The big Dragon’s voice echoed through the cave as he and Cara continued an argument that must have begun on the other side of the gate.
“Pitting Dragons against Bellatis is just going to result in a whole lot of bloodshed. If this guy really believes in preserving life, surely he can’t want that.”
“Your version of preserving life, and Galeran’s, are two different things.” Cara’s voice remained calm as she appeared out of the tunnel.
Dani’s eyes flashed as she glanced at Tyrez. “His version involves killing millions.”
Her telepathic link had obviously ensured she hadn’t missed a beat in the conversation. Maybe there was a reason for her headache. Lucas, on the other hand, required clarification.
“The Elders are sending the Dragons against Galeran?”
Cara entered the kitchen and peered into the teapot. She nodded in satisfaction and brought it to the table in front of the couch, where the cups waited.
“Dragons are the only ones that can resist the life energy manipulation of the Bellatis. The Elders have therefore requested assistance from the Dragon Legion in the apprehension of Galeran.”
Lucas swallowed. “Can they resist Nikolai’s power, too?”
