A muscle jumped in the Dragon shifter’s jaw. “I asked Jacques to bring you. But I cannot stay long. Xumi’s network is vast, and I risk much by doing this. If it wasn’t Talakai...”
That got all of our attention. “Do you know where he is?” I demanded.
The metallic eyes narrowed. “Who are you? I asked only for the Watcher.”
Cara stepped closer to Haki. “And I came. But these two are connected to Talakai. And dedicated to finding him.”
Haki assessed first me, and then Matt. Something about the way he held his body reminded me of Talakai. The same kind of controlled lethality.
Matt sensed it too. He moved between not only me and Jacques, but also Haki.
I made the leap. “You were in the Guild with Talakai, weren’t you?”
The stiffening of the Dragon’s body was subtle, but there. “He was my friend. And he is where he is because of me.”
“Where is he?” I demanded.
“He is in the clutches of an underworld Dragona named Xumi,” Haki said.
“Is that the bitch that has his ballocks in a vice?” Matt asked.
The handsome head tilted, and a muscle jumped in Haki’s square jaw. “She had a contract out on him, yes.”
I was having trouble breathing. “So he didn’t have anything to do with taking the twins?”
Haki’s entire face spasmed. “No. He told me about them. But Talakai has always had an internal code of honor, more so than me. His brain told him it was a good idea. But his heart would never let him do it.”
My own twisted. We’d beenrightall along. He’d held true to what he’d written in those books.
Jacques gestured impatiently. “That no longer matters. Xumi held Haki’sâme sourKala as hostage, to force him to betray Talakai. Now it seems she has another target in mind.”
My mind staggered through that. I assumed Kala was Haki’s mate. But the other... “You betrayed Talakai?”
The slightest of tremors ran through Haki. “Xumi kidnapped Kala. Had me meet Talakai and inject him with a toxin that knocked him out.” His voice was hardly more than a hiss. “Xumi is holding him in her fortress. She released Kala but has threatened both of us—she has sent me now to lure another, using Talakai.”
I stared at him in confusion. “She’s trying to lure someone?”
Cara was faster than me. She pinned Jacques with a stare. “Where is Sebastian?”
Jacques shook his shaggy head. “When he came to me, Sebastian told me Xumi might be connected to Talakai’s disappearance. I gave him the location of her primary stronghold.”
Haki’s mouth straightened. “I do not know how your Bellati found out about Xumi, but that is a two-hour flight from the place she has Talakai. Which is good, because it means your friend isn’t where she wants him.”
“So Sebastian is the target?” Cara pressed.
Haki nodded.
“But—why?” I was bewildered. Why would she also be after Sebastian?
Haki shook his head. “I do not know. She has threatened Kala again if I do not bring this information to the Satyr. She wants the Bellati to come for Talakai.” His eyes flashed. “But I saw it as an opportunity to get Talakai help.”
Cara’s eyes narrowed. “You have betrayed her by telling us this.”
Haki visibly swallowed, and his eyes flared wildly. “Yes.”
“He is taking a terrible risk,” Jacques noted. “Xumi is not to be trifled with. She ispuissante.” When I shot him a look, he added, “Powerful,Mademoiselle.”
Matt glowered, and the Satyr took another step away from me.
