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Harth gaped at Tarkyn’s back-why had he told them? ‘I shared that with you so we could understand each other,’ she hissed through the bond, ‘so you wouldn’t come to our bond in ignorance. Why would you-‘

But Elreth’s face suddenly got very tight. “Is that... is that what’s happening for you, Tarkyn? Is that why you can feel her this way?”

Tarkyn sucked in a breath. He glanced back at Harth who was trying hard not to show her anger. His eyes pleaded with her to understand before he looked back to his Queen. “I don’t know,” he said simply. “But it’s possible. So I’m asking you to keep this in mind for both of us.”

Everyone shifted on their feet and glanced at each other. Harth’s heart sank, even in her anger, she wanted Tarkyn to succeed. Wanted him to convince these people. But it seemed like for every step forward they took, there was just another back.

But Tarkyn hadn’t wavered. He held the Queen’s gaze. “If you want any chance at peace... if there is any possibility that these people are allies, do not remove the male. You will remove the Pair-and I can’t see any loyal people taking that lightly, can you? And with that in mind, I think... I think we can all understand my mate’s defensiveness on their behalf, can’t we?”

“If it’s real,” Elreth said.

Harth rolled her eyes, but Gar stepped forward, pausing before he was two strides away, then asking her very gently. “Can I please scent you for truth again?” He glanced down at Tarkyn. “I won’t touch you. But I will need to get close.”

Harth tensed, and she saw Tarkyn shudder, but she raised her chin, then nodded.

.....

Elreth looked at her brother like she didn’t appreciate her hand being pressed, but when Gar stepped to Harth’s side, Elreth didn’t waste time.

“This bond you’re describing that links pairs in this way... is it true? Have you hidden anything about it?”

Harth’s jaw clenched. “No, I shared that with my mate in confidence,” she seethed. “But it is true. If you kill either of them, the other will die. And on some level this is true of all Chimeran mates.”

She heard the massive male inhale near her hair and her skin prickled in fear. She had to close her eyes, but she could feel Tarkyn watching her, so she breathed deeply and made herself stand for it.

Then Gar leaned away. “She believes it. It’s real to her.”

Elreth stared at her thoughtfully while the others all waited to see what she would say.

Tarkyn looked at her from his kneeling position, his eyes pleading. But Elreth only gestured to her mate who was watching her closely, then strode to a dusty corner of the room and turned to speak to him below the level of hearing.

As soon as she moved, Tarkyn returned to his feet and hurried back to Harth’s side. She sank into his side gratefully, but her stomach still twisting with anger that he’d revealed such a powerful secret.

‘I’m sorry, Harth,’ he sent through the link, his eyes still fixed on the Queen in the corner, speaking with her hands and her mate’s face tight. ‘She needed to know the consequences of the decision if she chose to remove him. I knew that would be on her list of possible solutions. She needed to know.’

‘But now they know my people’s vulnerabilities-they know ours!’

‘That’s exactly why I told her,’ Tarkyn said, a thread of steely determination in his tone. ‘It was very unlikely that they’d decide to remove you now that our scents entwine-they know that means this bond is real. But just in case... it also makes you safer, Harth. They won’t remove you knowing how it might affect me.’

He looked down at her then, his eyes clouded, but the sun broke out in his gaze when she looked up.

‘She is... very stubborn. She didn’t want to believe me.’

‘She’s afraid to believe you,’ Tarkyn returned, his lips thinning. ‘She can be very hot-headed when she’s angry or afraid. But her heart is soft. I’ll speak to her about hearing your story-the story of all the Chimera. She’ll better understand then. The fact that she’s talking to her mate now is a good sign. Once she stops being angry and starts to think, she leans into humility. This will get better, Harth.’

Harth wasn’t so sure, but she hoped he was right. The woman still looked fierce to Harth, the room still pungent with the scent of her unease.

But then, Elreth sighed and strode back to join the group that was watching her. “We’ve left them all overnight. Things should have calmed. The warrior is already healing. I’m going to speak to Sasha-their leader. I know she desires peace, but I do not see how she can control males like her mate if... in any case, I’ll see if we can negotiate some kind of understanding that will allow us all some sort of... freedom.”

Then she looked at Harth.

Then her eyes snapped to Tarkyn. “I’m going to need the advice and strategy... the understanding of my Captain and War Chief to figure out how we can do this safely.”

“I’ll do anything,” Tarkyn said, nodding, and Harth could feel his hope.

“Anything?” Elreth challenged him.

Tarkyn nodded. “Anything.”

Elreth folded her arms, and even though she didn’t look towards Harth, Harth felt it suddenly, the understanding of what she might-

“I need to talk to the Chimeran Alphas and try to gain some grasp of their goals. I am asking you to be patient for what I hope will be only one more day. I need to keep your mate contained and unable to hear what’s said during these discussions so that I can test their honesty, and hers, when I speak with her afterwards.”

Tarkyn froze, his arm around Harth pulling her tighter against him.

“What do you mean, El?” he growled.

Aaryn, the Queen’s mate sighed. Harth couldn’t tell if the darkness in his expression was for his mate or Tarkyn since he looked back and forth between them.

“I need some kind of... double-check, Tark. You have to see that. If I speak with her leaders then come back to her, she can confirm details. It makes us clearer on both parties. Until we know what’s going on, it’s a safety check.”

“You said ‘contained.’ What do you mean?”

“While you’re with me and the others, I need to keep her under guard.”

Harth sucked in a breath and Tarkyn trembled. “You’d put her back in prison-do you understand what she’s been through, El? What her people have been through-”

“And do you understand that no matter what people have been through, I can only judge them on how they conduct themselves around me and my people?” Elreth said, her voice tight with disapproval.

“She has submitted to your-!”

“She doesn’t submit! She follows you-and that’s a point in her favor. I’m not suggesting we keep her imprisoned for days, Tark. I’m asking you to let me keep her... not free until I’ve spoken with Sasha. And perhaps at the end of that we can all relax a little bit more. Including Harth.”

“Would you submit to a cage, El?” Tarkyn said, all sign of his submission gone. Harth could feel him quivering, his muscles tense and ready to leap. She put a hand on his belly, gripping his shirt, her heart sinking, her fear climbing up her throat-

“I’m not suggesting a cage. I’d be happy with... house arrest. At your tree. But let me be clear: She can’t be given any chance to interact or attack or learn about our people-and if you give me that, you have my word, Tarkyn, that she will not be harmed unless she harms someone else. If she remains quiet and patient, she will be perfectly safe.”

Tarkyn blew out a breath, then turned to look at Harth, his face tortured.