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Tarkyn, who’d been standing just apart from the others talking to the Queen’s brother, hurried towards her when he saw her arrive. His face lost some of its tension when she made it to his side and he pulled her close, kissing her hair as they listened to the Queen’s brother discuss with the guards how they would keep the prison door open to assist with the feeling of more space, but position guards outside it.

While they discussed logistics, Tarkyn touched her mind. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I am,’ she said carefully. She still held some of the hope she’d felt when Suhle encouraged her, but Sasha was standing in this circle as well, and watching her, Harth’s heart chilled.

Sasha’s dark hair was oily and twisted into a bird’s nest of tangles on top of her head. Her skin was pale and she had very dark shadows under her eyes, as if she’d barely slept for days.

Then Harth blinked. ‘Where’s Zan?’

Did Sasha look so wrecked because there was something wrong with her son?

But Tarkyn’s arm tightened around her. ‘He’s fine. He’s with his father. Zev is... struggling. Sasha felt caring for their son might help him stay calm.’

.....

Harth frowned, but before she could respond, the guards nodded, saluted, and trotted away to the positions they’d been given and the Queen turned her piercing attention on Harth and Tarkyn.

“Thank you for coming quickly, Harth,” she said carefully.

Harth nodded. “What do I need to do?”

They all turned to Sasha-don whose face was so pained it made Harth ache.

“I’m not sure,” Sasha said on a sigh. “I don’t know what the best thing is to do. Harth, we want peace, but... I don’t know how Zev will ever believe these people can be trusted. Tarkyn thinks he can connect with Zev on a... fighter’s level. So I wonder if there’s anything you can show him-so he knows it’s a memory-that might help him trust? I can’t get through to him-if I encourage him towards them he thinks I’ve been brainwashed. And then I wonder...” Sasha trailed off, uncomfortable to say this under the eyes of these strangers, but what choice did they have?

Harth could understand the feeling. The thought had crossed her mind more than once. No doubt Sasha was aware. Harth herself had seen what the humans could do with a person-or a Chimeran’s-mind if they were given time.

She’d seen females convinced to mate males they would never have chosen.

She’d seen Chimeran’s go against their natural instincts and support an Alpha, or welcome a human, when if they’d had their right mind they would have fought or run.

And she’d seen Chimeran’s whose minds had been... washed. Not refined. Not added to. But... it was as if memories were stolen from them. She’d seen females who had forgotten families, mates, offspring. And she’d seen humans who’d protested against atrocities, brought to a place where they were willing to commit them themselves.

Harth shuddered and pushed the memories away. That wasn’t what she needed to focus on. It was only what brought the question Sasha had raised to mind.

But she also knew that the people who’d been changed in those ways-either because they’d been hypnotized, or had their minds played with-always had signs of their own unease. Their responses were always just a little off. A little too bright. A little too easy.

An animal’s instincts were always alerted, even if only quietly.

Harth looked at Tarkyn who stared down at her, worried, but hopeful, pleading. She put a hand to his chest, then turned back to her Alpha.

“If my mate is an example of them... then they are trustworthy. Or they can be. I know he can be trusted,” she said simply. She cut her eyes to Elreth with less conviction, who bristled, but Sasha just clasped her hands in front of her.

“See if you can get through to him to believe that they don’t want to harm us. But I’m afraid he’ll never see it until he’s so far away that... that it’s not useful.”

Harth could feel her Alpha’s stress. But there was no point discussing it further. She agreed and with little further discussion, they all turned to walk back into the prison tree, surrounded by guards who were keeping a more comfortable distance. Tarkyn and Aaryn walked alongside their mates, Sasha hurried ahead to get back into the cell with Zev, while the others hung back towards the door as Tarkyn had asked them to do.

Inside, Zev sat with his back to the far wall, holding his son in his lap. But his face was dark. His eyes gave Harth a chill when she met them. When she stepped slightly forward of the others and his eyes met hers, they were alight with something... unhealthy.

Harth swallowed hard.

Sasha hurried to Zev and took back Zan, soothing his father that she was taking him to get fed again, before she was ushered back out of the tree with the healer, which surprised Harth. Since when had the Queen allowed her freedom to move around? But Harth supposed she should be grateful. Sashas would never want to leave her son’s side if she didn’t have to.

She shouldn’t have to. Neither of them should.

Anger simmered in Harth’s chest again. As she scratched at Zev’s mind, she didn’t tamp it down completely-but let him sense it in her.

‘What is it?’ he asked in her mind-his voice sounding cooler and calmer than she would have expected from his expression.

Harth took a deep breath. ‘They brought me here to show you what I know of my mate, and I want to do that, Zev-dan. You should trust him. You can. He’s as good a male as you, or Lhars. His heart is pure and he’s... strong the way you are strong. He seeks to protect, not take.’

Zev gave a little nod, though he didn’t look happy about it.

‘But,’ Harth continued, ‘I want to show you more than that. I want to show you everything I know. You can’t react. And you can’t tell them everything I’m going to show you.’

On the outside, Zev nodded slowly again. But in their minds he sent an image of himself smiling a predator’s smile.

*****

Please accept my apologies: I made an administration error and just discovered that there is no chapter written for tomorrow’s release. (This week I have my mother’s birthday which is really precious because we almost lost her 4 years ago.) I am hosting family functions and won’t be able to write tomorrow, so there won’t be an update. I’m so sorry! I will try to get an extra chapter released for you to make up for it soon! (This message added after publication so you aren’t charged for the words.)