Hardly daring to turn, I saw that Orion held a gun in his hand, the barrel nuzzling the fragile flesh at the curve of my throat. I gulped, feeling the cold barrel more intensely.

“No!” Navan roared, but it was too late.

Orion’s finger pulled the trigger. A sharp pain shot up through my neck, bursting through every cell and nerve ending like wildfire, the agony excruciating, making my voice cry out in an incoherent scream. This was it… This was the way I died. It had come out of nowhere; I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad that it had come upon me so suddenly. At least this way, I didn’t have time to agonize over the things I’d never had the chance to do, before the searing pain took over my brain, fogging it over in a mist of pure torture.

Willing my death to be quicker, given the unbearable agony boiling away within me, I was surprised when the fog in my head began to clear, and the pain began to ebb slightly. As it faded, I became aware of strong arms around me, and Navan’s slate eyes looking into mine with such anguish, I thought my heart might break.

“Riley,” he whispered, tilting my chin upward.

“Still here… I think,” I choked out, wanting to kiss the lips that rested so close to mine. After a brief glimpse into the jaws of certain death, I wanted to feel alive again.

The sound of Orion stepping backward distracted me. He was standing a short distance away, evidently eager to put some space between himself and Navan’s furious aura. Even though Orion was likely the stronger man, I knew there was a lot to be said for adrenaline, or whatever the coldblood equivalent was. In his arms, I could feel Navan shaking with what looked like rage and despair.

“What did you do to her?” he spat, almost crushing me against his hard chest. I clung on, regardless. I could catch my breath later.

“I inserted a chip into her neck,” Orion explained calmly. “Riley going on this mission is a necessary part of the bargain, I’m afraid. You’re an unpredictable creature, at best. Did you think I’d send you with a troop of my men, and not have safeguards in place?” A cruel smile twisted up the corners of his lips, his scar twisting with it.

I could feel Navan’s heart thundering in his chest, the vibrations reverberating through my palms, which I had pressed against him. No matter how closely I held him, I could not get him to calm down.

“I said I would go,” he snarled, his fangs flashing for a moment, reminding me of the first time he’d shown his true self to me. Up close, it really was frightening.

Orion shook his head. “I can’t simply take your word for it, that you will go through with what I ask, and not harm any of my men on the way. This makes matters much easier,” he said, tapping the barrel of the gun he still held in his hand. I didn’t know where he’d been hiding it, or how he’d whipped it out so quickly.

“Take that thing out of her neck, now!” Navan demanded, but I knew there was no point. Orion didn’t seem like the kind of guy who ever went back on his decisions.

“I’m not going to do that, Navan,” Orion said silkily. “You see, if at any point I find out you aren’t toeing the line, or there’s so much as a whiff of betrayal, I will activate the chip, and I will kill Riley. That goes for trying to remove the chip, too, or telling anyone about it,” he added. “It’s not the kind of technology I like to go around boasting about, but it serves its purpose.” An almost remorseful expression crossed the scarred man’s face, but it didn’t make sense to me. Surely a man like this, who was so used to war and bloodshed, could not feel bad about one little, manipulative chip?

“I said I would go,” Navan seethed. “Why do this? Why push me?”

“Because, although you may be too important to kill, given who your father is, Riley is not,” Orion said slowly, giving a casual shrug. “If you slip up, she’ll be the one who suffers, and you will see every second of it on her… delightful face.” He eyed me like a vulture circling, and I felt a shudder run down my spine. Whether it was due to the after-effects of the chip he’d placed in my neck, or the malevolence creeping beneath the surface of his face, I wasn’t sure.

“I would have done it anyway!” Navan shouted. “You must be insane if you think I can just waltz a human into Vysanthe and not have anyone notice. You’re only putting us in more danger!”

Orion smirked. “Let me be straight with you: I don’t trust you, Navan. The Idraxes have never been the most trustworthy of families, and I need to ensure my requirements are being met.”

“I am not my father,” Navan spat, and I could see the venom burning in his eyes. Boy, he really must hate his father, to feel such fury. Not for the first time, I wanted to know more about Jareth and the life Navan had lived on Vysanthe, before taking to the skies. What had pushed him away, so fiercely, from his own people? I knew, to some extent, but there had to be more to it.

Orion shrugged. “Perhaps not, but you have his blood running in your veins. Besides, I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to keep her safe, if you wish her to live. You could always tell Queen Gianne that she’s an unknown specimen you found on your travels, and felt like keeping her as a slave, for your own… needs. From the look of her, nobody would blame you. She looks strong and lively—the perfect pet. We coldbloods take on pets so often, Queen Gianne would barely bat an eyelid.”

I looked at Navan in horror, hardly believing my ears. I knew they took resources from other planets, but to steal beings and use them as slaves? Did they think everyone else so inferior that they could just do that? It pained me to think it, but I knew they probably did. These Vysantheans clearly had some sort of superiority complex.

“She’ll know,” Navan grated out.

Orion shook his head. “She won’t. Nobody would be insane enough to take something, or someone, important into the fray of Vysanthe. It’s the perfect ruse,” he stated, grinning at me like a wolf. “You just have to keep your eye on her, make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble that could blow everything wide open. Which, if you know what’s good for you—and her, for that matter—you will do.”

For a long moment, nobody said anything. There was too much going on in the room, and my head was spinning. The pain in my neck had ebbed, but shots still fired up my nerves every few minutes, startling me. Each time, I felt Navan’s strong hand around my waist, gripping me tight.

“Is there anything else?” Navan said, at last, his tone bordering on defeated.

“I don’t think so,” Orion replied coolly. I wanted to smack that stupid, superior look off his stupid, superior face.

“Then may we go?”

Orion nodded. “I’ve had a nicer room prepared for you,” he said, suspiciously kindly.

As we turned to go, Navan’s hand steering me toward the door, I heard Orion’s voice calling us back.

“Oh, there is one more thing,” he noted.

Before either Navan or I could speak, I felt a jolt of electricity spasm through my body, ricocheting through every muscle and sinew, feeling as though it was snapping each one as it coursed through me. I caught a glimpse of Orion’s hand, pressing a button, but then my eyes filled with black spots, my knees buckling as I crumpled to the ground.

The pain and lack of control lasted only a few minutes, but it was enough to see that Orion was serious. His point was well and truly made. Putting his arms around me, Navan helped me back onto my feet, though they were wobbly to say the least. Propping me up, he glowered in Orion’s direction, but the chief merely gave a cold, amused smile.

“That is just the beginning of what this device can do,” he said, “so I urge you not to try me.”

Turning to Navan, I felt my insides twist. I knew Orion wasn’t bluffing. If that was only a taste of what the chip could do, I didn’t want to find out the impact of its full force. If that moment ever came, I had a feeling death would be a blessing in comparison.