The trip into town took a good half hour. I tried getting Galo to move faster, but he was determined to keep his consistently moderate pace.

“If we rush ourselves and it’s a trap, we’ll have no energy to flee,” he said with a determined nod of his head.

I rolled my eyes. “What kind of trap could it be? Bashrik holding us hostage to find out where his brother is, the same brother he needs our help to rescue?”

Galo shrugged. “Has it never occurred to you that those coldbloods could have tortured information out of Navan, namely concerning your friends, their appearances and whereabouts?”

I shivered. “No,” I said decidedly. “Navan would rather die than endanger his brother and friends.”

“I certainly hope so,” Galo said.

His words filled me with a cold sense of longing, and we walked the rest of the way in silence. Galo’s gloomy statement had ruined my mood. Even as I was opening the wooden tavern door, I was bracing myself for what was to come.

“RILEY!” Lauren and Angie cried.

I only had a few seconds to register their relieved, overjoyed faces, before they were throwing themselves onto me in a hug.

“You’re okay! What happened?” Angie said.

“I’ve been so worried. I haven’t slept more than two hours,” Lauren gasped. I could see the dark circles behind her purple glasses that proved her words.

“And what was with that text?” Angie asked. “We figured you’d been captured or something. Bashrik was prepared for an ambush.”

“Oh, that.” I grinned. “That was Galo. Anyway, I’ll get you guys up to speed soon enough.” Their gazes went over my shoulder to Galo, who had wisely chosen to wear a hood that mostly obscured his striking face.

“Oh yeah, sorry, this is Galo,” I said, gesturing to him.

He made an attempt at a smile, which looked more like a scary grimace, and when he waved, Angie and Lauren waved back tentatively.

“Bashrik’s over there,” Lauren said, stabbing her thumb behind her at a table in the corner, where he and Ronad were sitting. The difference between them was night and day. Before, Bashrik had been the one who appeared in better health. Now it was a completely different story. Ronad’s youthful face had a slight rosy tinge, and his skin looked sun-kissed, while his brown hair was glossy and neatly swept back. Bashrik’s dark hair, on the other hand, had a serious case of bedhead, and his sapphire eyes were enclosed by dark rings. His skin looked slightly gray, as if he’d been only half-heartedly taking his chameleon potion.

“He’s been a pain in the ass the whole time,” Angie said with a sigh. “We’re both ready to kill him, so don’t be surprised if he gets on your nerves, too.”

“It’s only been an hour?” I asked. “How’d you get here?”

“Let’s sit down first,” she said.

As we approached the table, Ronad waved politely, while Bashrik’s frown deepened.

“So, Angie and I told the Churnleys and our parents that we were going to spend a few days in Austin. We dipped into our savings and took a plane,” Lauren explained. “But those two… well…”

“We figured the security body scan would be a bit of an issue,” Angie said, cracking up. Everyone joined in, except for Bashrik.

“I held onto Bashrik, and he flew,” Ronad added with a rueful smile. “Although he wasn’t much of a talker during the trip.”

I studied Ronad as he tried patting Bashrik’s tensed back. Now that Navan was out of the picture, it looked like Ronad was trying to take on the role of the calm “brother”, despite the fact that he was clearly stressed too. It was likely Navan and maybe even Bashrik had done the same for him after his love, Naya, had died.

“Can you really blame me?” Bashrik was grumbling. “With my most beloved brother in the hands of vicious rebels, how can I chitchat and laugh as if everything’s all right?”

“Hey,” Ronad said, “you know Navan means the world to me too.” His determined smile wavered, then fell, showing the real sorrow behind his steadily-voiced words.

“About that, Bashrik,” I said, pausing to try to find the words to say. Bashrik’s face was set in hard lines—like he wasn’t going to buy whatever I did say.

“I really am sorry,” I continued. “Like I said, I tried everything I could. I-I…” My voice shook as frustrated guilt welled up inside me. For failing Navan. For failing Bashrik—I’d promised him I’d watch out for his brother. For even failing myself here and now, not able to express to Bashrik just how sorry I was.

Bashrik’s face softened—maybe he saw the anguish on my face—and he exhaled. “Well, the important thing is that we’re all going to try to rescue him now. Right?”

He looked to me with narrowed, expectant eyes—eyes that, although a slightly different shade, reminded me painfully of Navan’s.

“So are you going to introduce me?” Galo asked.

“Ah, yes, of course.” I smiled and proceeded to introduce the eccentric lycan and fill them in on what had happened to me since I’d left Navan with the coldbloods—from trying to rescue him myself, to being picked up by the Fed, to how we’d ended up escaping the Fed’s HQ.

When I had finished, Angie and Lauren looked at me, dumbfounded.

“Girl, you sure have been through the mill,” Angie said.

I grimaced. “Yeah.”

Galo adjusted his hood. “Now that introductions are out of the way, shall we talk business?”

“So you’re really certain there’s no hope of the Fed helping us now,” Ronad said. It was more of a statement than a question, since I’d already told him it was unlikely, at least while Sylvan and his team were away.

Galo nodded. “I’d say that’s accurate, boy. Going back to try convincing anyone else would be dangerous at best, lethal at worst, and I don’t have access to Sylvan’s direct line. I’m not high enough for that, unfortunately.”

“Here’s a suggestion,” Bashrik said. “We rescue Navan now, with whatever force necessary.” He slapped his grayish palms down on the table, causing it to shake.

Ronad put a hand on Bashrik’s shoulder. “Seriously? Rush into a camp filled with countless coldbloods and shifters, without any actual plan? Riley already tried that, and it didn’t work out too well for her.”

I felt a blush rise to my cheeks, recalling that stupid incident.

“I didn’t say that exactly,” Bashrik said, crossing his arms across his chest. “Although the longer we wait here, the more likely it is that they’ve hurt Navan—or worse.”

“You’re right,” Ronad said gently. “So that means we should act quickly but intelligently.” He turned to me. “By the way, I assume your blood is still on its way to Vysanthe?”

Fear tingled at the back of my spine. So much had happened since then, I’d practically forgotten about the whole blood problem. “Yeah,” I said hoarsely. “I guess it is.”

“Well…” Ronad wet his lips nervously. “Hopefully, we’ll still have time to do something about it once we rescue Navan.”

“Continue your story,” Bashrik urged. “You haven’t filled us in on exactly how Navan got kidnapped. I want to know everything that happened since that last comm I had with you, right after you first arrived in this village. I also feel like I’m missing out on a bunch of details of what happened before then, too. Navan’s comms were always so brief, in between the two of you traveling.”

“You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you, Bashrik?” I said grimly. But I acquiesced. I told them the rest—the whole grisly story—filling them in on every detail to the best of my memory. The one thing I didn’t mention was just how close Navan and I had become… Sharing that hotel bed together, how he’d heated me with the hot wax, our lips touching in those last, fevered seconds we had together. Those memories felt somehow sacred, and I wanted to keep them all for myself—those moments that made me feel warm and whole.

“You really care for Navan, don’t you?” Ronad asked in a low voice once I had finished.

I shot him a startled glance. “How did you know?”

He smiled sadly. “He called me one night when you were sleeping—extremely agitated. He made me promise not to tell Bashrik because he knew he would worry too much. He begged that I didn’t ask any questions, that I just remind him what the punishment for interspecies mingling was back on Vysanthe. It had been so long since a case was reported that he’d forgotten what punishment was doled out, he claimed. I think he remembered, just hoped it wasn’t true. Anyway, I told him: the punishment was death for both involved. He thanked me, and then he hung up.”

Butterflies danced in my stomach at the thought of Navan already putting that much thought into… whatever it was we had. They were shaky, sputtering butterflies that brought tears to my eyes. God, Navan had been so stoic… and yet he’d clearly cared so much for me. I wished I had known sooner.

Everyone’s gaze was now on me, and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. “I do… care for him very much,” I stammered.

Bashrik eyed me. “I hope you realize just how taboo this is. It’s comparable to you or your friends coupling with… well, a dog.”

Anger flared through me, but Angie and Lauren exploded into disapproving objections before I could make my thoughts heard.

“You’re comparing humans to dogs?” Lauren said, her eyes goggling out at him.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Angie said to Bashrik sarcastically. “You guys are better than dogs.”

A pink tinge appeared in Bashrik’s cheeks, and he bowed his head. “I apologize. My statement was a bit rash. I just wanted Riley to understand the seriousness of her… possible relations with Navan.”

“I do,” I said. “I… I didn’t plan for any of this to happen, and I don’t have any idea what will happen once Navan’s free. All I know is that I’d do anything to save him.”

“So let’s get him back!” Bashrik said forcefully.

“Okay, okay,” Ronad said. “Although I think we should be making these plans back at the bed and breakfast we’re staying at. We’re not exactly alone here.”

He cast a glance at the kitchen door, where a boy who looked to be about twelve ducked out of sight. A group of rowdy teenagers had also arrived while I’d been talking and had seated themselves on the opposite side of the room.

“Good point. But first I’m ordering some food,” Galo said, his belly rumbling out the seriousness of his statement. He turned his gaze to me. “You want to order, or should I scare the poor waiter into good service myself?”

I rose quickly. “I’ll go.”

I walked up to the kitchen door and gently knocked. The boy poked his shaggy brown-haired head out.

“My friends and I were wondering if we could be served—just stew or anything hot you have, really,” I said to him as gently as I could, hoping he, like many in this old tourist town, spoke English.

I wondered why he was ducking down like that, what he’d seen that had scared him so much—whether it was Bashrik and Ronad’s hulking forms or Galo’s angular face. Or maybe he was afraid of the tonrar, just how people had been when I was here with Navan.

The boy gave a quick nod before scurrying off and fetching a cauldron-like bowl of soup. I followed him back to the table, where he plopped it in the center. After shakily handing out four wooden spoons, he moved swiftly back to the kitchen.

“My friends and I can share,” I offered, handing a wooden spoon to Lauren.

“Good,” Galo said. He grabbed a spoon and took a few hearty slurps. Halfway through one, he raised his shaggy, still half-hooded head. “There’s nothing like food in the belly to get the brain going. Anyway, where were we…” He did a figure-eight in the air with his spoon, stopping it to point to me. “Ah yes. We’ll make the plan back at the bed and breakfast. Luckily for us, I brought some invisibility suits and some other superior Fed technology, too—one of the best ships we have.”

“We have superior technology, too. We just don’t have access right now—it’s back on Vysanthe,” Ronad pointed out with a grumble.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure you do,” Galo said patronizingly, as if he were consoling a child.

Bashrik was fiddling with his spoon, eyeing Galo with apparent distrust. “How do we really know that you’re telling the truth, and not trying to betray us so your other Fed agents can pick Ronad and me up?” he said. “I’ve seen how your kind treats mine.”

“And I’ve seen how your kind treats every other kind in the galaxy,” Galo replied smoothly. “But as to your question: you don’t know. I can only assure you that I believe I am supporting Riley because of the noblest of reasons.”

“Is that so?” Bashrik said.

“Yes,” Galo declared stoically. “Because it is right.”

This had a less-than-impressive effect on the table—Bashrik scoffed outright, while Angie and Lauren whispered tensely between themselves.

“I’m a veritas,” Galo declared. “So when I say that I know it’s right, I’m not kidding.”

Ronad and Bashrik stared at him for a long moment.

“No,” Ronad said, shaking his head. “Veritas are a myth among the lycans—no one’s ever met an actual truth-smeller.”

Galo lowered his hood partway so he could direct his lime-eyed gaze at Ronad.

“Not many, I’m sure. Except for you now.”

This brought a hush over the table, which was broken by Bashrik. Directing his glare at Galo once again, he said, “So let’s just say you’re telling the truth and that we can trust you. What do we do now? Just march you to where we’re staying and have you help in the plan?”

Galo smiled sanguinely. “Yes,” he said. “That’s exactly what you’ll do.”

“And Riley, what do you think?” Angie asked.

Everyone’s heads swiveled in my direction.

I exhaled. “I think Galo’s right,” I said slowly. “I do trust him, and I think he’s our best chance at rescuing Navan. He’s already proven his loyalty by rescuing me. If he were going to betray us, it wouldn’t make sense for him to steal a ship, steal invisibility suits, and take me out of the Fed Headquarters. Navan’s deep in that coldblood camp, and there are thousands of them in there. We have to give this a shot—for Navan.”

There was a span of silence. Ronad nodded, while Bashrik had stopped outright glaring at Galo.

“Okay,” Bashrik sighed. “Let’s head somewhere quieter and hash out this plan.”

We paid for the meal, and as we all left and walked through the village to the bed and breakfast, I hurried ahead to join Galo. As he removed his hood, I glanced at his wizened face. Although I really did feel that I trusted him, something in me just couldn’t help but ask him quietly, “Did you mean everything you said back there?”

“Every word,” he said, gliding ahead quickly. “The trouble with always smelling the truth is that it predisposes you to want to tell it most times, too.”

He was already a few feet ahead of me, and he cast a derisive glance back as I fell farther behind to join Lauren and Angie.

“Now hurry up, we have a bed and breakfast to get to.”