Chapter 10
He could feel that something was wrong with Cat. He interrupted Sharita, who was trying yet again to convince him to enter into a partnership with him that would benefit them both. He focused on Cat’s feelings. Boy, was she ever furious! And hurt. What had happened? He had just decided to go against the agreement and go check on her, when he heard a knock. “The guest is here,” a timid red-haired girl whispered. Obviously she wasn’t as shy as she pretended to be because she winked at Talon and licked her lips in lust before she disappeared.
“Remember what we talked about,” Sharita warned him. The woman who had just offered him a partnership was gone. She was back to being the cool and controlled businesswoman he knew, and she was ready to complete her assignment efficiently, as always. “You stay here until everything has run its course.” And then she was gone.
Talon sat down on the creaking bed.
Priorities, he told himself and he pushed his raging emotions to the far corners of his consciousness with all of his might.
First: find out what was wrong with Cat.
Second: decide if he needed to intervene or not.
Third: act based on his decision.
Talon took a deep breath. The less he was feeling himself, the easier it was to identify his companion’s feelings. Cat was near him, so that should make this easier. He pictured her heart-shaped face looking up at him, her eyes full of love. Something in him clicked, and he recognized the dominant feeling. She was furious with him. Damn it! What had happened?
Slowly and carefully, he felt around in her anger. It was difficult, because, as was typical for humans, she had given in to her emotions without any restraint. Once again, he was surprised at just how much humans could let their emotions take hold of them. At least he was able to understand Cat’s feelings a little better, since he was feeling them himself. It was almost like sex. Not because her anger aroused him, but because this surrender was so complete, and there, far back in the chaos of her feelings, another emotion was flaring, even though it was almost completely obscured by her red-hot anger. Instinctively, he had recognized earlier that Cat was hurt, too. Her feelings were hurt. No, that wasn’t quite right. That expression was too weak for what was making her heart contract. She was disappointed and sad. Hopeless. For a few seconds, he suspected that Shazuul had done something to her, and clenched his fists, but when Talon realized that it wasn’t the Sethari who had flung Cat into this state, he almost keeled over.
He himself was responsible for Cat’s desperation.
Talon forced himself to breathe calmly. He was in a position to be able to exercise some control over his bodily functions, and he tried to slow down his racing heart. That was easier said than done, because as soon as the lion inside him had realized that something was wrong with Cat, the animal had become restless and it was difficult to hold it back. Talon pushed his predator back into its cage with all of the strength he could muster.
He stood up. He had no choice. He would need to ignore the plan that Sharita and Shazuul had crafted so carefully. He couldn't leave Cat alone. He could barely stand her desperation, and with every passing minute, it was getting harder for him not to let her feelings overwhelm him. He stepped out of his room, still a little unsure if he should go or not.
He heard a hoarse scream and made his decision. Talon ran down the steps in long strides, until he was standing in front of the room where they had laid the trap for Ferthoris. Instead of finding the scene he had expected, he saw a room in a complete state of chaos. Ferthoris really was without his bodyguards, and Shazuul and Sharita were standing next to the bed. One look at it was enough to explain the king’s temper tantrum. The bed was empty. Cat was gone.
Talon grinned, even though there really was no cause for celebration. Their carefully hatched plan had just blown up in their faces. The king was in such an agitated state that even Shazuul was unable to get into his head. Sharita wrung her hands and mumbled something to herself that sounded like a subservient apology, and the king even had the audacity to search for Cat under the bed. This idiot really was beyond hope.
Talon retreated with quiet predatory movements towards the steps. His lion growled and demanded angrily that he hurry up. The slower he moved, the harder it would be for him to follow Cat’s trail. Talon’s body temperature increased, and his muscles trembled under the tension of controlling himself and his animal long enough so that he wouldn’t give himself away. He got closer and closer to the steps that led down to the first floor. He could still hear Ferthoris ranting behind him. Kill him, his lion whispered. Finish that retarded moron off, once and for all. Your people will thank you! Talon hesitated.
And that was his ruin. He didn’t notice someone standing behind him until it was too late. When he felt a calloused hand land on his shoulder, squeezing him hard, he realized that he would probably not be able to escape this business without shedding someone’s blood.