Screams split the night.

Inez jerked awake. Dara! She was up before the thought fully formed. Footsteps stormed by her closed bedroom door. Inez leaped to her feet, paying no heed to her sleepwear as she raced into the hall.

Guards she recognized rushed by, half-dressed. Bare torsos gleamed. Bejon, Layne, Mikal and none other than Rylin in the rear. He surged ahead of the others, his gaze frantic and his tanned features void of color. Inez joined the hectic race and snagged Layne’s arm. “What happened?”

Without breaking stride, the red-head answered. “Dara. She checks the shells at night.”

“Right. But she did that with Rylin earlier.” Inez had Dara’s schedule memorized. The night visit was something the two shared together. Intimate. At that point, Inez tended to go to bed.

They hurried down the stairs to the lower level of the castle and the next scream ended on a jagged note. Rylin snarled, black scales rippling across his arms and from his face down his neck. Claws sprung from his fingertips.

Inez winced as power soared through the connection via the mantle. Others flinched as well, but Rylin showed no signs of slowing as he almost ripped the door off the hinges and jumped down the stairs, only to trip over a body sprawled at the bottom.

Quinn.

Rylin didn’t pause, but Bejon dropped to a knee and gently turned the male over. Inez stopped to look but continued forward, her Dracol instinct demanding she see to her Queen. She whispered a plea to the Goddess for Quinn.

“Dara!” Rylin’s roar held the deep, rumbling tones of his Dracol.

Inez controlled her shiver as they reached the room containing the unborn children. The door hung open and Rylin tore through. He came to an abrupt halt in order to catch Dara, who leaped into his arms sobbing.

The others slammed into Inez’s back, then spread about the room looking for the hidden danger.

“Dara! Calm yourself. Tell me what happened?” It was clear to see the agony ravaging Rylin’s features. Their mating bond should easily transmit Dara’s feelings and thoughts.

“Finley,” Dara gasped, pushing up slightly in her mate’s arms, fingers clenching on his shoulders. Her short black hair stuck up in every direction and her body shook hard enough, none of them could miss it. “Someone’s taken Finley.”

Searching her memory, Inez came up blank on anyone matching the name. Her King, however, knew exactly of whom Dara spoke. Flames of fire bled into his eyes and the temperature in the room rose.

“Not possible,” Rylin growled. He kept one arm about Dara’s waist, nothing but gentleness in the touch and gazed around.

It took longer for the rest of them to grasp what was instantly notable to these two. Pain shot through Inez’s mid-section as the disbelief forced the truth on her. At the center of the room with piles of blankets and cushions, four waist high oval shells glowed with a golden sheen.

“What’s going on?”

Inez turned toward the new voice at the doorway. Varyk and Faris entered, brows creased as they took in the crowd.

“You! I trusted you near my lira and our children.” Rylin set Dara to the side and flew across the floor. He gripped Varyk’s green vest and rammed him into the wall. Twice.

Varyk’s enraged growl rolled through the room as he shoved Rylin back. Shouts came from everyone at the same time. Rylin threw Varyk off and scales rippled across the arms of both men. They dove toward one another, clashing around the limited space. Two raptors stripped to their essence.

Power whipped about the room and walls buckled in response. Faris propped a shoulder against a wall near the door and stayed well clear of the fight.

“Rylin!” Dara yelled.

Layne and Mikal circled the combatants looking for a break to separate the males. Any wrong move could see either or both injured. There was one person capable of getting Rylin to settle and right now she huddled by the four remaining shells as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Varyk knocked Rylin down and jumped on top of him, fists flying. “I don’t know what your problem is, Black, but I have nothing to do with it.”

Rylin’s arm flashed up and he gripped Varyk’s straining neck in a tight lock. “You hold the ability to teleport. How else could someone steal my daughter?”

Daughter? Inez frowned.

Varyk’s fist hovered in the air only inches from Rylin’s face. “I don’t care for you at all, Rylin, but what madness do you speak? I’ve never touched a child of yours. The young are to be unharmed and I hold true to the tenet.”

Dara stumbled to her feet. Countenance reflecting her fear, she stomped toward the males holding their positions on the floor and pointed at Varyk. “The Green can teleport and Finley’s missing.”

Varyk shoved to his feet and jerked his crumpled vest straight. “I don’t know any Black by the name of Finley and I’ll only say it once more. I’ve not teleported one of your sect with or without your knowledge.”

Puffs of green vapor slipped from Varyk’s lips. Dara choked back a cry and reached for Rylin who launched to his feet. Rylin responded with a stream of smoke from his nostrils. This was getting out of hand. Inez studied Varyk’s expression and for some reason she believed him. A quick glance around showed the others did as well.

Hoping to be the voice of reason, Inez strove for a calm tone. “Tell us what happened, Rylin.”

“My daughter is missing!” Rylin shouted. “Finley! Her shell is gone.”

 

***

 

Varyk should have ignored the screams and stayed abed. The room had been warmed to his liking and the linen soft. Instead, the noise and disturbance had awakened him and though he’d never admit it aloud, brought back a spurt of his childhood feelings of terror. Varyk wasn’t quite sure what Rylin accused him of doing but he felt fairly certain he’d had no part in it.

Missing? Shell? For the first time since entering, Varyk took note of the details of the room. It was tight quarters. Nowhere near the size of what was needed to support an entire sect.

There were four glowing ovals amidst a pile of tangled black covers. Surely Rylin had as many as Varyk did within his own home. Did someone steal all of them? “Where are the rest of your shells?”

“This is the room my lira set aside to comfort our children until they’re born,” Rylin bit out.

Varyk’s brows lifted in surprise as realization set in. Not just any shell was missing but one holding the life force of Rylin’s young. But what the King of the Black also implied was impossible. “You know it’s a female?”

“None of your concern.”

“If you accuse me of something, Black, at least explain what I’ve done.”

Bejon, whom Varyk recognized from his run-ins with Rylin, came in helping a slumped over male. “Quinn says someone hit him from behind. He didn’t hear anything.”

“I came down because I couldn’t sleep,” Dara added. “I saw Quinn. And screamed. When I ran in here Finley’s shell was gone.” She got through her recital without crying but it was clear she hurt.

Rylin never took his gaze from Varyk’s face. “Why should I believe you have nothing to do with this? You don’t hide your dislike of me and have made it clear you consider me unworthy.”

“Exactly.” Varyk wouldn’t lie. “I’ve been honest about my feelings and wouldn’t resort to…to stealing children.”

“How else would someone sneak in unaware? How could they remove a shell filled with my essence if not for the ability only a Green possesses?”

Because the Green were able to teleport. The barrage of questions pounded at Varyk. How? He held up a palm for silence as he pulled on the mantle, searching, searching, searching. Hundreds of minds connected and Varyk tore through each for the answer. There would be no secrets. He wouldn’t tolerate it.

Mental flinches from his rough touch were ignored. Gripes and irritation was pushed away. There was little time for care when a life hung in the balance. The answer hit with a thud and anger followed with unexpected force. One of his was indeed responsible for this.

“You.Are.Right.” Rage vibrated in his tone. Bitter. Cold. The need to act tugged at Varyk. He shifted his gaze to a grieving Dara. “I am sincerely sorry for your pain.”

It was all Varyk had time for if he wanted to apprehend the one his mantle identified as being responsible. Larz, one of his own, travelled fast, his burden only slowing him slightly. Roaring out his challenge and sending the warning along the mantle, Varyk ported out immediately.