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Serix watched helplessly as Ryan ordered the others to bring the female in for interrogation. He knew they weren’t just going to question and torture her. The humans would surely kill her for what she had done. He jerked his arm against the metal device that pinned him to the cell bar, but it didn’t budge. Whatever the contraption was, it was extremely well made. He cursed again under his breath.

[i]It’s all your fault.[/i] He jumped at the sound of a cold, feminine voice inside his head. [i]We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.[/i]

Calming himself enough to focus, Serix reciprocated the telepathic link to see who was contacting him and was surprised to find that it was coming from Celuria. He spun around to face her cell, meeting her venomous stare. Pure hatred flowed from her across the mental bond. The intensity of it left him paralyzed. Why did she loathe him so much? He had left his people for the humans, but she seemed to be taking his decision personally. He had to find out the reason.

[i]Celuria,[/i] he tried to approach her in a friendly manner. [i]It’s been a while, huh?[/i]

[i]Traitor,[/i] she curled her lip at him.

[i]Nice to see you too,[/i] he thought to her dryly. [i]Why are you so mad at me?[/i]

[i]You ruined everything, you selfish xordolk.[/i]

[i]Mind easing up on the name calling a bit?[/i] He rolled his eyes. [i]What, exactly, did I ruin?[/i]

[i]Everything,[/i] she practically hissed across the link. [i]You ruined our people, you ruined our migration, and you ruined me.[/i]

Serix froze at her final accusation, [i]What is that supposed to mean?[/i]

[i]You don’t know?[/i] She drawled. [i]Oh, of course you don’t know! You were too busy playing guardian to these Earthlings to learn that we were supposed to be mated upon your return from the scouting mission.[/i]

[i]W-what?[/i] he stared at her, wide eyed. The rumors had been true after all. He and Celuria actually [i]had[/i] been assigned to be mates.

[i]That’s right,[/i] Celuria went on viciously. [i]And guess what? Now that you’ve gone and turned traitor, I will never have a mate. I’ve been placed in the barren female community, even though I tested as highly fertile.[/i] Tears stung at her violet eyes. [i]I can never serve my people by bearing children.[/i]

[i]I’m… I’m sorry,[/i] Serix looked away, unsure of what else to say. Female Lunairans considered childbearing to be the most important role they could fulfill in their society, since they were on the verge of extinction. By leaving his people, he had inadvertently taken that role away from her. He shifted his weight from his left foot to his right. He didn’t know what she hoped to gain in telling him this information. It wasn’t like he could go back in time and change his decision. Besides, he had Cassie now, and he was happier with her than he ever would have been with Celuria. Cassie was his mate for life. That was never going to change.

[i]Orruasi,[/i] Celuria spat the insult across their mental bond.

Sensing that she was done having a civil conversation, Serix broke off the link between them and turned his attention back to Cassie and Ryan, who had been arguing about what step they should take next. It seemed that Cassie had finally convinced the male to leave the prisoners alone for now and search for the missing Lunairan instead. He let out a sigh of relief. They would be okay for now.

Cassie came over with a key for the metal device, unchaining him from the bar. He rubbed his sore wrist and started to follow his mate as she walked towards the tunnel.

“Wait,” a soft voice spoke up from behind them. Serix turned to see the female from before clutching at her cell door. Her eyes swept over his painted body. “Did you… did you hold a funeral for our fallen?”

Serix hesitated a moment before he nodded, “Yes.”

“Thank you,” the female’s voice quaked with relief.

“Peiylo,” a sharp, male voice spoke up from one of the other cells. An older Lunairan, who looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five to Serix, glared at him from across the room. “Don’t speak to the traitor. He is a disgrace to his people.”

“But he performed the ritual for our dead,” Peiylo’s pale face flushed with embarrassment at being reprimanded. “He helped them when we could not.”

“I don’t care if he walked them to the gate of the netherworld, hand in hand,” the older Lunairan grumbled. His harsh eyes turned upon Serix once more. “As far as I’m concerned, this traitor is among the dead, himself.”

Serix felt a pang of sadness at the Lunairan’s cold words. It seemed he had no place even among his own kind anymore. He turned away to exit the hold with Cassie, leaving the prisoners behind as they went to search for Jaxil. He hoped they would find the missing child before Ryan did. If the hot tempered male got to him first, there would be no telling what he would do.

They searched for a while, but found nothing. The young Lunairan must have been skilled in erasing his trail, because even Serix couldn’t find a sign to lead them on. Cassie turned to him curiously, [b]“Do you suppose he found a way out before one of the others could find him?”[/b]

“It’s possible,” Serix shrugged. “And for his sake, I hope he did.”

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Jaxil sprinted down the tunnel as fast as his legs would carry him. His labored breaths echoed loudly against the rock walls. He looked back over his shoulder, but so far there were no pursuers on his tail. Still, he didn’t let up on his pace. He couldn’t let himself get caught by the humans. He didn’t know what sort of interrogations went on in these caverns, and he definitely didn’t want to find out.

He inhaled sharply as he tripped on a rock in the shadows, stumbling to catch himself before he hit the ground. As soon as he regained his balance he took off again, choosing random forks in his path as they appeared. Right… Left… Left… Right. His sense of direction became a blur of winding tunnels.

Eventually, he somehow managed to find his way into a larger cavern that branched off into a multitude of smaller caves and tunnels. He looked between each option, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet. He didn’t have time to explore them all. For now, he would have to choose one and hope it led him to a good hiding place.

Bracing himself, Jaxil selected one of the openings on the right and took off running once again. He followed the tunnel for a while. It narrowed frighteningly as he travelled down it, making him concerned that it would eventually taper out too narrow for him to squeeze through, but his fears were laid to rest when the passage opened up again near the end.

He finally slowed to a stop, resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He was now alone in a spacious cavern with a fast-flowing river in the center. The roar of the rapids would surely help to hide his presence, and he didn’t have to go far to keep hydrated. It would make a decent hideout for many days if he needed to stay long.

Suddenly realizing how thirsty he was, he stepped up to the edge and dipped his hands into the cool water, cupping them together to bring the refreshing liquid to his mouth. He repeated the motion a few more times, quenching his thirst until he heard the sound of small rocks skittering across the stony floor of the cave. Not wanting to get caught by the source of the noise, he quickly clambered up the wet rocks to get to a small cave higher up.

Jaxil bit his tongue to keep from crying out when he felt his foot slip into the swift currents. Steadying himself, he crept away from the edge of the water and slipped quietly into the cave, drawing his knees to his chest to keep out of view. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart. It was a difficult climb to reach this point. Surely no one would try to search this part of the cavern, right? As long as he stayed hidden, everything would be fine.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple.

The inside of the crevice was slick with water as well. As hard as he tried to keep his legs pressed to his chest, he couldn’t help the slip of his heel against the wet rocks below him. He held his breath as the motion sent a large pebble bouncing along the ground, out of the cave and into the river below. There was no hiding the loud plop the rock made when it hit the surface of the water.

In the next instant, Jaxil heard the sound of a body climbing the boulders that led up to his hiding place. He had been discovered. He pressed his back into the corner of the crevice, hoping futilely that the shadows would be enough to conceal him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. A young female poked her head into the cave and looked up, meeting his gaze in the dark. They stared at each other for a moment before she raised her weapon, aiming the barrel of it at his head.

He shut his eyes and turned away, trembling in anticipation of the shot that would inevitably come… Only, it didn’t. After a moment, he opened one eye to see the female looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and fear. What was going on? Why wasn’t she shooting him? She further surprised him by lowering her weapon and speaking softly, [b]“You’re… scared?”[/b]

Jaxil blinked, trying to stop himself from shaking. He knew he wasn’t supposed to show fear in the face of an enemy, but he couldn’t help himself. This was the first real war he had ever been a part of. He wasn’t as strong as his battle-hardened superiors.

After a moment, he forced himself to nod in response to the human’s question and ask one of his own, “You are too… right?”