mouth.
“I’m sorry,” said Tynan, once again himself.
Sadness shone in her clear eyes. “We understand. You’re doing all you can.”
And he was.
Joseph had ordered him to scour the mind of every Sanguinar housed under Dabyr’s roof, searching for signs of treachery. Most of his kind abhorred the violation of their privacy, resisting his efforts. Some intentionally. Others without even realizing just how thick and wide their mental barriers were. In both cases, the sheer power it took to overcome those defenses left Tynan weak. Utterly depleted.
If not for Logan’s daily dose of blood, Tynan would have already failed in his task. And if he did that, his people could be banished from this place of refuge with nowhere to hide from the sun.
He feared that if that happened, the weaker members of his race would succumb to the lure of the Synestryn and the power their tainted blood could provide.
Logan stood, positioning himself between Tynan and his mate. “Is it enough?”
He nodded, giving no voice to his lie. “Thank you.”
“Two more of our kind returned home after you retired. They’re waiting for you in their quarters.”
Tynan had no choice but to do his duty, but he couldn’t face it yet. “Any other news?”
“I checked on the Theronai pregnancies. All is well there.”
“That is a relief.”
“Madoc isn’t pleased. He thinks we’re meddling.”
“Madoc is never pleased. As long as he doesn’t break your neck, assume he still likes you. What else?”
“Ronan still seeks the woman who saved his life. He regrets his inability to return.”
“Did you tell him it wasn’t a request?”
“I did. He didn’t seem concerned.”
“Do we know anything about this woman he’s seeking?”
“She apparently enjoys fast cars. Ronan is unable to catch up with her.”
“But he can still sense where she’s gone?”
“He can.”
“We need to find her. If she’s anything like Hope . . .”
Logan tightened his hold on his mate. “Ronan is aware of the stakes.”
“Anything else? Any sign of Torr?”
“No. He is still missing. Many of the Theronai have been searching for him ever since his disappearance.”
Tynan ran his fingers through his hair. “Have you heard anything from those working on Project Lullaby?”
“No. Everyone is being particularly cautious since Connal’s betrayal.”
With good reason. If the Theronai found out that the Sanguinar had been matchmaking blooded humans and encouraging them to produce offspring, they wouldn’t be pleased. With as little Athanasian blood as there was left on the planet, the Sanguinar had no choice but to resort to some unorthodox methods to strengthen the remaining bloodlines. They saw it as necessary coercion, ensuring that the humans they convinced to help them lived long and happy lives filled with many children.
The Theronai would doubtlessly see it as interfering with the free will of humans and react accordingly. In their centuries-long history together, more than one Sanguinar head had rolled for lesser infractions.
“We can’t slow down our efforts,” said Tynan. “There is no time to waste.”
“We’re all aware of the giant ticking clock, brother. I’m sure that the men are doing everything they can to further our efforts. That may be why some of them have refused to communicate with us. Once they do, they know you’ll be forced to order them home for interrogation. That will waste valuable time and energy that none of you have.”
Tynan nodded, praying Logan was right. “I’m scheduled to meet with Joseph tonight to report on my progress.”
Hope smiled. “You might want to arrive a little late.”
“Why is that?”
“Joseph has a date.”
Tynan blinked. “Excuse me?”
“It’s not really a date,” said Logan.
Hope lifted her brows. “Yes, it is. Haven’t you seen the way he looks at her?”
Ah. Lyka. “But she hates him,” said Tynan.
“Hate is a strong word. And he now has something she wants. We simply gave her some pointers on how she might get it.”
“You know this will end badly, don’t you?” asked Tynan.
“It’s possible,” said Logan. “But I, for one, plan to enjoy the show.”
Chapter 3
Joseph was still in his office, working, long after sundown. He should have stopped hours ago, but his mind kept going back to Lyka, making every task he did take twice as long as necessary. Because of that, he still had hours of work left to do before he could rest.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. The drawer where he usually kept snacks was empty, telling him that he’d been skipping far too many meals lately.
Not that he had much choice. There was so much to do to keep a place