Oh, she’d been hit before, but one punch from him, and she’d be dead.
He could never know how much she already knew about him. How she’d been training for this day for a year—since he’d tried to take her from another Kurjan holding. Her home.
The air changed, and she stiffened as the guard made his way down the tunnel, his white hair glowing as he came closer. He was a Cyst; one of the elite soldiers and spiritual leaders of the Kurjan nation. A single line of white hair bisected his light scalp, leading down to a long braid. His eyes were a deep purple tinged with red, and he spared her no attention as he unlocked the cell and then stepped back.
She took a deep breath and entered, wincing as the coppery smell of blood assaulted her nostrils. Then she dropped to her knees and reached inside the pack for the materials that would clot the bleeding wound. How injured the hybrid must’ve been after the skirmish to still be bleeding.
The second she touched his head, his eyes opened.
Metallic, deep, and fully alert in a second, his eyes were unreal. “Karma,” he murmured.
She drew back. He remembered her name? Nobody remembered her name.
“Do you need blood?” she whispered, leaning closer, even as the guard locked the cell door and disappeared down the hallway, leaving her with the enemy. Right now, she was useless to the Kurjans, so if the prisoner killed her, they’d find a Plan B.
“No.” Benjamin sat up, looked around, and put his back to the cement brick wall. He took up all the available space with his impressive size.
She shook her head, her lips trembling. “You’re badly injured to have been taken captive. You need blood.”
“I let them take me. I’ve been searching for you since last year.”
God. The Kurjans had been correct. He really had been looking for her since she hadn’t let him rescue her the year before. “The baby? Rose?” Karma held her breath. When Benjamin’s people had attacked the Kurjan holding, she’d gone with her instincts in a brief second and forced him to take a toddler who had been kidnapped—and she’d paid for that decision. Then she’d jumped away when he’d tried to save Karma, and she’d wondered what would’ve happened had she gone. Would she be in a worse state than right now? Probably. “Is Rose well?”
Benjamin nodded. “Rose is fine. She’s at Realm headquarters with a nice family.”
Relief and fear were an odd combination in Karma’s blood. “Realm Headquarters?” They were the enemy of the Kurjans. They were evil, or so she’d been taught. She’d always wondered, because lies were everywhere. She held out the materials, although the wound was already closing beneath his jaw as he obviously sent healing cells where they were needed.
“I don’t need those,” he murmured, studying her with an intensity that shot tremors through her abdomen.
“I don’t understand why you’d come looking for me,” she said, sitting back and keeping her knees covered with her dress. It had been the plan, but she hadn’t believed it. The Kurjan leaders had noted that this male kept showing up in different attacks, and he took ridiculous risks for a soldier with his experience. They’d known he was coming. Why would this male put himself in danger for her? “You let them take you hostage?”
“Yes.” Benjamin’s voice was low and rough with a hint of the demon ancestry he no doubt held.
She rested her hands on the thin material over her knees. “I don’t understand.”
A bone snapped loudly into place somewhere on his body, but he didn’t even flinch. “Let’s start here. I’m Benny Reese.” He held out a hand the size of a good frying pan as if they were meeting at a village game instead of in a cell.
She hesitated and then slid hers against his. “Karma.”
His hold and shake were gentle, and he released her before the mating allergy could hurt either of them. She’d been mated centuries ago to a Kurjan, and no other male could touch her for long without both of them succumbing to deadly rashes.
“What’s your last name?” he asked. Another bone popped into place.
She jerked at the sound. “I do not have a last name.”
“Oh.” He looked beyond her at the steel bars securing the cell. “I was out for a while. Where are we?”
“We are at a temporary holding area before you are transported to a more secure location.” She coughed. “For questioning.”