Sentinel - Cyndi Friberg Page 0,24
at Velmar. He stared straight ahead, expression blank. “What’s the second?”
“I get to choose how he dies once you’ve lost interest in him.”
The stubborn sorcerer was still pretending to ignore them, but she saw his clenched jaw and fisted fingers. Well, that was something, even if she’d hoped for a whole lot more. “I’ll consider it.” Reluctantly dragging her gaze away from Velmar’s noble profile, she turned and strode from the containment area. She didn’t need to look to see if Hastos followed. She could hear his thudding footfalls. The male was a lumbering clod. His ordinary stride made him sound like he was stomping angrily after an errant child. “We can’t kill him yet and you know it,” she reminded once they were far enough away that there was no chance Velmar could overhear them.
Hastos lifted one broad shoulder then casually let it drop. Was that his idea of a shrug? “I’ve seen the way you lust after him. I suspect it will take a long time for you to lose interest.”
She didn’t understand her fixation with Velmar, had never experienced anything like it before. She sure as hells wasn’t going to discuss it with Hastos. They were temporary partners, nothing more. “How are your plans progressing? The kwaris must be balanced. If at any point one participant draws more energy from the meld than the others, the connection will become unstable.” They each had a similar goal, planetary domination. And then there was her and Hastos’ personal arrangement, an old and proven exchange. Hastos was going to murder her abusive mate, and she was going to murder his rival. Unfortunately, the rival was involved in the kwaris, so the exchange would have to take place once the kwaris was no longer needed.
“We are still laying the foundation, but once things start progressing everything will happen quickly.”
He’d been saying that since she met him. She hadn’t believed him then, and she didn’t believe him now. Wanting to rule a planet did not guarantee that one had what it took to make it happen. She had no doubt that her human counterpart would accomplish his goals, but Hastos was simply a means to an end.
Speaking of her human counterparts. “Have you heard from Admiral Egerton? Wasn’t he due to update you this morning?” She started walking briskly down the wide corridor. The detention center was large and she was anxious to enjoy more refined surroundings, or as close as she could come to it on this primitive planet.
Hastos crunched up is face, not a good look on such brutish features. “Egerton sent a painfully detailed summary of everything that has transpired on Earth since our last transmission. The male is nothing if not thorough.” He shot her an annoyed sidelong glance as they continued their brisk pace. “Why did you insist on Earth as the third anchor point? The grandson’s abilities are barely adequate and Egerton is useless.”
“The admiral might not possess magic, but he is anything but useless,” she argued as they turned down another hallway in the sprawling facility. “Make sure I have a copy of his report. Unlike you, I appreciate details.”
He made a face, but used the control band on his forearm to trigger the digital transfer. No one on Cretz, at least no one she was aware of, had ever heard of a kwaris before. In fact, few Cretz were aware that magic was real and they were capable of controlling it. Because so few Cretzians practiced magic, the well of mystic energy surrounding this planet was deep and largely untapped. It also meant Hastos was in a much better position to communicate with their other partner. Technically, it was partners. There were two participants from each of the three dimensions, but Admiral Egerton, Hastos, and Zerna were the primary three. The other three were more or less along for the ride.
“What did you think of Egerton’s grandson?” she asked casually.
The disapproving growl in Hastos’ voice made his feelings obvious. “I don’t understand why he was so hesitant about appearing in the first two sessions. It seems suspicious to me.”
Everything seemed suspicious to Hastos. He was the son of a cruel warlord, so his father’s enemies had been attempting to murder him since he was born. “Lance is clearly an introvert. Egerton is determined to mold Lance into his own image, but they are polar opposites. The admiral is the perfect personality type to take on the challenge he’s outlined, but he will be lucky