a moment she wanted to hit her head against the wall so she could come up with a better excuse.
Turning to Crex, Xul regarded his friend. “It seems the device malfunctioned.”
Crex nodded. “Those things can never be trusted.”
Xul nodded back. “That’s why we don’t depend on such technology.”
Crex nodded again. “Right. It’s his fault for using it. Maybe he should be stuck with that image. I never liked him as a Borxclan anyway.”
They both looked at her then, possibly noting the frown that had started to form on her face.
Were they mocking her?
Amusement flooded Xul’s eyes before a smile played at the corner of his lips.
“They know,” Rokan said.
Evren blinked. She wasn’t going to take any liberties and volunteer information. “They know what?”
“They know Kyro is Vorti.”
Her eyes flew to Xul and Crex and found they were both smiling.
“You know?”
Xul nodded. “Rokan confessed after Kyro rushed out here to save you all alone. Somehow he knew that this would happen...the shift.”
Evren glanced at Rokan. She had so many questions.
“He thought it was best we be prepared for what we were about to see,” Xul continued. “We still have a lot of questions, but those can wait.”
“And...you don’t mind?”
“Mind?” Crex stepped forward. “Kyro will always be our brother...even if he is a pain in the gonads sometimes.”
Xul chuckled and she couldn’t help her shoulders from sagging with relief.
Xul glanced around before he looked at a device on his arm.
“Right, we better get the qrak out of here. The Tasqals are bound to be sending reinforcements. Rokan, download all the data from the ship. Crex you bring Kyro back to our vessel. I’ll set up the self-destruct.”
The other two men nodded and began moving.
Getting the things they needed from the Tasqal ship had gone quicker than she’d expected it to. The brothers had downloaded the ship’s logs and then wiped the computer. Then they’d gathered the weapons and supplies they could find and set the ship on self-destruct mode.
As their ship traveled back to the Restitution, Evren finally let her shoulders relax, her eyes on Kyro as she did.
This ship was different from the others she’d been in. Not that she’d been in that many, but this ship had two rows of two seats at the front before a long bench at the back, on which she sat with Kyro’s head resting on her lap.
She didn’t mind the layout. It meant the brothers were all looking ahead while she could have some privacy with Kyro.
He was still unconscious, but she held his hand anyway.
This was the man who had risked his life and his whole identity, just to save her. The same man who’d kept her company when she didn’t even realize she’d needed a friend.
“You know, he’ll be fine,” Rokan said, turning so he could look over his shoulder. “He will heal. I will make another healing serum.”
“Thank you.” She offered Rokan a genuine smile.
“It’s a special serum for Vorti. It has to be made by hand because it is not available anywhere else. I was not able to make it before we arrived.” Rokan’s eyes fell on Kyro.
“That’s okay. I think the thing he made me inject him with may be blocking the pain for now and he’s stopped bleeding so that’s good.” She smiled again and this time she saw a faint smile on Rokan’s face in return before he nodded and turned back to face where they were going.
“We’ll have to cover him before he exits the ship. We can’t risk anyone seeing him,” Xul began. His voice boomed from the front of the ship, where he sat at the helm with Crex. “We will take him back to one of the private rooms with restricted access. It’s where we keep high profile witnesses who’ve been affected by the Tasqals. No one will question it if they see us bringing another there.”
“Sounds good,” she murmured. She didn’t want to be anywhere near other people anyway. She needed time to allow the recent events to settle, for she’d been abducted, almost raped, and she’d seen so much death. Not to mention that she’d almost lost him—she squeezed his hand that she held once more—she’d almost lost Kyro.
“Hey.” She almost forgot. “When we were on the ship, the toad-guy showed us someone on video. He was restrained and he looked like he was in pain. They were using him, using his powers. They used him to find out Kyro was on the ship.” She swallowed, her brows furrowing as she