Wexxon the Great Alien Warrior - Juno Wells Page 0,45

what is this you speak of? How could you say that my mate is gone—”

“Because she is,” Aldvirion insisted. “I’ve already consulted Palqeet, and she does not know where Rachel has gone. But we believe that she may have tried to run away—”

“Run away?” My words came out low. “You think she’d really run away from this castle? You think she’d really run away from me?”

“Palqeet said that she’d been spending more and more time with maps of Xelxar,” Aldvirion explained. “And her interest in learning the language made her seem like a woman on a mission. With that in mind, a disappearance wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility—”

“She did not run away.”

“Wexxon, I understand that you have feelings for her, but you have to see reason—”

“She did not run away!” My voice rose as I spoke. “Do you not understand, Aldvirion? If she were to run from me, I would know it. But my Rachel did not run.”

My mind went dizzy for a moment, the truth feeling like it was flowing right into my veins. “Aldvirion, she was stolen from me.”

“That would not be possible,” he murmured. “For someone to have made their way into this castle undetected? They would have to be as invisible as the wind itself.”

“…Or blend in with the night.”

“What was that, Wexxon?”

“My brother.” Rage built inside me as I explained, “Reddin wasn’t just a strategical fighter. He was a strategical thinker, too. When we were younger, he showed me one of his inventions. It was meant to be camouflage, but at the time, the arena masters wouldn’t allow it.”

“Because it was insufficient?”

“Because it gave the warrior who wore it too much of an advantage,” I continued. “I remember when he first tried it on. It was one of the only times he was able to strike me without me seeing it coming a mile away. I thought he’d retired it after the arena masters disavowed it—”

“My Gods,” Aldvirion whispered. “With something like that, he could be truly invisible. He could be invincible.”

“We would never see him coming.” I somberly nodded in agreement. “Nor would we see his warriors.”

“But I don’t understand.” Aldvirion’s tone was lined with confusion. “If your brother possessed such a technology, why would he simply not find a way to attack you while you went about your day? Why kidnap your mate? She has done him no wrong.”

“Aldvirion, for someone so wise, it is strange to me that you do not comprehend.” I let out a tired sigh. “If Reddin was ever going to draw me out to fight him, this would be the only way. I would never harm my brother for his own sake, but for the sake of my mate?”

I paused for a moment before I finished with my thoughts. “For Rachel, for my future child, I would spill Reddin’s blood on the arena sands a thousand times over.”

“Is that what you wish to do then, Wexxon?” Aldvirion asked. “Will you be arranging a fight with your brother in the arena?”

“Not yet.” I shook my head before I turned away from Aldvirion, already heading down the nearest hall. “He does not get to manipulate things so easily.”

“But what will you do?” Aldvirion called out. “Wexxon, what will you do?”

I’d stopped by Grindeem’s church to grab one of his robes before I made my way into the forest under cover of darkness. If I wanted to remain undetected, I needed to be unrecognizable, even better if Reddin’s warriors assumed that I was one of their own, stalking the night. It wasn’t hard to spot Reddin’s warriors, either, not with the way they carried themselves, even their gait reminding me of my brother’s own.

Although, I couldn’t help but wonder why they’d decided to essentially blow their own cover, now more visible than ever before. But as I carefully trailed one of his warriors further into the woods, it dawned on me that their suddenly visible nature could’ve all been part of my brother’s plan.

Maybe he wanted me to track one of them back to where he’d been hiding.

Maybe he wanted to get me alone.

Even so, I continued to follow one of warriors, staying far enough behind them that if they had been tasked to end my life, they’d have to get much closer to finish the job. All the while, my hand flexed on the hilt of a small blade I’d hidden in the robe’s side, unable to carry my sword without drawing attention to the weapon.

And as