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Isath looked at the insignia on my uniform. "Is that what you are, one of their soldiers?"
"I am. I called them for help when I was on Racopia’s moon. They got my signal and came here." I gave him a mocking laugh. "Smart move, keeping all the communications tracking equipment in the citadel. Wonder how they knew to come here?"
I saw more hatred flare in his eyes as I taunted him. His shoulders tensed. I thought he was going to lash out, so I stepped to the side out of his way. My action brought a smirk to his face.
"There’s a common trait for your kind. Throw insults and then duck for cover. I can’t imagine why Varus seeks to muddy the Racopian bloodlines with your foreign lineage." He strode forward. I felt a chill in the air as he came close to me, step by step. Chill mist built up along his feet.
His soldiers also came forward and surrounded me. My skin grew cold. Invisible icy fingers curled around my limbs.
Crystals of ice formed around each of the soldiers and Isath. My breath came out in white puffs as the temperature in the room dropped forty degrees. His smug smile deepened as I shivered.
"You feel it, don’t you? The bitter chill that bites through the warmth of your clothing? It sinks into your pliable flesh without breaking the skin." He reached out and took me by the shoulder. Sharp, icy pain lanced through my upper body. I gasped as it went to my head. I couldn’t close my mouth after I gasped. Isath got in my face. Unable to move my neck, I had no choice except to stare at him eye to eye.
"You see it now. This is what a superior being can do."
Ice ran up my legs. My feet were held to the ground, glued in place by more of it that ran along the floor. I watched, helpless, as lines of ice from each soldier came my way.
You bastard.I wanted to scream at him. Only a weak gurgle came from my vocal cords. I felt some mobility in my left arm. I tried to strike out at him. My strike moved as in slow motion.
He caught my fist in his hand. Ice crackled and curled around my fingers, digging into the skin. "Please stop embarrassing yourself."
My arm was twenty pounds heavier encased in a block of ice. The same happened to my legs, going all the way up. Soon, a wall of ice separated me and Isath. His last words to me sounded as though I were underwater, and he looked at me through the frigid glacial blue glass of an aquarium.
"Too bad. I guess the last thing Varus will see of you is your body frozen in a state of agony."
I felt my life slipping away.Varus, my heart, my mate. I'm sorry.
***
VARUS
Iclutched my chestas a heavy pain took over me. Something happened to Harper. I felt it as though my soul were being torn from my body.
I landed on the stairs of the citadel, taking cover until the pain subsided into a constant dull ache. The Wanderstar Fleet ship spanned overhead, returning fire to the enemy forces who sent laser trajectories at the craft from the citadel roof. We were winning the fight. Harper provided allies, but where was she?
I leaned into our connection, searching for her presence in the chaos of the fighting. It was then I sensed her. She was inside the citadel.
I made my way up the rest of the stairs. An enemy troop rushed towards me. I sidestepped and used his momentum to toss him down the stairs. His wings didn’t catch him in time. I continued on past the fighting, pushing through to get to the western entrance.
The hall was riddled with debris and fallen weapons with empty cartridges. Enemy soldiers broke through the barriers. I heard voices from another chamber and followed their sound. I went to the end of the hall to find a sealed door. Faces were behind the glass. I saw Maagda’s in front.
She pointed to the panel next to the door. I activated it to slide open. "Maagda, is everyone accounted for in there?"
She shook her head. "Harper’s not here. She sealed us in the chamber so she could meet Isath’s forces when they broke through the hall. I think he took her."
Adrenaline and anger at the enemy made blood rush to my head. "Where did he take her?"
Maagda shook her head again. "All I know is he and his soldiers moved that way." She pointed down another corridor.
"Reinforcements are just outside. Stay here until help arrives." I left the western hall and sprinted through another hall. I knew the citadel like the back of my hand yet how was I going to find her in this maze of corridors?
This was my fault. I should not have let her come to battle. She may be a trained soldier, but this warfare was not between humans.
I forced myself to slow down and think. I had no com link to track Harper down, but I had something better. We shared a bond. As long as she was still alive, I had hope of finding her.
I concentrated on the bond, feeling my connection to her. I pictured her face, the laughing dark eyes and her whip-smart mouth. I imagined the soft feel of her skin, how her body arched when we made love, the way her hair smelled like bliss.Where are you, Harper?
I closed my eyes and pushed away all the sounds of battle outside the citadel. As I focused, I picked up on one sense.
