Gasps filled the air. “You wouldn’t,” Milner muttered. His gaze darted around the room, obviously seeking to land somewhere away from the king. Grabbing a handkerchief out of his pocket, he wiped his ancient brow. “I’m not an enemy you want, King.”
The prophets could certainly try to take him down. At the very least a fight with them would tear the Realm in two. Dage shook his head. “We’re at war. You may want to remember the prophets need my protection right now more than ever.” Weaselly little prick. Dage had had enough taking orders from spiritual leaders who had no clue of the means necessary to keep the Realm whole. As a soldier, as a leader, Caleb did, and Dage would choose his old friend over the prophets any day. Regardless of the outcome.
Caleb straightened. “Why would I want to rejoin the Realm? I don’t need you.”
Dage lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t you? You’ve been fighting three shifter clans because of your brother’s mating. Not to mention the entire demon nation. Aren’t you tired of feuding?”
The grin sliding across Caleb’s face lacked any semblance of humor. “You going to broker peace for me, Kayrs?” His voice lowered. “If we unite, there’s a better chance the demons will declare war on you.”
Dage nodded. “I hope to keep that from happening. But even now our alliance with the demons is uneasy. They won’t lift a finger in our war with the Kurjans.” He glanced at Lily, then back to Caleb. “You will.” With Caleb’s soldiers, the balance would tip in the Realm’s favor.
Caleb sighed, shifting his attention to Lily, challenge sparking his eyes. “What do you think, Prophet?”
She shot a gaze to Dage, then squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, focusing back on Caleb. “I think you do need us.”
Dage stifled a grin. She may be dainty and old-fashioned, but the woman had grit.
Caleb winked at her. “If it’s done, it’s absolute. There’s no tossing me out later once the war is over.” He shifted his melded gaze toward the king.
“Agreed.” Dage nodded.
Three muted agreeds filled the room. Silence beat around the room before first Lily, then the other two prophets made polite good-byes and hustled through the exit. Jase and Conn followed suit, leaving Dage and Caleb sitting in the loungers. The fire’s peaceful crackle helped dissipate the irritation left in Milner’s wake.
“Quite the bold move.” Caleb reached for Lily’s tea and downed the rest of the fragrant brew.
“Yes. Milner is no doubt on the phone planning to dethrone me.” The weasel might succeed, but not during a time of war. Not right now. Dage grinned. “I’ve missed you, old friend.”
“Ditto. I heard you found a mate. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Dage eyed the door. Something began to tingle at the base of his neck, an awareness of some sort.
“Has Lily been ill?” The casual question belied the sudden intensity sparking Caleb’s colorful eyes.
“Rough night.” Since when did Lily party the night away? “She was so young when her marriage to Sotheby was arranged. Maybe she’s spreading her wings.”
Caleb shook his head. “They were only married for two weeks before he disappeared.” He quirked a lip. “Did you know I was courting her at the time?”
“Ah. Er, no.” Dage lifted an eyebrow.
Caleb nodded. “Yeah. She chose duty over me.” He shrugged. “Can’t blame her.”
Dage took another drink of grape energy. Caleb sounded like he blamed Lily. “Well, she has always been mindful of duty.” Always. Awareness slammed into reality. She wouldn’t have gotten drunk at a colloquium event. “Damn it.” Dage leapt to his feet, three strides taking him through the doors.
Caleb followed on his heels. “Kayrs. What the hell?”
Dage all but ran through the hallway and up to the next floor, stopping to pound on the door he needed. “I hope I’m wrong.” He should’ve paid better attention.
The door clicked open a couple of inches, the chain in place, the scent of strawberries wafting out. Lily’s pale face filled the slot. “King? I’m sorry but I’m not feeling well right now. Could you come back later?”
“Open the door, Prophet.” He placed his palm against the wood.
“No.” The word trembled weakly from her mouth.
Caleb pushed him to the side. “Lily, open the door. Do you need a doctor?”
“I need the nosey vampires in this place to leave me to rest. Now I’ll speak with you gentlemen later.” She stepped back, and the sound of a small thud filled the silence.
Caleb threw a shoulder against the door and the chain snapped in two. Dage followed him inside to where he’d dropped to his knees to cradle Lily’s limp body. Caleb lifted his gaze. “What’s wrong with her?”
Dage shook his head. “We’ll need to run some tests to make sure. But I think she’s been infected.” If he was right, the Kurjans would pay.
Chapter 12
Emma stepped out of the decontamination shower attached to Lab Four, dried off and entered the next chamber, hitting the button and shutting her eyes as the ultraviolet light moved over her skin. Any possible virus that clung to her would be killed. Shivering, she dodged into the next room and slid into a black jumpsuit, grabbing a clip off the counter to pin up her wet hair. She grabbed socks out of a cubby, yanked them on, then stepped into her tennis shoes, leaning over to stare into a glass plate next to the door. “Emma42249.”
The door slid open.
She trudged down the hallway into another bright lab, not surprised to see a young man bent over the Transmission Electron Aberration-Corrected microscope. He sat alone in the chilled lab, row after row of test tubes lined up on the shelf before him. Machines whirred on either side of the room, calculating data. “Devon. Even Einstein took a break now and then.” She loped over to a file cabinet to find a copy of Rachel’s dissertation on proteins binding to cancer cells. They’d need to get Rachel’s help soon, and there’s no way the brilliant scientist would be fooled by the protocols set in place by Kane. She’d know they weren’t studying cancer within minutes of reading the data—which is why Emma was currently working with doctoral students like Devon. He was highly intelligent, yet lacked the experience needed to see through the charade.
Devon straightened and pushed back his unruly brown hair, swiveling on his stool to flash a wide grin. “If Einstein had worked harder, maybe we’d have a better understanding of time travel right now.”
Bleach and lemon cleanser tickled her nose. “Maybe. Or maybe he would’ve burned out and not discovered several theories that we do understand.”
“Well, it’s all relative,” Devon snorted.
Man she loved lab geeks. Emma laughed, shaking her head, shutting the file cabinet and heading for the door.
Devon cleared his throat. “Dr. Paulsen? Is there any chance we’ll be able to see the other labs?”
Unease swirled in Emma’s stomach even as she schooled her face and paused to face him. She hated lying to her coworkers. “I don’t think so, Devon. You know how delicate these governmental experiments can be.” What a load of crap. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at herself.
“I know. And I know the dangers of a secured lab—so many pathogens. But I can’t help but wonder ...” He tugged a loose thread on his worn jeans.
“I know.” Curiosity was a scientist’s greatest asset. “I hope you know how much you are appreciated.” He’d make an incredible geneticist someday.
He shrugged. “Thanks. I couldn’t do half this work without Sandy.” He blushed, his usually pale cheeks turning a bright pink.
Lab romances. Emma smiled again. “You’re all invaluable. I’ll see you tomorrow.” At his nod, she hurried out of the room and down the hallway, using voice, hand, and eye recognition to get through three areas of security. She finally reached the private lab where the prophet perched on an examination table. Waiting. The scent of rubbing alcohol mixed with strawberries filled the large lab. Emma forced a smile, and pushed down her concern. “You’ve had quite the day. Dage said you were unconscious for most of the plane ride here.”