The Opelux and Other Monsters || Book One

CHAPTER 34 - ORION

The second Pharro opened the cell door, I bolted.

"I need to get to Tritteon. Now."

"I'll meet you up there," Pharro called back.

The Kovei must have sensed my urgency. They had the doors open already. I slid to a halt in front of the purple door, grabbing the handle to stabilize myself.

"Infirmary," I thought to it. I burst through, slamming it behind me, and stopped in my tracks.

Over a dozen guards stood along the wall opposite the closed Infirmary doors, two, unmoving Kovei on the floor in front of them.

"Tritteon?"

"In here," Tritteon called.

A flutter of relief washed through me at the sound of his voice. I slipped past the guards, all watching me with varying expressions of confusion or curiosity or unease. But the relief was short lived as I stepped over the creatures' still forms and opened the doors.

Two rows of Kovei surrounded Rilyin's bed, a soft blue light glowing from the center of their circle. The curtain was strewn across the floor around them in shreds and two Kovei and three men lay unmoving among the dark blue material.

I swore.

And then I saw Tritteon. He knelt a few feet away, checking the vitals of two unmoving forms. One was Rilyin's Ambassador, Lady Ezlinn Vasprey. The other was...

"Colleena," I yelled, running to her side.

"She's alive," Tritteon said hoarsely, his face pale, like the truth hadn't fully sank in yet. "They are both alive."

"Why are all the guards out in the hall?"

"I didn't want anyone tampering with or destroying evidence."

"What happened here?"

Another Kovei lay in front of the glass doors that led out to the balcony and a fourth lay a few feet from Ambassador Vasprey.

Tritteon got slowly to his feet and took two careful steps toward the circle of Kovei. He motioned for them to part with a wave of his hands and four of them stepped out of the way, revealing the source of the glow.

I jumped to my feet.

A huge, glowing, blue cocoon like object floated a foot off the bed Rilyin had previously occupied.

"Tritteon, what is that?"

"Angquin is gone," he whispered, his voice so soft and shaky I barely understood.

I whipped my head toward him. "She did this?"

"No," was all he could manage.

I followed Tritteon toward the cocoon, stepping over a Kovei.

"Is Rilyin inside that?"

"Yes." He stood staring at it, his fists clenched at his sides like he was waiting for something to happen, but was starting to doubt it would.

"Tritteon?"

He held up his hand to silence me, still staring at the cocoon. Staring like he had after the Kovei had first brought both of us in here, waiting for Rilyin's Protection to kick in. But this thing surrounding him, had whoever the traitor was created it? What was its purpose? Had his Protection created it?

I stepped closer and the Kovei parted to let me through. And Tritteon said nothing as I reached out and ran my hand over the smooth, cobalt shell, the very air around it buzzing with a hot energy that made my whole arm tingle.