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“No. It can’t be!” Costa wailed from the mezzanine.

His patience had frayed to the breaking point. All he could do was growl at the cloying female. She stumbled back in response, but thankfully said nothing else.

“Aculus, calm down.” Tellar approached.

He whirled on his patrem. The male was making him just as angry as Axilla, perhaps a bit more.

“You, you are worse than the rest of them. You of all people should know what I have suffered and yet you let them trod over me time and time again,” he snapped at Tellar.

“You have led a privileged life. When has a Premiere Servant ever been permitted to do the things you have, to have an occupation beyond leading the people?” Tellar asked.

“And because we were so lenient, you found your weakness among the foreigners you spend so much time with rather than your own people.” Axilla tossed up her hands, her disgusted gesture reflected by others in the Conclave.

Again, they were more concerned with the precious Conclave and its future rather than him.

“Then it’s a good thing I denounced all of this. I wouldn’t want you or Osi to be tainted by my shameful bond,” he spat sarcastically. “Release my weakness and I’ll go be with the family that welcomes me with open arms.”

“We didn’t take your human into custody, although if I had known…” Axilla spat back.

“Axilla, you’re not helping,” Tellar warned her.

“Aculus.” Bregma, who’d been silent, captured his attention. “She speaks the truth. We did not order Nadzia brought in.”

Bregma had never lied to him before, and he doubted she’d start now. His heart stuttered in his chest and he started to breathe faster.

“Then that means she was taken by people posing as Sanctuary guards. And I wasted precious time fooling with you.”

“Aculus!”

He ignored Tellar as he raced toward the hangar. His stomach rebelled as horrific thoughts of what was happening to Nadzia started spiraling out of control. He had to get back to the commuter terminal.

Nadzia

The women nodded. She quickly dove beneath their table and the pair sat back down. Being smaller than the Osivoire made hiding under their legs easy.

“Did a male come this way?” one of her abductors barked a scant minute later.

“No!” an Osivoire man at another table growled in indignation.

She couldn’t see who it was but she wanted to kiss him for covering for her.

“I saw his covering at the door!” her assailant growled back.

“You better get that out of my face!” the Osivoire male countered.

Please don’t hurt anyone.She shook with terror. She couldn’t stand it if anyone else was injured.

“Come on, you fool. The authorities are on their way,” the one called Jyk insisted.

Anxiously she held her breath and listened to the scuffling and shouting as her abductors fled.

“It’s safe to come out,” one of the women hiding her said after a moment.

“Thank you.” She gripped the woman’s hand in appreciation as she got up.

I might be safe now, but Aculus isn’t. Oh god.She put her hand to her mouth.

“Are you well?” the man who’d stood up to her abductor asked.