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When I’ve conveyed the message, I ask Aruan in his language, “Is confining them really necessary?” Because that’s just a nice way of saying he’s locking them up. “The Phaelix kept them in prison cells. Don’t you think they’ve been under lock and key for long enough?”

He addresses me in a stern tone. “You know why it’s necessary.” Turning on his heel, he orders, “Come. You can visit them again later.”

Not wanting to evoke his ire by arguing, I say to Sandy, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. You don’t have to worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Wait.” She grabs my arm, holding me back. “How long are they going to keep us here?”

“I really can’t say, but I’ll do my best to make sure you leave as quickly as possible.”

A flame of hope kindles in my heart when I think about going home with the humans and seeing my parents. At the dark look that comes over Aruan’s face, I suppress the thought. He can probably feel what I’m thinking.

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Sandy says. “We’ll go out of our minds.”

“I’ll ask Aruan if we can bring you something to keep you occupied.”

“Let us help with the chores. At least that way, we’ll feel useful.” Sandy tilts her head toward the others, who’re watching us from a safe distance. “Keeping busy will prevent us from going crazy.”

“Time to go, Elsie,” Aruan says, glaring at the spot where Sandy’s fingers are locked around my wrist.

Blanching under his stare, she lets me go quickly.

Aruan heads toward the archway.

“Don’t worry,” I call over my shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.”

Sandy doesn’t look convinced as I leave hurriedly with Aruan.

He seals the archway and makes his way with long strides down the hallway.

“What now?” I ask, running to keep up with him.

The stone walls light up as we pass, illuminating our way.

Aruan stops next to an archway on the opposite side of the living quarters. It gives a view of the ocean below. Taking my hand, he intertwines our fingers. “Don’t fret about those humans. I’ll speak to my mother.”

I hold his gaze, trying to get a read on him. Even as he tells me not to worry, I feel his concern through the bond that exists between us, albeit weakly. “What if she refuses to help? Your father said creating portals to Earth was forbidden.”

He watches me quietly.

“Whoever brought us here broke the rules,” I continue. “Do you have any idea who was responsible?”

“No.” The set of his mouth hardens. “But I intend to find out.”

“How?”

“I’ve already sent spies to the other kingdoms. If someone is creating forbidden portals, we’ll sniff him out.”

“You don’t think the Phaelix are creating those portals.”

“Whoever is creating them must be as powerful as my mother.”

He doesn’t elaborate, leaving me to arrive at my own conclusions.

“And the Phaelix don’t have powers,” I muse.

“Correct.”

“You think it’s an Alit,” I say as the insight hits me.

He only continues to observe me with a muscle ticking in his jaw.

I frown. “If an Alit is involved, why would he or she provide slaves to the Phaelix?”

“That’s what I’m going to uncover.”

Wait a minute. “Is that why you’re in no rush to send the humans home?” I prop a hand on my hip. “You’d better not think you can use them to somehow draw out the guilty party.”

His smile is calculating. “I just want to question them. There’s no harm in that.”

“Every one of us ended up here via a portal with Phaelix. That’s all we know.” And then I understand. “Oh, my god. That’s why Kian went to see them under the guise of delivering food. He read their minds, didn’t he?”

“Maybe,” Aruan says, an evil smile tugging at his lips.

“You’re despicable. That’s invasive.”

“But necessary.” He turns, pulling me with him. “You need to rest. You’ve been through a lot.”

“If you think you can go back to sealing me into your quarters while you go off to do whatever it is you’re going to do, you have another think coming.” When he doesn’t slow down or answer, I hang back. “Aruan.”

At my frustrated tone, he stops.

Facing me squarely, he says, “Do you think I don’t know what’s going on in your head, Elsie? Our bond may not be complete, but don’t let that fool you into thinking I can’t read your intentions.”

My mouth goes dry. “What do you mean?”

He fixes me with a silver gaze. “Swear on Betty’s life you won’t run away again, and I won’t have to lock you in.”

My breath stutters. For a moment, I can’t reply.

Disappointment moves across his face. “Back at the slave market, you vowed to stay where you belong if I brought the humans with us. When I said, ‘in my bed,’ I meant by my side. It didn’t escape me that you didn’t use those words when you made your oath.”

His bitter disillusionment in me is a pain that blisters my heart.

“You didn’t mean to stay with me , Elsie. Because you still believe this isn’t where you belong.”

I open my mouth to argue, but he doesn’t give me a chance.

“I know you, mate.” He studies me with that intense, brooding stare. “Did you really think you could trick me by sidetracking me from the real issue at stake with a seductive deal?”

“I didn’t try to sidetrack you. I did what I had to do so you wouldn’t abandon Karl and those women in the wild.”

He drops his voice an octave. “I wouldn’t have abandoned them.”

I stare at him in disbelief. So I didn’t need to bargain for their lives? “You tricked me.” Anger surges through me. “You tricked me into making that promise.”

His smile turns wry. “And you made that promise for them, not for me. You’re not here because you chose your mate, Elsie. You’re here because you wanted to save those Earthlings.”

I clench my free hand into a fist. “How could you? You manipulated me.”

“And you? Isn’t the deal you offered me a form of manipulation too?”

I’m so angry I’m fuming. “I can’t believe I was so blind I didn’t see that one coming.”

“If it makes you feel better, I had no intention of bringing them here. I would’ve kept them somewhere else until I figured out what to do with them.”

I pull my hand from his. “You really make it difficult for me to like you.”

His silver eyes gleam, making him look more dangerous than ever, but he maintains an icy veneer and a cold, cutting calm. “You make it difficult for me to trust you.”

“I can’t help how I feel. I have parents who don’t know what’s happened to me. Don’t you get that?”

He works his jaw from side to side, his silence hurting me worse than his clever deceit.

But deep inside, I also know he’s right.

I didn’t promise him what he asked. I used that little clause, “where I belong,” to justify my argument.

Where I belong is a very subjective belief.

Regardless of the promise I made to mate with him willingly, I have no intention of meekly giving in and staying here forever.

The unfriendly smile that curves his lips cuts me to the bone.

“That’s what I thought.” He turns and continues on his way without bothering to check if I’m following.

“I’m going to see Kian. If you’re interested in knowing what he discovered from reading the humans’ minds, you can follow me.

If not, you’ll wait in my quarters until I come back for you. ”

With that, he stalks away, leaving me sad and lonely for reasons I can’t explain. Not having a choice, I push those feelings down and follow him.