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CHAPTER FIFTY

-Clay-

THE ALDAR SHIP accepted me back as if I was one of its own; opening as the jet drew near. Inside, I jumped out of my jet before it had properly docked, stumbling when my feet met the deck. Pain splintered up my ankles, but I kept going, turning it into a toppling run.

Please, be ok. Please, be ok.

My stomach churned, and my heart raced along with me as I ran through the ship. Aldarian heads turned to follow me, faces shocked, and I heard snatches of murmurs and whispers. At one point, someone shouted after me, but I couldn’t hear what they said and kept on running. When I reached Arcay’s rooms, I thought my lungs were going to burst.

“Arcay?” I shouted.

A group of Aldar clustered in the main living area, and they turned to look at me, but Arcay wasn’t there.

It felt wrong for them to be here in his space, in our space. I scanned the room. Nothing was out of place. Everything was how it had been when we left a few hours and a lifetime ago.

“Where is he?” I panted.

The Aldar didn’t reply, all of them looked shocked to see me.

“Where is he?” I demanded again. They were taking too long. I made a noise of frustration and ran through the rooms, calling his name, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

“Clay.”

I turned at my name. The bulk of Jursin blocked the doorway, his face stern. “Where have you been?”

“That doesn’t matter. Where is Arcay?” I asked again.

“I do not know. I hoped you would. But that does not seem to be the case.”

My heart sank. If Jursin didn’t know where he was, where the hell was he?

“Now tell me. Where have you been?”

I explained to him what had happened, and he listened with an impassive face. When I reached the part about the bond disappearing, his brow creased.

“If your bond has broken it can mean only one thing. Arcay is dead.”

I choked. Hearing it said aloud was too much for me to handle. It couldn’t be true.

“You’re wrong.”

“I am not—”

“You’re wrong,” I shouted. “I would know if he was, I would have felt it or something.”

If I didn’t know him better, I would have thought there was pity in Jursin’s eyes. I didn’t want it.

“He. Is. Alive,” I gritted out. “And I’m going to find him.”

I made to leave, but Jursin let out a long, weary sigh.

“Then I will help you,” he said. “Arcay was my Second. It is the least I can do.”

I eyed him. I didn’t like that ‘was’, and he was probably humoring me because he felt bad for me—but the more people looking for Arcay the better.

“Thank you.”

After that, we split up to cover more ground. Jursin recruited a unit of royal alpha guards to the hunt, including one to keep me company. They all headed for different areas of the ship. I had a feeling their search was for a body.

Our souls had been connected, even though it was for too short a time. I knew Arcay better than anyone else on this damn ship, even though I’d known him for the least amount of time. I headed straight for Ulgar’s quarters. Chances were if something bad had happened to Arcay, that asshole played a part in it.

My skin crawled at the thought of going anywhere near Ulgar, but if there was even a remote chance that he had something to do with all this, I had to. Arcay needed me, and that outweighed any fear.

When we arrived, the rooms were deserted. There was no sign of Arcay or Ulgar. But what I did find made my stomach drop through the floor.

The guard said something about getting Jursin, told me to wait there.

When I finally unfroze, he was gone.

Eyes brimming, I turned my back on the puddle of blood on the floor.

I wasn’t stopping until I found Arcay.

Or his body.