I’d been scared many times over the past twelve months. I’d seen things which made my insides crawl, my heart constrict, and the blood run cold in my veins. Right now, though, this moment had me speechless – and trust me when I say shutting me up was rare. Though not as rare as shutting up Lucy. The pixie wasn’t with me right then. I wondered what she’d think of this room.
The longer I stared, the harder I was hit with bursts of emotion. They were rocking across my soul and digging holes in my gut. I wasn’t even sure what to think. My father was suspended in a tank of a … viscous liquid. His eyes were closed and masses of fiery red hair floated around him. And the other tank – the one which had atomic levels of panic shooting through my body – held Que. Brace’s dad, and all-round evil asshole. The evil Walker had opened his eyes a few minutes ago, but thankfully had closed them again without showing signs of recognition. Surely, he would have reacted if he’d seen his mate and son standing outside his secret cage room.
I started as a hand curved around my own. Its warmth drew some of the ice from my blood. The palm was much larger than my own and it radiated heat. Comfort was instant. Heat slid from my fingertips, along my arm and down into tantalizing tingles along my spine.
Only one person could affect me like this. Brace. My mate. I almost wiggled like a happy little puppy as I shifted closer to him.
What in all freaktastic heck is this, Brace? I could have spoken out loud, but I quite liked being able to use our bond again. I might have been shamelessly taking advantage of it.
I know a lot of things, Red, but this has me stumped. I’m going to attempt to break the dome, but I want to bring Colt here first.
Brace was the princeps of Abernath, and could have had an army here if needed. Of course, most of his warriors – our warriors actually – were on First World preparing for the battle against the Seventines’ creatures. And since I had a lot of loved ones at the dark mountains, I would hate to pull any of our soldiers back here. So, right now, we would not call for any backup but Colton.
“Don’t worry. I can take Que.” He had switched out of the bond, probably so Lasandra, his mother, could hear.
Brace – and most Walkers in general – did not lack confidence. For good reason, of course; they were totally badass, but still I worried. Plus there was one large fact that we all seemed to be ignoring.
“You might have been able to take Que, but … what about the fact that he seems to have imported himself a few new body parts?”
Lasandra stood off to the side, her eyes locked on the two tanks. She had one hand pressed tightly to her mouth as she shook her head side to side, before lowering her arm to speak. “What’s happened to him, Brace?”
Brace’s beautiful, blond mother was not a big fan of me. In fact, she would probably be happy if I ran away and fell down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Which, too bad for her, had already happened, and it had brought me straight to First World and Brace. She’d have to have more than the Mad Hatter up her sleeve if she wanted me gone.
Brace ran a hand through his black hair. It was getting longer again, falling across his forehead with the slightest of curls starting to form.
He turned dark eyes toward Lasandra. “I can only guess, but knowing Que, this was a failsafe set up to gather his energy in the event that he was destroyed.”
“So he’s probably been here since that Seventine blasted him apart?” I mused.
“He would have known the risks of housing the Seventine. It was almost as if he wanted this to happen,” Brace said. “What better way to infuse new energy into your DNA than to build your body up from scratch.”
I squinted for a better look at the tank holding the almost rebuilt male. “What other energies is he gathering?”
Brace’s features hardened, the handsome planes firming out into long lines. “No way to know for certain, but … one of the originals had a leg which was made from inorganic material. The history tomes speak of this original as one who liked to experiment with his body, modifying it for strength.”
I swallowed, trying to get past the new lump in my throat. “Inorganic material. Sort of like a robot leg?”
Which is exactly what it looked like Que was growing. The limb wasn’t fully formed, but there was clearly metal infused with flesh, like a cyborg.
“Yes,” Brace said. “Shit! He’s been gathering the free energy of the originals.”