160 The Job to Do

~ TARKYN ~

He’d stepped too close and gotten too pushy. Elreth did raise her brows at that.

“You ask me like you have a say in whether I can be here, Tarkyn,” she snapped.

“No, I don’t,” he ground out. “I just.. tell me what’s going on? Why does my mate smell afraid?”

But Elreth just rolled her eyes. “What’s going on is that my brother admitted to his role in getting Zev loose—thanks for not trusting me with that, by the way,” she said flatly. Tarkyn shot Gar an alarmed look—had Gar told Elreth that he was involved? But the male just gave a little shake of his head that Elreth either didn’t notice, or ignored. “But it looks like there were others at work, too. Someone helped Zev get loose, and took Jayah. We still aren’t sure whether she was hurt, or just taken prisoner. But the fact that the Chimera got inside our patrols is terrifying.”

historical

Tarkyn’s breath stopped. The Chimera had broken through? But the patrols.. He’d staggered them and given them inconsistent routes—not to mention the hidden border guards. How could any Chimera without knowledge of the Tree City have reached all the way to the prison trees without being identified—unless someone from within the Tree City had helped? Or had someone managed to share information through the link?

But then, how had they gotten out? Even if they knew the land, to move with a human and child which would slow them.. and no one even catching their scent?

Either this Zev was the most skilled and highly sensed tracker Tarkyn had ever met, or someone had helped them. And they’d taken Jayah? Why Jayah? No one was less of a threat. Unless they had need of a healer.. was Zev hurt in ways they didn’t know? Or was it just for their son—

But then Elreth’s words broke through. “..the bigger problem we have now is how we deal with it. I wanted to send your mate back to her people to plead for peace—but Harth is making the argument for you to go with her, and despite myself, I’m considering it,” Elreth finished.

.....

Tarkyn just about lost his feet in shock. “You’d.. trust me to do that?”

Elreth frowned. “Why is everyone suddenly convinced that I’ve lost every last brain cell in my head? I was afraid. I’m still afraid. But I’m not blind. I know that we need to fix it, and fix it now. I know that you protected your mate just like my mate would protect me. And even though I don’t like it, I accept that it means there’s little left to decide here other than whether or not you will be allowed to go to the Chimera as our emissary, or asked to stay back and help us plan in case things go.. wrong.”

Tarkyn barely took it in—everything except the emissary part. They were sending Harth in?

“Send me,” he said immediately, stepping closer so that Elreth raised her brows again and he was forced to straighten and give her more room. “Please,” he amended. “Send me. I know I can reach Zev. I did it in the prison—and it can’t get harder than that. We’ll find it. Whatever he needs to feel.. comfortable. We’ll find it. I know soldiers—and that male is a fighter if I ever met one.”

“Yes, yes, your mate has already made your case on that,” Elreth muttered with a glance at Gar, then Harth before turning her attention back to Tarkyn. “So that was the final question: Do you want to go with your mate to meet her people, despite the danger there? Do you want to try to forge peace between our people, even though you risk being taken prisoner yourself?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “Yes.”

Elreth huffed and shook her head. She looked desperately sad. “Well, then, it seems like there isn’t much of a decision to make. Before you both go, Tarkyn, I’ll take your advice on what our strategy should be to ensure that our people are as safe as possible in traveling and preparing to meet the wol—Zev on whatever ground he chooses. And then I’ll.. I’ll ask you to pray that I haven’t broken this beyond repair.”

Tarkyn blinked. “You—”

“I understand that I have created most of this conflict,” Elreth ground out. “And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I kept you two from each other. I’m not sorry for treating Zev like a potential threat—but I am sorry that I reacted so aggressively in the first instance. I’ve seen.. seen that there was another way to handle that. Now I’m praying that Zev will give me a chance to tell him that and try to offer reconciliation.”

Tarkyn didn’t like the chances of that, but he was so glad, so relieved to hear that Elreth had finally seen her role in this he couldn’t be very angry with her.

His mate on the other hand.. her scent prickled with stifled, but barely restrained rage.

“Okay. Great. Where do we start?” Tarkyn said, putting a hand to Harth’s back to remind her he was there.

Elreth looked at Gar, then sighed again. “We start with the messages I’m going to ask you two to take to Zev and Sasha. And our strategies for their potential responses. Because according to Harth, I’ve got three days to fix this.”

“What’s happening in three days?” Tarkyn asked, looking between the three of them.

It was Harth who answered. “Zev linked with me when they were passing close enough to reach. He’s on his way back to the Chimera, and he’s.. gathering them to.. to defend. In three days if something doesn’t change, he’s going to do something. I don’t know what. He didn’t tell me, but whatever it is.. he’s very, very angry,” Harth said reluctantly.

Tarkyn’s heart sank. “That’s understandable, I suppose.”

But Harth was holding his eyes, a warning flashing in hers. ‘No, Tarkyn,’ she sent through the link. ‘I don’t want to tell her because I don’t want her to give up on peace, but.. Zev told me that unless you come with me back to them, and we’re there within three days.. it will be too late. Because he’s leading the Chimera against this Queen.’ She took a breath and her entire body tensed. ‘He’s not going to forgive, or try for peace, Tarkyn. He wants war. He wants Elreth’s head.’

Tarkyn’s blood ran cold.