He couldn’t even begin to process the magnitude of the betrayal – nor the sheer evil that was about to be unleashed by a man he’d considered a friend for the past two thousand years. And Mia . . . No, he couldn’t think about it. Not now, at least. If they were all to survive, he needed to focus, to control his rage and pain.
Utilizing every ounce of willpower he possessed, Korum reached for the coolly rational side of himself and began to analyze the best way to handle the situation.
* * *
Saret watched impatiently as Korum finally left the house and created the transport pod. Now his nemesis would come looking for Mia, hopefully with minimal – if any – suspicions.
Of course, it would never do to underestimate him. The bastard always had some nasty surprises for those who did. Still, Korum had no reason to think anything sinister was going on, and he would certainly never expect Saret to try to kill him.
It was unfortunate that Mia had come across those files today. Saret had always known that someone could snoop around and figure out that Saur hadn’t been quite as knowledgeable about memory erasure as he’d been portrayed to be. Saret should’ve moved the files, but everyone in the lab knew better than to access other people’s work without Saret’s explicit permission.
Everyone, except one human girl, as it turned out.
Then again, maybe on some level, Saret had wanted her to find out. He’d enjoyed explaining his plan to her and watching the emotions on her expressive little face. She hadn’t understood fully, of course, still too caught up in Korum’s web to think clearly.
It had made him angry, what she’d said about not being attracted to him. She’d been lying, of course, trying to goad him into doing something stupid. He was a Krinar male in his prime; he knew full well that human women desired him. And she would want him too; he had made sure of that.
He would be gentle with her at first, not like Korum had been when they met. Saret had seen some of the recordings from the beginning of their relationship at the trial, and it had made him angry, the way his nemesis had handled her then. Saret would make a better cheren, he was certain of that.
Now where was Korum?
Frowning, Saret looked at the image again. It appeared his enemy was in no hurry. Instead of flying to the lab, Korum was standing next to the ship and leisurely chatting with some Krinar woman Saret had never seen before. He was almost . . . flirting with her? Fucking bastard, already cheating on Mia.
Well, no matter, Korum would get here soon enough. And when he did, he would be in for a nice little surprise.
Unbeknownst to all, Saret had spent the past several years building a high-tech fortress within the lab. All Krinar buildings were durable, meant to withstand anything from a nuclear blast to a volcanic eruption. His lab, however, went a step further: the walls were weaponized – designed to kill anyone who tried to enter once Saret activated the protection mode. They were also impenetrable by any form of nanotechnology because Saret had installed the same shields that served as the Centers’ defenses.
It hadn’t been easy, doing this. Weapons were not something that the general population had easy access to, especially specialized nano-weapons like those embedded in his walls. Saret had been forced to call in a lot of favors and spend a sizable chunk of his personal fortune to get everything set up exactly as he wanted it. It had cost him even more to keep everything a secret.
Now, however, it would all pay off. In another couple of days, the nano-weapon that he planned to use in the Centers would be ready. The dispersion devices with the nanocytes had already been planted in all the key human cities.
All he needed now was patience.
Another ten minutes, and Saret was losing what remained of that patience. What the hell was taking Korum so long? Had Saret underestimated his enemy’s attachment to the girl? It looked like the bastard was still flirting with that woman. There he was now, laughing and touching her arm. What the fuck? Whatever happened to his obsession with Mia? Had she been just a toy for him all along?
As soon as the thought occurred to Saret, he dismissed it. No, something was up. He was suddenly certain of it.
Was his enemy playing him for a fool? Was he even now being fed a false image? There was no way to tell; the figures Saret was watching looked completely real. But, as Saret knew full well, looks could be deceiving.
He had to face the possibility that Korum had figured out something was going on.
Moving swiftly, Saret armed himself and put on a protective shield that wrapped around his entire body. The lab walls were still his best defense, and he had every intention of confronting his nemesis here, where Saret had the home advantage. He felt no fear, though his pulse spiked in anticipation of the upcoming fight.
Glancing at Mia, Saret made sure that she was still unconscious, lying restrained on the medical float. She might wake up soon, and he was hoping to have all the unpleasantness over with before that happened.
Ignoring the adrenaline rushing through his veins, Saret sat down next to her and stroked her arm, marveling at the smoothness of her pale skin. She looked so pretty, with her dark lashes fanning across her cheeks and that soft mouth slightly parted. What was that human children’s story? Sleeping Beauty? Actually, she looke
d more like Snow White, Saret decided, with her milky complexion and dark hair.
Leaning down, he kissed her lips, brushing them lightly with his tongue. As he’d suspected, she was delicious; just that tiny taste was enough to make him hard. If he had more time, he would’ve taken her right then and there, unconscious or not.
But he didn’t have more time. He needed to stay focused. One way or another, Korum would be here soon.
Getting up, Saret walked over to the image again. By now, he was almost certain it was fake.
Where was Korum?
Saret began to pace, too agitated to sit down again.