Chapter 1

Corin

My scales rattled along my spine in frustration. Zeidon was the worst patient I had ever had the misfortune of treating, and after he went missing, everyone looked at me like it was my fault. No, that wasn't fair—I had to admit that. They hadn't blamed me, but I still felt guilty. I should have paid better attention.

I dug my claws into my hair and pulled; the sharp bite of pain helped me focus. Zeidon the Water Weaver was a pain in my ass, but I understood his desire to rescue his mate. If this were happening to... No, I couldn't even finish that thought. I had no business thinking about her. Talk about a pain in the ass. How was a male supposed to avoid someone when they made it their business to be everywhere you went?

I was trying to do the right thing! I was always doing the right thing; that's why I'd aspired to be a Shaman all my life. That's why I was here, in Outcast Haven, and not back in the Thunder Rock village. That's why I wasn't the Thunder Rock queen's consort, even though she'd tried to seduce me for as long as I could remember. I didn't want power, I just wanted to help.

The med bay in Ahoshaga was quiet right now, with no patients for me to take care of since Zeidon had recovered, for the second time. I was glad to see the last of him and his cantankerous pet, but now I had nowhere to focus my worry but on the missing. The missing, and the way one certain female kept running into me while giving me looks with her big, dark, and ever-so-exotic eyes.

I needed to get out of here. What we needed to do was mount another search for the warriors who were trapped—the group of warriors sent to find a female who had already been found. That group included one of my best friends and his mate, not to mention the former Warlord, whose female was anxiously cooking by the fire, pretending to hold it together.

Zathar couldn't leave, and Zsekhet and his dragon couldn't enter the tunnels to help them. So who did that leave? Me. I was their best bet because I was the only one who understood the relics in the caves beneath our mountains. I could make them work, I could read them, use them. It had to be me, and I was done waiting for Zathar to make up his mind.

My home was the apartment directly next to the med bay, what the humans called the doctors' quarters. Especially Min-Ji and she'd smile all sexily and wink when she did so. I didn't know what a doctor was, but it was tangling my insides into all kinds of knots when she looked at me that way.

I'd decorated sparsely: just my nest, my shelves with my projects, and a desk. I had at least half a dozen cleaning bots spread out along one wall in various stages of repair, and several more interesting bots in a nearby basket. One particular bot I gave an extra suspicious look. It appeared to be turned off, but with that one, I never knew what to expect.

I bypassed all the interesting technology and packed my supplies and weapons. I couldn't resist the lure of the jars of solutions I had gathered. I might need a good, strong explosion to free the warriors—it was the perfect excuse to test out my latest mixture.

Zathar wouldn't want me to go alone, but we didn't have many warriors to spare with most of them trapped. Those that remained, like Xorare and Aks, needed to stay here to handle hunting and protect Haven. They had to stay to protect the females, many of whom were now pregnant.

I ducked out of my quarters and into the med bay, or the Shaman's rooms, as Vrash's figment called it in his grand explanation of the village beneath the mountain that he'd built. That was who I'd be up against if I believed the report from the Water Weaver male and his female: a strange replica of the very man who had once aspired to create a safe haven at Ahoshaga to weather the calamities of the past.

The medical supplies stored there were plentiful, but I only took what I thought I might absolutely need. That included the healing device I could slide over my hand, a device I'd carried with me since the moment I'd found it as a youngling, just after my seventh molting. I wouldn't be leaving the pregnant females and warriors without a healer when I left. The Shaman Artek had arrived a week ago to see this place with his own eyes. Zathar would convince him to stay until I returned.

My frustration and anxious energy had left me now that I'd set my course, but as I slithered deeper into Ahoshaga's mountain village, a different worry took hold. Who would watch over the last single female without me there? I didn't like the idea that another male might take an interest in my absence, even if I couldn't permit myself to take her as my mate.

She was a willful female, stubborn and fearless. Her smile was radiant, lighting up a room, and she wielded it like a weapon. Any of the unmated males would be fools not to notice her appeal, and if I wasn't around, they might make a move. I growled in frustration, back to feeling anxious for these new reasons. My scales rattled along my spine as I forced myself to keep moving.

That's what I wanted—for her to move on and forget about me. I couldn't be selfish and stand in the way of her happiness when she found another male, a safer male. If it happened while I wasn't around, all the better. I wouldn't have to fight my instincts to lay my claim, instincts that would certainly urge me to kill the contender. No, not a contender—because I had made my choice.

The panel I needed controlled the water flow of the fountain at the bottom of Ahoshaga's village. It sat in a small village square, and around it, apartments and balconies rose in a spiral. It took a sharp twist of my knife to slide the hatch free and expose the pipes and machinery beneath. It was going to be a tight squeeze, but my agile body could handle it. With the access door into the bowels of the mountain sealed from the other side, this was the only way in.

I glanced over my shoulder, then tilted my head to gaze at the balustrades above me. No one was watching, but I couldn't shake the sudden feeling of eyes on the back of my neck. When a second search for watchers didn't yield results, I shrugged and started to move, twisting myself between the pipes and pulling the hatch shut behind me. No one would know how I'd left, but Zathar would find the message I'd left in the med bay. He'd understand.

I was certain there was one particular female who would not understand my decision to mount a rescue by myself. But Min-Ji would have no choice but to remain in Haven and wait; she'd be safe. This was the last time I would allow myself to think of her. From here on out, it was the mission and nothing else. I didn't believe that resolution would hold, not even for a minute.

Determined to stick to that plan, I started sliding through the cramped space, following the pipes deeper into the mountain. I needed to find the missing warriors, and I needed to find this Vrash Revenant if it had somehow survived. Someone had to deal with it once and for all, so it couldn't threaten Haven.

***

Min-Ji

"Hey, Naomi," I said as I plunked myself down on the fur-covered log beside her. The small woman was stirring madly in the huge leather 'cooking bag' dangling from a tripod next to the fire. If that were an actual cauldron, I would've made a joke about how she looked like a witch.

No, maybe not. It was obvious that she was worried about her mate. She kept cupping her free hand around her flat belly, glancing over her shoulder into the entrance of our cave village. Since we'd learned that the rescue party now needed rescuing, everyone was in a heightened state of worry. It made me feel stressed, and I was usually very cool under fire.

We all felt like they could simply appear from inside the caverns rather than through the palisade gate. Most of the girls hadn't been the same since learning that some creepy, deranged robot had tunnels beneath our homes. It might have been defeated, and it might have blocked the tunnels, but it still felt like it could slither out and harm us in our sleep.

Cosima and Vera had their mates with them, as did our recent addition, Farah. But Naomi was alone because her mate was part of the rescue party that had gotten lost. If I had to guess, I'd say she was also expecting a baby. I might have let my curiosity reign and asked her if she was, but that just seemed wrong now.

Naomi wanted to share her news with Krashe first, but he was missing. Someone had to do something about it, but the warriors were still huddled near the meat-smoking shed. I glanced in their direction and glared, hoping they'd sense it and hurry up. Only Vera was with them, but I couldn't read the expression on her face from all the way over here. Did her crossed arms mean she was upset or angry? Or was she trying to project confidence surrounded by all those big, brutish Naga males?

Zsekhet was leaning against the massive paw of his dragon in a relaxed pose. Despite having a dragon at his disposal, I knew Zathar would never send him for this rescue. A dragon didn't fit underground, and we needed him here to scare off any Bitter Storm warriors in case they wanted to attack Haven. That didn't leave many others…

"Hey, Min-Ji," Naomi greeted me as she plunked down on the log. "I can't get this to taste right. Everything tastes off. What do you think?" She held out a spoon to me, and I obediently leaned forward to take a bite. It was a flavorful stew, and in my humble opinion, there was nothing wrong with it, but Naomi didn't seem to know what to do with that kind of answer.

She fussed with her pet miniature dragon, a jewel-green little fellow named Kiwi. I knew what was wrong with her: she missed her mate and was going through something life-altering. I reached out an arm to take the time to comfort her, but my eyes had just noted something pretty big.

There was one particular shade of blue Naga that I was always on the lookout for, and it was odd to see it absent during that important meeting. Zathar was in the lead, azure and imposing as he talked or listened to ideas from his warriors. Even the visiting Shaman, Artek, was present, his opalescent white scales gleaming in the midafternoon sun.

I counted the handful of other warriors that had remained behind and came up short again. Corin wasn't there; his distinct silver-blue scales weren't part of the group. My mind started racing with ideas about how that could be immediately. It was nothing like him. As Zathar's closest friend and confidant, he wouldn't miss out on an important meeting. He'd be there to back up his friend and leader in that stoic, quiet way of his.

There was only one thought that sprang to mind: he had left on some secret mission of his own, either with Zathar's blessing or without. Others thought he was the quiet, intense type and that he kept himself distant, but I knew better. He had a bleeding heart, too big for his own good, and he felt responsible for everyone. If I had to guess, he was concocting a plan to save the missing warriors all by himself.

I was on my feet before I'd even considered what I planned to do, but once standing, an idea started to form. "What…?" Naomi muttered, staring at me when I ducked down and gave her a quick hug. Once I let go of her, I was already thinking hard, running lists through my head of the supplies I needed to gather.

"Take care, I gotta run," I said over my shoulder as I ducked into Ahoshaga.