Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 Victoria Aveline (best book club books .TXT) 📖

Something stabbed into her neck, and she screamed in agony. On the verge of consciousness again, she tried to open her mouth to plead for it to stop but only tasted blood.

***

Cold. It was so cold here. Her whole body shuddered, violent tremors jostling her aching bones. She opened her eyes, but it was like looking through amber. Everything was distorted and tinted an awful orange.

She reached out her hands, pushing past the flare of pain and unrelenting nausea, and felt a cold, solid surface a few inches to her right. She reached to the left and found another surface.

“Verakko,” she tried to call, but it came out as little more than a rasp.

She reached above her and found she was encased on all sides. Her heart began to pound faster and with each beat, shards of glass cut at her insides. Panic took over, and she thrashed through the pain. I’m trapped. Is this a coffin? Why can’t I see?

Burning sobs tore up her throat. The tears building in her eyes felt like acid. Her breathing came in short gasps. Not enough air!

“Verakko!” she screamed as loudly as she could and slammed her hands on the coffin.

A thunderous banging sounded from all around her, along with the groan of metal and the tinkling of shattering glass. He was coming for her, she knew it.

A cool mist gathered around her suddenly, and her limbs fell limp.

Chapter 17

“I can’t leave!” Verakko shouted, stabbing his fingers through his hair. He stared at Lily, lying peacefully in the medbay bed.

“You need to go speak with the Queen. You have marks! She needs to be notified,” Desy countered. “She’s stable. I’m only keeping her under for a little while longer to ensure her blood has been fully cleansed.”

He stepped toward the door, but a knot twisted in his gut, halting him. “I can’t reveal them to my mother, Desy. She’ll force Lily to stay with me.”

Desy, the doctor assigned to work in his building, scanned the room with wide eyes as though searching for someone who’d talk sensibly. “As well she should! This human is your mate. The whole city should be alerted. Don’t you understand how momentous this is?”

Verakko barked out a laugh and felt a muscle in his eye twitch. “Obviously I do! I want to carry her through the streets and tell everyone who’ll listen that she’s my mate, but it isn’t that simple.” Verakko rubbed a hand over his neck again and stared at Lily. “You didn’t see the way she looked at me. She isn’t ready to be mated. Humans don’t feel the bond the way we do. I’m not sure they feel it at all. To her, I’m just a male. One who kept things from her.” He studied the blue marks crisscrossing over his wrists and hands. “She doesn’t understand the significance of these, and if my mother forces her to remain with me before I have time to ease her into the idea, she’ll resent me.”

Desy crossed his arms over his chest. “And what if she never wants to be your mate? What will you do then?”

Verakko’s throat worked past the painful lump forming. What will I do? He didn’t know. “I won’t force her to be with me. It wouldn’t be right.” He said the words without conviction, a hiss in his mind telling him he wasn’t selfless enough or strong enough to ever let her go.

“Oh really? What then? Live your life without your mate? You’ll grow more and more ill. You won’t ever be able to be with anyone else. No children. No marriages.” He stepped toward Verakko and gripped his shoulders. “Your mind will rot, Verakko. It’s unnatural. I can’t think of any instance in recorded history where a mated pair willingly remained apart for more than a few years. Not while both of them lived. It can’t be done. There will come a point where you won’t be able to stay away.”

“Maybe not,” Verakko argued, though he knew Desy’s words were true. He could feel the intensity of the pull even now. “The fact is, we aren’t a mated pair. I’m mated; she isn’t. Maybe the effects won’t be so bad for me because of that.”

Desy stared into Verakko’s resolute gaze for a long time before his hands dropped, and he let out a huff of frustration. “Fine. But you still need to go see her. You need to tell your mother…something. You know how much the people love Ziritha. If you and Lily are seen together in a way that appears at all improper, they’ll take it as an offense against their future queen. You’ll be reported for breach of contract, and then you’ll be forced to reveal your marks to avoid punishment.”

“No,” Verakko countered. “I’d take the punishment instead.” When Desy only shook his head in disbelief, Verakko held out his hands. “Do you have any paint?”

Grumbling, Desy crossed to a high compartment on his wall. He stopped in front of Verakko, holding an ancient-looking bottle of hand paint. “I’ll keep your marks a secret for now. Even though it goes against everything I believe. But I can’t keep her existence secret. As a new citizen, I’m required to report her existence to the Queen.”

“I’ll go speak with her now and ask to be assigned as Lily’s guardian.” Verakko inhaled deeply. “At least that will allow her to stay with me until I can convince her to accept the bond.”

Desy painted Verakko’s hands, the thick substance melding to his skin and changing color until it was indiscernible from his own complexion. “I’m somehow both envious of you and glad I’m not in your position.”

Verakko could only muster an insincere half grin. He shuffled to the door after his paint had dried, shooting furtive glances over his shoulder at Lily. Before leaving, he