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  “Sorry, sweetheart—you don’t get that luxury,” Grav growled. “Not when Teeny’s life is in danger.”

  “What are you—” Haenah began but Grav was already in motion.

  He stepped forward and I saw the long, thin porcupine quill appear in his hand. Before Haenah could protest, he had jabbed her unprotected arm with the end of it.

  “Ow! You fucking Majoran bastard!” She kicked out in retaliation, aiming for his crotch. Grav turned to the side just in time but her booted foot still caught him in the right hip.

  I felt a sharp pain in my own right hip for some reason and then I saw his image flicker…and then fail. Haenah’s eyes grew wide as she saw him revealed in full Braxian mode—blue skin, white-on-black eyes, and twisting black ram’s horns.

  “Holy Goddess!” she gasped, staring at him. “You’re…you’re…”

  “That’s right, sweetheart—I’m not a Majoran bastard—I’m a fuckin’ Braxian one.” Grav leaned in close, getting his face right up to hers. I knew he wouldn’t hurt her but Haenah didn’t know that. I saw her dark purple eyes get wider and wider and her green face grew pale.

  “You…you’re the Protector—Teeny’s Protector. She was always talking about you!”

  “That’s right. And the Princepae broke my contract with her and hired you instead. And what did you do? You sold her out!” Grav’s voice was a low growl but the intensity of his words made them sound like a shout. “Well now you’re gonna tell me everything—who took her, where they took her, and why.”

  “It was Arn who took her—he was hired by Yo’lox—Teeny’s grandfather’s main political rival.” Haenah’s eyes went even wider. “Oh my Goddess—why did I say that? What did you do to me?”

  “Just made sure you can’t lie, that’s all.” I smiled at her sweetly. “Now where did they take Teeny?”

  “I’ll never tell you that. I’ll…I’ll…”

  Her lips worked and it was obvious she was trying not to say any more. But the green porcupine truth-spine that Shekk had sold Grav clearly worked better than the faulty image generator. Before she could stop herself, words came tumbling out of Haenah’s mouth.

  “The Lavara system—on Chndra. It’s a moon orbiting Hallux Two,” she babbled. “Right in the middle of the Spider’s Web.”

  “The Spider’s Web?” Grav frowned. “Nobody gets in and out of that fucking place alive.”

  “Arn does. He and his crew have an understanding with the Widow. They let her have first pick of everything they get on their pirating runs.” The words were flowing from her mouth like water. “Arn says it’s a good deal—not even the Imperial Guards mess with the Widow.”

  “Well, somebody’s gonna fuckin’ well mess with her now,” Grav growled. “And you’re gonna have to kiss your pirate goodbye, sweetheart. If he so much as touched a hair on Teeny’s head—”

  “He didn’t—he wouldn’t!” Haenah protested.

  I waited anxiously but didn’t feel the tingle at the base of my spine. Thank goodness—she seemed to be telling the truth about that at least.

  “So he was just gonna trade her to the Widow—was that the plan?” Grav demanded.

  “No—the Widow didn’t have anything to do with it,” Haenah said. “Arn was just supposed to keep her on Chndra. He wanted to ransom her back to her grandfather eventually but…”

  “But what?” Grav growled.

  Haenah slapped a hand over her mouth and shook her head, her eyes wide.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” Grav growled. Leaning forward, he pried the hand off her mouth. “Talk, damn you!”

  “Some of the others—the mercs especially hired by Yo’lox—wanted to give her the curse.”

  “The curse? What curse?” Grav leaned in even closer and it occurred to me that as scary as he was when his Braxian nature was showing through, he scarcely needed the truth-spine.

  “The Biting Curse. They wanted to turn Teeny into a Biter. That way she could never rule Thonolax when she gets older.”

  “What?” This time Grav’s voice was a muted roar. His eyes blazed and he looked like he wanted to wring Haenah’s skinny green neck—although to his credit, he still didn’t lay a hand on her.

  “Don’t look at me—it wasn’t my plan!” she babbled.

  “No, your plan was to stand aside and let an innocent little female be captured and infected.” Grav looked angrier now than I had ever seen him. And suddenly, I could feel his rage pulsing through me—a red haze that clouded my vision and made my hands clench into fists. The desire to kill—to rip and claw and bite until my victim was nothing but bleeding, quivering chunks—filled me.

  I shook my head, trying to clear it. Why was I feeling this? Was it an effect of the truth-drink?

  Before I could answer my own question, the cell door suddenly banged open and the man-hating warden came striding in.

  “What’s going on in here?” she demanded. “I heard…” The words died on her lips when she saw Grav in his true form. “Oh…oh my Goddess,” she whispered. “You…you’re a…”

  “He was Teeny’s Protector,” I said quickly, hoping to defuse the situation. “Before she came here to attend school. The Princepae hired him to find Teeny. That’s the only reason we’re here—we just want to find a lost little girl.”

  My words might as well have been the buzzing of a fly for all the warden noticed them.

  “A male,” she said hoarsely. “A Braxian male! You desecrate the Temple by your very presence!”

  “Yeah? Well you’re not exactly a fuckin’ ray of sunshine yourself, sweetheart,” Grav growled.

  “Warden,” I began, prepared to try again.

  “Forget it, darlin’. She’s not gonna listen,” Grav muttered.

  Unfortunately, he was right. The warden-priestess seemed to have finally gotten over her shock. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs, and let out a bugling shout I was sure could be heard all over the Temple.

  “A male! There is a Braxian male defiling the Temple!”

  “Run!” Grav grabbed my hand in his and yanked me forward.

  “No!” The warden blocked our way, leveling her sparking spear at his broad chest. “No, you’re not leaving until you face the justice of the Goddess, blasphemer!”

  “Sorry but I don’t feel like takin’ a bath in acid today. It’s fuckin’ bad for the skin.” Grav knocked the spear aside with one muscular forearm. It skated along his skin and I felt a burning line of fire running up my own arm, though the spear had gone nowhere near me. Then he pushed the warden to one side and went barreling down the long stone corridor, dragging me behind him.

  “Grav—” I gasped but he only shook his head.

  “Save your breath. Run!”

  We ran out of the prison wing and out into the larger part of the temple with its tall marble pillars and frescoed ceilings. I’d had time to admire them on the way in—now they were just a panicked blur.

  I have to admit—I’m not much of a runner. The breath was tearing in my throat in no time and my lungs felt like they were on fire. But I had to keep going—the warden and a cadre of priestesses that had come to her call were close behind us, waving their sparking electrified spears and shouting. I could just imagine what it would feel like to be stuck with one of those—probably like being stabbed by a butcher knife and hit by a taser at the same time.

  As Grav would say, no fuckin’ thank you.

  “The doors! Don’t let them get out the doors!” I heard the warden howling behind us. Up ahead, the tall, curved double doors of the temple rose with graceful foreboding. I knew if they slammed shut with us inside, we were never getting out.

  Not alive anyway.

  “Faster,” Grav roared and I realized with some amazement that he wasn’t even breathing hard. He could be going much faster without me. If he’d leave me behind, he could be out the doors in no time—surely he knew that.

  But he didn’t let go of my hand—e