A female whispered a response, too faint for him to hear. Even so, the timbre of her voice lifted the hairs on the back on his neck. It brushed his skin like a caress. Bugger. This was no way to react to a bloody Malcontent.

Her voice grew stronger as she made her final declaration. “I can no longer do this.”

Was she rebelling? Connor’s heart lurched. If he could capture her alive, she could tell them all sorts of information.

“You must follow orders,” the man snapped.

“There was no reason for them all to die,” she argued. “I only wished to spare the children.”

“You have failed to follow orders, Marielle,” he growled. “You must pay the consequences.”

“No.” Her whisper trembled. “Zack, please.”

The fear in her lovely voice made Connor’s gut clench, and he was seized with an overwhelming need to protect her. Bah, protect a Malcontent? She deserved to die.

“This is your third act of disobedience,” the man announced in a booming voice. “The decision has been made. You will be banished.”

“No!”

The anguish in her voice was more than Connor could bear. Bloody hell. He would save her.

He slid the dagger from his knee sock. As far as he could tell, there were only the two Malcontents: the male called Zack and the female, Marielle. He’d take the male by surprise, turn him to dust, then grab the female and teleport her to Romatech where he could thoroughly question her.

A dagger in one hand, a stake in the other, he zoomed toward their voices.

An intense flash of light stunned him, and he halted, his eyes squeezed shut against the pain. Bugger, how could he save her when he couldn’t see?

Her scream tore through him.