Crystal Tomb (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 3) by Melanie Nilles

stay so calm?
    An idea struck. No bathroom in the
main area where they were. They'd have to take them outside. Of
course! ["This could be our chance."] After she used the
restroom.
    ["I know."] The corner of
his mouth crooked up. Aha! So he was thinking the same thing.
    ["I hate it when you do
that."]
    ["I know."]
    "Elis…" She growled but couldn't
resist laughing at the old joke. ["All right. So…What?"]
    ["Don't be afraid to kill. It's not
easy…"]
    ["I know."] How she knew! Pallin had
died at her hands—literally—when the Starfire took over that night
almost two months ago and he tried to take her back with him. She'd
hated herself for the longest time. And she had to fire on other
Shirukan to escape Naviketan three weeks ago. It left a sickening
feeling in her gut, but if she had to do it again, she would, this
time with the intent to kill.
    ["Can you do it?"] Elis
asked.
    ["I think so…I don't have much of a
choice."] If it was the only way to escape the Risaal and ensure
they would never return, she'd do it.
    ["No,"] he said soberly.
    ["Do you know how to get
out?"]
    ["No. But we'll find a
way."]
    She had no doubts they would. The
Risaal must have brought them in somewhere.
    The door clicked and scraped open.
Four guards marched in, weapons in their dark green hands. Man,
they were ugly in their natural form.
    Here went everything. "Ah…We need a
bathroom break." Now that she said it, she had to go even worse.
Escape would have to wait.
    The two Risaal in front exchanged
looks and stepped aside. The two behind them stepped aside also.
"This way."
    Good. They understood her
request.
    She assumed they'd be taken separately
or to different restrooms, although she had no idea of the layout
or even if the Risaal had any comprehension of human etiquette.
This was better than she expected.
    With Elis beside her, Raea stepped
through the guards and the wide door of the chamber. Given any
luck, they wouldn't be back, but they knew where to find the
monolith and whatever secrets it might wield.
    She entered a dim concrete corridor
with individual lights glowing from overhead too few and too far
between for her tastes, and the human-looking man who had been with
Nakor Surik when she was first brought into the chamber stepped in
front of her. Nakor Surik called him Kalas, but for all she knew,
this was a different Risaal in the same human appearance. Stupid
doppelgangers. She couldn't even trust who they were.
    "Follow me," he said.
    No problem there, as long as he showed
her the restroom ASAP.
    He did, thank goodness. Only one
problem left. Raea held out her wrists. "I need my hands
free."
    The Risaal could make her
uncomfortable with a look, human or otherwise. She shuddered, but
she really did have to go.
    "Unless you want to send someone to
help me." The thought disgusted her, but maybe the idea would
sicken them the same way.
    Bingo! Kalas touched the flat section
of metal between her wrists.
    The moment she was free, Raea rushed
into the bathroom and flicked the light on. Her heart sank. Didn't
the Risaal know about toilet paper and towels? Did the water even
run?
    Then again, why should she expect them
to even know how to use human commodes? They probably took care of
things differently, like with some high-tech fancy space stuff.
Inari utilities were similar to those she knew, but Risaal were a
strange species.
    Oh, well. It was the best she had. It
couldn't be over fast enough, but she managed.
    Now for the hard part.
    Time to rock and
roll. Raea took a deep breath to calm her
nerves and found the resonance. Her hands glowed and the energy
warmed through her. Five Risaal awaited execution. You can do this. It's them or you.
    She pulled open the heavy door as two
guards brought their weapons up. Elis met her eyes and whirled on
the two behind him.
    A couple seconds later, one Risaal
stood between Elis and the wall, the spikes along his face breaking
apart to reveal the true form beneath the human mask.
    Elis held up