Bonds of the Mazza

by Blake Blessing

  Rainer continued to stare at Rand, long and hard. He sucked in a deep breath and as if he was snapping out of a trance, then he relaxed his stance and faced Nato.

  “That’s a really funny story that I’d love to tell you all about.” Rainer held up a hand and motioned his companions forward. “In fact, I have prepared the guest suite for everyone at my house in Louniva. It’s only right that I make you comfortable while we discuss… current events.”

  The men and women stepped forward, at the same time my guys and I all stepped back. And Jan, of course.

  Actually, Jan was several steps behind us, hunched in on himself and slightly turned away from Rainer.

  “I don’t think that’s an invitation we’re willing to accept. Why don’t you just tell us your secrets right here?” I took another step backward when a woman with a particularly squirrelly look, got too close. I didn’t know for sure but the look in her eyes said she was about to do something I’d regret.

  “No, you see. These secrets are for behind closed doors. Wouldn’t you agree, Rand?”

  That was the second time he’d called Rand out for secrets.

  I peeked at Rand out of the corner of my eye and his teeth were grinding so hard, his jaw rolled side to side. Rand’s face didn’t say his dad was a flake. His body language and posture looked like he had something to hide. Something that he didn’t want the rest of us to know.

  His gaze met mine but he quickly diverted his attention back to Rainer. What the hell could he be hiding from us? I searched for the power to read him, but I was coming up empty. The instincts that suffered from were suspiciously absent when I look at Rand. Was that because I already knew him?

  Behind Rainer’s people, another crowd rounded the corner. There were about ten people in total, all dressed in the black cloaks Fennin tend to favor here. When Rainer saw our attention wasn’t on him anymore he pivoted to see who was behind him.

  This new group was so quiet, I couldn’t hear any of their movements at all. No rustling of their clothes or echoes of their steps. When they got within a foot of Rainer’s last man they halted.

  All except one figure that wove through Rainer’s group. He came to stand between us, blocking my view of Rainer completely.

  With a long-fingered hand, the hood slid back from the person’s face.

  I gasped. “Yunez!”

  I almost ran to him, but I thought that would have taken away from the badass vibe he was trying to throw off right now. Yunez’s face was drawn and serious, his shoulder pulled back. I’d even go so far as to say he was angry when he glared at Rainer, which was a first for me to see.

  He was always so happy go lucky with a devil doesn’t give a damn attitude going on. Then he turned back at the sound of my voice and winked.

  Ah, that was more like the Yunez I knew. So he was putting on a bit of a show for these people. He squared his shoulders toward Rainer, holding one hand behind his back, waving his fingers at me.

  I suppressed the snort.

  “Rainer, what a coincidence meeting you in the street like this.”

  Rainer’s face twisted in distaste. It was actually the most negative reaction I’d seen from him as well. It would appear that Rainer and Yunez had no love between them.

  “Phin. Nice to see you again. What are you doing out so late?” Rainer tapped his leg, which must be some kind of crazy signal, as his buddies surrounded him.

  Wait. What?

  Yunez was Matt to them. Or was. No, is. And now he was this Phin guy too? How the hell were we supposed to keep all of Yunez’s alter egos sorted?

  My guys weren’t showing the recognition that I would have expected them to upon Yunez showing up. I was certain I said his name out loud when the hood came off.

  “Like you even have to ask that, Rainer. I’m keeping the city safe from the likes of you.”

  I dipped sideways around Yunez to see what was happening. Heat hit Rainer’s cheeks and he scoffed. “There’s nothing here to protect me from. I was actually getting ready to escort my son and his companions to my place.”

  Yunez or Phin backed up as if he was about to leave.

  “I don’t think so, Rainer. I’m pretty sure the word on the street is that you and Rand are on the outs. That’s true, isn’t it?” Yunez stepped back again and his cloak covered the tips of my toes.

  I couldn’t see Rainer any longer unless I want to completely sidestep Yunez, but something told me that he was doing this for a reason.

  “I wouldn’t go so far as to say all that. Rand and I have always had a unique relationship.”

  “It’s just not going to happen, Rainer.” Spinning around, Yunez lifted me over his shoulder, then sprinted away from everyone. I pushed myself up so I could see what was happening and I was so confused.

  My guys were running behind us, trying to catch up. But damn, Yunez was practically flying. That wasn’t what confused me.

  Rainer and his group were standing immobile in the center of the cloaked group, with their hands in the air as if they were frozen like that. The cloaked people had them surrounded but the odd part was they were just standing there. They didn’t have their arms up or hoods back or anything.

  Yunez ducked into an open door and I lost sight of everything. He was watching the door but he didn’t put me down. Instead his fingers walked up the back of my thigh.

  “Yunez, what are you doing?” I gripped his waist, pinching his sides in warning.

  “Waiting for the others.” He said like he wasn’t getting perilously close to the vag.

  “Um…” I wiggled my hips, trying to move his hand away from their destination. “Yunez, I don’t think this is appropriate. Let me down before the guys reach us.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut as tingles raced over my skin from the promise of sweet torture.

  He didn’t stop.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. I needed to stop acting like a lusty bitch. It wasn’t that I wanted to jump any and every rando I came across. But something about Yunez called to me. Guilt clawed at my stomach. I didn’t understand the feelings and emotions assaulting my body anymore. Especially not when it came to Yunez. And he definitely knew the effect he had on me.

  I lifted, slamming my head against the low ceiling. Maybe that was a blessing and the pain would distract me before I did something I’d regret. Dust rained down on my head as I flopped over his shoulder.

  He wouldn’t actually go there. He didn’t see me like that, did he?

  My LL would have a freak out to the worst degree. Especially Nato.

  Yunez hummed a little tune to himself like he wasn’t driving me crazy. He loosened his hold, and I shimmied down, totally not thinking about his hard body against mine.

  “Yunez? Where did Phin go?” Egan exclaimed as he and the others burst through the door. It reverberated off of the wall before someone allowed it to shut.

  That explained why the guys weren’t as excited as I was when he showed up. He fooled them too. I guessed he did his mind thing where they couldn’t hear me either. How many personas did Yunez have? And why did he not hide them from me?

  “This wasn’t the place for Phin. You’re in my other safehouse. You’re welcome.” Yunez laughed through his words.

  “What took you guys so long?” I breathed, tugging on the hem to make sure nothing was showing.

  “We couldn’t figure out which door you guys went through.” Nato squinted at Yunez, he totally didn’t buy that Phin mysteriously vanished.

  “Come in, make yourselves at home.” Yunez left us standing as he walked deeper into the house, slapping his hand on the wall twice.

  “Let’s go guys, I have so many flipping questions and he has answers!” I pointed at Yunez’s retreating back.

  Not caring if the others followed or not, I marched after him. Now that I wasn’t mind addled from his devil fingers, I had a few skeletons to pick with Yunez. Because bones weren’t plural enough.

  As I searched for Yunez, the interior vaguely registered as
something classy and sleek, in tones of gray and cream. Seductive landscapes decorated the hallway and I made a mental note to come back and appreciate them in all their glory, once I knew what the hell was going on in Fennina.

  A pastel yellow setting room came into view and I almost passed it, before I backpedaled. Yunez lazed in the gaudiest sitting chair with gold trim and overly stuffed arms. He was spread out like he was about to take in the best movie to ever grace the screens.

  He flashed his canines in a smirk and gestured to the empty space around him. His chair was the only piece of furniture in the room. Did he want us to make a circle around him?

  I cocked an eyebrow and pointedly looked at the lack of seating options.

  Yunez’s lips split into an indulgent grin.

  “My lovely, I’m more than happy to share my chair.” He widened his legs and slid even deeper into the seat.

  “That’s okay. I’ll be perfectly fine by the nice cloud painting.” And it was a nice cloud painting.

  Nato and Egan, were the first to enter, taking up sentinel positions beside me while Rand and Sage propped up the other wall. Curiously they stayed close together as if they were united against the rest of the room. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

  Navigating around so many men continued to astound me. Not that I was complaining. If the way I hurt Sage’s feeling happened to another woman—cue internal wince—she would have done everything she could to undermine the other woman or make her feel inferior.

  That hadn’t happened here. Instead, if I didn’t experience—cause—the situation firsthand I wouldn’t have known there was any bad blood between them. Maybe a slight dislike but nothing alarming.

  Jari and Jan were the last to enter the room, choosing to stand guard on either side of the doorway.

  “How have your travels gone?” Yunez asked. There was a knowing twinkle in his eyes that didn’t fool me for a minute. Even if he didn’t know every tiny fact, he knew the key details.

  “Like you don’t know. The better question is why didn’t you fix all this the way you said you were going to?” I gestured dramatically at the mark on my face and arm.

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jari stiffen. No matter what reason Yunez said brought us all back together, he no doubt left out quite a bit.

  “Isolde. I’m wounded you would think I would intentionally leave you open that way.” Yunez clasped his hands over his chest but his amusement was there for anyone to see in his eyes.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I think. What I know.”

  A bit of the knowing came to me, sending tendrils of warmth cascading over my limbs. It was different with Yunez. I didn’t have the same feelings or power with him, or with any of the guys. Maybe it was because I knew them before I gained my Zien powers. I hadn’t had a chance to test it out yet since we had been on the move so much. The knowing had only popped up with new people that were in my immediate vicinity.

  Next time we weren’t running from someone or chasing potentially useless leads, I needed to test out my new abilities.

  What I knew right then, staring at Yunez, he was a devious bastard with good intentions. I bet the devious side was from his constant need to line people and events up, to make sure the outcome was a good and favorable one. Hopefully he wasn’t dragging us all to hell and he actually knew what he was doing.

  The knowing with him, gave me a hunch my theory was correct. He intentionally hadn’t masked all the effects of being a Mazza.

  “I love that you’ve come into your powers already. It shows how strong you will be in time. The last Mazza didn’t gain her first house power until several months into the complete bonding. Did you know, it’s not necessarily the case that the Mazza will gain the powers in the order of her bond mates?”

  “I see what you’re doing. I won’t be distracted by you dangling pieces of information in front of me. Why did you do it?” I shouldn’t care, I really shouldn’t. Yunez was such an odd being that seemed to be outside of every natural hierarchy I knew or had come to know in Fennina. He did what he all did for the greater good. That wasn’t good enough right now.

  My lungs stung with hurt feelings and I was struggling to keep a neutral face.

  “My lovely,” Yunez gained a little composure and sat up, leaning slightly toward me. He gentled his voice. “I don’t need to tell you why I made the decision I did. You and everyone in this room knows why it had to happen that way.”

  “We aren’t playthings, Yunez. We have feelings and feeble hearts that bruise easily. I don’t care if the outcome was one you wanted or thought we needed. People were hurt this week and it could have all been avoided.”

  All expression completely disappeared from Yunez’s face and his eyes twitched side to side. He was looking for something or having some kind of vision. Was this what I looked like when I met Travon? Goosebumps erupted over my arms in fear of what was going on behind his eyes.

  It would be our luck that Rainer was on his way here to get us or someone equally as bad was getting ready to break down our door.

  Seconds passed but I was pretty sure I lived two lifetimes and died a thousand deaths in that time.

  The fog cleared from Yunez’s face and he focused back on me. Instead of seeing the grim look I expected, his mouth twisted to the side in something akin to pity.

  “There is no other way this could have worked out. Every possible scenario lacked the needed pressure and someone always got seriously maimed or killed. In one possible sequence of events, that person was you. It was not my goal to make you or any of your Lusty Legion miserable. I get no thrill from it. But I do care about each and every one of you, whether you believe it… or not.” His gaze lingered on Sage before meeting mine again. “I pushed you toward the path that would pressure you to make a choice. And we know that choice could only ever be the one you made.”

  My heart bottomed out and weakly beat with my conflicting emotions. To be told that one of my guys or I could have been seriously hurt or worse speared ice through my chest. But to be treated as if we didn’t really have a choice sparked my ire. I had the sudden desire to rail against him about the unfairness of it all, but we had company that wasn’t in my inner circle. I couldn’t air our secrets to an outsider, even if he was a close friend or relative of Yunez’s.

  I paced three long, heavy steps away before I returned to my previous spot.

  “Fine, we’ll say that was your goal, but Rand was still injured. It still happened. Who’s to say that any other possible decisions could have had a better outcome?”

  “Isolde, that was the best possible outcome. I give you my word, I wouldn’t have set you on that path if it wasn’t the only option. You don’t know this because you are new to our world, but I’m not like other seers of the Zien house. Yes, there is free will, and yes, a lot of the seers can only guess the true outcome based on decisions of everyone involved, but my power is so strong, I can. I can see all the possible decisions and the likelihood of the decisions you are going to make in any scenario. I need to focus on the person to do it, but I have that ability. Trust me when I tell you, this was the only possibility to save both you and the men.”

  The wind in my sails begrudgingly weakened and I was left with uncertainty. Uncertainty around the way the world worked and with the way I was going to fit into it.

  Yunez was right, I didn’t know much about Fennina or the powers people wielded. I was more useless than the dirty old dishwasher George refused to fire. The man didn’t show up half the time and when he did, more than half his shift he spent on break. George just had a soft spot for him because he was old and alone.

  Fuck, that was me right now. Not in the sense that I wasn’t putting in the effort, but I didn’t know how or where to put the effort in. How was I supposed to navigate this new world and my place in it when I understood next to nothing about the politics or science behind the Fennin.

  I rubbed the bridge of my nose and changed the topic. “What about wha
t happened out there? Are you impersonating people or are you running around as multiple personas?”

  Nato pushed away from the wall, suddenly more alert. That answered the question of whether they could see Yunez as his true self.

  “Iss, I didn’t think you’d shed light on all my secrets.” Yunez smirked, coal black hair falling over his forehead. “Both.”

  “Are you kidding me? You’re Phin? Have you always been Phin or is he being held prisoner somewhere or something?” Nato raised his voice in outrage.

  Yunez glanced at Nato and sent him an indulgent smile. “I’ve always been Phin, although I impersonate people from time to time. And don’t worry. One day you may have that skill as well.”

  “What? That doesn’t make any sense. So you’re telling me that you’ve been the ruler of Halfei since Phin, I mean, since you took a leadership position in that city? That’s a completely different life you’ve had to lead. There’s no way you have that kind of power and ability. Or time. You don’t have the time to rule the Zien city.” Nato shook his head.

  Yunez started to open his mouth but Jari cut him off.

  “Hold up.” Jari held up hands in an unsure gesture. “Are you really Yunez or are you Phin? Which is the real you?”

  Oh, shit. I didn’t even think of that. Yunez could be the fake persona, which wasn’t a big deal for me, but that would mean the guys had been looking up to a lie all their lives.

  Yunez bent forward, propping his chin in his palm. At this point, concern and confusion were stamped across each of their faces. The only person that didn’t look alarmed by the conversation was Jan.

  He was leaning a shoulder against the wall, staring at something on the floor. This was one hell of a conversation, how was he not invested? Even on days when I wanted zero drama, I couldn’t have turned away from these guys.

  “You have to understand, everything I’ve done for the last fifty years has been for a specific reason.” Yunez took a deep breath, standing out of his chair. “My real name is…”