Barnos, as usual, saw the humor and with his usual loud bray he barked out a laugh at the two males’ expense. "Don't you two look pretty all sparkly and decked out."
Tyber gave him a look that could spit fire, while Lore merely took it with his usual aplomb and disentangled himself from the crystal pearls leaving all but a strand around his wrist. When he noticed it he went to take it off and the truthsayer stopped him.
"That one is for you," she said. "Can't you feel it?"
Lore who had been standing close, drifter closer still, looking into her eyes as if he had never heard of personal space, when as far as Lucan saw, the man perfected the art of keeping his distance from everyone. If Lucan had been a romantic he would have sworn Lore was drawn to the woman through no will of his own. But he wasn't a romantic and with what he had observed of Lore Trugarian, he had never been one either. Until now it seemed.
"It feels like you," Trugarian said so softly, most would have missed it.
He truthsayer pointed to her own wrist to a lone bracelet of pearls that shimmered along with the rest that decorated her neck and had been woven into her hair. "Yes, and that feels like you and Tyber, but I know it is mine, just as that one is yours." She took hold of Tyber’s wrist and held it up. When his sleeve fell back a lone bracelet was also found there despite him already having separated the rest. "And this one is for Tyber."
Tyber looked from the bracelet to her and then smiled the wicked grin that drove Lucan to jealousy when the handsome bastard shared it with Danika. "Don't worry my little lie eater,” he said, his voice low and dripping with innuendo. “I know what belongs to me without being told."
Lucan felt his lip curl in disgust as all the women in the room, including his mate seemed to lean toward the honey tongued Captain when he spoke. Not for the first time he pictured cutting out that wily tongue and the thought was a happy one. Until Danika cleared her throat and gave him a reproachful look, she saved for his most bloodthirsty and jealous thoughts.
The truthsayer who was not his mate reacted in a much more pleasant manner, in Lucan’s opinion. She lost her smile and glared at Relian. Though it was a glare lacking in intimidation when she did it still looking like the fairy princess she resembled, Lucan mused.
Though he of all people recognized that such fragile looks could be highly deceiving. Most of the women in the room managed to look soft compared to the men surrounding them. His own mate wore the ethereal look well and could wear it while taking down a space station, so he knew better than to take beauty at face value.
If Danika was any indication, he would be more wary, not less, of the seemingly fragile beauty. Nor did he need the Furgarians to point out the claim being staked by the two dangerous men that crowded her for Lucan to see the connection forming. Lucan did not think they would ever claim a woman, not with such single minded and permanent intent. Also something he would not take lightly. He had seen the crew of the Jezebel fight. Rarely had he seen their equal one on one. Together, they were the deadliest fighters he had the privilege to watch kill.
Was it fate, Lucan wondered looking around the room at all the dangerous allies he had amassed, that brought such a motley crew not only together, but to find their mates as well? And how much had he changed since his mating that he was actually spending precious moments thinking on such idiocy?
"You, Lady Trig Kelia," he said clearly and loudly, like he was dropping a live bomb among them, bringing a sudden silence and tension to the room. "Are no truthsayer."
He met her eyes and watched shutters come down over her emotions so fast he almost thought he imagined the fire and fear behind them.
"Or at least, that is not all that you are." He amended, and then sat down at the table and looked at her expectantly. "I think it is past time you tell me who you really are, and why my brother wants you so bad."
She raised her head and gave him serene eyes that did not fool him. "What makes you think he hasn't given up and moved on to another truthsayer by now?"
"Because," Lucan stated just as blandly. Another bomb, a ramping of tension. "He is even now in a cloaked ship just beyond my borders. Looking, I assume for a weakness in my defense shields in order to take PortSea."
He took up the glass of wine that had been placed on the table with the rest of the meal and took a sip, his eyes never left Trig Kelia, even as his own mate came to his side and he could feel her eyes on him in question. He did not need to answer. She could read him fine. She gasped at the knowledge he was still holding back and sat down beside him, almost, at least for Danika, ungracefully. Something the woman never was. He took her hand beneath the table and she settled while he kept his eyes on the three across from him.
All around the room the rest of their motley crew were in varying shades of anger at his announcement. No one was really surprised by this. They had thought they had more time, since Dara had foreseen a breach but not until after babies were born. He almost shuddered at the thought of his island overrun with children, at least he did when he thought of the troublemakers this group could produce. When he thought of Danika with his own child, well, that was an entirely different reaction. She pinched his hand, and he almost smiled at his little reader trying to keep him in line. She would have about as much luck with that as he did trying to do the same with her.
Still she was right about one thing. Now was not the time to be thinking on the possible future. Not when the past was finally catching up to them. And for his part, he was looking forward to this reckoning with his maker. Though if he had a way to see Danika to safety before the fight began his life would be complete. She pinched him again. This time harder and on his thigh. Her eyes met his with her own version of serene, and he knew he would have a battle on his hands if he tried to send her to safety. It was a moot point anyway, where Cor Warrung was concerned safety was never guaranteed.
"When did this happen?" Barnos boomed from his place at the table, looking none too pleased with him, while at the same time he was pulling Lara down into his lap. She did not struggle, but then she was an empath, she would know he needed her close when danger was at their very doorstep. He could relate.
"One of his scouts tried to follow The Fire past our shields." He looked at Jax then, still standing with her mate. "If you had not beefed up both my tech and sensor array they might have succeeded." He looked from Jax to Tolan Lark. "As it was the trap you set up as a redundancy in case of such an attempt, not only stopped the ship but invaded their system. Before they realized we were there and had infiltrated their communications and back logs we got quite a bit of information." He looked at the rest of the room. "They managed to lock us out eventually, but we have a lot of data my people are going through. We already know that Cor is out there, and that he is coming, soon."
Tolan Lark smiled, and it was the pure smile of a predator looking forward to the end of a hunt. "Bout time," he muttered. Then he pulled his mate into his side without looking at her. "Jax and I can get the information you want faster than anyone else, and I want to have a look at the info anyway. They might have locked you out, but my redundancies leave a nasty surprise they will not be expecting. Unless they are better than I think I can get us back in, without alerting them to it."
Lucan nearly smiled himself. "Do it," he said. "And if you can find a way to get past their cloak and shield at the same time it would go a long way to ending this once and for all. I thought I was familiar with all the new tech, but we know he’s out there and still he is evading our sensors. Which means he has his hands on tech we do not. Though thankfully he did not have Jax, and still cannot teleport through shields or we would already be overrun."
Both Jax and Tolan Lark nodded before leaving the room, and Lucan took a minute to appreciate that they were on his side. Then he turned his eyes to the rest of his allies. He looked at Nori and Menelaus first. King and Queen of their own people, they were among some of the finest fighters he had ever encountered. But they fought best on their own. "We have mul
tiple targets to defend. Can I persuade you to join the fight or would you prefer to try to get past Cor and his hidden ships before the coming battle? I am aware that this is not your fight."
Nori snorted at that, and then she and Menelaus shared a look and then stood from their seats together. “We work best on the ground with ambush tactics.” She turned eyes to her sister and gave her a warning look. "I assume you and your pirate will be on his ship. Try to stay out of trouble this time."
Lara scrunched her nose at her. "I always try to stay out of trouble."
"Lie," both truthsayers in the room answered at the same time, making Barnos guffaw and tug her in closer to his chest.
"They got you there, Sassy," he said smiling as if her ability to find trouble was endearing, rather than worrying. Then he looked at Nori. "But don't you worry your highness. I'll keep her close."
Nori gave him a doubtful look. "Why is that not reassuring?" she muttered with obvious irony.
Lucan almost snorted his own agreement there. If anyone was more likely to be in the thick of it than Lara, it was Barnos.
"Just try to stay alive," Nori finally said shaking her head at the lot of them. "The rest is just a bonus." She nodded at Danika and gave her serious Shakien lavender eyes. "We will keep the children safe."
"Truth," Danika said with a smile for Nori. Nori and her King left, with that imposing grey eyed barbarian following along with no more than an assessing look at the rest of them. Another one he was happy to have on his side. Not only was the barbarian a brilliant strategist, and had a gift of persuasion that was rare, he was also nearly as fast with his blade as his Shakien mate.
"Between those two and the Baralians guarding them I feel bad for anyone who tries for the children," Lara said looking at her sister as she and her mate moved back to the wall to listen as plans were made.
Barnos snorted and said gruffly and with absolutely no doubt or remorse. "I don't. They go after the children they'll be dying in screaming agony, and in pieces, as they should be."
Lucan could only agree. He turned his attention to Barnos. "Jax made the updates on your ship?"
"She did," while we were waiting for the Jezebel to get back. "She also informed me that she tinkered with my weapons array." He smiled with a lot of teeth. "I took that to mean I can now blow a hole in a planet if I feel so inclined so I felt the need to rechristen her The Lady, for the trouble she will rain down. "
“Hey,” Lara said glaring at him. “I do not rain down trouble.”
“Lie,” the two truthsayers said in sync and even Lore cracked a smile while Barnos flat out laughed in his female’s face.
Lucan snorted his agreement to that, and his no doubt accurate assessment of his new firepower. Jax was no joke when she decided to “tinker”.
"We will soon find out," he said in agreement. She had done some tinkering on Port Sea weapons array as well, along with bulking up their ocean defenses since that had already been brought to their attention as a weakness by Dara's vision. Just in case, they had allowed the child to "talk" with monsters of the deep. He had no doubt that if anyone attempted to cross their barriers through the water they would meet with some seriously unhappy beasts, and that was before they crashed into Jax's newly augmented defense barrier.
If his brother's spies, those that Danika had not already exposed, had tried to report on the changes to their defenses, Jax and Tolan Lark had enough expertise between them to make clandestine communications improbable. Whatever Cor's plans of attack, he was working on old information. And against an enemy he could not know the true strength of, or he would not be here to begin with.
"If you could man your ship and take out anyone who tries to get close,” he told Barnos. “I think we can keep any foot battle to a minimum."
"You think some will get through?" Barnos asked surprised. "Between your new defenses, weapons and what my ship, the jezebel and the fire can do it would take more than an armada to make a dent."
"Cor will be bringing with him at least that, if he hopes to take PortSea," Lucan mused. "He would be a fool not to and if he is here then he has come prepared for a siege."
"Why now?" Danika asked, her eyes going far seeing and he knew she was reading the situation even as she asked the question. "He has not come to face you directly before, even with most of his enemies now stationed here, why take the chance now?"
"That," Lucan said turning to the last group in the room he needed to deal with. He studied Trig Kelia as if she had the answer to everything, and for some reason he was sure she did. He just had to get the truth from the truthsayer before the battle truly began. "Is what we need to know. Now."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Trig blew out a breath and was thankful for the strands of crystal strewn about her. There was a comforting warmth from them she needed now, as she faced off with Lucan Warrung.
His words, unfortunately, rang with truth. "We need to know who and what you really are."
It was not just curiosity behind those words, she could feel the necessity as surely as she knew trouble was coming and that if she had not closed herself so far from her power, she would already know what she needed to know about it.
"I will not trade one tyrant for another," she said mildly enough that Lucan merely sat back and examined her, as if he could see the truth when they both knew that was not one of his gifts. "My gift gives me knowledge that is not always easy, but I have hidden the extent of what I can do my entire life for good reason. Sharing it with you, of all people feels like I am betraying everything I know." She met his shrew eyes with knowledge in hers. "And I think we both know you cannot promise not to take advantage of my gifts either now or after the fact, because we both know there is nothing you would not do to protect you and yours."
"Tell me anyway because we also both know you don't have a choice,” Lucan stated just as bluntly. “Cor Warrung is here for you, and I need to know why."
Trig took her seat, breathing out heavily as she did and looking up at the two men who still crowded her, as if they could protect her from this. She looked at them, but she talked to everyone. "Anyone who has secrets they want to keep should leave now."
Lucan raised a brow at that. But he didn’t leave, neither did anyone else. She looked at Barnos first, then her men. "Are you sure, I can tell without trying that this room is filled to the brim with secrets and lies, some you tell to others, some to yourself. What I will read when I finally allow myself to open to them could be some or all of what you want hidden away."
"You are a reader?" Lucan asked his head tilting as he studied her. While a reader was a rare find his look clearly stated that he did not think that was what she was.
"No," Trig said. "Nor am I a truthsayer," she looked at Tyber who still hovered beside her. "I can be, but my designation is rarer than that. I am a Truthbreaker."
Tyber abruptly sat. "Truthbreaker’s are myth," he said with more hope than surety.
"No, we are rarely seen, and when we are we tend to not live long but we exist," Trig took a deep breath and looked back at Lucan. "My mother was one before me, though like any gift there are degrees to ability. She was a truthsayer with some truthbreaking abilities. She was trapped, used, and then eventually killed for her gift. But mostly she died to keep me out of the hands that would use me in the same way."
"And your father?" Lore asked sitting at her other side and taking her hands in his. Somehow he knew the story was not a happy one, and bless him, he cared more about the child she had been than the gift she had been taught to fear her whole life.
She looked at him and would have smiled at him for it if the subject had not hurt so very much. "Was the one who trapped and used my mother. He would have done the same to me if she had not killed them both getting me away."
Tyber cursed, drawing her eyes to her other side to find his on hers and what she saw there was not greed as she feared, it was anger on her behalf. She acknowledged that look with an almost smile and then turned back
to Warrung. "But as to how Warrung could have found out who I was, I don't know. I won't until I ask him and pick the truth from whatever lie he tells me."
"You aren't getting any closer to Cor Warrung than you are right now," Tyber said grimly.
"I have no intention of doing so, but if it happens it will be the first knowledge I look for."
"Look for," Lucan mused at her words. "Not ask?"
She met his eyes again. "My mother had to ask. The lie would show her the truth. My abilities are...different."
"Different how," he asked looking more than a little intrigued.
Trig sighed and opened herself up to her power. She absorbed everything that floated in the room around them until she felt fairly bloated with power. It had been so long since she truly let herself go that she did not realize she was floating out of the chair on an unseen wind until Tyber and Lore grabbed a hold of her to keep her grounded.
She gasped, the rest she had just absorbed to be sifted through and presented to her conscious mind when she needed the information. But with them touching her she saw everything they had yet to tell her about the link between them, and the one that had already formed to connect her to the both of them. A mating bond.
Something she would have to think about later, as she knew from the flickering changes of light in the room and the way Barnos was cursing up a storm, that she was glowing as she floated on an unseen wind of power. The power of the knowledge she absorbed fairly burst from her body in a way that everyone could see.
The Furgarians returned on a rush of blue wings. This time they did not land and weave but rather flowed around her, gliding on the edge of her excess power as if riding a turbulent wave.
Maybe because it was information she had wanted for a while now, this time when she sunk herself into the knowledge presenting itself to her, she saw the truth as if she had lived it herself, something that had never happened to her before.
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