by T. M. Smith
“Listen to me, August, please.” Hector pleaded. “Your sister set a series of events in motion that got a lot of people killed, including herself. The man you follow, Cillian, was there the day your sister died, called to The Clearing by Autumn herself. From what I’ve been told, Cillian intended to take Aiya that day but took Kaden instead. Aiyan only speaks the truth, though it pains you, and I beg you to listen, see reason. Please, lower your dagger, let Maeve go, and come with me. I promise you protection while we try to get to the bottom of all of this.”
August had spent every single day since learning of Autumn’s death plotting, scheming, and training to kill the twin sister of the man that held the knife and ended his twin sister’s life. And now, with the opportunity in his grasp, just beyond his reach, he doubted…everything. Of course, they could be lying; he did have a dagger pressed to the neck of the woman–Oh God, Autumn, I’m so sorry–the woman his sister had loved. Loved enough to do anything for a chance at happiness with her, if what Hector was telling him was the truth, and August felt certain he was.
“I…I…what are you, I don’t…know…” Fatigue slammed into him like a train at full speed and August fell to his knees, the dagger falling to the ground. The tears fell fast and hard, clouding his vision. He could hear several voices circling the air, surrounding him. Hector was shouting at someone and August used every bit of strength he had left to lift his head, seeking out the man who’d talked him down, but something slammed into his face, and the world went black.
Chapter 13 | Too Much Testosterone
Aiya paced the small empty space between the table and the fireplace in the library. Sawyer sat on one of the couches with Ian in his arms and Apollo sitting on one leg with his feet on the couch beside him, refusing to be too far away from the baby. Little Ian wasn’t fussy, per se, but he was restless, feeding off the frenzy of irritation with which his mother was permeating the room. Raven sat on the couch across from Sawyer and the boys, no less irritated but far more composed.
The three of them as well as Tanis had been in the library relaxing, reading and playing with the boys when four people in hoods burst into the room with weapons, shouting orders and threatening to hurt the boys if the adults didn’t do as directed. Ian had let loose another one of those ear-splitting shrieks, bursting a glass candleholder that sat on a shelf conveniently located right next to one of their would-be attackers. In less than a minute, Tanis and Sawyer had taken out the four hooded figures. Tanis had left them all in the library with instructions to kill first, ask questions later if anyone else came into the room in a hood. And he set off in search of Aiyan and Kaden.
Footsteps growing louder as they got closer to the library had Sawyer on his feet. He placed Ian in Raven’s arms, reaching down and picking up the Katana sword Aiya had removed from its mount on a shelf above the fireplace. Positioning his body between the door and his family, Sawyer stood, ready to pounce when the door flew open, slamming back against the wall hard enough to shake the room. Aiyan searched the room, eyes frantic. “Where’s Kaden?” he shouted.
“Fuck if I know. I thought he was with you. Where’s…” Aiya broke off when a disheveled, bloody Maeve stumbled into the room, her body supported by Tanis who was all but carrying her. “Oh my God, what happened?” Aiya rushed over to Maeve’s side. “Maeve, talk to me.” Tanis deposited his sister on the couch, Aiya and Sawyer taking over from there before grabbing Raven and hugging him, hard. Apollo climbed up onto the back of the couch, wrapping his arms around his fathers.
Maeve was relaying the evening’s events, wincing every couple of minutes as Aiya cleaned and dressed her wounds, when Mateo, Thayago and Taryn waltzed into the room, taking up all the leftover space with their shared ginormous frames. Taryn’s eyes darkened when he caught sight of Maeve. “Your mother is going to tear his fucking balls off if she can get past Hector.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that, by the way?” Aiyan asked, coming into the room with Kaden right behind him, thank God. Aiya didn’t have the energy to devote to thinking about how pissed off and possibly murderous her brother would be if anyone laid so much as one finger on his husband. It was getting very crowded in the large library, now full of several angry men that rivaled trees with their unusually large stature.
“Too much testosterone,” Maeve mumbled, and Aiya laughed, nodding in agreement.
Mateo cleared his throat, the room quieting almost immediately. “Do we know yet what happened here tonight, or why?”
“Some of it, but not everything,” Tanis told him. “Hector is down where the guards’ quarters are in an empty room with this August guy that went after Maeve. I’m confident he’ll get the guy to talk, at least to tell him what he knew about what was supposed to happen here tonight. We don’t know for sure how many rebels got into the palace or why they attacked. What we do know is eight of them are dead, two captured alive if you include jackass downstairs with Hector, and one of the maids told Mom and Maya she’d seen a very big man that looked like a gorilla barking orders at the ones that wore the hoods.”
Aiya gasped. “Are you sure?”
Tanis nodded. “We knew this day was coming; we just didn’t know when. I can’t figure out why in the hell Cillian would lead an attack on us with so many people at the palace in preparation for the wedding.”
“He didn’t know.” Kaden spoke softly. Aiya looked his way, noting how Aiyan had one arm wrapped tightly around his husband, and he was whispering in his ear.
“Why do you think he would attack without knowledge of what he was walking into?” Thayago moved closer to Tanis.
“No one knew Mother was here. Or that there were Ambassadors from all the Houses here; it was a last-minute request. No, I think Kaden is right—he didn’t know what waited for him once he got inside. So that begs the question, what exactly did he know, and where did he get the information from?” Raven eyed his husband warily.
“I think it’s more like whom did he get the information from?” Thayago added. Several people in the room nodded in agreement with the statement.
Tanis snapped his fingers to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, first things first, we need to secure the palace. Thayago, Mateo, go with my father and make sure the palace grounds are clear. Sawyer, go with Aiyan and Kaden and check inside the palace, every room, every closet, every nook and cranny. If there is a mouse in Cook’s apron, I want you to kill it.” That got a few chuckles, but Tanis was oblivious, giving orders and sending everyone off to do a specific job.
Walking over to Maeve, he sat down on the coffee table, taking her chin in his hand and lifting her head to take in the two faint lines cut into her neck. His nostrils flared and he made a promise to his sister. “I’m going to whip his ass for daring to lay a hand on you.”
“What about Hector?” she asked, one eyebrow lifting. “Besides, the punch that knocked him out cold might qualify as beating his ass, brother.”
Tanis snorted. “He deserved it and you know it. And I won’t hesitate to beat Hector’s too if he gets in my way.” Maeve chuckled, shaking her head.
Standing, he moved to the other side of the table, bending down to kiss his husband and then his son on the forehead. He even kissed baby Ian on the cheek, the infant laying in Raven’s arms sleeping now that the fuss had died down. Tanis reached back, grabbing the sword Sawyer had laid on the coffee table before he left with the others and placed it on the couch beside Raven. “I need you to stay in here with the ladies and the boys. I will be fucking worthless if I’m worrying about the five of you, okay?”
Raven nodded, leaning forward for a kiss on the lips and taking the offered sword before his man left the room, locking then closing the door behind him.
Chapter 14 | Finally, the Truth
August sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. Lord, but his heart was pounding, blood boiling. Cillian had latched on to his grief and fueled the fire with promises of retribution and revenge. For the past hour or more, he’d sat quiet
ly and listened as Hector shared every detail of what actually happened that day in the clearing. How Gorilla Man—Cillian, had been called to the clearing by Autumn with the promise of royal blood and body, his for the taking. They’d only learned after the fact that Cillian intended to take Aiya but had taken Kaden instead once he’d learned exactly who Kaden was.
Named tattoos, Hector called them—it was how Cillian knew exactly who Kaden was. Inked on each man’s arm as a permanent reminder they belonged to someone, they were loved that much. August wanted someone to love him that much. Hector cleared his throat, successfully jerking him back from his meanderings of happiness. “He was chained up in a basement, beaten, starved and basically tortured by Cillian for weeks before Aiyan and the others found him. But not before Cillian tried to drown him.”
“Jesus,” August muttered.
Hector’s eyes held a note of sadness when he spoke again. “I was not here to witness their grief, but I’ve been told it’s something that still clings to both of them, Aiyan and Kaden.”
“I’m going to die down here, aren’t I?” August said it more as a statement than a question. There was no way in hell anyone would be able to stop the man with the odd brown eyes, rimmed in gold and hatred, from slitting August’s throat as well.
“We don’t know that, August.” Hector leaned toward him, tentatively patting August on the leg. Shivering, August didn’t realize he was chilled to the bone until he felt the warmth from Hector’s hand. Lifting his head, he locked eyes with Hector, and August immediately felt a rush of emotions he’d never experienced before.
His parents would share the story of how they met every year on their anniversary, his father remembering the exact moment as if it were yesterday and how he just knew his mother was the one, felt it deep down inside. “All it took was one look, a simple touch, and I felt more alive in that moment than ever before.” His father would take his mother’s hand and smile at her as he told the story, relived the memory for their children.
Right now, looking into Hector’s kind eyes, his hand resting comfortably on August’s leg, he felt very much alive. And judging by the intensity in Hector’s eyes as he stared back at him, the feeling was mutual. Blinking, Hector pulled away and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. For some reason August couldn’t fathom to understand, he missed the warmth of Hector’s hand. Wanted…no…needed the warmth back.
“So, what was your grand plan, August? Why did you go after one of the people that your sister and Cillian had already bestowed enough pain and anguish on?” Hector continued to watch him, patiently waiting for an answer.
“I didn’t…I wasn’t…Maeve wasn’t my target. Aiya was.” He finally managed to get the words out.
A myriad of emotions played out on Hector’s handsome face. Confusion gave way to clarity, which quickly became anger, followed by pity. This close to him, August could see now the man’s eyes were hazel with flecks of green and gold littering the iris. Hector was gorgeous, and August was definitely attracted. On top of everything else that’d happened in the past few hours, the beautiful man that was perched in a chair between August and the door had August entertaining thoughts of bending him over the bed and fucking him senseless.
“I…he…” August rubbed the back of his neck, agitated and unsure. “… he killed my twin and left her body lying in the clearing in a pool of blood. My intention was to do the same to him. To cause him the same pain I live with—every damn day she’s gone.” The words left August in a rush. Almost immediately, he felt lighter having just said them, as if a weight were lifted off his shoulders. Head bowed, he sighed, fighting back the rush of tears threatening to break free. He refused to break down in front of this man.
“August, will you look at me? Please,” Hector begged. He expected to see the same look of pity in Hector’s gaze but instead, he found sorrow and understanding. “I’m so very sorry about what happened to your sister.” August had to look away, unable to stop a few stray tears from falling. His sister had been dead a year and this man, this virtual stranger that had August tied up in knots, bound by thick ropes of regret, uncertainty, and arousal was the first person to ever say those words to him. Of course, people in their encampment had said similar words of sorrow to his parents over the loss of their child. But Hector was the first person to recognize the bone-deep pain August carried every day over the loss of his twin.
He thought he might climb out of his own skin right then until he felt the now-familiar warmth of Hector’s hand on his leg again. Hector sighed. “Well, I’m hungry, how ’bout you?”
August couldn’t help it; the abrupt change from baring his soul until he was raw to being asked if he was hungry in a manner of seconds made him laugh. Shaking his head, he angrily wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt before answering Hector’s question. “I could eat.”
Hector stood as the door to the room flew open and a tall, slender man with black disheveled hair blew into the room. He resembled Cillian just a bit—same blue eyes, though Cillian’s were always dark and almost lifeless.
“Where is he? Where’s my husband?” The man’s booming, Scottish voice did not fit his frame, but it caused the hair on the back of August’s neck to stand on end nonetheless. He’d only seen Cirian and Rian from a distance or in pictures and paintings, never up close. Up close and personal, the man was a bit frightening.
He made a beeline toward August, stopping short when Hector stepped in his path. “Cirian, hang—”
“Get yer arse out of my fecking way, Hector.” Cirian never took his eyes off August. His icy blue eyes reached out with invisible fingers, wrapping around August’s neck and slowly strangling him.
“Hector, we can’t find Rian, and that red-headed demon over there is the only person left here with a pulse who might be able to point us in the right direction. I suggest you move.” The big blond man that was all attitude and ink spoke. He was standing in the doorway, nonchalantly leaning against the frame.
August was turning different scenarios over in his head so it took the words Tanis spoke a few moments to sink in. “The only person left here with a pulse.” Holy shit. And then Cirian was on him. He grabbed August by the shirt, lifting him easily and slamming him into the wall with so much force it caused his teeth to rattle.
“Now, ya listen to me ya little bugger. You’re gonna tell me where my Rian is or I’m going to tear you apart, one limb at a time, and I’ll make sure Raven is there to keep yer sorry arse alive while I do it.” The blue of Cirian’s eyes slowly ebbed away, a bright silver lining the black orbs of anger.
August didn’t answer in a timely manner, as his captor obviously expected, so he was rewarded with a hard slamming of his skull into the wall behind him. He saw stars and felt nauseated. “Do not test me, boyo; trust me when I say I can and will kill you where you stand.” August almost laughed out loud since technically, only his toes were touching the ground right then. Cirian was no longer shouting at him; in fact, the man looked to be downright calm. Completely mental, but calm.
Just when August felt certain he was about to be murdered by the crazy Scottish man, Cirian released his grip, and he fell to the floor in a heap. “You’ve got ten minutes to get him to tell us where Rian is, Hector. Ten minutes, then I’m going take him outside and drop him off a cliff.”
Hector groaned. “Cirian…”
“Nine minutes and fifty-five seconds!” The man was halfway down the hall, and yet his voice still bounced loudly off every wall in the room.
“This…” August coughed, trying to force air back into his lungs. “…my fault.”
Bending down and wrapping his arms under August’s, Hector used strength his frame shouldn’t possess to pull August up. Standing on wobbly legs, their faces mere inches apart, only the fear of that crazy Scottish man coming back and breaking both his arms and legs then using the limp limbs to beat him over the head, kept August from moving those few inches and capturing Hector’s lips in a kis
s he’d wanted since he first laid eyes on him in the garden.
Hector sighed, stepping away and turning his back to August. “Still hungry?” August could only nod, his throat still raw from where Cirian had his hand wrapped around it, realizing Hector wouldn’t hear him. He managed to croak out a faint yes. “Follow me then.”
He hesitated for a moment before pushing off the wall and following Hector. Four guards fell in line behind him, as if he had the strength or energy left to attempt an escape or a murder. He was so done. As far as August was concerned, the lot of them could put him down; he’d failed his sister, failed to do the one thing he’d promised the day he lowered her body into the ground.
Chapter 15 | Attraction Has a Mind of Its Own
Entering the kitchen, he recognized the woman at the stove straightaway. She turned, fixing him with an angry scowl. “What can I get for ya, Hector?” she asked, never taking her eyes off August.