His shoulders tensed a fraction, the movement so slight a day ago I might not have noticed. His brother forgotten, Rhys dropped to one knee before me, avoiding the bed as though he were afraid of jostling me. Determination hardened his eyes, but regret filled his expression.
“No trace of her was found in the tunnels or in the city. We’d begun sweeping the vineyard when I heard voices.” His thumb brushed my throat. “After the skirmish, I called it clear. I almost circled back and let the others search.” His voice scraped raw. “I almost lost you.”
I captured his hand and held it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for things to end as they did.”
“Trefor’s death was not your fault. He’d been warned. I knew he was sickened, but he was Mother’s advisor. I’d hoped for a miracle.” Heat crackled behind his next words. “His death will serve as an example.”
The elder Mimetidae may have set both feet on a path to ruination, but I’d nudged his last steps. Rhys might have forgiven the male once more had I not been involved, and that was the rub. Better me than a hapless female with no ties to their clan whose death would have been excused as Trefor’s final warning. Sick to my core, I admitted relief at being his downfall.
Quiet stretched between us, his pained and mine anxious. Hating to push him, I couldn’t wait another moment to say, “There must be a clue, some hint of her. She hid her escape route, but her trick was discovered. We can do so again. You said yourself Araneaeans don’t vanish.”
His earnest expression concerned me. “Vaughn tracked her to the forest’s edge. Beyond that point, her trail goes cold.” When I would have interrupted him, he added, “The area stank of varanus.”
Breath hung forgotten in my lungs. “There was a dragon in Erania?”
“They’re not monsters, Lourdes.” His assurance helped me breathe. “They play an important role in the success of the southern clans’ agriculture.” He leaned in. “They’re docile unless provoked. Your sister has nothing to fear from a well-trained varanus, and her companion could have only purchased one this far north at an auction. It was likely a pet and harmless.”
Clinging to the surety in his voice, I accepted he knew what he claimed as fact.
In all my life, I’d never seen a dragon. They are cold-blooded, and our city sat too far north for them to survive. Granted, I’d heard most didn’t live long enough to be affected. An old proverb said pet for the summer, food for the winter, and a slaughtered dragon would feed many.
“Even if the Theridiidae weren’t a southern clan, the addition of a varanus to their caravan tells us they’re heading south.” Rhys said, “They have no choice. The varanus will freeze to death.”
“I went south with Father a few times, visiting his old clan home and maven. Siciia is a few days travel from Erania.” I considered him. “Will the varanus help or hinder their speed?”
He shrugged. “It depends on the age of the beast and the skill of the handler.”
I remembered his earlier hesitation. “Can it be tracked?”
“The stench may mask your sister…” he sounded grim, “…but it leaves its own trail.”
Squeezing his fingers, I dared ask, “Will you go?”
Rhys paused a moment, raising his voice as he addressed the others. “Leave us.”
“Lourdes?” Armand remained in place, Henri by his side.
“I’m fine.” I smiled brighter than necessary. “Thank you both for being here.”
After I collected a round of terse nods, they filed out, leaving us alone with Vaughn, who stared at Rhys in a peculiar way before he followed my brothers into the hall, then shut the door.
“I came to you with one task, and now you would give me another.” Rhys’s expression tightened. “You’re asking me to forsake our bargain. If I leave for Siciia, any number of things may delay my return. Revenge must be served for our pact to be honored before the new moon.”
“Are you saying you won’t pursue Pascale?” My voice cracked. “That you’d let her go, knowing what awaits her once the Theridiidae identify her? They’ll kill her on sight. Or worse.”
“I have no choice.” He stared at our linked hands. “Until we’re wed, my allegiance is torn. I must honor the conditions Mother set between us. Only permanent vows supersede her orders.” Blood rushed from my face. “Even if you agreed, we must wait for the new moon.”
Wed to Rhys. My pulse raced at the thought. “What if you and I negotiate new terms?”
Thoughts tripping over one another, I had a heartbeat to decide which road to choose. One led to the satisfaction of knowing the male who’d murdered my parents now marked time in the same cold earth they did. The other led to Pascale, but this one looped. It brought her home.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Our deal was for revenge.” I paused. “Would you trade it for redemption instead?”
“The deal you struck with my mother—”
“It will be honored. Isolde will have her armor. I promise you that.”
“You know she had broader ambitions than armor. Mother is the least subtle female I know. She’d have made no secret of her plans to allocate Araneidae funds into Mimetidae coffers.” His expression turned earnest. “She wants an alliance with your clan. Your new offer excludes that option.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I was quick to remind him. “You’ve discounted yourself.”
“So I have.” His forehead creased. “Where do I fit into your scheme?”
“I promised Isolde to wed you if you avenged my parents’ deaths.” I drew in a deep breath. “I vow to you now, on the web of the two gods, I’ll wed you if you return Pascale to me.”
Silence stretched between us as he searched my face for…I wasn’t sure what.
“Could you live with yourself if your parents’ murderer goes free?”
“Yesterday, I would have said no.” My laughter tasted bitter. “Today is a new day, and the new question is whether or not I could live with myself if I let Pascale follow her heart only to have it carved from her chest. That answer is no.” I braced myself. “My parents are dead, and I can’t bring them back.” Even speaking the words hurt. “Pascale is alive, at least for now. She can be saved.”
“All right, but Vaughn stays.”
“This is the same brother who offered to kill you? The same one who finds me spirited?”
He shrugged. “I trust him.”
“You’ve attacked him twice in as many days.” I frowned. “How is that trust?”
“I trust him to react certain ways to certain situations.” His lips pulled to one side. “His issues lie with me, not you. Once I’m gone, you’ll cease to be of interest to him. I promise you.”
“Oh.” Consider my pride stung. To think Vaughn only wanted what Rhys had, including me. The notion shouldn’t surprise me. I had siblings after all, and I’d watched their minds work. “You said he’s your clan’s best tracker.” Still stinging, I tossed out, “What does that make you?”
One of his dark eyebrows rose as he tapped his sword’s hilt. “I’m told I fight well.”
I laughed at his deadpan delivery. “How modest you are.”
“I am what I am. This sword is all I have.” He shrugged. “I thought it best to befriend it.”
In that regard, we were the same. Heritage weighted our shoulders, gave us little room to choose recreation beyond what purpose we were destined to serve. If Father hadn’t indulged me, in honesty, if his quiet life among spinners hadn’t driven him stir-crazy, I might have followed in my mother’s footsteps easier. But he did, it had, and I hadn’t. I was torn between my two selves.
Belatedly, I realized what he’d said. “You can’t leave Vaughn here. If he’s your best tracker, then he must travel with you.” I rushed to add, “It’s not that I question your skill, but if he’s…”
“He is the best at what he does, but I won’t leave you here without him.”
My stomach fluttered. Excitement inched me closer to him. “The
n take me with you.”
“No,” he snapped.
“Then you’re unwilling to negotiate.” I clicked my tongue. “The fact is, no matter who poisoned my parents, they’re long gone now.” I admitted, “I’m not sure I’d recognize Pascale’s beau on sight, but I saw a young male slip from my parents’ bedroom. Him I recall in perfect detail.”
Rhys’s pointed glare reminded me I’d kept the incident’s details secret.
Hoping to defuse his anger, I let my words tumble faster. “He shut their door on his heels as I arrived, which I thought was odd given the fact my parents had retired for the evening. While it’s possible he was summoned, I don’t think so.” My fists clenched. “His expression struck me as wrong and before I passed, he shoved me aside and fled.” My nails bit into my palms. “Worse yet, I let him go.” I hated the pain in my tone. “Because I didn’t act, Kellen has Pascale. She’ll pay for my mistake.”
He waited long seconds to reply. “You can’t know for certain he was the male you saw.”
“I don’t, but my parents were no strangers to venom. They kept Mother’s sickness secret for reasons I can’t fathom. If I, their heir, didn’t know, then their guards certainly wouldn’t have known. Only this one did. I feel it in my bones he was there for a purpose.” It was the only reason that made sense. “He would have known the progression of his venom and when to expect their final breaths. For all I know, he stood over Mother and witnessed her end. It was common knowledge my parents’ life threads were tied.” For the first time, it made me consider how dangerous such an arrangement might be. “He would have known Father was good as dead once she passed, and then he could raise the alarm without fear of reprisal.”
His quiet unsettled me. I knew whatever he said next would plummet my stomach to my toes.
“You realize your sister went willingly.” He let his words sink in. “She may be his accomplice.”
His implication was a scab his nails picked off my heart. “I can’t believe that.” I’d rather believe this male, Kellen, had done our family harm and fooled Pascale as well.
He didn’t push further, but his eyes darkened with thoughts I could guess.
I had no answer for his concern, so I treaded with care. “I want retribution. If I must trade justice for Pascale, I will.” Though now I feared what that meant for us both if she had a hand in our parents’ deaths. “Take me with you. You’ll fulfill your obligation and I’ll seek my revenge.”
“No.” The word rang with finality.
I couldn’t stop myself. “Assuming Kellen flees for Siciia, you’ve as good as broken your vow. You can’t very well place the responsible male’s head on a pike if he’s safe behind his city’s walls. Nor can you return Pascale.” My heart ached. “I lost my parents. I won’t lose her. You’ll fail if you don’t act.” It was true. “You may as well pack your bags now.”
He rose on a curse. “You leave me no choice.”
“On the contrary, I’ve given you options to redeem yourself.” Bending so little wouldn’t break him. “You’re refusing to take them.”
“Yours is not the way.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Let me ask you something.” I paused. “In my clan, before my parents died, I was their heir. If they were unavailable, I spoke for them. What I said was law unless they repealed it.” My gaze slid past his shoulder, toward the door. “Tell me true. Is it the same within your clan?”
His eyes narrowed. “You know it is.”
His position as my partisan allowed him final say with the Mimetidae where I was concerned, which meant his word cancelled out his brother’s, but if I sweetened the pot, perhaps I could tempt Vaughn into my corner. Maybe then Rhys would see reason and agree to my terms.
“Thank you.” I stood, clutching covers and all, and called for Vaughn.
Moments later, he stuck his head in and scanned me from head to toe, seeming disappointed to earn an eyeful of quilt for his trouble. He stepped in and closed the door.
Forcing my shoulders back, I gambled on one source of tension between the brothers. A male’s pride would chafe taking orders from a sibling if his age and expertise exceeded theirs.
So I rolled the dice. “You’re Isolde’s oldest, correct?”
“I am.” He glanced at Rhys for guidance.
“You are allowed to speak on behalf of your clan?”
“I am.”
“Then I’ll make you this offer. If Rhys accepts my new terms,” I said pointedly, “I will grant your clan a generous allowance paid every year until my death, whether I wed him or not.”
The smirk fell from his face. Ruffling his hair, he waited, certain I would take it back. “On behalf of Isolde of the Mimetidae, I accept.” He glanced at Rhys. “I’d be a fool not to.”
“If you’d heard her terms,” Rhys growled, “then you’d be a fool to accept them.”
Vaughn snorted. “I take it your offer was less lucrative?”
Rhys glared. “She’s asked us to go after her sister.”
Vaughn rolled his shoulders. “I expected as much.”
“Did you also expect she’d want to come with us?”
“No,” he admitted. “I suppose I should have.” He rubbed his chin. “I see no harm in it. Their varanus won’t last long if they don’t head south, and most clans between here and Siciia are allied with ours. If we leave soon, it should be safe enough.” He winked at Rhys. “Perhaps if she sees enough of how the other half lives, she’ll realize how idyllic her home is.”
“One stray dart and I lose her.” His voice hardened. “Without her, you lose your annuity.”
Vaughn appeared to contemplate Rhys’s warning for a moment. “Then we’d best not let that happen.”
I ignored Rhys in favor of my new ally. “You agree I can go?”
“In the interest of full disclosure, you’re maven here. I couldn’t stop you if I wanted to.”
“I know.” I inched forward. “I would still prefer your blessing. I trust Rhys to protect me, and he trusts you.”
“Does he now?” Vaughn frowned at that tidbit of information.
I turned to Rhys. “I need to do this.” He refused to look at me, and I admitted his slight hurt. “I’m sorry to put you in this situation, I am. I would free you from this and me if I could.”
He indicated Vaughn and then the door. “Ready our supplies and leave the guards with their orders.” Once his brother left, Rhys’s gaze locked with mine and gooseflesh dotted my skin.
“Thank you. I promise—” I reached for him, but his low snarl trapped the words in my throat.
My gaze slid past him, to the door, this time gauging my chance at escape. His laughter hung with icicles. “You’ve gotten your wish.” He stalked me. “I’m agreeing to your new terms.”
The bends of my knees hit the bed, and I would have fallen back if he hadn’t caught me.
“I will find your sister, and I will keep you safe on this fool’s journey.” Promise clung to his words. “When this is done, you will be mine. No more negotiation.” Releasing my arms, he stroked down my sides, toward my hips. “I’ve never failed in a task, and I won’t fail in this.”
I shivered at his touch, bracing my palms against his chest to keep my legs steady.
He paused, the slightest hesitation, then smoothed his hands over my backside. Pulling me close, he molded my softness to his hardness as he bent to my ear. “Know this.” He squeezed. “The next time you force my hand, the price of my annoyance will be collected from your hide.”
With that, he released me. I sprawled backwards as he left, shutting the door with a soft snick. Replaying his words in my mind made an uncomfortable tension burn low in my stomach.
“He can’t have meant…” My bottom tingled with certainty he meant what he’d implied.
Despite my certainty Rhys would never raise a hand with intent to harm me, I held on to the sneaking suspicion I’d keep my backside turned toward the wall the next t
ime we disagreed.
Sweat budded along my upper lip. I stopped pacing and exhaled, shaking my hands to rid the nerves making my palms damp and my blouse stick. No turning back now. Blasted traveling clothes, while lightweight silk, trapped hot air against my skin. Of course, if I stopped pacing…
Harsh knuckles rapped against my door seconds before hinges creaked and the scent of anise enfolded me. Tension crackled in the air behind me, but I was in no hurry to face its source.
“I thought the point of knocking was waiting for an invitation to enter.”
“That I knocked at all was a courtesy.” Rhys’s voice was tight.
“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” Frustrating male that he was, he probably believed that. “While we have privacy, I’d like an explanation.” My side throbbed. “Trefor stabbed me.”
“Yes. He did.”
I waited for an explanation that didn’t come. “Why did you fool Henri? How?”
“If your clan learned their maven had almost been eaten by one of their new guardians, do you think they would trust us to protect them or flee? It’s safer if your people don’t know.” His tone hardened. “I vow it will never happen again. Now that we are bound, I will handpick the males stationed here under my command. I won’t tolerate innocents being endangered.”
His boots scuffed as his weight shifted. “As to the how, one of my guards dabbles in herbology. He’s competent enough and saved several of your wounded in the city. He’d moved his triage belowground for the comfort of his patients once the wall was secured, so it was easy enough to let him treat your wound before I released your brothers from the spinning room.”
Well, that explained Henri’s foul mood. Not that I meant he wanted to use my wounds as an excuse to try a new concoction but…I wouldn’t have been surprised if that were the case.
“You’ll have to thank him for me.” Menace rolled off Rhys and crashed against my back. Best go ahead and face him. Let him purge the huffing and puffing from his system. “I owe you thanks for—” When I turned, I forgot what I was about to say. “You’re wearing your gift.”
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