by Liz Craven
“She remained free while he was bound to her. Even if she married he was not free of his commitment.”
“And these laws are still in effect.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.”
A tear tracked its way down her cheek. “Damn you.”
Alarmed, he stood. “Ilexa?”
“You know I’d never leave anyone—let alone you—in such a position.” Another tear followed the first. “I’ll marry you.”
The expected sense of triumph didn’t fill him. Instead, he felt…sad? “Give me your word.”
“I just did.”
She sounded so indignant, he didn’t press the matter. He knew a kiss was the traditional way to seal the promise, but from her expression she’d rather kiss a gundar. Rocking on his feet like an awkward teen, he spoke. “What… How do you want to handle it?”
“Handle what?”
“The wedding.”
“Does it matter?”
She looked so forlorn it should have prompted him to comfort her. Instead, it made him angry. “It matters.”
“Oh.”
The surprise in her eyes didn’t cool his temper. “I’m going to go place a call to Talon. We shouldn’t announce anything until I actually speak to him.”
“Fine.”
Now she sounded pissed. Good.
He shoved past her to the door. Pausing in the threshold, he couldn’t resist. He wanted to hurt her like he was hurting. Even if warriors shouldn’t “hurt” like an emotional teenage girl. “I’d appreciate it if you started behaving with a little more decorum. Your actions now reflect on me, and I shudder to think what additional havoc you could cause this tribe.”
Ilexa gasped and paled.
He had the satisfaction of seeing her eyes flare with pain before he slammed the door.
Before the guilt rose to choke him.
***
By the gods she wouldn’t cry. She’d skewer him, but she wouldn’t cry over him. Not again. She should have pointed out she could marry him without her brother’s consent. At the very least, she should have gone with him to face her family and make the announcement.
But she couldn’t. Not when he’d been so angry and she’d felt so hurt. Depression beat at her and she wanted nothing more than to curl up and hide. In all the years she’d known Thane, she’d never seen him so angry and never hateful. Why was he angry? He’d gotten what he wanted. Maybe he’d truly wanted her to refuse him.
She dropped to the bed. In all her little-girl fantasies, Thane had come to N’yota and professed his undying love for her. He’d gotten to his knees and begged her to marry him. And they’d lived happily ever after.
When she’d seen him two years earlier, she’d discovered the childhood torch she’d carried still burned, but her new fantasies had a decidedly more adult content. He’d still only seen her as Talon’s kid sister, but that hadn’t kept her from dreaming.
Now she was going to marry him and it devastated her. And she couldn’t say why. She’d resigned herself to a loveless marriage before leaving N’yota. Thane was actually the second fiancé she’d had. Of course, no one knew that because her first engagement hadn’t lasted three hours.
Jason had swept her off her feet and she’d naively handed him her heart. His proposal had come with flowers, candy, dancing and moonlight. They’d made passionate love and Ilexa had fallen asleep dreaming of a wonderful future. She’d awoken alone and padded down the hall in search of her fiancé.
He’d been conversing via link with his father. Assuring him that their family’s connection to the Damaia had been secured—and he’d make sure Ilexa didn’t learn about his mistress, the apparent love of his life.
She’d had the satisfaction of seeing his horror when she’d stepped fully into the room. She’d left without saying a word, wearing nothing but his bathrobe to the sound Jason’s father berating him for his “lack of caution”.
She’d never said anything—and only Lia knew they’d been dating. Her sister-in-law never asked a question or made a single comment, but Jason and his social climbing family disappeared from palace invitation lists, and Ilexa had blessed Lia’s perceptiveness.
Jason had taught her a valuable lesson and she’d made a list of what she required in her future husband. Thane exceeded those requirements by far.
She had found an honorable man who wasn’t interested in a connection to the Damaia. A man upon whom she could rely and trust to be faithful. A man who liked her and would love their children.
A man who didn’t love her.
It wasn’t a requirement. It wasn’t even on her list. She didn’t know why the thought popped into her head. Strong marriages required more than fairy-tale love. She could live without love. She absolutely could. And if she made it her mantra she’d eventually believe it.
***
Thane came to dinner late. Ilexa believed he’d chosen to eschew the communal meal because of her. Not that she blamed him. If she’d had a kitchen, she’d have skipped the meal to avoid him.
That wasn’t true. The last time she’d tried cooking she’d set the kitchen on fire making soup. So—if she could cook and had a kitchen, she’d have skipped the meal.
Drea had come for the first course but was leaving for a self-defense lesson when Thane arrived. He took the seat Drea vacated.
“Where’s she going?” He sounded surly.
“One of the women warriors is going to teach her self-defense. I hadn’t realized she wasn’t born Hakimu.” Shame burned her cheeks. She should have known that about her friend.
Thane frowned and looked over his shoulder at Drea’s retreating back. “I hadn’t realized that either. We should require brides from other tribes to undergo some level of training and put a support system in place for them.”
“That’s a good idea.” Ilexa’s lips twitched.
“What’s so amusing?”
She shrugged. “Brides from other tribes. It sounds like a lame song title.”
A smile ghosted his lips. “It does, doesn’t it?”
The tribe member assigned to serve their table placed plates before the couple. The seats immediately surrounding them were empty and Ilexa watched Thane take notice of that.
He turned back to her. “Aren’t you going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“What your brother said.”
“You spoke to him?” That surprised her. She’d expected it to take more time to actually pin her busy brother down.
“He gave his staff orders to put any communication from the Central Alliance through immediately.”
“Good thing your Council is in recess and can’t take advantage.”
That prompted…not quite a laugh, but certainly a little thawing of his expression. “True enough.”
She worried her lower lip. “What did he say?”
Thane grimaced. “Not much, but he wasn’t pleased.”
“I expected him to be thrilled to add you to the family.”
That brought a glimmer of amusement to Thane’s eye. “No man likes the idea of a friend with his sister. Talon’s known me a long time. He knows my faults and he doesn’t like the idea of me putting my hands on you.”
The god of mischief prodded Ilexa to say, “I doubt it’s your hands he’s worried about.” Thane choked on his wine and she continued. “And I doubt it’s your faults as much as he knows where you’ve been.”
“Ilexa.”
“Am I wrong?” she asked as innocently as possible.
He glowered at her, and a little of the despair that had wedged in her chest when she’d accepted his proposal thawed.
“He expects to talk to you tonight.”
It was her turn to grimace. “I don’t suppose it’s to celebrate the joyful news.”
“I assume he wants to talk you out of it.”
She heard the undercurrent of concern and it made her temper flare. “I gave my word.”
“You did.”
The noncommitta
l tone had her counting to ten. She took a deep breath. They would make this work, damn it. “Are you trying to provoke a fight?”
Thane considered her for a moment. “Yes, I believe I am.”
“What? Why?”
“I prefer you angry to depressed.”
“I am not depressed.” Her pride demanded the lie.
“Despondent then. That’s not the reaction a man wants to a proposal.”
“You didn’t propose.”
“I most certainly did.”
“When?”
He opened his mouth and closed it as she watched realization dawn.
“Ha!”
He had the grace to look chastened. “I apologize. I know you women put a great deal of value on men saying pretty words.”
She couldn’t tell if he was still trying to pick a fight with her or thought those words actually constituted an apology. “No woman wants false words.”
“I am not toying with you. My declaration is real.”
Touchy. Touchy. So he could dish it out but not take it? Not that she’d been trying to provoke him, but the principal remained the same. “I’m aware of the sincerity of your declaration. Otherwise, I would never have agreed to bind myself to you.”
His brow lowered. “Now you’re trying to start a fight.”
“I’m not. I just want us to go into this thing honestly. No false hopes or promises, but with our eyes wide open.”
“I haven’t misled or lied to you.”
“No, but you’ve made assumptions—such as my marrying you when we left the cave.”
“Fair enough.” He shoveled some vegetables into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. “I promise you this Lex, I will be the best husband I can be to you. I want you to be happy in our marriage.”
The sincerity radiating from him nearly broke her heart. She forced a smile. “I will be as good a wife as I can be, but I’ll never be a warrior.”
Thane studied her for a ponderous moment. “If I wanted a warrior, I would have been married by now. I want you.”
She hadn’t known a heart could break and swell at the same time.
“Besides you can be more fierce than a rabid gimfrey.”
It took her a second to process the sexual innuendo and damned if it didn’t make her cheeks burn. Unwilling to back down, she said, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
She had the satisfaction of watching him choke on his wine. She raised an eyebrow in challenge.
“I’m looking forward to seeing more,” he growled when he recovered.
“So what do we do next?”
“I take you to the nearest bed and bring out the animal in you.”
She took a delicate bite of bread and smiled sweetly. “I meant about the wedding.”
He glared at her. “If I had my druthers, the Malkia would marry us right now.”
“Druthers? Who says druthers?”
He ignored her. “But I want your family’s approval.”
“Really? Druthers?”
“So talk to your brother tonight and decide how you want to proceed. We’ll have the Malkia make the announcement of our intent to marry in the morning.”
“What exactly is a druther?”
“As I’ve said before, we’ll have whatever service you like on N’yota, but you will legally be my wife before we leave the holding.”
“Is that a druther as well?”
“Make that by the end of the week.”
***
“No. I’m not.” Ilexa said with quiet dignity and ended the transmission before Talon could respond.
Fury and hurt raged within her. How dare Big Brother demand to know if she carried Thane’s child before even bothering to say hello. Even though she and Thane had been careless, it offended her that Talon assumed that—or worse assumed Thane had knocked her up to manipulate her.
The communications panel chirped, but she ignored it and rose from the table. She left, telling the poor man assigned to communications to advise her brother to go to the fieriest hell. She felt a spark of guilt. The man on the evening shift was younger than her and clearly terrified of relaying her message. She squelched the guilt and wandered towards her room.
She wanted to go to Thane’s apartments and lose herself in his caress, but doubted he’d be there. He no doubt expected her chat with Talon to take longer than eighteen seconds.
If she did go to Thane, she’d only have to sneak out when she’d want to stay and cuddle in his arms. Bolstered by her anger at Big Brother, she reached a decision. She would wed Thane in the morning. If nothing else, she could then enjoy their sex life uninterrupted.
And she’d find a way to turn her love for him into fond friendship if it killed her.
“Ilexa.” The cold voice pulled her from her thoughts. She realized she’d reached her door when she saw Karia standing in the hall.
“I’m not really up for a confrontation with you tonight.” She couldn’t help being blunt. The emotional rollercoaster of the past few days had exhausted her.
The other woman seemed to hesitate. “I’m not seeking a confrontation. Thane has claimed you as his ahali.”
“He has.”
Karia gestured towards her own room. “We should try to make peace. Will you join me for a cup of tea?”
Ilexa wanted to scream. She wanted to tell Karia to make her own peace. Hells, she wanted her mother. Instead, she mentally squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Better to resolve things with Karia before the wedding. “I’d enjoy a cup of tea.”
***
Thane reclined casually in the seat across from the Malkia. Tribe attendance had been low for the evening meal, so he’d moved to enjoy a glass of wine and discuss the day’s training with Rhys.
From the glances the Malkia kept giving him, she’d heard he’d declared Ilexa his ahali. He ignored the expectant air around her. He would make no announcement or request for her to officiate at a wedding until Ilexa spoke to her family.
He suppressed a wince at the recollection of Talon’s fury. His blood brother felt betrayed having trusted Ilexa to Thane’s care. Not that Thane blamed him. They’d chased—and caught—women in their younger, wilder days. Often they’d competed for the same woman for more the thrill of competition than actual desire.
Hell, he wouldn’t want Ilexa around a man like his younger self. Just the thought of it set his blood to boil.
In the middle of a discussion about arena maintenance, Drea ran full tilt into the great hall and charged towards their table. Instinct launched him to his feet even before she drew close enough for him to see her tears.
Rhys and the Malkia rose as well, drawing all eyes to them.
Drea grabbed Thane’s arm with such strength the muscles in her fingers trembled with exertion. He realized it was the first time he’d seen her stand so close to a man, much less touch one. His alarm escalated, but he was careful to hold it in check, not wanting to frighten the fragile woman.
Keeping his voice evenly modulated, he asked, “What’s happened?
“Something’s wrong,” she breathed.
That was obvious, but yelling at the distraught woman wouldn’t help matters. His mind screamed Ilexa’s name. He knew whatever had happened involved her. Otherwise, Drea would have gone to Ilexa.
“Tell me what’s happened.” His voice came out low and controlled.
“They took her and she wasn’t fighting them.”
“Who took Ilexa?”
“Your father and Karia.”
Thane’s heart stopped and his lungs couldn’t draw in breath.
“What do you mean ‘she wasn’t fighting them’? Was she injured?” Rhys moved around the table to stand by Drea.
Drea shook her head violently. “I was cutting back to my apartment through the vehicle bay and I caught a glimpse of them. Borys never looked at me with the hatred I saw on the faces of Karia and Nytham. And Ilexa got into a transport with them.”
“Willingly? She made no protest?�
� Rhys asked.
Drea turned wild eyes to Thane. “There was no expression on her face. None. I know something bad is happening. Please. You have to believe me.”
Air finally rushed into his lungs as terror made room for fury. He opened his mouth to respond, but the Malkia spoke first.
“We believe you.” She turned to Rhys. “This is an act of treason and falls under the jurisdiction of the war council.”
Nausea rolled with fear in Thane’s stomach. He’d never heard of a tribe declaring one of its own a traitor, much less turning jurisdiction over to the warriors. In effect, the Malkia had just given them carte blanche to kill a senator and her own granddaughter.
Rhys didn’t hesitate. He looked over his shoulder, snapped his fingers at a nearby tribe member and ordered, “Sound general quarters,” before turning back to Thane. “We’ll organize a search using a theta pattern and—”
“No.” Thane shoved down debilitating emotions in favor of becoming the cold, methodical killing machine the League had trained. “I’m going after them now.”
“The rains will wash away any trail they might leave. A strategic search—”
“The rain won’t wash all their trails away,” Thane shot over his shoulder as he ran from the hall, forsaking his duty to lead the tribe for the first time in his life.
Blessedly, the armory was on the way to the vehicle bay. He coded the lock and grabbed a blaster, two knives and a sword. As an afterthought, he snagged a first aid kit and bolted to the bay.
He selected a transport far lighter than he would normally consider wise for the conditions, but knew in his bones he needed the faster speed the transport would provide. He leapt into the cockpit and gunned the engines, barely edging through the slowly opening doors in his haste.
Clearing the keep grounds, he switched off the terrain navigation feature and ignored the blaring systems alarm as the transport protested his override. He pulled up the magnetometer screen. With one eye squinting into the blinding rain and the other watching the mag spike and fall with anomalies, he followed their energy trail.
Chapter Thirteen
Ilexa bounced along stretched out on the floor behind Karia and Nytham. She’d tried repeatedly to sit up, but her lax muscles refused to comply. The fog around her mind thinned, and while she had no memory of anything after accepting Karia’s cup of tea, only an idiot wouldn’t be able to deduce that she was in deep shit.