by Aliyah Burke
Tiarnán moved to a space for a window and leaned against the sill. She’d left him. Without a single word.
Determination filled him. He would find her and bring her home. Then after he told her how foolish she’d been to leave, she would apologize. Yes, he had a plan.
I just have to find her.
* * * *
I wonder if this is what being suspended in space is like. Everything Calida experienced was unique. The floating feeling was interesting. She flexed her fingers, glad she could make them move. She opened her eyes to see the bed above her. The noise of wheels on the rails slowly infiltrated her bubble of silence. Even so, it wasn’t as loud as she recalled. Still a bit muffled. Allowing her gaze to drift toward her feet, she spied a figure there.
Who are you? She wondered the question in her mind, unable to form the words with her mouth. You’re not—
Don’t speak her name, child.
She had a delicate voice, one that created images of protection and love. Calida still couldn’t make out her features. Have we met? I have the oddest feeling we have somewhere before.
I am always with you, Calida Michaels. We have met before and will do so again. The one with you will say anything to sway you to her side. Be wary. Trust your instincts.
The bubble faded and this time she recognized who was near her feet.
“Ah, you have awakened. Do you travel this way always? It seems slow and a pointless endeavor.”
This was Cheza. Today her hair was a vibrant shade of turquoise with beads at the ends of braided strands. Her svelte form was clad in a chocolate brown one-piece suit.
“No,” she managed to say. Looking down, she discovered she wore a business suit in hunter green. This isn’t mine.
“I gave it to you.”
Sitting up, she reached back to touch her hair. The realization Cheza could easily read her thoughts worried her. “Why?” Her eyes widened. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I was under the impression you wanted to kill me.”
“I still do.”
Her heart plummeted. “And thought the green would look good on my dead body?”
“Is red and green not a festive grouping among humans?”
She gulped. “Not typically festive when it happens over a dead body.”
Cheza grinned, showing off pointed teeth. An act that didn’t exactly calm down Calida’s racing pulse.
“Humans are such a confusing lot. I have a proposition for you.”
“Which is?”
“You give me your artifact and I let you live.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do that. Even if I had it with me, I wouldn’t just hand it over.”
Her eyes darkened to the color of pitch and the room grew exceptionally cold, frosting over the windows.
“I am not one to play with, human. With a single thought, I can kill you and the rest of the people on this train.”
“Something you could still do even had I the artifact and gave it to you.” She did her best to contain her chattering teeth.
“You speak the truth. But there are many ways to die. Some slow, some fast. It can last for years, if I so chose that route.”
“Why?”
Cheza blinked at her. “Why what?”
Not quite sure she believed she was having a conversation with one of Them, Calida did her best to appear put together. “Why do you want to kill all of us?”
“This is our world, human. I’ve been here before the first one of you even crawled out of the ooze. I want it back.”
“But, we didn’t take it from you. Right? I mean, don’t you have a keeper?”
She hissed and Calida gulped. It was a good thing she was sitting for her legs had just turned to jelly.
“The keeper grows weak. Soon he will not be strong enough to control us anymore. When that happens, we will rise and destroy all your fancy cities and reclaim our world.”
“Who is the keeper? How do you know he grows weaker?” The questions tumbled from her mouth before she could establish if it were wise to ask them or not.
“He grows weaker because we grow stronger. Do you truly not know who the keeper is?”
“Should I? This isn’t my prophecy or war.”
Her laughter held no humor. “The rules,” she said, her hair slipping from its current color to the palest white. “Always so noble, and refusing to break them.”
Her mind raced but Calida held her tongue.
“You know, human. You intrigue me. Tell me, do you know where it is?”
“Where what is?”
“The hope which is sought.”
“I thought they were after artifacts.”
She glared. “The hope the artifacts are supposed to raise.”
Calida shook her head. “No. I barely know about the artifacts.” A warmth pushed through her, battling back the chill.
Cheza frowned, her eyes glinting like diamonds. “I think it’s time we leave.”
Calida wasn’t going to beg for her life. She would die with some dignity. Guess I don’t have to figure out what new start I will make, or where it will occur. “Where are we going?”
“You aren’t going to plead for your life?”
“No.”
“Would you like me to make you?”
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t kill me at all, if we’re being honest.”
Calida looked around. She was no longer on the train and she hadn’t any clue where she was. Green grass, blue skies and a city. The one with her had golden blonde hair now, and wore a suit much like her own, just in fire engine red.
“Where are we?” Calida asked as Cheza indicated she walk toward a large hotel.
“I believe they call this accommodations. There is something I want you to see.”
They strode across the lobby floor, heels clicking on the tile. The concierge waved at them both and greeted them warmly. Calida trailed Cheza into a conference room where a group of well-dressed men sat around a table.
On the projector screen, Calida saw an image of the world. Lines ran to sections, and each had a name attached to it.
“Are they dividing up the world?” she asked, shocked.
“Yes. These men are top ranking members of The New Order. They have been so for generations, it’s something they inherited.”
“Do they really believe you won’t kill them after you get what you want?”
“I haven’t killed you yet, Calida. Why would they assume we would go back on our word? Just because you have heard all we do is lie?”
“You have been breaking rules.”
Cheza clenched her jaw, and Calida saw the snake rise from her skin and look at her, fangs extended, dripping poison. “We want the artifacts.”
“I’m assuming there is a reason you are showing me this.” She tore her gaze from the serpent and returned it to the division of the world.
“You agree to join us and I will give you top choice of anything you want up there. Anyplace, it will be yours.”
“What about the one who has picked it already?”
“He or she will pick another.”
Calida blinked and found herself in a suite. Staring out of the large window, she realized they were in the same hotel, just now in a suite.
“What are we doing here?”
Cheza lost the suit and returned to her barely there, skin-tight outfit. Now it was a shade of orange she didn’t believe would ever work on a human. Apparently it worked on creatures she still didn’t know what to call other than They.
“Think about it. I will return.”
In a blink, Calida stood alone in the room. Her bag rested on the large overstuffed chair in the corner. Lying across the bed was a dress she’d never considered wearing in her life.
Stepping to it, she stared down at the garment. Smokey topaz with a plunging sweetheart neckline and semi-beaded cap sleeves. The sequined bodice and high slit were beautiful. The one-shoulder look wasn’t one she normally pulled off, but this was diff
erent.
She showered and cleaned up before drawing on the dress. There were matching metallic shoes with a three-inch heel, which she put on as well. Then she stood in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection. The sequin cutout design slid along under her left arm, its design unique and stunning as it led to the top of the slit.
She walked to the door and opened it to find a tall man in a tuxedo waiting for her. He held out his arm and she took it. He escorted her down to a ballroom where many of the same men she’d seen in that room mingled.
Left to her own devices, she walked around, ate some of the food, and talked to the men who were very candid about the places they planned on getting. As if her being there had opened a door of acceptance. No one questioned anything about her.
As she rode the elevator back up to her suite in the early hours of the morning, she realized what Cheza had meant. She was showing Calida how life could be on the other side. The parties, the clothing, the money…as well as the handsome men. She unlocked her door and stepped inside. Making her way to the bar where she fixed herself a drink, she had just put it to her lips when a sound from behind her had her turning.
Out of the shadows stepped a figure. Her heart picked up speed. Was this someone else sent to her?
The shadows rippled away and left her looking at a very unhappy Tiarnán.
Chapter Sixteen
Tiarnán stared at her. His mate. His woman. Calida. She was stunning in that form-fitting dress that highlighted all her curves. It had taken him a moment when she’d walked in to understand it was her he was seeing. She drank the whiskey she’d poured then set the glass down.
“What are you doing here?” Her question was distant.
“Why did you leave?” he countered, moving toward her.
He halted when she held up a hand. “Are you kidding me?” she snapped. “You’re unsure as to why I left?”
“It’s dangerous away from the vineyard.”
She waved a hand around. “I’m doing fine, as you can see.”
“You reek of other men,” he snarled.
He moved the rest of the distance to reach her. When she backed up, he pursued until she could go no further. He kissed her, needing her taste in his mouth, her scent on his skin. Her in his arms.
She shoved away and got out of his reach. Her fire had her eyes glinting in the low light. “Leave.”
“No. I came to bring you back.”
“What’s the point in me going back there, Tiarnán?”
“You’re my mate.”
Crack! She smacked him across the face. “And you think by dumping me off your chest in the middle of the night while calling out another woman’s name, seconds before you go running out of the room, is a way to keep me as one? You’ve lost the right to call me that.”
He thought back. He had. “It was a dream of her being killed.”
Calida crossed her arms and glared. “So go find her and leave me the fuck alone. I’m done being second to her, Tiarnán. You keep me out of your meetings unless I barge in. You don’t want to share information with me unless I struggle to drag it out of you, when all I wanted to do was help. I’m done. No more. You don’t want to share and I don’t want to know. I’m done. That was bad enough, but to have my words ignored when you’re all attentive when her name comes up, or have you call her name out in bed in the middle of the night and toss me away like I’m shit on the bottom of your shoe is pushing it too far. Go find her. You two obviously have a thing that no one will come between. Fine, I hope you’re both very happy.”
She walked to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
Tiarnán stood there as her accusations tumbled through his mind. He couldn’t deny any of it. He had done all those things. Until this moment, he’d not realized what it was like for her to be on the receiving end of his actions.
Tugging his shirt off over his head with one hand, he strode to the bathroom. The shower ran and he opened the door.
“Go away,” she said in a weary tone.
“No. We need to talk about this, Calida.”
“I’m done talking, Tiarnán. Your point and stand is obviously clear.”
“No, it’s not.” He stepped up to her and lowered the zipper on the dress he’d wanted to rip off her the second he saw it on her. “You’re beautiful, mate.”
“I don’t need those kinds of words, much less from you.”
“You need to hear them from me more.”
He dragged the single strap on her right shoulder down and encouraged the material to slide over her full hips to puddle on the floor. His cock jerked at the sight of her near-nonexistent panties. He sank to his knees and lifted her feet out of the pile before undoing each shoe.
He stripped off the rest of his own clothing and joined her in the large walk-in shower. She kept her back to him and he guided her under the multi-headed spray.
“I need you to listen to me, Calida.”
She didn’t respond and he took that as her agreement. He took the washcloth and lathered it up before beginning to wash her back.
“Dracen—” He held her immobile as she jerked from him with that one word. “Hold still. Dracen and I are close. I love her, but she is my sister. Nothing more than that. There will never be more than that between us.”
“Words are easy to say, Tiarnán.”
The enormity of her pain hit him in that moment. How could I have been so blind to her own pain about this? He stroked the cloth over her skin, ignoring his own desire to fuck her until the only word out of her mouth was yes. Once he’d finished with her feet, he turned her so he could do the front.
When he had again risen and could see into her pain-filled eyes, he hung the cloth over the rack and cupped her face in his hands.
“I’m the worst mate, Calida, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make this up to you. I never understood how much this was hurting you. I allowed you to almost die because I didn’t protect you the best.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t get to try and draw pity from me. You did what you could to keep me safe, that has nothing to do with this. Don’t you see that, Tiarnán? This is nothing more than you and unwillingness to share with me and putting Dracen ahead of me.”
“I don’t mean to.”
“That’s the problem. It’s so common for you to do it you don’t even know you are doing it.” Tears sparkled in her brown eyes.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Nothing. Be happy.” She turned away and finished rinsing the soap off. Sliding by him, she stepped out of the large shower.
Tiarnán followed and, wearing nothing more than a towel wrapped around his middle, he sat beside her on the bed. She appeared so small beneath the large robe surrounding her.
“You make me happy, Calida.”
“I won’t be second to her, Tiarnán. I deserve more. I may not be a Guardian but I still deserve to be treated as a queen in my own way. I deserve a man who will love me as I love him, not as an afterthought, because it’s not fair. Not to me.”
“You really have no intention of coming back, do you?”
“No.”
“Then where are we going?”
She gave a small shake of her head. “What do you mean we? You are needed at the vineyard. I think I know who the keeper is. I think it’s Lian. You should take that back and tell them.”
Her damp hair clung to her skin like it had no wish to release her. Ever. As he felt about Calida.
“I mean we because we’re mated, Calida. I will give it all up for you. I don’t know any other way to show you it’s not Dracen I want. It’s you. The one who chases away the night in my world. And while I may not show it, or say it like Billy and Cale do, there is nothing more important to me in this world than you.” He rubbed the nape of her neck. “I love you. This man loves you more than you do him, because he wasn’t sure he would ever find his mate and a woman who made him want to be worthy enough for her.”
&nb
sp; Her body trembled and he kissed her softly.
“Give me another chance, Calida.”
As he waited for her answer, he passed along the information she’d given him. He wanted to demand where she’d found out about that but right now, working out the problems between them was more important. He meant it—if he had to leave the vineyard to be with her, he would.
“You can’t leave,” she said, her breath warm along his lips. “They need you.”
“I need you.”
“Won’t the prophecy fail if you’re not there?”
“I don’t know. Most likely.”
“So you want to put all this on me? The fate of the world because I’m being stubborn?”
“No. This isn’t on you. This is my fault for not letting you know how important you are to me.”
He guided her back to the mattress and held her gaze. “Nothing on this earth is more important to me than you are, Calida. If we have to lose to Them, I will go from this life to the next with you in my arms and at my side.” Her tears leaked over and he wiped them away with his thumb. “Tell me you love me and we have a chance to work this out.”
“I love you, Tiarnán Malone.” She wrapped him tight in her embrace. “I love you.”
“Do we have a chance?”
“Yes.” Her whispered word lightened the burden on his heart.
Things would work out and he would be better at showing her how much he loved her. They could go back to Oregon later. Right now, they needed time for them.
Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:
Unbreakable Bonds
Aliyah Burke and Taige Crenshaw
Excerpt
Chapter One
The shot had torn through flesh and bone, making each movement—from breathing to continuing his forward motion—a painful chore. The man stumbled occasionally, yet pressed on. Baying dogs gained on him as his steps slowed. Sticky blood ran down his bare arm and mingled with the rain that cascaded around him. Wet branches reached out and ripped at his exposed upper body. Any and all air was ingested desperately as he ran farther into the forest.