by Ciana Stone
In reality, she had no intention of uniting with humans. She would play their game, gain their trust, and make them believe that she would play nice. Once she had them where she wanted them, with people loyal to her in key positions, then she would pull the rug from beneath them, cut off the heads of the world leaders, and give humanity one simple choice.
Bow down to her or die.
Farouk was and had been her right-hand man for centuries, helping to consolidate her power and wealth, amass a following, and build the army she would need to stage so large a coup.
She believed he thought she would allow him to sit beside her as she ascended to the throne. He knew she would never allow that. She’d have him killed.
It would never come to that. Farouk would strike first. He had the proof he needed to show the world the monster she was. When he took her life, he’d be hailed as the savior of humanity.
And then he would, with humility, accept the grateful thanks of the world and ask for one small reward. Ily Scythiana.
Pulling himself back from reverie, he turned his attention to his pouting Queen. “It occurs to me that she would be worth more alive than dead. Having a Scythe to do our bidding could be more fortuitous.”
“And how do you propose we gain her loyalty?”
Farouk shrugged. “We threaten what or who she loves, of course.”
Asha’s expression changed almost immediately. Farouk could almost hear the mental gears turning in her mind. “John Luke Legacy,” she said. “If we were to kill him— “
“She is Scythian, my Queen. If you kill him now, she will not bend.”
“Then what?”
“We show her how easy it is for us to destroy those around her—how easy it would be for us to destroy him. Once she understands that she cannot protect his family, she will bend.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“As I keep reminding, you she is Scythian. No race of our people is more imbued with loyalty and a sense of duty than the Scythe. Added to that is the fact that she will know that her love will come to hate her if she allows his family to be killed off one member at a time. If she wants to keep his love, she will bend to our will.”
Asha smiled, and he was sure he’d never seen a smile so filled with malice in his life. “Then make it so, my pet.”
“As you wish, my Queen.” Farouk nodded his head in deference, then rose and hurried from the room, allowing the smile to rise on his face. He’d just taken another step closer to his goal. Another step closer to ending Asha Iltani and taking from his old master something very precious.
Ily jammed her hands into the pocket of her cargo shorts and lowered her head to watch her own feet as they walked. The last three weeks had been full of surprises, some good and some not.
Among the bad were the two additional attacks against her. She’d successfully vanquished three more Umbra, and with Steve’s help on one occasion and John Luke’s on another, had captured several Fae whom they’d turned over to Augustus for questioning.
Not that they needed to be questioned. Ily knew who they answered to. A Daemon by the name of Farouk Payne. She provided the leaders of the Seven with that information. Severin let her know that it had not set well with Augustus. Payne was Asha Iltani’s current lover and someone who was not a stranger to Ily.
“So, you know this Payne guy?” Beau asked as he walked along beside her.
“Yes.”
“And?”
Ily stopped and looked at him. She and Beau had become close, something that took them both by surprise. He still didn’t believe that Heather was out to hurt him, but aside from that, he and she saw eye-to-eye on a lot of things.
She cut a look over her shoulder to the rear of the ranch house, where the rest of the family was gathered. It was the first family cookout that had been held in a while and she was honored to have been invited.
Right now, John Luke, Logan, and Jericho were in the back yard with Michael, John Luke’s son, playing a modified game of touch football with only two men per team. Beau had dropped out when Mysti’s husband, Jean Paul, stopped to man the grill with Senator Logan.
Beau and Ily had elected to take a walk. She wanted to see the new foal that had been born earlier in the week. She’d spent the night in the barn with John Luke and helped with the birth.
Ily turned her attention back to Beau. “John Luke told you about me and Severin, right?”
“Are you gonna beat him up if I say yes?”
She laughed and resumed the walk. “No. I’m not ashamed of it, and I told him he could tell you.”
“So, you were his—his—“
“Concubine.”
Beau shook his head. “Why does that sound so…suppressive or, or I don’t know, like it’s a disrespect to women?”
“Maybe here is it.” She said. “On my world, it’s not. We’re not required to say yes.”
“So, you wanted to be his love slave or whatever it amounts to?”
“No, I wanted to be his lover, or more correctly, I wanted him to teach me how to be a good lover.”
“Oh. Ooohh.” He paused to face her. “And? Did he?”
Ily grinned. “Ask your brother.”
Beau laughed and gestured for her to precede him into the barn. “Okay, but what does this have to do with this Payne guy?”
“Farouk was one of Severin’s students. Only his name wasn’t Payne, it was Nephtier. He was very talented and quite powerful, but also quite vain.” She stopped at a stall and opened the door. A mare and her foal were inside.
“Hello, pretty lady.” Ily approached the mare first, rubbing her neck and face.
Beau closed the stall door and leaned on it, watching Ily and the horses. “So, Farouk was conceited. Did he have a reason to be?”
“Oh yes.” Ily looked over her shoulder at him. “He’s quite handsome. But he’s also plagued with feelings of envy and resentment. He wanted to be as strong and powerful as Lord Severin, to be the object of love and admiration that Severin has always been. He wanted women to clamor after him the way they do Severin.”
“Women clamor after him?”
“Oh, god yeah, he’s like a rock star or a movie idol where we come from. Anyway, Farouk always wanted what Severin had, so when Severin took a new girl to train, and I no longer shared his bed, Farouk approached Severin and asked him for me.”
“He asked Severin to give you to him?”
“Yes.” Ily saw the shock on Beau’s face. Satisfied that the mare was not uneasy, she turned her attention to the foal as she continued the conversation.
“Not that Severin would have ordered such a thing. He did ask if I was interested in taking Farouk as a lover, and at first I said yes.”
“You taking him? Hold on.” Beau raised a hand. “You mean you weren’t going to be his concubine?”
“Oh no,” she chuckled. “Farouk came from a prominent family, but not a royal house. I do. My mother is Queen of Scythia and I, as the eldest daughter, am heir to the throne. I could choose a consort or concubine if I chose.”
“So, he’d be your…what? Boy toy?”
Ily laughed and walked back to the stall door to face Beau. “Something like that. He’d live in the castle, but would be free to come and go and would serve my needs.”
“You mean— “
“Sexually, yes.”
“So, what happened?”
“He didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?”
“Serve my needs.”
“What do you mean? He couldn’t get it up?”
“Oh no, he could get an erection, but he wasn’t what I wanted.” She opened the stall door to slip out and gestured for Beau. “Come on, let’s head back.”
“Okay, so why wasn’t he what you wanted?”
Ily considered her words for a moment. “Severin is a dominant man, but also one with the soul of a true lover. He seeks to give pleasure, rather than take it. If there is pain, it is because the woman is drawn to it.
I was not. I don’t mind a dominant man. In fact, it’s a bit of a thrill to know the man I sleep with is one who can best me physically.”
She cut him a look. “No brag intended, but not many men can make that claim simply because of what I am.”
“A Scythe?”
“Yes. Anyway, what I wanted was someone dominant, but someone who understood that the act of sex was not a taking, but a giving. Farouk doesn’t understand, at least not fully. He can perform in any manner requested, but he takes no pleasure in the act unless he is simply gaining sexual release or inflicting pain.”
“So, what happened?”
“I sent him away.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“And parted on good terms?”
“I did. Apparently, it was not so for him. He never took what was Severin’s, and that was what he wanted all along. Therefore, the parting was, for him, a rejection and he hated me for it.”
“So, you think all this is because you turned him away?”
“No, not at all. I think Asha found a willing follower, someone happy to do her bidding. It’s simply an added benefit for him if he gets to hurt me or the people I care about.”
“Do you think there will be more attacks?”
“I think we can count on it. That’s why I’ve begged your father and John Luke to please allow Severin and Connor to place some of their people here. If the Dark Fae were to attack in numbers, we would need their strength.”
“That’s what Logan and Sabine said.”
“Then please listen to them. Until Augustus and the others find a way to stop whatever Asha and her followers are doing, we cannot let our guard down. We have to find an antidote for the poison that is killing the Weres and—“
“Wait. Poison?”
“Yes. I managed to identify the compound. It’s not a virus, but a poison. One of the elements is from a plant that grew in the bogs on the southern tip of Scythian land. I happened upon it quite by accident when I was in your mother’s greenhouse two weeks ago. John Luke gave me permission to use it, and I found a plant—dragon’s scale, we called it. It’s highly poisonous, and at one time we tipped our arrows with it for battle.”
“And it makes Weres sick?”
“It makes any Fae sick and can be fatal. Now that I know what it is and have the plant, Augustus has people trying to engineer a synthetic version of it. If they can, we should be able to create not only an antidote, but a vaccine.”
“Thank goodness. I bet everyone was happy about that.”
“Yes, it was a huge relief, but we haven’t accomplished the goal yet, so we have to stay focused.”
“And safe?”
“And safe.” She stopped and took his hand. “You’ve become a good friend, Beau, and I know you don’t believe me, but you have to be careful around Heather. I know she’s Daemon and I know she works for Farouk. I’ve seen him in her mind. I don’t know what her goal is, but it’s not wise to let your guard down until you’re one hundred percent sure she doesn’t mean you any harm.”
“And how do I do that? Be a hundred percent sure, I mean?”
“You let me plunder her mind.”
Beau took a step back from her. “That sounds…horrible.”
“It’s painful.”
“Lethal?”
“No, but painful.”
“Then I can’t allow that.”
“Okay, but promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I will. I already told John Luke, Logan and everyone in the family. I’ll be careful.”
“Good. Hmm, what’s that smell?”
“Legacy beef. Come on, smells like dinner will be on the table soon.”
Ily returned the smile, and together they headed back to where the family was gathered. Once there, John Luke met her and gave her a soft kiss.
“In front of your son?” she asked in surprise.
“That’s why I asked you to come today. I wanted him to meet you and you to meet him.”
“So he knows we’re… What exactly are we doing?”
“Getting to know one another? Dating? I don’t know what you call it.“ He took her hands, lifted them to his lips, and kissed her knuckles. “But I know you’re important to me, and I really want you and Michael to get to know one another.”
“So do I, and I can already tell you that I like him. He’s a great kid, and it’s obvious that he idolizes you.”
John Luke shrugged that away. “I feel the same about him.”
“As you should. Like I said, he’s great. And speaking of great…”
John Luke turned to see Michael coming up behind them. “Grandpa says it’s time. You want to sit beside me, Ily?”
“I’d love to.”
“Cool. Dad, you can sit on the other side of her.”
“Well, thanks, son.”
“You bet. Come on, let’s fix our plates.”
“Right behind you.” John Luke replied and took Ily’s hand. “Well, it looks like you’ve already won him over.”
“Or maybe he won me,” she said and smiled up at him. It had been a very long time since she’d felt like part of a family, but today she did.
And she liked it. A lot.
Chapter Fourteen
“There’s something I need to tell you.” John Luke allowed her to push him back on the bed but stopped her from mounting him.
“No, there isn’t. You don’t have to—“
“Yes, I do.” He pulled her down, rolled over, and pinned her beneath him. “I love you, Ily.”
She hated that tears sprang to her eyes and her chest felt tight, but damn it all, hearing those words was the answer to a dream she’d never dared to acknowledge. She’d fallen fast for John Luke and knew that he cared for her, but to hear those words—it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever experienced.
“I love you, John Luke.”
“Then come live with me.”
“But my work—“
“It won’t change a thing except where you call home. Let me be your home, Ily.”
“Yes.” What else could she say? His smile told her she’d given the answer he wanted. His kiss told her that his desire for her was a fire that burned bright and his mind revealed the truth of his emotions.
Need blazed like the flash of a gun muzzle and Ily rolled them over so that he was beneath her and then broke away from John Luke’s kiss. Impatience born of hunger had her moving her lips to his chest, licking her way down his body.
He was hard, ready for her. She ran her tongue over the head of his erection, and then lay back and extended a hand to him. “If you really mean—“ She couldn’t finish the sentence. The way he was looking at her choked her with emotion.
There was love shining in his eyes. John Luke loved her.
Ily almost swiped at the tears that welled in her eyes and spilled over. She was a warrior, tough and independent, a woman who didn’t need anyone. Well, that’s what she’d once convinced herself, but it was a lie.
She did need him. So, she let the tears track down her face without shame.
“You know I mean it.” His voice was gentle, as was the touch of his hand on her face. He thumbed away tears. “I’d never lie about that.”
“Promise.”
“On my life.”
Those words meant more than all the flowery phrases he could have spoken. She understood what it meant. One could not use such words lightly, for they were a vow most solemn.
Just as she reached for him, his phone rang. He looked at her in question. “Go ahead; I’m not going anywhere.”
She lay back as John Luke rolled over and plucked his phone from the nightstand. “It’s Beau,” he said when he looked at it and then answered. “Beau? What’s up? What? Who is this? If you…”
He turned his head to look at Ily, and she knew something horrible had happened.
She was off the bed and halfway dressed by the time he hung up. “Tell me.” She said as she zipped her jeans.
“Turns out you were right about Heather.”
Fear slammed into her, making her pause in her trek toward the dresser. “Clarify.”
“She said if I didn’t bring you to the ranch inside an hour, they would kill Beau.”
Rage replaced fear, and Ily felt the tingle of scales start to form above her eyebrows. She had known they would not stop coming for her, but had hoped that it would just be her they targeted and not people she cared about.
She understood why they chose Beau. He was important to John Luke and therefore, by extension to her. They figured she would comply with their demands. If she let them kill Beau, John Luke would not forgive her.
It was a sound strategy. She’d give them that. And that’s all she’d give them. She marched the rest of the way to the dresser, snatched up her phone, and placed a call to Severin.
“They are holding Beau Legacy hostage at the Legacy ranch and demand that John Luke bring me there in trade.” She activated speakerphone mode and placed the phone on the dresser.
“You know what you must do.” Severin’s voice came from the speaker. “We will be there as quickly as possible. Be strong, Ily Scythiana.”
She cut a look at John Luke as she listened. He was dressing as well, and his expression was that of a thundercloud. “Yes, we will,” Ily answered.
Ily shoved the phone into the holster clipped to her jeans and sat to pull on her boots. “Do you have any weapons here?” John Luke asked as he put on his shirt.
“Just one.” She hurried to the closet and reached up to take it from the top shelf. “I had no idea what this was until my memories returned, but my grandmother gave it to me and told me to protect it, that it was very old and very valuable and had been in our family for a long time.”
Ily unrolled the object and lifted it free of the fabric. It was a blade, almost a short sword, fashioned hilt and blade from one piece of bone.
“A sword?” John Luke asked and accepted it when she offered. “Wow, it’s heavy. What’s it made of, iron?”
“Dragon bone.”