He remembered Hannah, rising on her toes to kiss him, the grief in her eyes for his pain. He swallowed the third shot, and placed the glass on the bar, upside down.
The bartender came by and picked up the glasses. “Two,” Domiku ordered. He picked up his fourth drink and sipped.
If I leave my triad, I’ll never have other brothers. I’ll lose my family.
He gazed around at the singles and couples seeking liberation from Lurran standards.
But if Kazen gets his way, I can leave the triad, no hard feelings.
He swallowed the contents of his sipping glass in one gulp, and set it on the bar, upside down.
Do I want to leave the triad, my brothers, Luken and Mikolaus?
“Family,” he muttered. He pulled the fifth shot glass over. The day he’d long feared was finally upon him. “Step up, or stand back,” he mumbled.
Hannah is not Zavia.
Domiku sipped from his glass, glowering at the bar before him.
So why do I get a chill down my spine when I see Hannah?
The vision of Zavia warred in his mind with the image of Hannah kissing him. Back and forth, pounding his heart into pieces. Loving Hannah battled with his fear of losing her.
With a growl, he slammed his fist down on the bar. He swallowed the last of his Kastasha and set the glass right side up.
Incomplete.
Leaving coin for his drinks, he walked out the door.
* * *
After Domiku left, Hannah went into the front room and sat.
Alone.
Noises from upstairs assured her that Luken and Mikolaus had retired to their rooms to give her and Domiku privacy.
Not such a goddess now, she lamented. “Why does Domiku believe I deserve better?”
She recalled Luken’s version of the story. “They cut her hair and left her fatally wounded.” Hannah couldn’t even imagine how much blood that was.
He would’ve been devastated because he couldn’t save her.
Edariak. She knew where that was.
She rose and smoothed her skirt. With a determined stride, she set out after Domiku.
In ten minutes, she reached the corner where she’d thought the bar was and turned circles in the street. I guess I don’t know where it is, after all.
In the distance, the sun was setting, so she decided to backtrack home. She’d been lost after dark once in Galicia already—and although that had turned out well, she knew Mikolaus had been frantic when she disappeared.
She worked her way through streets that looked more familiar. “Oh, there you are,” she said aloud, catching sight of the sign to Edariak.
Once inside the bar, she asked the keeper, “I’m looking for a man with a cut over his eye.”
“Take your pick.” He gestured to the crowd. “I see at least a dozen.”
The man had a point; the room was full of bandaged and bruised men from the games. She walked around searching for Domiku, even waited by the men’s room in case he was in there before finally giving up.
“Not here,” she sighed.
Outside, the sun had set. Remembering the last time she was alone after dark, she pulled the black-handled knife from the sheath at her waist and hefted it in her palm.
Just in case.
She headed back towards home, hoping to run into Domiku along the way. It was full dark now, and the only light came from homes along the streets. She reached a corner she knew was two minutes from home. “Thank the Goddess,” she mumbled with relief, then laughed at herself for how easily she’d fallen into the Lurran turn of phrase.
She turned down the street, heading toward the glowing light of her newfound home. As a rock crunched behind her, an instant adrenaline kick made her heart stutter and pound. She turned and blindly thrust her knife out.
“Damn,” hissed a man behind her. He punched her hand and she dropped her knife.
“Get her,” another voice ordered.
What little light there was shone behind them. Someone grabbed her hands, and she opened her mouth to scream. A fist slammed into her face.
* * *
Domiku walked briskly from Edariak to home. Five shots of Kastasha usually dulled his senses enough to bring peace. But there was no peace inside him tonight.
Only love wanting a chance.
He reached the house and stormed through the door.
“Hannah!” he called out. “Hannah.”
Luken appeared over the second-floor landing. “Domi?”
“Hannah, is she with you?”
“No. I thought she was with you.” Luken came down the stairs. His brother’s eyes crinkled with sudden fear. “Mikolaus,” Domiku and Luken shouted together.
Mikolaus’s bedroom door opened. “What is it?” He craned his neck, looking behind them. “Where’s Hannah?”
“Dear Goddess. She isn’t here.” Domiku pinched the bridge of his nose.
Mikolaus ran downstairs. “Who saw her last?”
“I left her in the kitchen,” Domiku said. “I went to Edariak.”
Luken said, “This doesn’t mean—”
“It means we don’t know where she is,” Domiku interrupted him.
Luken grabbed his knife belt and strapped it on. Domiku slipped his quiver of arrows over his shoulder and picked up his bow. “We’ll go to the headquarters first,” Mikolaus said, “in case she went there.” He buckled his short-sword scabbard around his waist.
The three headed out the door, turning right toward the headquarters. “Wait,” Luken cried. He picked up something from the street.
“That’s her knife,” Domiku said. “Today’s the first time I’ve seen her with one, so I remember it.” He took the weapon from Luken. “Look, there’s blood on the blade.”
Without a word, they took off for the headquarters at a run. When they reached Hannah’s floor, Mikolaus knocked on her door. “Hannah,” he called. When no answer came, he walked in and quickly returned. He glared at Luken. “You ate passion berries with her?”
Luken shrugged. “It’s not like we ate the last ones on Lurra.”
Domiku exhaled. “Come on, we have to tell the ambassador.” They charged down the hall to Gray’s room. All three pounded heavily on the door.
“All right, all right, I’m coming,” Gray called from inside. “You don’t have to break in.” He opened the door breathless, his eyes bugging at the sight of the triad fully armed. Immediately, worry lines creased his forehead. “Again?”
“Yes,” Domiku said. “Hannah’s missing.”
* * *
_______________________
Get Domiku, the final entry in Seduced by the Gladiators, available August 1, 2017.
* * *
The Lurran Chronicles
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About the Author
USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Margo Bond Collins is a former college English professor who, tired of explaining the difference between "hanged" and "hung," turned to writing romance novels instead. (Sometimes her heroines kill monsters, too.)
You can learn more about her writing at margobondcollins.net
Luken (Seduced by the Gladiators Book 2) Page 6