Everyone’s attention shot to Ramsay, though Ramsay kept his focus on the thick maroon rug. Two heartbeats later, he snapped his head up. “They found Sully. He’s dead.”
Reese grumbled low beside Ludan. “Fuck.”
“Figures,” Trinity said.
“Damn it all to hell.” Lexi reined in her tirade as fast as she’d let the curse fly, took stock of her silent mate, and beat feet to ground him with a comforting hand on his chest.
His eyes dimmed a fraction, but the nearly palpable and deadly energy emanating off him burned as powerful as a nuclear reactor gone rogue.
Ramsay kept going. “Jagger says they double-backed with Angus for details on Sully’s last assignment. They followed the most likely path to complete the errand and found the poor guy just outside Cush’s outskirts in an unharvested wheat field. From the looks of his body angle, Jag says something probably took him out of commission midflight and he crashed.”
“They move the body?” Eryx said.
“Not yet.”
“Don’t. Galena will want to look at him first.” Eryx pinned Reese with a glare so potent it had to hit the guy like a fist. “You got this?”
Reese nodded and quick-stepped it to find his mate.
“All right. So what have we got?” Ramsay paced toward Trinity. “We think Angus is the one who stole the translation tables, and Angus visited Serena just before they went missing. If you put the two together, then why would Serena want them to begin with?”
“Are you sure the prophecy isn’t documented somewhere else? Maybe Maxis had one,” Lexi said.
“Maybe. His library is huge.” Eryx grumbled and anchored Lexi to his side with one arm.
“I still don’t think it was her,” Ludan said. “She can barely mask against a human.”
Ramsay perched on the edge of Lexi’s desk, crossing his arms over his chest and one boot over the other. “Okay, so maybe she’s got help.”
Lexi whipped her attention to Trinity. “The rogues. They were willing to help Maxis. What if they’re the ones helping her now?”
“I thought every time someone hit for the bad guys, the good guys got a turn at bat,” Ramsay said.
“The law of reciprocity.” Trinity chewed on her lip. “Dad mentioned that a time or two, but I don’t know much in the way of details.”
For the first time since Ludan had walked in the room, Eryx’s tension ebbed. “Any chance you can use your pretty rock and make a visit to Winrun? See what’s going on?”
Ramsay shoved upright and squared his shoulders. “Not without me she’s not.”
“I can try.” Trinity laid a placating hand on Ramsay’s shoulder and tugged him out from in between her and Eryx. “I can’t say the king or queen will tell us anything, but it’s worth a shot.” She frowned up at Ramsay. “I’m not stupid. I’m not out to do anything that might compromise my existence.”
Curling his hand around the back of her neck, Ramsay eliminated the space between them and pulled her against his chest. “You I trust. The Black King seemed pretty eager to add you to his ranks.”
“It still doesn’t make sense.” Eryx eased into the chair behind his massive desk and propped his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped tightly between them. “If I’m a rogue Spiritu, why point Serena to anything written? Why not just give her the info the way Kazan gave it to Ramsay?”
Everyone traded stumped expressions, the same clueless faces most prevalent in a teenage classroom when no smart-asses were available to bail them out.
“She’s got to be somewhere.” Eryx sat back in his seat and lasered onto his twin. “What’s the latest with her family? Have they picked up anything with the links?”
“Not since I checked in with them last night. I’ll have the men check again. Wherever she’s hiding, she can’t stay there long. Serena’s not known for keeping her head down.”
“What about Angus?” The idea pinged out of nowhere, but the minute the question slipped past Ludan’s lips, he knew it was a solid target. If they’d learned anything in the last few months it was not to underestimate the cagey bastard.
“We’ve got nothing on him right now,” Eryx said. “He’s fully cooperating, and his memories at the time in question are clear as can be, though he’s still not divulging his conversation with Serena. I think it’s time I petition the council and force the issue.”
“Or you bluff a little and make Angus think Sully’s alive.” A job Ludan would get a kick out of considering how Angus treated those he considered inferior. “Angus might get nervous enough he’ll spill about his visit with Serena. He might even know where she is or how she might have known to steal the journal.”
“What do you mean the journal’s gone?”
Everyone spun to face Brenna in the entrance beside Graylin.
Praise the Great One, she was pretty. Gone were the gaunt angles that had plagued her face when she’d first arrived, and her gown clung to curves a man couldn’t help but appreciate.
But she wasn’t for him. Couldn’t be, no matter how much he might like to imagine otherwise.
Lexi’s voice cut from behind him. “Trinity and I were hoping we could spend some time looking through the journal and figure out if it was Hagan who wrote it. Maybe see if he’s really our grandfather. But it’s gone. The pendant and the translation table too.”
“It’s more of a sentimental loss at this point than a tactical one,” Trinity added. “Nothing to worry about.”
Brenna’s stare cut to Eryx. “Unless Serena’s the one who got it and that’s why she’s missing. That’s what you think happened, isn’t it?” Her gaze trailed the room, stopping on each person long enough to get a firm read. She ended on Ludan. “Isn’t it?”
He slowly dipped his chin, unable and unwilling to give her anything but the truth, even though it probably terrified her.
Her spine stiffened, and her fingers fluttered at her sides. She focused on Lexi. “You said there was mention of a fight in the beginning. A part you didn’t fully translate.”
“Probably the part you saw where Hagan killed the guys who hurt his mate.”
“Then odds are good the whole thing is in there. Everything I saw with Ramsay.”
“That doesn’t give her much advantage.” Eryx stood and prowled beside Lexi. “She’ll have to translate it first, and you know how slowly that goes.”
“But she can.”
Eryx nodded. “Yes, she can.”
Brenna held so still Ludan couldn’t even gauge her breathing, but her eyes burned with vulnerability. He’d bet anything that what her body lacked in movement her mind more than made up for with churning thoughts. She glanced at Graylin beside her and turned. “If you don’t mind, I’ll go back to my room.”
Casting a quick check at Ludan, Graylin waved his arm toward the hallway. “I’ll escort you back.”
“No need.” She pierced Eryx with an empty glare over one shoulder, one most warriors would think twice about using on their malran. “I’m perfectly safe here, right?”
In three quick strides she was out of sight.
The room dimmed. Whether the sun slipped behind a cloud or she took the brightness with her he wasn’t sure, but the shadows left him hollow. Empty.
His thighs bunched and his feet itched to move. To follow and comfort her like he had on the beach.
“She’ll be fine.” Lexi smoothed her hand over Eryx’s shoulder and glided toward the door. “I’ll talk with her while you guys run down what to do next.”
Ludan’s temples pulsed from the strain of his clenched teeth, and his breath huffed hard and labored. He wanted to go to her. Not Lexi. Not Eryx or anyone else. His gaze snagged on Graylin still at the entrance.
Graylin dipped his chin, a slight, barely perceptible motion loaded with encouragement.
“No.” The simple command rumbled up his throat and resounded through the room. He strode past Lexi, locked in place by the door with eyebrows high and jaw dropped low. Along the way, Graylin nodded his app
roval.
Ludan glanced back at the rest of his stunned audience before he stomped out of sight. “The only one talking to Brenna is me.”
Chapter 9
Brenna calmly closed her bedroom door and leaned against it. Her heart ka-thumped in a deep, steady rhythm and a weird, otherworldly calm grounded her. Odd considering the thoughts racing through her head. One blink. One tiny second and a flash of realization, and her whole life had changed. Ever since the day Maxis had taken her, she’d prayed that someday, somehow, things would change. Well, it was going to change. Today. No more waiting for someone else to fix it for her.
She pushed away from the door and padded through her tidy room. The ivory and plum comforter was made from the finest fabrics in Eden. The tapestries depicted lavish gardens and spectacular landscapes, and the accents gave the sizable suite a homey feel.
But none of it was hers. Not really.
She opened the closet and assessed her wardrobe. Gowns. Casual tunics and leggings. More than she’d owned even before she’d been kidnapped and all in rich, jewel-toned colors that accented her olive skin, or so Jillian had claimed. Ian’s long-lost daughter had been more than generous upon Brenna’s arrival, offering a good chunk of her overflowing closet to make Brenna feel welcome. But what would she choose for herself? Did she like gowns and leggings? What other options could she try? And what would they be wearing now in Evad?
It was time to find out.
She pulled a few of the darker tunic and legging sets made of sturdier cloth from their hangers and tossed them on the bed. She was done waiting around for her happily ever after. Done with drifting along the passive path those around her created. Done with letting other people dictate her life, however innocently. And she sure wasn’t sitting around waiting for Serena to put any more pieces together.
The sapphire dress she’d worn the day before hung toward the end. She stroked the soft velvet and closed her eyes, remembering the safety she’d felt in Ludan’s arms. For that brief stretch of time, she hadn’t worried. Had just let herself go and trusted him to keep her safe.
Pulling in a deep breath, she opened her eyes. A dress wouldn’t do her much good on foot, especially this one. She started to step away and stopped. She wanted it with her. It might be foolish, but if she wanted it and was willing to haul it around, then why not? Wasn’t this about her following her own desires for once?
She pulled it from its hanger and set about folding her selections.
A sharp, heavy knock sounded on her door, and Brenna flinched. The peace that had grounded her scampered into hiding and left her alone with her racing heart. It couldn’t be any of the women, not with such a firm knock. She scooped up her belongings and strode to the dresser.
“Brenna?” Ludan. He’d never come to her room before. Not once. “Let me in.” His deep, rumbling voice rang firm as though the door didn’t stand between them. No sweet talk. No placating. Just a simple, straightforward request laced with something close to a plea.
Setting the clothes on the top of the dresser, she opened the door a crack.
His hands were anchored on either side of the doorjamb, as though braced to wait forever. His head snapped up, and the pinched, almost painful expression on his face cleared. He straightened and swallowed. “I was worried about you.”
Warmth skated across her skin, and a delicate flutter issued behind her sternum. Such a simple statement. Common courtesy on the surface, but the emotion that went with it sounded as though it had been ripped from his soul. All warrior, and yet gentle. Another perfect memory to take with her. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to make it fine.”
Fast as a warrior braced for attack, his gaze sharpened and he tensed. “Make it fine how?”
Oh no. No more backing down. Not from him, or anyone else. She mirrored his defensive stance and tightened her grip on the door.
His focus shifted to her hands, the door, and how she’d limited what was exposed of her room. He planted his massive hand on the thick wood and pushed it the rest of the way open, careful and cautious of hurting her, but relentless all the same.
Brenna stepped in his path and splayed one hand in the center of his chest. “I didn’t say you could come in.”
He paused long enough to study her hand, an odd, almost shaken expression scuttling across his face.
He wasn’t the only one. Beneath her palm, his heart beat strong and steady, and his body heat radiated up her arm. She lifted her other hand, wanting, almost needing more contact.
His gaze drifted over her shoulder, and his face hardened. “You going somewhere?”
“Just putting up some clean clothes.”
Ludan edged around her and lifted one garment after another. “All pants, one gown.” He twisted and scowled over his shoulder. “Try again.”
“No.” Fire burned through her bloodstream, and her lungs stung with a need to yell, even shout if that’s what it took to make a stand for herself. She lifted her chin instead and steadied her voice. “I don’t have to explain anything. To anyone.”
His head snapped back as though she’d physically slapped him. With a tight grimace, he spun, paced toward the window, and planted his hands on his hips. For the longest time he stared out the window, his loose, dark hair ruffling in the steady breeze. “You’re right. You don’t owe me. You don’t owe them. If anything, we owe you.”
He turned and dropped his hands to his sides. His beautiful blue eyes were pinched and hazed with pain. “I wasn’t asking if you were okay for Eryx. Or for the prophecy. I asked because I was worried about you. You’re not safe on your own.”
“And you think I’m safe here? Maxis got Lexi. Serena waltzed in with a ton of guards and stole right out from under Eryx’s nose.”
“I doubt it was Serena.”
“Well, someone did. Can you honestly tell me you think I’m safe here?”
For the first time since he’d pushed his way into her room, his face sparked with determination. “We’ll guard you.”
“I’ve been a prisoner for fifteen years. I’d rather not add to it.” She strode to the stack of clothes on the dresser, grabbed one of the two outfits she hadn’t yet folded, and set back to her task. “I want to leave. I want to go home. If I can’t do that, then I’ll make my own way. I lived through Maxis. I’ll live through this, too.”
Ludan shifted so fast his movement barely registered. His mammoth hand clamped around her wrist and stilled her folding before she could squeak. “You won’t be a prisoner. You can do whatever you want. Go wherever you want.”
Despite his control, his touch was gentle. A delicate brand against her skin, warm and powerful. His thumb skated along her pulse. God, what she wouldn’t give to curl up against him again. To pretend, even for a minute, someone would protect her.
But she was done with that. Her future was up to her and no one else. She tugged her wrist free and piled the clothes into one stack. “I want to go home.”
She turned for the closet and pilfered the simple leather tote Jillian had used to cart up a load of clothes. Stuffing her neat selections into the bag, she tried to ignore Ludan’s towering presence where she’d left him by the dresser. No small feat with the tension radiating off him, a manifest presence that clawed her skin.
“Okay.”
She startled at his grated voice.
He swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple lurched and his fists were knotted tightly at his sides. “Pack what you need and I’ll take you.”
“What?”
“Pack what you want,” he said, “but most everything from Eden stands out there.”
“What do you mean you’ll take me?”
“I mean I’ll port you over and stay with you.”
“But you live here. I want to make a life for myself. I want to find my mother, and—”
“You have no money. No knowledge of life in Evad. No identification, and no passport. You can’t make a living without one. I do.” He stalked closer, stopping with only in
ches between them. His body heat slicked across her exposed skin. “Humans are stirred up over people being brought here and our altercation with Maxis in Texas. If they found out you’d been here, you’d end up the star of a three-ring circus. And even in Evad, Serena could find you. I won’t leave you alone.”
“But Eryx—”
“Don’t worry about Eryx. I’ll talk to him. Give me thirty minutes and you’ll leave with his blessing.”
The clothes she’d been clutching slipped from her fingers, and her body seemed as if it might break the field of gravity at any moment. Dreaming about going home was one thing, but actually realizing it might happen jetted her adrenaline to dizzying levels. Surely he wasn’t serious. But if he was…
Her parents. She’d be able to see them. Talk with them. Pick up her life and start over. “What if he says no? What if you can’t talk him into it? Then I’ll never get away.”
He stilled and for a handful of seconds let a glimpse of raw defenselessness show through his mystic eyes. As fast as the vulnerability had come, his face hardened and he squared his shoulders. He held out his hand palm up. “Take my hand.”
A shiver skated down her spine, the timbre of his voice on par with approaching thunder. She should’ve been afraid. Should have shied away like she did with every other man who offered contact, but with him it was different. The mere idea leaving her centered and her muscles loose and languid.
She placed her hand in his, the calluses on his palm scraping against hers in a not unpleasant way. Warm and solid. The same protective sensation she’d felt in his arms.
“I give you my vow.” His voice coiled around her, a snug cocoon that tingled and soothed. “Whether Eryx gives us his blessing or not, I’ll take you to Evad.”
Voices filtered through the library’s open doorway as Ludan reached the foyer landing. The quick, staccato rhythm of whatever those inside debated tapped on his frayed nerves, another layer on top of the noise that had come roaring back the second he’d left Brenna.
He rounded the corner and paused in the entrance.
The chatter halted, and all heads turned to him.
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