“He’s a Tareshi monk. There are people who will pay them to take away others, be it a relative or a rival. Those people are hardly ever seen or heard from again. If they are found, they’re never the same.” Cami looked up into his intense green eyes.
“How do you know this?” Colm asked.
“I was almost taken by one of them when I was younger and I’ve seen them a couple of times after that. My mother made sure I knew what to look for and what would happen if they ever did get me.” Cami licked her lips. Her mother had made sure she remembered those priests, but Cami never had found out why she thought they’d come back.
“You think her parents would rather send her with these priests than have her be with a shifter.” Linc frowned and looked back at where the women were still tussling and arguing.
“I don’t know their reasons and maybe they don’t know what happens after the priest takes her. If she’s a mate, it would be better to get her now, because if you find her after he takes her, she won’t even remember that she is his mate. She’ll probably be afraid of men by that time.” Cami searched for the words to get them to see her point, but still let them remain ignorant of what actually would happen. They didn’t need that picture in their head. She didn’t want it there, but it wouldn’t go away.
“Ardin.” A tense voice came from behind the two men and although she couldn’t see him, she suspected it was Anton.
“Go get her,” Linc said without turning. “You’re going to have to tell us exactly what they’d do to her. We don’t need you to protect us from the worst of it. We’re hardened warriors. It won’t be anything new to us.”
“It might be the first time you’ve associated it with someone you know. You don’t need that picture in your head about someone you see every day.” Cami shrugged.
“It’s that bad?” Colm asked softly.
“That bad and worse, depending on the group. I’ve learned a bit about them. They might not all be brutal, but even if they don’t physically hurt her, she won’t be the same woman.” Cami nodded. “Now, are you going to lecture me or can I get back to the market because there was a bracelet that really caught my eye at one of those stalls?”
Linc laughed. “We’re not going to lecture you, but you won’t be visiting the market right now. We’ll be leaving soon, especially since we’ll be causing a little disruption.”
“You don’t think he’ll be able to get her to go with him without a fight?” Cami arched a brow. From what she’d seen, the woman would go with him without an argument.
“It’s not her we’re worried about. It’s the mother. The woman isn’t going to simply let her daughter walk off, especially not if she arranged for her to be taken to some other place to protect her from us.” Colm looked at her as if she should have known that without it being pointed out to her. “We don’t generally get involved with the village itself. We protect it because the travel-gate is here, but otherwise we’re just visitors.”
“Do you think the villagers would get involved and fight to keep her here?” She hadn’t thought of that. She’d assumed they controlled the village.
“No, we do things differently here since the village is on our homeworld. We don’t usually carry a woman off from here. It hasn’t been necessary. We’ve put any man who’s found a mate among these women on duty to guard the gate. Usually by the time he’s called home, the woman’s ready to come with him.” Linc turned and glanced over to where the woman and the priest were.
Cami couldn’t see past them. She moved to the side and saw Anton leading the woman back over to them. The older woman was being held back by the priest and he was saying something to her. That made Cami more nervous than if the woman had been screaming and clawing at Anton. She knew without a doubt that the priest wasn’t going to walk away and forget taking her. He’d come after her and try to take her regardless of the fact that she had a mate. She looked at Linc and Colm and saw that they were watching the priest with narrowed eyes. Good, at least she didn’t have to tell them to be careful of that man.
Chapter Eight
The early summer sun shone from a light blue sky and Cami felt a little thrill of excitement as they drew closer to Tobai Thent. She didn’t understand the anticipation. She strained to get a glimpse of the large building. Maybe a little of it was anxiety, but not all of it. She wanted to see this place they were all so eager to return to. Was it the same as Scali Thent?
Most of the men broke off and began riding to their homes as they approached the walls. She almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing as they approached Colm and Linc’s Thent. It sat atop a hill and houses, forest and fields spread out around it. She didn’t doubt that it was secure and would be able to protect the members of the clan should they have need to retreat to it, but she’d expected it to be a strong, defensible building.
She hadn’t expected it to look inviting. The walls were a pale blue. As they rode through the outer gate and then the second gate on the inner wall, she wanted to reach out and touch the thick stone just to see if it was rough, or as smooth as it looked. She’d never seen rock that color.
The interior of the fortress surprised her just as much as the walls. A garden growing food and herbs as well as fruit trees dominated an area to the side of the main building. That was definitely different. She recognized the area set aside for training on the other side of the building.
The space within the walls of Scali Thent had been abandoned almost completely. What training was done happened outside of the Thent walls. There had been no garden. Not even a small patch of herbs for the cooks. Everything had to be brought to the fortress from the fields.
Now only Avan, the Ardin, the chatar, the healer and two other warriors who’d ridden out to meet them remained on the mican. They rode over to a large stone and wood building. From the wide doors and the sounds she heard from inside as well as the smell, she could tell it was a stable.
They pulled to a halt just outside of it and dismounted. Cami followed suit. She wasn’t waiting around for Colm and Linc to help her down from the animal. One of them would do it if she wasn’t fast enough. Since they’d helped her with her magic that night, they’d been more attentive. Most of the time, they were close to her and seemed aware of what she was doing. They’d been careful about not pressuring her too much and approaching her one on one.
Not that it had made much difference. Tension thrummed through her. Those dreams drove her insane. Her mind seemed determined to show her exactly what she was missing. Hot sex, cuddling with them and low, intimate conversations. She wanted it too much. She hadn’t even kissed either one of them, but in her dreams they touched her in almost every way possible.
The pursuit would probably intensify now that they’d reached the relative safety of their Thent. The constant travel had kept a little distance between them. That was gone now. One of the only good things she could think of about this was that there would be more time for her to learn about her magic. Well, that and she wouldn’t have to ride that mican anymore for a while. She wanted to walk and maybe even take a day simply to rest. That hadn’t been an option, but maybe now.
Colm tossed his reins to Linc and came around the mican. He stopped in front of her and held out his hand. “Let’s go inside and I can show you around a little. We can also get someone started on getting your room ready. We’ll take you on the full tour later.”
She looked at his hand and looked up at him. Dressed in black from his scuffed boots to the slightly dusty shirt, he looked hard and a little weary. She had the insane urge to hold him and coddle him. She shook her head and glanced at Linc. He looked a little livelier and definitely more approachable in his white shirt, brown pants and boots.
Returning her attention to Colm, she eyed the outstretched hand. She’d love to slip her palm in his and walk along with him as if she didn’t have a worry, but she couldn’t stop thinking. He was the one who would be most resistant to the idea of a true mate. He wanted someone who wouldn
’t have any hold over them.
“You don’t want to show me around.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.
His head cocked to one side as he looked at her. His jaw tensed and she thought for a moment he was going to get angry, but then one eyebrow rose in imperious demand. “I don’t know where you get your information from, sweet Cami, but you’re going to have to stop believing that crap. It’s wrong. We’ve already told you that we want you and we don’t play that kind of game. If you want to know what we think, you come to us.”
She took a deep breath. It wasn’t crap. He didn’t want a female mate who’d have a hold on him, but she couldn’t shout that out no matter how much she wanted to do it. She just wished she could have controlled her tongue before.
He might want to get her alone, but only because he was attracted to her right now. Not because he actually wanted to be with her as a mate. That still hurt. Even now, she didn’t know the full answer of why he was so resistant to the idea. She had to stop thinking about things such as that, because they were going to keep tripping her up around them.
“All right, let’s go inside and you can show me some of your home.” Cami slipped her hand into his.
She wasn’t going to comment on going to them when she wanted to know what they thought or felt. It wasn’t that she thought they wouldn’t tell the truth. Both men sometimes were amazingly oblivious about how little they revealed about themselves and how unapproachable they seemed.
“I’m serious about the talking to us part, Cami. I’m getting tired of having you making these assumptions when you don’t know much about us.” Colm’s fingers tightened around hers and he stared down at her intently.
“Two assumptions. I was right the first time.” She glared up at him. It sounded as if he thought she’d been wrong or had no basis in her beliefs both times. She wasn’t so sure that she was completely wrong about him wanting to be with her either, but he did seem determined to take her on a tour.
“I’m not going to start an argument with you about that now.” He shook his head and scowled. “Come on. If we take much longer, we won’t even get to the door before Linc’s caught up with us.”
She nodded and went along with him when he tugged her hand. She didn’t know if that was supposed to be some kind of prod to get her moving or a statement of fact. Given the fact that he seemed to be the one who was more controlled and unemotional, she thought it was probably what he believed to be fact. He might want her to go with him, but provoking barbs didn’t seem to be his style.
The main building was made of the same stone as the wall. The blue was even more startling up close. While he opened the large black door, she reached out and ran her hand over the wall. It was smooth and cool to the touch. He stepped back as the door swung open.
She stepped into the building. Lamps hung on hooks on the wall, giving off a soft glow in the entry hallway. She knew that this relatively narrow entryway was meant to funnel any intruders to the men who’d be waiting to meet them, but it made her feel a little caged.
The hallway opened into a rectangular room. Golden stands holding pretty lamps sat in the corners. Long, padded benches flanked a set of double doors. When Colm noticed her looking that way, he led her over to them. He pushed against the wood and the panels swung inward revealing a large, square space with two chairs at the end of it.
Tapestries hung on the wall behind the two chairs. Large hearths with elaborately carved mantles occupied two walls and were flanked by elaborately stitched black, gold and red hangings. The ceilings were covered with scenes from the forest.
She recognized the room, although she was coming to realize that this one probably wasn’t the place of fear the one in Scali Thent had been. Laed and Kynar had used the gathering room to reinforce their intimidation and deal out punishments. Even she knew that wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Normally, this room served as a place where the Ardin passed judgment and made announcements to their chosen men when they didn’t want to make a mass announcement.
“This isn’t supposed to be a scary place.” Colm’s voice was quiet and his tone utterly serious.
Her head snapped up and she simply looked at him. How had he known what she was thinking?
“I could see it on your face, but don’t get overly concerned, that hasn’t happened very often. Most of the time I can’t tell much but your basic emotions from your expressions.” He shrugged.
Most of the time. He’d just done it again and that was far from reassuring. She needed to keep her thoughts to herself. Even though they might suspect she was somehow linked to them, thinking about having a mate and being confronted by the reality were two different things. His feelings wouldn’t change, not if he was as adamant as he’d seemed in her visions.
“I hadn’t thought that it could be anything else until I saw this place. It feels different than the gathering hall at Scali Thent.” She bit her lip. Admitting that was unexpectedly hard. She didn’t know what frightened her more. That they would read something into that small trust or that there might be more to that trust than an intellectual decision.
“It’s just a place where we talk and announce decisions. Some of them not so pleasant, I’ll admit. We’re not them.” His eyes roamed over the room one more time before returning to her. “Are you ready to move onto other rooms? We have to find someone to start preparing your room and show you where you’ll be staying.”
“I’m ready.” She drew in a deep breath. Well, she couldn’t really expect him to start listing all the ways he and Linc were different, even if she would like to hear it. He’d spoken more to her today than ever before.
He held out his hand and waited until she put her hand in his palm. The insistence did surprise her. She wondered what he was planning. There had to be a reason he was determined to hold her hand. She liked the warmth of his skin against hers even if she knew she shouldn’t be enjoying it and that it wasn’t helping her maintain emotional distance between them.
Leading her back out of the room, he walked to another door. They stepped into a hallway which led to the left and right. He turned to the right.
“That door leads to the chatar’s work room. You’ll find him there at almost any time of the day if you need to talk to him.” Colm gestured to the door directly across the hall from the door they’d entered.
His fingers tightened on hers as he led her down the hallway.
“Where are we going?” She looked down the hallway. She could see a door at the very end as well as two more along the right side of the hallway. A delicious aroma drifted down the hallway. She knew there was a kitchen somewhere in the area. The air smelled of roasting meat and also something sweet, but she couldn’t identify it. The scent made her mouth water.
“Toward the kitchen. There will be people in there. I’m just surprised that we haven’t seen anyone before now. It’s not usually this deserted.” Colm turned his head a little and caught her eyes.
They didn’t see anyone before he pushed the door open to the kitchen. She stepped in behind him, her hand still clutched in his. She moved out from behind him and saw a young blonde woman’s eyes round with suprise.
“Ardin, we hadn’t heard that you’d arrived yet. I mean, we expected you today, but…” Her voice trailed off into silence and her pale cheeks turned bright red.
“We just arrived. I brought Cami inside so I can show her around and a room can be readied for her.” Colm looked over at Cami and smiled. “The place seems to be a little deserted today.”
“I think Cera, Darla and Deanne are doing the laundry right now. I’ll send someone to get one of them and ready a room. Where did you want her put, Ardin?” An older woman stepped away from a large table where she’d been peeling a dark-purple vegetable.
Cami’s attention swung from the unidentifiable chunks of vegetable to Colm. That was something she was interested in hearing herself. She’d wondered about it as he led her through the fortress, but hadn’t asked him befor
e now because she’d become interested in the tour.
“Have them ready one of the rooms near my room.” He shrugged.
That answer came quickly. He’d been prepared for it. He and Linc must have discussed it some time. She didn’t have to be near them. As long as she was in the same building as them, she would be protected and near enough to someone who could help her. They weren’t being protective. They were just trying to make certain that she was aware of them and couldn’t ignore them. Those two were far from subtle.
“I—” She began.
“No arguing.” Colm’s voice cut over hers and then he turned and tugged her after him as he left the kitchen. “You’re going to be near us. We’re not having you in another section of the Thent where we’d have trouble getting to you if you need help or where we might not hear you if you call. This place is large. We’re not leaving you alone.”
“Since you’ve been teaching me control, I don’t have as much problem with my magic anymore,” Cami offered, but she really didn’t expect it to sway him.
“What if you get hurt? What if you’re attacked? You could be hurt or killed before anyone gets to you. That’s not going to happen. You’ll be right down the hall so we can be there if you need anything, but we also don’t want you trying to avoid us.” Colm’s fingers tightened. “We’re not backing away from our attraction to you.”
“You two don’t seem concerned that I might not be attracted to one of you, much less want to deal with you both.” She stopped abruptly.
He stopped when he felt the tug of her hand against his and turned his head. A smile curved his lips. “We know that you want us, at least physically. You’ve got a few wrong ideas in your head about us. Once we deal with those, you’ll discover what you want.”
“You don’t have a sister, do you?” Cami glowered at him. He was lucky there wasn’t anything in the hall that she could hit him with, because the urge was irresistible right now.
“No, why?” He looked mildly interested, but a little confused.
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