“So the real question is, where is he?”
Ariana made sure Tate and Zachariah had a weather-proof tent and comfortable cot to sleep in before she retreated to her own tent in hopes of resting. She highly doubted she’d succeed.
Her chest hurt from the intensity of her fear. She wondered if her heart could endure its constant state of agitation. It felt like it was bruised from slamming against her breastbone. Her trembling body had less to do with the weather than her raging emotions.
Stepping into her tent, she allowed the flap to fall behind her. She’d left a ball of light bouncing against the tent’s ceiling, so she saw Tiege sitting on the edge of her cot. Her hand flew to her throat as she fought back a scream.
“Oh,” she managed to choke out.
He got to his feet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She wanted to say that he hadn’t, that it wasn’t a big deal. Instead, tears filled her eyes. A loud sob burst from her.
“No,” he said, hurrying forward and pulling her against him. “Please, Ariana. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think.”
His words made her feel even worse for her outburst, but she couldn’t stop the flood now that he’d opened the gates. She wept against his chest, the feel of his protective armor against her cheek reinforcing the severity of what they faced. This was the third time she’d guided others to a piece of the Elder Scroll. Each time before had resulted in bloodshed and devastation. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t being forced to lead this group. In fact, it was worse. She felt like she was leading the family she had grown to love to their deaths.
Tiege stopped talking and just held her, stroking her hair, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head. His tenderness intensified her heartache. How could she face losing him?
That thought finally helped her calm down. She couldn’t lose him. She wouldn’t.
She wouldn’t let Eirik take Tiege from her. She wouldn’t let him destroy the happiness she had found since he killed her best friend, Tisha, and abducted her. It didn’t matter what it took. She was going to make sure Eirik was defeated once and for all.
When her tears dried, she pulled away from Tiege and caught his gaze. “Thank you,” she said in a soft voice. “You didn’t cause that, you know.”
He brushed a strand of her hair from her cheek. The action sent pleasant shivers along her spine. “I do know,” he said. “I still feel like an ass.”
That brought an unexpected smile to her face. “Of course you do. You love me.”
He returned the smile, revealing the dimple that matched his twin’s. “You’re right. As a matter of fact, that’s what got me into trouble here.”
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I came in here to ask you to avow with me.”
Her mouth opened. For a moment, she couldn’t even form a reply. Then she asked, “Now?”
“Yes.” Holding her gaze, he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out two rings. “I didn’t want to rush you, Ariana. I was going to wait until we returned home and Tate and Zachariah had their wedding. But the thing is, I know there are no guarantees that everything will go smoothly tomorrow. Everyone else is connected. Even if they’re apart, they can communicate by thought and feeling. I want that with you, and I don’t want to wait.”
She felt another tear fall when she blinked, but it had nothing to do with fear. “I don’t want to wait either,” she said.
Without another word, he pressed his ring into her right hand. Then he took her left hand in his. Her heart swelled when he conveyed all that he felt with just one look.
“I, Tiege, love you, Ariana, with all of my being. You’ve captured my heart with your strength, generosity and kindness, and it will remain your willing prisoner for the rest of my existence. I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and my unbreakable commitment to you.”
A current of energy flowed from her left ring finger when he placed her ring there, signifying his half of the avowing. It coursed through her with each beat of her heart.
Smiling, she lifted his left hand and said, “I, Ariana, love you, Tiege, with all of my being. You’ve captured my heart with your strength, generosity and kindness, and it will remain your willing prisoner for the rest of my existence. I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and my unbreakable commitment to you.”
She slid the ring onto his finger. Then they entwined their left hands so their rings touched and kissed to seal the vow.
Pain flashed around her eyes, along her right shoulder blade and on the inside of her right wrist. Although the last pain surprised her, she ignored it. All that mattered was Tiege’s kiss and the flood of loving thoughts that filled her mind as they fully connected. She had thought she understood the power of his love for her. She had been wrong.
She had also underestimated the power of his attraction to her.
Pulling away from his mouth to catch her breath, she held his gaze. She smiled as she intercepted the thoughts he couldn’t contain. Running her hand along the hard muscles of his chest, she said, “You don’t want to stop with just a kiss to seal our vow, do you?”
“No,” he said roughly.
She felt his heart racing under her fingertips. It empowered her. Grabbing his hand, she led him toward her cot. “Do you want to know one of the nice things about being a full Estilorian female, my love? We can’t get pregnant.”
He blinked as she lowered onto the cot. Then he grinned. “Well, then…this vow is about to get one helluva seal.”
Zachariah issued a curse as his wrist flared with pain. Beside him, Tate gasped and flinched. They both sat up in the cot and looked at each other.
“What the hell?”
He reached over and took her right hand, turning it so he could see the inside of her wrist. Tate tossed up a light so she could see, too. When his vision readjusted to the brightness, he studied the symbol that now marked them both. It was an infinity knot in the shape of a clover bearing four leaves, each a different color: deep blue-green, silver, lavender and red.
Tate gasped again. “Tiege must have avowed with Ariana!” she exclaimed, leaping from the cot. “I’ll bet the others have this mark, too.”
Zachariah grabbed her around the waist to keep her from sprinting out of the tent. “You know better than that.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Okay, okay. Do your thing, Sparky.”
He shook his head at her as he crossed the tent and eased the flap open. His senses didn’t pick up any danger. Across the small clearing in the center of their accommodations, he saw Quincy and Ini-herit looking out of their tents, too. They all exchanged glances. He held up his wrist. The other two males nodded and briefly lifted theirs to show him the symbols that now appeared there.
Their attention all shifted to Tiege and Ariana’s tent. Although the tent was dark, the soft sounds coming from it told them the couple wouldn’t be emerging for a while.
“Well, is it safe to come out?” Tate asked from behind him.
He moved back inside the tent and resealed the opening. “Not really.”
“What?” She looked at the tent flap. He sensed her warring with the urge to seek out her twin. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he said, tugging her back toward the cot. When she didn’t immediately follow him, he picked her up and carried her. “Tiege is just otherwise occupied.”
“But I want to know if he avowed with Ariana. Do the others have this marking? What does it mean?”
Laying her on the cot, he said, “I’m quite sure he avowed with Ariana, which is why the symbol appeared. The elders deduced that the eight of us are linked. It appears they were correct. And, yes, the others have the same mark. I saw Quincy and Ini-herit when I looked outside.”
“But not Tiege?” She nibbled on her lower lip, drawing his attention to her lush mouth as he again settled beside her on the cot.
“No, not Tiege.”
“Why wouldn
’t he and Ariana come out and tell us about their pairing? What could be more important than sharing such wonderful news?”
“I could tell you,” Zachariah said, bracing himself above her. “But it would just be more bloody fun to show you.”
Then he made sure that the last thing she was thinking about was her brother.
Chapter 32
Eirik wavered by the hour about whether or not to kill Metis. He didn’t believe her excuses in the least. As Deimos, she could have teleported back to the library after she realized she wouldn’t be able to recapture Ariana and Tate. Her flimsy excuse of fearing capture by the Waresti near the library didn’t convince him. She knew exactly where she was supposed to meet him to take him back to the females, but she hadn’t done so. Her other story of trying to capture Clara Kate in an attempt to bring her to him as a bargaining chip was just as questionable.
He eyed her now as she sat bound and gagged against a huge boulder. Just feet away, the ocean lapped along the shore. Moonlight shone on the water and created shadows beneath the rocky overhang serving as their temporary shelter. Wind howled as it touched the nooks and crevices etched into the stone.
“Are you any closer to breaking through her mental barriers?” he asked the male Mercesti standing next to him.
“No, my lord. In truth, I may not succeed. Her mental signature is unlike any I have ever intercepted. She is even more difficult to read than the Kynzesti was.”
That was bad news. Eirik knew that if his mentally-skilled Mercesti succumbed to exhaustion before Metis did, it would leave many of them susceptible to her Orculesti abilities. He wasn’t sure how powerful she would be outside of the influence of a dampener. Although he was confident that he could resist her, he knew many of those Mercesti currently with him would not be able to do so.
More of his followers were on the way. He had held them off for days as he awaited word that he neared his goal. Not even an hour ago, his informant revealed that the other Estilorians expected to reach the location of the scroll piece the following day. Upon receiving the news, he sent Friedrich to rally the others. He expected their arrival before morning.
The last thing he needed was a complication.
Drawing one of his krises from its sheath, he stalked over to Metis. Lowering to one knee, he used the blade to remove her gag, scoring her cheek in the process. She glared at him, but didn’t flinch as he held the weapon against her pulse.
“Give me one reason why I should spare your life,” he growled.
She lifted an eyebrow. Then she said in a low voice, “The male whose mental abilities you are trusting is a monumental liar.”
He stiffened, never expecting the response. Knowing better than to look at the male in question since he was surely observing the exchange, he returned, “Why should I believe you?”
“I have been deliberately projecting thoughts his way ever since I entered your camp. Which of those thoughts has he shared with you?”
Clenching his jaw, Eirik fought the urge to plunge his kris through her neck. If she was telling the truth, the male Mercesti was, indeed, a liar. The real question was how he could possibly determine who was telling the truth.
“You killed the Mercesti who was delivering you information about the other Estilorians,” she said, turning his attention.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“You did so out of sight and sound of the others, wanting to keep your actions a secret.” Metis said in conversational tones. “She projected a great deal of pain before she died. Those with mental abilities tend to do that, I understand. I sensed her conflict over her choice to feed you information even as she spoke to you. I imagine she realized she had been right to question her decision as you ran her through. Now…how much of that do you suppose your ‘loyal’ Mercesti mind-reader picked up?”
Getting slowly to his feet, Eirik turned from Metis and approached the male he had entrusted to protect him and his followers from mental intrusions. Seeing his approach, the male looked at the kris in Eirik’s hand and stood straighter.
“Norman, are you in communication with the Mercesti traveling with Friedrich?” Eirik asked.
“You know I am, my lord,” Norman replied, his gaze moving to Metis and then back to Eirik. He moistened his lips and added, “They are not far. What has the manipulative female told you?”
“Which one?” Eirik asked. “Metis? Or the female I killed earlier whose dying thoughts you surely received?”
Norman’s eyes widened. “I did not believe you wanted anyone to know about that, my lord.”
“I am certain. Yet it troubles me that you made no mention of it, even to me. Why is it you did not question my motives? Why did you not ask whether this was part of the plan?”
“B-because I know better than to question you, my lord. My loyalty is absolute. Whatever that female told you—”
“You surely already know,” Eirik said. “She has been sending you thoughts since she arrived.”
Norman’s face drained of color. “N-no. That is not true, my lord. She is attempting to deceive you. I am ever your servant. You must believe me.”
Eirik raised an eyebrow. “I must?” he repeated, reaching up and grabbing Norman’s shoulder with his left hand. “That sounds very much like an order, servant.”
Then he ran his kris through the male’s heart, holding him up as he died. Norman’s expression was a blend of surprise and confusion. Pulling his weapon from the male’s chest with a liquid suction sound, Eirik turned and walked back to Metis.
“Everything you said was a lie, was it not?” he asked her.
“Does it really matter?” she replied. “Despite the fact that you killed him, I am not attempting to influence you with my abilities. We need each other, Eirik. We are united in our belief that the final scroll piece must fall within our possession, not anyone else’s. If we work together, we can achieve that goal.”
She had a point. But he wasn’t a fool. He noticed that she left her proposal open-ended. She didn’t say that the scroll should be in his position, but theirs. He knew that she wanted the Elder Scroll for herself.
Well, that was perfectly fine. He was quite content using her abilities to get the scroll for himself and then disposing of her at the first possible opportunity.
Ini-herit only slept for about an hour, but it was enough for him to regain his energy. Once he awoke, he lay in the oversized cot with Clara Kate pressed against his side. He ran his fingers through her soft hair as she slept, thinking of what lay ahead.
The other elders hadn’t been involved in the creation of the various traps leading to the third scroll piece. It had been his responsibility to hide it, just as it had been Uriel and Gabriel’s responsibilities to hide the other two pieces. Where Uriel had relied on a remote location and illusion enchantment to protect his piece, Gabriel had opted to hide his within the heavily enchanted ancient Estilorian library among thousands of other scrolls. Despite this, Eirik had successfully accessed both pieces using the second powers of Ariana and Tate.
Although his memories had been repressed for the protection of everyone, Ini-herit now remembered a little about where and how he’d hidden his piece. Malukali and Knorbis tapped into his subconscious after he remembered the purpose of the medallion. They helped him recall a few details.
As Ariana led them closer to the third piece, he realized where they were headed. He remembered the moment they hit the desert sands.
“You hid a scroll piece in one of the pyramids of Giza?” Clara Kate asked when she perceived his thought.
“Actually, I think I secured it near the pyramids rather than in the tombs themselves.” He shook his head. “I should have considered it before. I was the one who designed them.”
She was silent for a long moment. He sensed her awe and intercepted a few of her thoughts as she tried to process what she had just learned. Eventually, she grinned.
“Damn,” she said. “You are old.”
&
nbsp; Remembering that now, he smiled. He hadn’t bothered to mention that human historians were off on their timeline by a number of centuries. Now, he leaned down to kiss her cheek. She sighed softly and snuggled closer. While he had the chance, he reached under the covers and lifted her shirt so he could touch her abdomen. He pulled forth his power and listened to the swooshing heartbeat of their baby. The strong sound brought another smile to his face. Then he sobered as he considered the significance of what they faced.
If he could, he would send Clara Kate home to stay within the security of her homeland. He knew Gabriel would never let any harm come to her. But there was no way she would agree to that. As fate would have it, she was an integral part of this undertaking, something he couldn’t deny or control.
He also knew, though she hadn’t talked to him about it yet, that she wouldn’t have Alexius enter this likely battle without standing by his side. But he was confident in her feelings and understood her heart. He just had to have faith that everything would work out okay.
After a while, he allowed his hands to stray from her stomach to other parts of her body. Then his mouth joined in. He loved how she responded to him even in sleep. She woke up at some point, but she didn’t complain. In fact, she was rather enthusiastic about this particular wake-up call.
He wasn’t surprised when she fell back asleep afterwards. The sun was only just cresting the horizon. He got up and put his clothes back on, then moved to the tent flap to see who else was awake. As he stepped out, he saw Quincy and Zachariah facing each other in front of Tiege and Ariana’s tent. Zachariah held his black tank top in one hand and Quincy’s arms were crossed. Beside them, Nyx lay on the ground and looked on with sleepy diamond eyes.
“I’m not going to find out that Tate’s pregnant, am I?” Quincy asked. His Australian-like accent was more pronounced, revealing his agitation.
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