Unexpected Eden

by Rhenna Morgan

  “I’ll kill you if you don’t. Go.”

  The four exchanged quick glances. One laid his dagger on the ground beside her. “We’ll be back.” They took to the air as one and joined the fight, attacks raging both in the air and on the ground.

  Galena tucked the dagger under her leg and stroked Phybe’s brow. Maxis was still in the poor woman’s mind, killing her slowly, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  She’d be damned if she let him kill her family as well.

  * * * *

  Lexi staggered up the wooden steps from her prison. With each step, energy surged faster into her trembling body. She ached for Eryx. For his arms around her, their strength and warmth. “Eryx?”

  “Lexi,” Eryx bellowed then grunted.

  Lightning cracked and wind slammed the side of the house. Muffled shouts sounded from outside.

  “Stay in the house. Do not come out. Do you hear me?”

  Despite his hostile tone, she zinged with relief. She followed Brenna up the last stair and stepped into a medieval-looking kitchen. A cast iron pot hung from a monstrous hearth. A lone sconce burned against the far wall, but flame and lightning lit the room through a picture window. Men fought in the air and on the ground, their savage attacks rumbling against the home’s stone walls.

  Her stomach clenched into a hard knot.

  “Lexi, answer me! Do you hear me?”

  The bursts of light were too quick to make out the faces of those fighting. “I heard. Where are you?”

  “Maxis has done some recruiting.” Even in the midst of combat, his sarcastic confidence rang through. “Stay in the house until we contain them. If they see you, they’ll take you.” He grunted.

  The last thing he needed was more distraction, but something instinctive tugged at her. She needed to find him. If nothing else, just to lay eyes on him and see what he faced.

  Gripping Brenna’s hand, she stilled and concentrated on her link to Eryx. Nothing mattered but finding him. Knowing he was safe. A tiny spark in her brain registered a location she could feel but not see. She spun to face it. “What’s in that direction?”

  Brenna’s hand hovered at her lips. “The main entrance.”

  Lexi snatched her twitchy savior by the elbow and tugged her close. “Then that’s where we’re headed.”

  * * * *

  Maxis couldn’t look away from the battle. His eyes burned from the flame and electricity flashing across the night sky. Shantos and his crew were outnumbered. Not by much, but enough to make the difference. Even if Eryx called in reinforcements, they’d never make it in time.

  Four men shot from the ground and engaged.

  Still good odds at three-to-one, so long as Eryx didn’t have any others tucked away.

  He cast his senses along the battles edge. More. At least one. Maybe two. He opened his link. “Reese.”

  “I’m a bit engaged at the moment,” Reese said.

  “And about to be more so.” Patience. He’d make his traitorous strategos pay for his actions and attitude later. “The four warriors who just joined the combat…”

  “What about them?”

  “Scout the location they came from. Now. You’ve got at least one more lying in wait.”

  Reese grumbled then cut off communications.

  The fool. He’d given Reese his heart’s desire—a cause to fight for and an army to lead—and he’d chosen a pretty little female over one of his own.

  Serena nestled against his chest. Battle fire sparkled in her eyes and her jaw hung slightly open.

  “Tell me. How loyal are you to the Rebellion?” he asked. “Are you prepared to follow me?”

  Serena turned in his arms and her expression shifted from fascination to smooth confidence. “Follow you? I think not. But, I will lead with you.”

  He jerked her closer and fisted one hand in her hair, his lips a breath from hers. “You think you can keep up with me, woman?”

  Her wine-scented breath fluttered against his face. “And then some.”

  He tugged her head back another inch. “Then you’ll be willing to link with me as a show of our partnership?”

  Serena covered the hand digging into her lower back. The fiendish grin that played along her lips one he appreciated. “Only a link, Maxis? Nothing more?”

  Maxis sneered at the suggestion. “I’ll not mate with any woman, Serena. You’d do well to remember that.”

  Her eyelids lowered. A demure move that didn’t fool him for a second. Her energy fluttered against his hand. “We’ll see. For now, we’ll keep with a friendly link.”

  Maxis snatched her offered bond and wrapped it in a mental vise. If she had any idea the gruesome death he’d handed Phybe not three hundred feet away, she likely would have reconsidered her actions.

  He crushed his lips against hers and sent his wanton thoughts via link. “It’s time you learned what it means to be mastered.”

  She sucked in a ragged gasp and shoved his shoulders, but her chest rose and fell in a pattern of need. “No one masters me.”

  He tightened his arms around her waist, grazed her lips with his, and pressed his rigid cock into her soft belly. “I will.” He shot to the ground before she could argue, masking them both from the chaos around them.

  She jerked in his hold until she realized their height then stilled. “Where are we going? We can’t leave the men behind.”

  “Reese will see to the troops.” And he would see to Reese shortly after. “In the meantime, we’ll go someplace private. Somewhere we can ensure you get exactly the attention you deserve.”

  * * * *

  Lexi followed her mental compass through candlelit hallways to a formal entertaining area. Brenna shivered beneath her arm as blast after blast of electricity and wind slammed into the sides of the house.

  A trio of flames flashed through a huge window at the room’s center. Lexi’s heart sang and jolted at the same time. Surrounded by rebels, Eryx and Ludan flew back-to-back punching and kicking those who came near and element-blasting those further away.

  Her instincts screamed to move. To help. Or hide. Or something. But her feet stayed locked in place.

  So fluid. Both of them. Mind bogglingly beautiful and seemingly at ease in the battle they waged. Eryx’s braids swung with each move, his muscles slick with sweat, face smooth with calm judgment.

  More aggressors approached.

  “Eryx, three more. Behind you.”

  Eryx swung around and fired.

  Lexi kept her link open and scouted the skies. Through it their fatigue resonated, the burn of their muscles sinking into hers. There had to be some way to help. Something more than acting as a lookout from the shelter of darkness. She didn’t dare question the men while they fought and knew they’d only tell her to stay hidden if she offered help. Graylin was a logical option for information, but she hadn’t yet linked with him and wasn’t technically family.

  Galena.

  She reached out with a tentative thought.

  “Lexi. You’re safe.” Shock and fear mingled with Galena’s relief.

  “I’m safe, but Eryx and Ludan are fighting. They’re surrounded.”

  “I know. I’m here with them.” Galena’s grave tone said more than Lexi wanted to acknowledge.

  “They’re running out of energy. Didn’t you say there was a way to share?”

  “You’d have to touch him, and if either one of us step into the fight he’ll get distracted.”

  Lexi paced behind the glass, the oppressive stillness of the room pricking at her. She flinched with every burst of light aimed at Eryx and Ludan. When a nasty volt shot past Eryx’s temple, she darted for the door and threw it wide. Eryx would likely kill her, but she’d rather feel his wrath than watch him fall and do nothing.

  She centered herself as she had during p
ractice and called the element of fire. The landscape came into mental view. She lifted her arms—and stopped.

  The tiny tendrils she’d seen before wavered from every direction, each one connected to the fighters in the sky. She could even make out where Galena lay in the forest beyond, the translucent line pointing into the woods.

  Thoughts shuttled back and forth. What if the connections weren’t the norm for everyone else? What if this was another gift? The threads had boosted her practice attack. If she pulled from the rebels, could she funnel it through her links to Eryx and Ludan the same way?

  Stretching her hands toward the melee, she pulled what she hoped was energy from the rebels and funneled it directly to Eryx and Ludan.

  A twenty-five-foot wall of flame blasted from Ludan, and violent streaks of electricity pierced the chests of those attacking Eryx.

  The stricken men careened to the ground with vicious thuds.

  Eryx and Ludan kicked back into action as a fresh wave of rebels swooped in for attack, but they glanced her way.

  “I don’t know what you just did, but can you do it again?” There was no missing the fatigue in Eryx’s voice this time.

  “I think so.” God she hoped so. She still wasn’t sure what she’d done.

  “Then stay where you are. Ludan and I will pull the rest in this direction.”

  “Who are those people?” Brenna crept up behind her.

  “That’s my husband.” Lexi couldn’t contain the pride in her voice. And maybe she was a little proud of herself as well. “The men they’re fighting are loyal to Maxis.”

  “I thought you said there weren’t more like him.” Brenna backed away from the doorway, poised to bolt.

  Lexi wrenched Brenna to her side. “No one’s going to hurt you anymore No one. Understand?”

  Eryx, Ramsay, and Ludan swooshed beyond the front door. The rest of their men whisked along the same path, following tightly behind. Jesus, were they leaving?

  A wave of rebel men gave chase.

  As one, Eryx’s men turned and reengaged, circling around the rebels to cage them in.

  “Eryx, I’m not linked to the rest of your men. I can’t feed them the energy.”

  “Focus on me, Ludan and Ramsay. The rest will keep the others busy.”

  Easy for him to say. The tiny threads of energy were more like a knot now. How the hell was she supposed to pick which ones tied to the bad guys? She focused on the rebels closest to Eryx, pulled a chunk of energy, and thrust it down her links.

  Booming elemental missiles hurled men into lifeless heaps on the ground.

  “Shit that’s good.” Ramsay grumbled.

  “Focus.” Eryx was past bark and well into bite. “I want Lexi safe.”

  Ramsay plunged toward the next batch of insurgents.

  “One more time, Lexi.” Eryx shifted into her line of sight. “Ramsay, Ludan, let’s finish this.”

  Feeling more confident, Lexi pulled the energy of the remaining rebels with everything she had and shoved the energy back through their links. The current flew from her hands and she stumbled.

  The three of them fired. Bodies battered the ground and crumpled in awkward poses.

  The night turned eerily quiet, and the skies melted to velvety darkness. Even the peaceful swirls of energy that usually dotted the skies were absent.

  “They did it.” Breathy wonder filled Brenna’s voice.

  The landscape spun and Lexi gripped the door jam for balance. Her knees wobbled and her sight went fuzzy. Cutter—the fight—it was too much. Her body wanted the rest of the night off and it wanted it now.

  She wanted her man more and was done with waiting.

  Unwilling to leave Brenna, Lexi grasped her hand and tugged her forward. Flying was out of the question. Hell, she could barely walk, but she could get closer and save Eryx time once he was sure the coast was clear.

  Ten feet from the door, Eryx’s gaze found hers and he smiled from above. With one last scan of the sky, he angled for descent. The tired relief in Eryx’s eyes morphed to abject terror. “Lexi!” He darted toward her.

  Lexi spun.

  Cutter stood unsteady in the doorway, propped against its edge. Pointed directly at her, Ian’s gun shook in his hand. His lips formed words she couldn’t hear, but his deranged smile said plenty.

  Her vision sharpened on the minuscule action of his finger squeezing the trigger. Her muscles pushed her to move, but no one could move faster than a bullet, least of all her.

  Chapter 30

  Galena sat in her hidden spot, too stunned to move. It had to have been Lexi. She’d seen her brothers and Ludan fight since she’d been old enough to walk and never had she seen such a massive display. Somehow Lexi had upped their powers—regenerated their energy stores.

  She’d find out how soon enough. As soon as the men finished checking the area for other threats and someone was available to cart Phybe home. She wasn’t about to leave her new friend’s body unattended—not after what she’d sacrificed.

  Whatever Maxis had done to Phybe, it hadn’t been quick. Or simple. Galena had tried to help the moment she’d sensed Maxis’ presence slip away, but the mess he’d left behind was irreparable. Any attempt to intervene would have been suicide.

  Phybe’s empty gaze stared at the soft night sky, her skin already cooling.

  Anger scorched through Galena. A decent person wasted. Phybe may have been misguided, but Galena had sensed her goodness, her almost childlike innocence. All she’d needed was someone to guide her.

  “If she’d stayed where I hid her she’d be alive now.” A rich masculine voice, filled with sadness, sounded at her right.

  She gripped the dagger beneath her leg.

  A man with loose, tawny hair hanging in waves to his shoulders shimmered into view.

  “Who are you?”

  The stranger stared at Phybe’s lifeless body. Full-sleeved, black drast—a rebellion man. “Now I’m as dead as she is.” He looked so sad. Almost tragic. “A cause that fights without honor isn’t worth fighting, is it?”

  His emerald gaze slid to Galena and something stirred in her gut. He seemed familiar, though that wasn’t what prodded her. The feeling swirling behind her chest was foreign. Deeply relevant. She stuffed the response and straightened. “I’d have a hard time counting on honor for any man who fights with Maxis.”

  “You’re right.” Not a drop of flippancy in his response. Merely a confirmation. “I relinquished that the moment I agreed to his schemes.” He inched forward and crouched next to Phybe’s body. Placing his palm on her forehead, he bowed his head. His lips moved on what she assumed was a silent prayer. “I tried to do what was right in the end.”

  He stood and stepped back. Praise the Great One, he was tall. Tall like her brothers and Ludan.

  “You’re Galena Shantos.” A statement, not a question.

  She nodded anyway. Her brain refused to cooperate, the space beneath her skull on idle. She gripped the dagger tighter.

  “You don’t remember me do you?”

  Galena shook her head, scrambling to connect his face to a name.

  “My name is Reese Theron.” His face softened a touch, the hint of a sad smile at his lips. “It’s rumored you’ve become quite the healer.”

  She warmed under his gaze. He knew about her? What she did for their people?

  “Can you mend souls as well as the body?”

  The agony laced in his words would have yanked her to her knees were she not already sitting.

  She couldn’t show such a response. Not to the enemy. “Souls are best healed from within.”

  “But there are those who can aid in the journey.” His gaze traveled to the hilt of the dagger she gripped before returning to her face. “A woman as beautiful as you should never be touched by death.”

  What was it ab
out this man? “I deal with death too often. I watched it take its toll on an innocent today.”

  He nodded sagely, mournfully. “Call your guards. Make sure they know you’re in danger.”

  The green of his eyes deepened, bordering on ebony, and lines of unhappy weariness dug deep at his temples. He wasn’t bulky like many of their warriors, but lithe and firm. Such long, strong fingers, relaxed at his sides. What would his touch feel like?

  Gunshot rattled the night and a blood-curdling scream ripped across the densely landscaped yard strewn with bodies.

  She needed to be with her brothers. To help.

  She looked back to the man, his unhappy eyes refocused on her.

  A heartbreaking, rueful smile played against his lips “Your face is a good one to remember. Go with The Great One, Galena.”

  He shot into the air, high enough Eryx’ men would see him, and drew back his hand. A ball of electricity blossomed in his palm, directed at her.

  Galena shot to the sky.

  Jagger drew back for a defensive strike and two other warriors darted toward Reese.

  Reese’s ball of energy fizzled. He was no threat to her. Couldn’t her brother’s men see that?

  On a dazzling burst, she darted forward.

  A violent stream of lightning sizzled past her cheek and nailed Reese in the shoulder.

  He jerked and spasmed, locked in the air by the force of the energy. The strike faded and Reese toppled toward the ground.

  * * * *

  “Brenna!” Lexi dropped to the young woman’s side and tried to stem the blossoming red stain just above her heart. Her skin was sickly white, pulse faint, pale lips parted and still.

  “Eryx, get Galena.” With tentative fingers, she prodded the wound. It was high enough it shouldn’t have damaged her heart, but damned if it wasn’t bleeding like crazy. She pressed down hard to staunch the flow.

  Another scream echoed in the distance, but Lexi stayed focused on her task. Shouts and orders rang out.

  Eryx crouched opposite her, peeled her hands away, and resumed the pressure with his own. “Lexi.” Calm. Quiet.