Twist of Fate (Veredian Chronicles Book 4)

by Regine Abel

  “The Warrior,” Vahl said, awed and overwhelmed all at once.

  “Who am I?”

  My heart seized at the love that suddenly descended over my son’s features as he gazed upon my father.

  “Grappa.”

  He threw himself into my father’s arms and buried his face in his neck. My father embraced him. Zhara and Rhad rose to their feet and took a couple of steps forward. Papa pulled them in as well and hugged all three of my children.

  “Tomorrow, I will start training all three of you and the Dervhen twins,” Papa said, kissing each of their foreheads.

  I looked at my mates, whose eyes sparkled with the same hope that blossomed at last in my heart. My Papa knew what to do and how to help our children. Everything would be fine.

  CHAPTER 17

  Aleina

  The last few weeks had been an emotional rollercoaster that still had me reeling, and in particular, the last few days. Meeting Mercy had turned my world upside down. Seeing her and Mother meet for the first time, the way Mother had looked at her, tore me to shreds. Forty-seven years they had lost, all because of Gruuk. And yet, neither of them resented him for it, quite the contrary. I didn’t like the picture forming before my eyes of a history I didn’t want to believe could have been true.

  The children, too, had my head spinning. Back on Xamora, when Eryon had warned me of Sevina’s impending death, he had kept secret the assassination attempt specifically to prevent the birth of Amalia’s children. Kill the mother and there can never be offspring. We had known these children were different, but never would have guessed this whole Titans business. Watching Vahl attack Eryon had been a terrifying sight, and he wasn’t even my son. Amalia and her mates were devastated by the violence lying dormant in the otherwise incredibly loving and protective little boy. Eryon wouldn’t go into details as to what kind of psychic attack Vahl had thrown at him, but the troubled look in his eyes told me it was far more serious than he’d let on.

  We could never thank the Goddess enough that she had allowed us to reunite with him at this point in time when we, and especially the children, needed Eryon the most. It certainly explained, however, why our Korlethean fathers had shown so little interest in us and refused to stick around after we freed them.

  Korletheans were extremely patriotic and loyal to a fault to the Quorum, their governing body. Only the vision of a Seer such as Eryon could override a direct command from the Quorum. As of today, they still demanded that all Korletheans avoid any ties with Veredians, and by extension, Xelixians. Eryon was acting in direct violation of the edict, which would likely result in him getting banned from the Korlethean Empire. They could potentially send royal assassins after him if they believed his words or actions could put their Empire in jeopardy.

  Korlethea was torn over the inevitable birth of even more Titans, their population on the verge of civil war with half of them wanting to let history unfold as it saw fit, and the other pushing for a purge of all Veredians to avoid the rebirth of my people, and through us, of the Titans.

  Meet-and-greets were in motion. In fact, hundreds of thousands of applications had already been received. The Sisters sent special invitations to many promising candidates. With a number of Tuureans also becoming romantically involved with some of the First Division during their season, new pregnancies could potentially occur in the near future. Which meant possible new Titans.

  Aside from Vahl, none of the other four Xelixian-Veredian hybrids had displayed this high level of aggression. Yet, Eryon seemed to believe that Vahl was the least of our concerns. His violent tendencies were plain for all to see, therefore allowing us to track any signs of crisis and intervene as required. But with the others, if they ever turned, we might never see it coming. I refused to accept that. Those children were sweet and loving, even little Vahl.

  Yet, as emotionally wrung out as I felt right now, we still had the medallions to figure out. If Mercy was right, then she and Amalia held the key to freeing every single Veredian still held in a reproduction fortress. With luck, we might even find that vermin, Varrek in the process.

  We couldn’t delay.

  Still, we ate the orgy of food Jhola prepared for us in the formal dining room. While the Praghans preferred eating in the smaller dinette or outside on the patio, our increasing numbers made using the twenty-person dining table a convenient necessity.

  Sated, my belly swollen from overindulgence, I let Ghan lead me by the hand to the Situation Room of the military compound on the Praghans’ estate. Mother and Minh, Amalia and her mates, and Eryon and Mercy also tagged along, leaving the children in Jhola’s good care. We took our seats around the large conference table. Ghan nonchalantly laid his palm down on my lap. I doubted he realized he’d even done it, but the possessiveness of it all made my stomach flutter.

  Ghan had been growing increasingly at ease with public displays of affection, with both Lenora and me. Placing my hand over his, I caressed it with my thumb. Ghan smiled. That, too, was something he’d been doing more openly lately, and I absolutely loved how it softened his features.

  Drawing me out of my musings, Mercy pulled the medallion from her pocket and placed it in the center of the table, in front of Amalia, across from whom she sat.

  “A year before his death, my father gave me this medallion, saying it was the other half of a pair,” Mercy said, glancing at everyone around the room. “He told me that on the day I reunited with my mother, I had to combine it with the other half held by my baby sister.”

  My lips parted as I gaped at her.

  What?

  She cast me an apologetic look.

  “He meant Amalia,” my mother said. She turned toward Amalia who stared at her wide-eyed. “He always considered you as his daughter.”

  “But…” Amalia argued. “You always said—”

  “I said what you needed to hear so you wouldn’t love him,” Mother interrupted. “You are too loyal. You never would have escaped otherwise.”

  Amalia lowered her eyes, troubled. Khel rubbed her back in a comforting gesture. Reaching out for Mercy’s medallion, my niece stared at both halves, one in each of her palms, before bringing the two pieces together. As if attracted by some kind of magnet, Amalia’s smaller medallion all but jumped onto the larger disk, fusing with it. The combined medallion emitted a blinding light that made us all blink or avert our eyes, then multiple beams struck out from it, scanning our faces.

  A holographic image appeared above the medallion, displaying text. The first read: Amalia Valis – Identity Confirmed. The second read: Maheva Vrok – Identity Confirmed. The third, which stayed up, stated: Place disk in holodisk player.

  Blood drained from my face at reading the last name for my mother which should have been Fein. We all exchanged confused and intrigued looks. Ghan picked up the disk from Amalia and walked to the console by the large wall-mounted vidscreen. He placed the disk in the reader and set it to play before resuming his seat next to me.

  Mother, Amalia, and I couldn’t hold back a gasp as the image of Gruuk appeared on screen. Based on Mercy’s stoicism, I suspected she already had a good idea of what this recording contained. I hadn’t seen her father in twenty-six years, yet he had barely changed. As much as I hated to admit it, Gruuk had been a handsome male. Broad-shouldered and muscular, the same light brown skin, black hair, eyes, and horns as Mercy, with his angular face, strong jaw, and generous lips, he exuded strength, control, and an exotic charm females would find hard to resist. Although Guldans had facial hair, like most males of his species, Gruuk had shaven his in favor of tattoos on the right side of his face, which would be expected to also run down the right side of his chest and along his right arm.

  “Hello, Maheva,” Gruuk’s rumbling voice said, sending shivers down my spine. “Hello, my daughters, and other guests.”

  Ghan took my hand, guessing my need for his strength. After all those years, I hadn’t realized how much my former master still affected me. He had never been mean
to me on board the Revenant, quite the opposite. But being torn away from my mother, living in the fortresses, seeing firsthand the harm his ‘business’ had caused my Sisters, and his part in Sevina’s death had fueled rabid hatred for the male.

  A sniffling sound drew my attention. Gruuk had barely begun talking, yet my mother was already in tears. It hurt me to see the absence of anger or resentment in her eyes. Instead, loss, sorrow, and even longing dwelled there. I averted my eyes from her, a sense of betrayal burning in my guts.

  “If you are viewing this, then I’ve been dead for at least a couple of years now, you are free and reunited with our daughters. I know you have many questions. I’ll answer what I can but as you know, I’m a man of few words.”

  He inhaled, as if to gather his thoughts, then breathed out slowly. “How perfect is our daughter?”

  The pride in his voice cut me deep. From the moment I had seen Mercy, I had convinced myself she’d been the result of Gruuk forcing himself on my mother over decades of slavery. But her face glowed with the same pride his did.

  “I had to lie about her death. It seemed less cruel for you to believe that than to yearn for a child you could never see. Part of me had hoped she wouldn’t have Veredian markings. That would have allowed us to have the future we discussed. But I can never regret that she embodied the best of us, despite the cost.”

  Mother extended a hand to Mercy, who grabbed it, tears also glistening in her eyes. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

  “I couldn’t give her to you, but had her raised according to Veredian beliefs, as I know you would have wanted.”

  Mercy had said as much, but I still couldn’t reconcile this with the Guldan master I had known.

  “While I couldn’t reveal her, to keep you both safe, you officially stopped being my slave the day of her birth,” Gruuk said. “You are my wife, Maheva. As per Guldan law, as your master, I didn’t need your permission to marry you.”

  This time, shocked exclamation greeted his comment. Mother stared at the screen in disbelief while Minh did with an outraged look. For a moment, I wondered if Gruuk could threaten my Mother’s mating from beyond the grave.

  “According to Venya, at the time you’ll be seeing this, you will be mated to your soulmate. I had always known I wasn’t the one for you. You did love me, in your own way, and even convinced yourself I was the one. Terrans call it the Stockholm Syndrome, I call it being the only decent option you had. For all that, Korletheans are wrong about this whole Tuning business. Venya believed you and I vibrated at a close enough level to be compatible. But although I may not have been your soulmate, you were mine, Tuning be damned.”

  Mother sobbed, her delicate shoulders shaking from tears she failed to repress.

  “Why did I marry you? Because you were mine and because I needed our daughter to be legitimate. As a female, it is required for her to be able to lay claim to my estate, which will become hers the moment my last male heir, Varrek, dies. It will be a short window, but she will have access to everything I ever owned, and by extension, to what Varrek did, including the list of any client I ever did business with. Be quick, because once they realize what our daughter is, they will hunt her.”

  “Goddess,” Khel whispered, “we’ll be able to track down all the Veredians he sold.”

  My mind was reeling. Why would he do this? Why make it easier for us to bring down the whole empire he devoted his life to building?

  “Your twins are not on that list,” Gruuk continued. “But know that they live, and they are well. You will be reunited again, in due time. A Seer confirmed it. I wish I could return Sevina to you as well. You will never know how sorry I am for failing to protect her.”

  I wanted to rail and scream. How dare he say her name? She died because of his orders.

  “Easy, love,” Ghan whispered, his hand massaging the tight knots at the base of my neck.

  “As for you, Amalia, I may not have sired you, but you were my daughter in all the ways that mattered.”

  Eryon huffed in outrage and cast a possessive glance at my niece.

  “Whatever you may think of me, and no, I don’t expect you to love me, know that I did all I could to make you the strong female you are today and to keep you safe. You and Mercy have been my greatest pride.”

  He showed the combined medallions on screen, spinning it between his fingers.

  “This disc contains the location of every single one of my reproduction fortresses and holding compounds. Use it on a Star Navigator to display the chart. The minute you assembled the two pieces of the medallion, a signal was sent to all of them.”

  “What?!” I exclaimed, horrified at the thought that he had given us this hope only to cruelly snatch it away from us.

  “Is that a joke?” Lhor asked.

  “For all their faults, my men served me well and most were loyal. I will not allow them to be slaughtered. Seventy-two hours from now, they will receive the order to bring all the food reserves to the Veredians in the holding area, then for them to abandon the base. After that, all communications to and from the base will be permanently disabled. The females will have enough supplies to last them a week. It is therefore best you don’t dally.”

  Animated voices rose all around the table. We might not be able to pull it off without calling for more allies, even if we stretched our resources thin.

  “I don’t pretend to be a good male and make no excuses for any of my choices. I am Guldan. I believe in our ways and in the survival of the fittest. Does that make me evil? To many, yes, I guess,” Gruuk said with a shrug. “But I am no fool. The world is changing and Guldar isn’t keeping up with it. My ways, the old ways, must yield to a new era. So why did I do all this? Because I am a practical man. There is no point fighting the inevitable. Guldar will try to resist and things will come to a head in the not-so-distant future. Prepare for war.”

  Gruuk clasped his hands on the desk in front of him.

  “General Praghan, by now, you have fathered my daughter’s offspring. You no doubt understand the father-son bond. Varrek is even more Guldan than I ever was. In spite of all the ways he’s wronged you, when you capture him—and you will—I hope you will grant him a swift, and honorable death.”

  All eyes turned to Khel. That would be a long shot. Although it had not been by Varrek’s direct command, Khel had almost lost his life raiding the final Blood House and endured weeks of excruciating pain. Not to mention Khel’s parents’ assassination, and Varrek kidnapping his mate and offspring.

  “Maheva, I once told you that you would be my downfall. Yet, I only have two regrets. The first is that I failed to protect your daughter. The second are the years we wasted while being at odds with each other. Guldans say that love is a weakness. You, Maheva Vrok, were my greatest weakness. Be happy and take good care of our daughters.”

  The image faded.

  Ghan interrupted the soothing motion of his fingers on my neck to go retrieve the disk. Tapping a couple of commands on the table’s embedded console, he opened a slot in the center of the table, wide enough to accommodate the medallion disk. As soon as he inserted it, a tridimensional holographic representation of space appeared above the table with various markers indicating at least three or four dozen fortresses.

  Heart pounding, I rose to my feet, staring at the map in awe.

  “We’re coming for you, Sisters. We’re coming to free all of you,” I whispered.

  * * *

  Mercy, Amalia, and I were talking privately with Mother back in her old bedroom in the Praghans’ estate, which was still kept for her even though she now lived with Minh in his home. Things had not been pleasant. I felt like a horrible person as I berated her for what turned out to be an affair that had spanned decades. Mercy remained tight-lipped through my entire tirade while Amalia seemed torn.

  “Enough, Aleina!” my mother finally snapped. “I will not be judged by you or anyone else. I made my choices, and yes, I did love Gruuk and have no shame admitting it. He was
who he was,” she said, running a nervous hand through her hair before pacing the room. “But he sacrificed everything for us.”

  I snorted in disbelief.

  “You weren’t there! You have no idea how many times his command was challenged because of the gentle way he treated me and the girls,” my mother said angrily. “The day Amalia attempted to escape, Gruuk’s efforts to protect us almost caused a mutiny. Had he not shielded us, I’d probably be dead.”

  She turned to Amalia who was sitting on a chair across from my mother’s large bed, hugging her knees to her chest, a haunted look in her eyes.

  “You saw what the crew did to the ten females. Imagine if they had all been on you or me instead? You remember how much they hated us for the special treatment Gruuk gave us.”

  Amalia nodded her head. “They were animals,” she whispered. “The things they did…”

  “He enslaved you for sixty-one years!” I exclaimed, unable to believe how they were turning him into some kind of a hero.

  “And then he set me free when the time was right.”

  “What?” I asked, flabbergasted. “WE had to come rescue you on Zalgar!”

  “Gruuk set up the Xelix Prime escape to begin with,” Mother said in a glacial tone.

  “What do you mean?” Amalia asked, as stunned as I was.

  “He chose Xelix Prime. Two weeks before we landed, I didn’t overhear the crew talk about this planet. Gruuk told me that we would be landing on a planet, not another space station like Belevar where you could be recaptured. He specified that there would be no other captives on board, so you wouldn’t have to worry about the threat he had made the first time you attempted to escape. He made sure I got the message that it was now or never.”

  “But… but then why didn’t he let you leave with me?” Amalia asked, stealing the question sitting on my tongue.