by Aliya DalRae
“I’m sorry, Magnus,” Victoria said, waving her napkin at her face as if she were about to faint. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her. It would seem the time she’s spent in the company of these traitors has addled her brain.”
Rachel gasped and leapt to her feet. Harrier and Mason pushed her back into her seat, but that only stopped the physical assault. She continued throwing accusations at Victoria, her eyes sparking a brilliant emerald as she called her mother out for her actions.
As Rachel raged on, Nox realized where he’d heard Victoria’s name before. Allon, the Legion’s doctor, had been the one to deliver the twins, and he told them of his suspicions regarding the Seer. This, however, was the first time he’d heard anyone confirm the theory. The fact that it came from Rachel made it all the more plausible.
Yet, while this wasn’t exactly news to them, Magnus acted as though he were hearing it all for the first time. His frown deepened as the women continued their screeching.
Nox glanced down the table to where Fuhrmann and Maxx were struggling to conceal identical smirks. The reason for this summons was becoming quite clear.
The servants returned, removed the untouched soup bowls and replaced them with plates of steaming roast beef and fragrant mashed potatoes. The chaos continued as Maxx remained the only one interested in the meal.
“None of that has anything to do with what’s happening now,” Victoria said. “What I’ve seen—the treacheries arranged by these Legion males—this is nothing short of treason, and if my lord values the race, he will have them all executed immediately!”
Whispered conversations ended abruptly. Even Rachel fell silent, her mouth open in stunned silence. No one so much as breathed. Instead, four sets of eyes sparked, flashes of purple, gold and silver colliding with one another as Mason slowly rose to his feet.
“We’re leaving.” At his words, five chairs scraped against the marble floors as the Legion males stood, Rachel at their side.
They were nearly out the door when Magnus said, “I think not. Sasha?”
Time stood still as the Primeval’s words struck a shocking chord in Nox’s heart. At the same moment a soft voice whispered in his mind, “I’m sorry,” a split second before his head exploded, pain so brutal he felt the detonation were an actual thing. The severity of it drove him to his knees as familiar agony shredded his brain. Memories of his time as Magnus’ prisoner ran in stop action replay, each frame accentuated by the knife stabs ripping his grey matter apart.
Fuhrmann, he thought, but no. Between the tortuous pulses he realized the voice had been female, and oh, so familiar.
The room erupted in chaos around him. In his periphery he saw Mason and Harrier struggling to contain Raven, who had to be feeling Nox’s misery through their familial bond. Rachel knelt at Nox’s knee, whispering to him, her words meant to calm, though nothing could break through the torture that had been set upon him.
With tremendous effort, Nox lifted his head, turned in the direction of the alcove behind Magnus’ chair. The tapestry hanging at its entrance billowed as the Sorceress stepped out.
She was tall and thin, as all Sorcerers were, with that trademark white-blonde hair loose and floating around her as though she stood in an electrical storm of her own making. Unlike her brethren with their pink or red irises, Sasha’s eyes were a blue so pale they were almost white, and this he remembered about her more than anything. Now, tears spilled from those eyes, streaking down her face as she did her master’s bidding.
It was Sasha who had controlled him as a young man. Sasha whom he had deceived into thinking his powers had reached their limits, that his strength was much less than reality proved. Sasha, whom the Primeval would have held responsible for Nox’s escape.
It seemed she’d be taking no chances with him today. He was much stronger now, but apparently, so was she, and no matter how he fought, still she controlled him.
When she reached his side, he lifted a hand to her, silently begged for her to stop. He felt Rachel’s hands tighten on his arm, but it was Sasha’s touch that resonated. She laid her fingers at his temple and whispered, “Peace.”
And just like that, as Helmut Fuhrmann had the previous year, she planted thoughts into his mind, convincing him the words she said were from his own mind, the intentions his own, and the pain subsided.
He pulled himself away from Rachel and rose to his feet, righted the chair that had somehow fallen to its side, and sat. The others watched on, some with inexplicable horror, others amusement, as he picked up his fork and stabbed at a piece of beef. He popped it into his mouth and chewed.
“What?” he asked as everyone in the room watched him. “It’s a lovely roast. You should have some.” He took another bite and smiled. It was a very nice meal, although the frowns from the Legion males and Rachel’s tears threatened to put him off his feed.
He decided not to let it bother him, though. It was so good to be home.
Chapter Twenty-One
W hat have you done?” Rachel looked from Magnus to her mother, dumbfounded by Nox’s inexplicable shift in behavior. “What have you done to him?”
“He’s as he should be,” Magnus said. “Thank you, Mason, for delivering my escaped prisoner to me. I’ll see you are offered leniency in your own sentencing.”
Raven lunged for the Primeval and it looked like Mason and Harrier wouldn’t be able to hold him back this time. Nox dropped his fork and clutched his skull, his screams echoing off the walls.
Probably the only thing that would have stopped Raven at this point. It was one of a dozen thoughts racing through Rachel’s mind, but as the Warrior’s struggles weakened, it was the one her focus landed on. He may have stopped fighting, but his eyes still sparked, and his fangs looked right deadly.
“I will kill you,” Raven said.
Magnus laughed and pointed at Nox. “You lay a finger on me and Sasha will tear into his brain with such force it will leave him drooling in his porridge for the rest of his miserable life. Now I suggest you back off before I put you in a cell next to that Noxious Thing with a Sorcerer of your own for company. I happen to have one handy.”
Fuhrmann’s attention snapped from his plate. A startled who-me look plastered his pasty face, but no one paid him any mind.
Meanwhile, Nox’s screams had subsided and he’d reclaimed his fork, seeming oblivious to the chaos that had erupted around him.
Rachel fell to the floor by his chair and clutched his arm, preventing him from taking the next bite. He looked a question at her. “Nox please,” she begged. “Come back. Please.” Heavy tears dripped from her chin, but she ignored them. Nothing mattered but Nox.
He looked down at her, surprise lighting his eyes as though he’d not realized she was there. “Hello, lovely. Have you tried the truffled mash? It’s quite nice, if you like that sort of thing.” He took a dignified bite of the potatoes and refocused on his plate. She could have been anyone, or not there at all. The vice around her heart tightened down another turn, and rage boiled within her.
She dragged her eyes against her shoulders and stood to face the true monsters in the room. “How could you, Mother? Why are you so determined to ruin these males’ lives?”
Victoria put her hand to her heart, her eyes wide and deceptively innocent. “I haven’t a clue what you mean? I’m merely using my gifts to protect the Primeval, the very race, as I’ve always done.”
Ulrich Fuhrmann chose that moment to speak for the first time all evening. “Never mind them, Victoria. Magnus knows your motives are pure.” He reached across the table to pat her hand as she simpered at him, actually batted her damned eyelashes at the fiend.
Rachel turned to Magnus. “Surely you don’t believe the charges she’s accusing them of. Mason has been your loyal servant for centuries, and Raven, Nox and Harrier? They bust their asses to keep the race safe, specifically from the likes of them.” Rachel pointed at Fuhrmann and Maxx, who were both enjoying their meals now as though they were attend
ing a dinner theater, with Nox as the headliner.
Nox let out a healthy belch and patted his stomach. “Compliments,” he said with a nod toward Magnus. “That was right enjoyable.”
Rachel ground her teeth at Nox’s uncharacteristic rudeness. “My lord, please,” she said. “Tell me you don’t believe that Mason and the others are plotting against you. It’s simply ridiculous.”
Magnus sighed. “Ah, Rachel, how is it you never spent time in my court? I’m certain you and I would have got along famously.”
“Oh, I was around, my lord. However, I believe my mother’s promiscuity prevented the opportunity for myself or my sister to be taken seriously by the aristocracy.”
“Such a shame. And for you, Rachel, I will assure you I do not believe the charges leveraged against Mason specifically, and your brother has not been mentioned in any claims…”
“Oh, he’s in on it, too!” Victoria shouted. Harrier took a step toward her, but Magnus interrupted, his one word a warning.
“Victoria.”
Rachel’s mother shrugged and fiddled with her fork. “It was worth a try,” she said before carrying on with her meal.
Magnus returned his attention to Rachel. “However, the charges brought to me by Mr. Fuhrmann combined with your mother’s vision to corroborate have afforded me another opportunity. Make that two. That of retrieving what was stolen from me and a chance to lay eyes upon the monster, Raven, for the very first time. I must say, I’m not impressed.”
Raven gave an indignant humph, and Rachel heard Harrier mumble, “You’ve never had to fight his beast.”
If Magnus heard him, he didn’t respond, rather looked to his left and said, “Don’t look so disappointed, Fuhrmann. If you thought you could waltz in here with her on your arm and be taken seriously? You’re more delusional than I thought. Mason would have executed the twins had I ordered it, I have no doubt. His loyalty was never in question, and as far as Nox is concerned, I’m happy to have my pet returned to me. The rest of you may stay as long as you like or leave at your pleasure. I care not.”
Fuhrmann and Maxx shared a frustrated look as Victoria dropped her fork with a clatter. It appeared the little cluster had been duped by a Primeval with his own agenda. Raven and Mason had never been in danger. It had been Nox he’d wanted all along.
But there was no way Rachel would let him go without a fight. “You can’t do this,” she cried. “Nox is not property or a lost puppy. He’s a person, one you held prisoner for centuries because of incomplete information provided to you by a scorned Seer. You must allow him to leave with us. Mason?” She turned to the Warlord for back up.
To her dismay, Mason shook his head, unwilling to do anything in the moment. However, the steel in his eyes gave her hope that this wasn’t over.
Magnus said, “Rachel, I appreciate your—passion—but Nox was given to me by his parents to raise as my own. He is mine whether you like it or not. I won’t let him escape me again.”
“What you’re describing is not a son. It’s a possession and one you should never have had in the first place. Wouldn’t have had if my mother had been honest.”
“Do not bring me into this again,” Victoria said, but it was too late.
“Your mother is guilty of many things, deceiving me not the least of them. But her deception delivered Nox unto me, and for that I can be forgiving.”
“You knew?”
“Honestly, Victoria, are you so thick as to believe that I would take anything you’ve told me at face value? After the horrible way you botched the Prophecy of the Twins?”
“I thought when you heard us out,” she indicated the males she’d arrived with, and Magnus sneered.
“This little charade you and the Sorcerer have performed over the past few weeks has been entertaining, but I suffered it for my own purposes, not yours. I’ve known you were a charlatan from the very beginning. I had the doctor followed, the family watched, and so was well aware that two infants were born rather than the one you ‘foretold.’
“I wasn’t surprised when Allon delivered but one of the infants to me, though I admit to being disappointed. Of course, I had no way of knowing whether the child in my care was the dangerous one or not, and so certain precautions had to be met.”
“You kept him in a cage,” Rachel screamed.
“His suite was well outfitted. He had every amenity.”
“Locked doors and limited contact with others. You even denied him a proper name. Still, you refer to him as Noxious Thing. It’s deplorable.”
“Well, I couldn’t be certain, and I didn’t want to become attached to a child I might have to put down.”
“Put down,” Rachel sputtered. “Never mind. So, when Raven started killing, why didn’t you let Nox go? He was obviously not the threat.”
“He wasn’t the beast your mother foretold, but that didn’t mean he was without claws of his own. It became clear early on that he could manipulate the minds of his own kind.”
“So rather than teach him right from wrong, you found someone, a race of someones, who could control him instead?”
“My dear Rachel, you weren’t there.” Magnus gave an exaggerated shudder. “You have no idea how terrifying it can be to find you’re being manipulated, by a child no less.”
Rachel leapt to her feet, knocking the chair next to her to the floor. “Look at him,” she cried. “He’s missing an eye because one of your employees manipulated a girl into attacking him.”
“It is regrettable that he’s been returned to me damaged, but Fuhrmann was never in my employ.”
“No, but Sasha over there was. Still is, by all appearances.”
“Also, not entirely true. Sasha was another gift from another mother. She’s proven herself useful, so I’ve kept her around.”
“You are a horrible male,” Rachel growled. “You would think someone of your age, experience, would have a better grasp on how to treat people. Instead you rule with fear and…and that!” Rachel pointed at Nox, now engrossed in a large helping of pudding.
It occurred to Rachel that the males in her party were being unhelpfully quiet. She glanced at Mason. “You’re going to let this happen?” she asked. “He’s taking Nox away from us. From Raven, who needs his brother now more than ever.”
“Raven is certainly welcome to stay here.”
Rachel ignored the Primeval, still focused on Mason. “Well?”
Rachel felt a hand on her shoulder but brushed it away. The hand returned, gave her a hard squeeze. She looked up into Harrier’s golden eyes. They were blurry, and Rachel realized she was crying. It wasn’t right. It just wasn’t right.
She must have spoken aloud because Harrier said, “No, it’s not. But we need to let Mason sort it out. Come on. Let’s get you back to your room.”
“I can’t leave him like this,” she whispered.
“Come on,” Harrier urged. “Nothing will happen to him tonight.”
Rachel took one last look at Nox. He smiled at her, held his spoon up in salute, and enjoyed another bite.
Harrier was right. There was nothing she could do for him tonight. She got to her feet and brushed herself off, then leaned in to whisper in Nox’s ear. “I’ll get you home or die trying.” When he didn’t respond, she squeezed his arm and turned to her brother. Harrier wrapped his arm around her and she allowed him to turn her toward the door while Mason and Raven retook their seats.
As they reached the archway, a figure appeared, dressed in green silk, her red hair and fair features an identical match to Rachel’s own.
Brother and sister stood speechless as the female entered the room, fussing with a diamond bracelet.
“Sorry I’m late, Maxxy. This damn dress doesn’t fit right, and I can’t get the bracelet you gave me to behave. What do you want for nothing though, right? Did I miss anything?”
The female looked up and Rachel found herself staring into the face of the sister she hadn’t seen in years.
Rebecca.
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br /> Chapter Twenty-Two
T his just gets better and better,” Rachel muttered as Rebecca’s jaw worked up and down like a landed carp.
When the other female could finally speak again it was with a squealed, “Harrier!” She ran to them and threw her arms around their brother, hugging him fiercely.
“What are you doing here?” Rebecca asked. She grabbed him by the hands and leaned back so she could examine him thoroughly. “Just as handsome as ever! Oh, I do hope I’ll get to see Rusty while we’re here! I’ve missed you both so.”
Rachel cringed at their sister’s blatant reference to Harrier’s Shifter blood and the owl he’d changed into to entertain his half-sisters when they were young. This was neither the time nor the place to discuss such matters, and Rebecca should know that. Then again, Rebecca rarely thought of anything but herself.
“What are you doing here?” Rachel interrupted the little reunion, unable to keep quiet a moment longer.
Rebecca flipped her hair over her shoulder and said, “Oh, hello, Rachel. Did you get the gift I sent you?”
Gift? Gift?
Rachel clenched her fists at her side, used every ounce of will power she possessed to refrain from punching her sister in the face. “If you’re referring to Talon and Phire, then yes. They managed to find their way to me, though not before landing themselves in a tremendous amount of trouble. Would it have killed you to pick up a phone? You know I would have taken them, no questions asked, but no. You just left them at the Polar King to fend for themselves, you ridiculous, useless, poor excuse for a…”
“Ladies, please,” Harrier stepped between them, but Rebecca appeared unaffected.
“You know how it is,” she said, flipping her hair again. “Places to go, people to do. Oh, look! Mom’s here, too!”