The guest room was across the hall from her room and she hesitated at the door. Her parents’ room was two doors down, nothing would happen. It didn’t matter. His nearness would play hell on her sleep tonight. She opened the door and blinked at the brightness. Windows from floor to ceiling covered two walls. The entire ceiling, made of glass, made the room appear as though floating. A large bed covered in soft, supple, blue sheets her mother probably paid a fortune for, took up the middle of the room… and all of her focus.
Gods, get a grip!
She cleared her throat. "This panel dims the windows." She indicated the crystal panel next to the door. She pulled down on a small lever and the windows frosted, dimming the room to a low intimate glow. Nerves made her hands shake as she continued to explain the control panel to him.
"The bathroom is, is hidden. This button will open the d-door. There is a closet inside the bathroom where you'll… find anything you need." She stuttered through the demonstration.
“I know how the panel works, darlin’.” Leo tipped her chin up, pulling her gaze from the panel. "You're angry."
Liliana snatched her chin from his hand. "No, not really. More angry with myself. I'm mated to a male I don't know at all. I just realized the price for my impulsiveness."
"Do you think I would hurt you, Liliana?" Leo looked into her eyes. “Or is it because I’m illegitimate?”
"I don't know what you would do, Leo. You hated me not even two hours ago. I don’t care that you’re the king’s basta-" A single tear escaped. Damn it. Everything was catching up with her, sending her emotions reeling. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”
Leo smiled. "I didn't hate you, Liliana. I admit, I didn't want to be mated, but that doesn't mean I'll treat you bad. There's a lot I have to give up to mate, I was angry at that."
"My selfishness has caused you and my parents to give up a lot." She ducked her head, swiping at her damp cheeks.
And yes, selfishly she knew she too would have to give up a lot. Her four years of freedom flashed before her. Like a daydream it scattered, taking her hope with it. She would never get that freedom back.
He raised her chin again and kissed her deeply. "I don't like the situation we're in. I thought to avoid Legba for as long as I was alive. I'm sorry if I took out my family issues on you." He said softly against her lips.
"I'll try and be a good mate for you, Leo, I swear it."
"No more nasty notes?" he joked.
Liliana laughed and swatted his chest. "And no women, Leo, I won't allow you to stray." She thought of the Dziva.
Leo stiffened and backed from her. "Despite the circumstances of my birth, I don't cheat, and I won't tolerate a mate that does." His eyes were hard, the green ring around the iris glowed.
Liliana shuddered at the intensity. "Well. At least that's one thing we have in common." She turned for the door. "I'll leave you to get settled."
"Liliana," his voiced stopped her at the door. "We'll get to know each other. I don't want to be stuck in a miserable mating any more than you do."
She nodded and stepped into the hallway. She had to get her riotous emotions under control. She headed for the kitchen intending to go out the back door. When she rounded the corner, the smells assaulted her. Fresh teacakes, baked by the woman she ran to when her childhood problems were overwhelming. Her mother's maid arranged teacakes on a china server, her movements brisk and efficient. Her marbled cocoa skin had onyx lines gleaming in the morning sun from the large windows. A petite woman, her jet-black hair was pulled back tightly in the bun she'd always worn. Her simple dress pressed within an inch of its life, clean despite the work she did.
"Bea." She whispered.
"Oh, my Lily." Bea raised her head, tears pooling in her dark eyes.
Liliana rushed into her outstretched arms. "Gods, I've missed you."
Bea pulled back and held her at arm's length. "Let me look at you."
"There is nothing different to see. I promise."
"Sit, then, and tell me about everything." Bea grabbed small plates and served them both the small confections she'd made. She fixed them a glass of cool juice and sat across from Liliana. "You've surely stirred up things around here, but then, that's not unusual for you."
She blew out an exasperated breath. "I've made such a mess of things, Bea."
Bea snorted. "Child, from the day you could walk you were making a mess of things."
Liliana smiled. "Well, I'm not so sure you can fix it this time."
"My Gods, Lily, mated. I've never seen your mother so mad. If you had a death wish, it may have been easier to just deliver yourself to Death's Messenger and have it done with."
Liliana's eyes widened and she choked on her juice.
Bea looked at her sharply. "Liliana Arias Marcolev."
She laid her head on the table.
"So 'tis true? I just called my under maid a liar. In the name of all that's holy." Bea laughed. "I told your father you had more guts than brains."
Liliana winced. Gossip flowed faster than the breeze in Legba. "There is nothing funny about the situation, Bea."
"Sweetling this is just too hilarious." She continued to laugh, holding her stomach.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble I'm in?"
Bea held up a hand, tears of laughter trailing her face.
Liliana watched for a moment before the contagious laughter shook her shoulders. A smile crept and a chuckle escaped before she pinched her lips to trap it. "It's not funny."
"Do you know?" Bea took a deep breath and wiped her face. "Do you know, when you were about ten I told your father you had enough guts to kiss death on the mouth and escape unharmed?" She broke off in another peal of laughter. "Even for you, Lily. This is over the top."
"I didn't do it on purpose."
Bea shook her head. "Of course not, dear. These things just happen to you." A fresh peal of laughter erupted. "My Gods, mated to Death's messenger. Only you, Lily."
Liliana crossed her arms over her chest. "No need to be so amused about it." Her lips twitched and she gave up, once again joining in Bea's laughter.
Bea sighed. "I have missed you. Life has been downright dull without you getting into trouble."
"I was not that bad."
"When you were five you decided to take the sky lifts all on your own. We found you at the portal room in the Amanda's office chatting to the officers on duty."
"I was curious."
"You scared twenty years off my life. When you were fourteen we caught you on top of the palace parapets trying to fly."
"Hey! That wasn't my fault. Kedric and Kita dared me."
"You have a streak of mischievousness in you a mile wide, Liliana."
She smiled. "What can I say?"
"What have you been doing these past years?" Bea sobered.
"I've lived on Adro for all four of them."
"More guts than brains," she muttered.
"I was careful, Bea."
"What did you do on Adro?"
"I wandered around." Liliana told Bea about the things she saw on Adro, careful to avoid the real reason she went.
An hour or so later, Bea crossed her chest and sent up a quick prayer. "You are too much, Liliana." She stood and gathered their dishes.
"That's what I hear." She sighed, and then added, "I also looked for Kita."
The plates dropped with a hard clang. "Lily."
She held up a hand. "I know, Bea."
"Is that why you left?" Their eyes met. Bea's dark ones concerned.
"I had to do something." She wouldn’t tell the woman who raised her that she was practically kicked off of Legba. There was no telling what Bea would say or do to the royal family when they arrived.
"You were told to leave it alone."
"She's my sister, Bea."
"Your sister was responsible for half the trouble you got into as a child. Her and that demon prince." Bea shuddered. "I for one am grateful you'll not have to bond with Kedric."
That made two of them. Liliana shuddered. "It wasn't as bad as that."
"And the arguments?"
"Sisters argue, Bea." The knock down drag out fights they had could hardly be classified as normal behavior.
"I'll never understand this hero worship you have for Kita. She was a mean and spiteful child and I hated the way she was allowed to treat you."
"That's not true." But close. Kita and Kedric together certainly made her childhood hard. Hell, here she was well into her adulthood and they were still doing it.
"It's the truth." Bea’s voice invited no argument. "You refuse to see it. Remember I'm the one who cleaned your various scrapes and bruises. I wiped your tears when they were mean to you."
"She's still my sister." It was lame, but the only argument she had. To avoid mating with Kedric, she would've traveled to Azreal herself.
“I wish you would let it go, Lily. There’s nothing but trouble going down that path. Please, trust me on this.”
She heard the warning in Bea’s voice and flinched. What could the woman know that she didn’t? “You know something.”
A quick jerk of her head showcased Bea's aggravation. "Liliana, your stubbornness will get you into trouble one day."
"That day has come." Her mother's voice from behind her lowered the temperature in the room. "The king's messenger arrived. The royal family will be here in two hours. Let's be presentable, Liliana, and for the Gods' sake, try not to embarrass this family further."
Liliana swallowed the angry retort. "Yes, mother."
Arian left the room on silent feet and Bea breathed out a frustrated sigh. "That woman."
"I can't believe you still work for her." Liliana raked a shaky hand down her face. She wanted to question Bea more but she dropped it for now. She would talk to her later about it.
"Go do as she says, Lily. No need in the two of you fighting so soon after the first one." Bea turned her back and started straightening the kitchen.
Nausea rolled, the teacakes threatening to come back up. She had to face the prince. She could only pray they would not be left alone.
Chapter 8
LEO SHRUGGED HIS SHOULDERS to ease the tension gathered. He paced the room, edgy, the need to escape Legba at the top of his mind. His communicator beeped on his hip, he looked at the display.
He sighed. "Yeah?"
"How's everything going?"
"Just as we expected. They rolled out the red carpet." He didn't bother adding that they would have gladly wrapped him in said carpet and tossed it off the highest point of Legba.
“I suppose you couldn’t possibly do what I asked you and take her to the royal family first.” Xavier didn’t sound particularly surprised or angry.
Rather than admit to his brother his concern for Liliana he opted for changing the subject. “Did you look into her sister’s disappearance?”
Xavier let out a deep suffering sigh. Leo squelched the urge to laugh. Gods it was so easy to rile his eldest brother.
"Liliana was right. Kita was in the club. She disappeared from here."
"What did you find?"
"Nothing, at least not for around the time of her disappearance. We're checking earlier records next. For now though, there are no portal log entries, no surveillance footage. There's a portal record of Kita coming through to Adro during the new moon five years ago. We caught sight of her once more when she came to Haven for a club night." Frustration and worry colored his tone. "We'll check the Oras, but so far nothing. She literally disappears, Leo."
That didn't sit well with him, but he could do nothing until he got back to Adro. "Thank you for checking." Now to figure out how he would tell Liliana. "Do you think their father knows anything?"
"Even if he did, we can't question him on a family matter. You know how the Eshu are about what they deem family matters. If he knows something, he has made his peace with the Eminzu or they would've helped Liliana when she went to them. The fact that he didn’t come to the Amanda when she went missing is telling."
"What does Fallon say?"
"He thinks Kita's disappearance is the beginning of something, but it's hidden from him. It could be something going on in Legba, some family enemy, or something political.”
Her father was a very wealthy merchant. It made sense, but still… it wouldn't hurt to be thorough. "I’ll rush the di êjê along on this end. I'll be back on Adro helping in a couple of weeks or so, depending if Liliana wants to take the bonding period here."
Xavier grunted "Call us when the date is set."
"X." He hesitated, rubbing his hand across his hair. "Can I have your permission to speak with Rugaba?"
Xavier sighed. "I already intended to ask for an audience. Consider it a gift for your mating."
Leo's heart thumped in anticipation. "What do you think his answer will be?"
"Rugaba is unpredictable on most days and nasty as hell on the rest, there's no telling what he'll do. He may leave it up to the Eminzu, and you know the way they will go."
Leo suppressed a growl. Yeah, he knew the way the Eminzu would vote. Once mated, he would have to give up his position in the Amanda. Take something lower, and out of the line of fire. The Eminzu were crazy on mating and continuing the family line. The sole purpose of their machinations was to make sure a family line stayed pure and if not pure, as strong as they could make it. The ancestors wanted only the strongest to survive.
Xavier broke into his thoughts. "Call baba."
Dread pooled in his gut. "Does he know I'm in Legba?"
"Who knows what baba knows? I warned you all your dangerous hijinks would catch up with you."
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"You're about to be mated to a willful and stubborn woman. Good luck, it's no less than you deserve."
"Thanks for having my back, bro." He hung up on his brother's laughter. He stared at the phone as though waiting on it to bite him. He sighed and dialed his father.
He answered on the first ring. "Are you okay with everything, Leo?"
So he did know. Leo relaxed and shook his head at how fast gossip traveled within the world of the Demis. "I'm fine, baba."
Ranolph cleared his throat. "I understand how important your job is to you. I'll approach the Eminzu on your behalf and ask them to allow you to stay with the Amanda.”
Touched, Leo swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'll handle it, baba. I've requested an audience with Rugaba."
Silence met his statement.
"It didn’t work for me," his father said after a moment. "I hope it turns out differently for you."
"Have you told Sharine what happened?" He tried to keep the bitterness from his voice.
Ranolph scoffed. "I have not seen your mother in over six years. When all of you are mated, I will ask to be released from my own."
Leo's heart lurched. The consequences of his father's actions… all at once fear overwhelmed him. "Baba, you'll be banished." It came out a hoarse whisper.
"My sons spend all their time in Adro. I can't see the harm in living my final years where the primal source dwells and getting to see you and your brothers, besides I’ll have no use for my magic with my sons to protect me. Once all three of you are mated, I won't have to worry about how my actions will affect your match. Goddess knows I don't want either of you to end up with a female like your mother."
Fury spiked. "She is no mother to me."
Ranolph sighed. "Leo, you’ll be haunted by your mother's actions for eternity. I'm sorry for that."
"I'd rather not talk about it, baba."
"One day when I'm brave enough, I'll tell you the truth of your birth. Until then, please be careful. I look forward to meeting your mate."
"You will remain in Edin then?"
"I'm at peace with the decisions I've made in my life here, so yes, I’ll live out my days here until I'm banished."
A knock on the door interrupted what he would have said. "I gotta go." He closed the communicator and walked to the door.
Liliana stood on the other side dressed in a formal gown of peach silk. Cinched at the waist, it draped her body perfectly. Doubts about their mating dissipated as she stood in front of him, her shy stance giving her a sexy vulnerability. Unable to resist, Leo pulled her into his room and closed the door. He leaned her against it and kissed her, possessive need driving him. She was just what he needed after the conversation with his father. He covered her body, pressing her into the door, yearning to be as close as possible. He cursed the small braids in her hair and debated tugging down the knot sitting atop her head. It shouldn't take her that long to redo it with magic.
As though she read his mind, Liliana pushed against his chest. "Don't you dare. It took me thirty minutes under my mother's watchful eyes to get the proper bun."
"I like your hair down." He nibbled on her ear, inhaling deeply.
Gods, the scent of her.
His hips jerked, grinding into her. All the blood in his body flooded south. Vivid images of taking her against the door flashed through his mind. He swallowed a moan.
"While we’re on Legba I have to be presentable and respectable. No noble woman walks around with her hair wild." She mimicked her mother's haughty voice.
Leo felt bad for her. Her body vibrated with anger. Of course, it did nothing to quell his arousal. If anything the fire in her eyes sent flames licking down his spine.
"What happened?"
A grimace tightened her face. "My mother and I don’t get along. At all." She sighed. "We’ve had another fight. Don’t worry about it."
She stared at him with a mixture of anger and heat. Her breath came out in short gasps and her body trembled.
He smiled. He could do nothing about the first, but as to the heat... "I could help you relieve that anger." His voice deepened. He gathered her gown in his hand, bunching the material, in an effort to reach her skin.
She traced the bronze lines on his arm lightly and his whole body reacted. Running her hands through his hair, she arched her body into his, grinding on his erection. "I'm having a hard time around you in your true form. Those Cagyn pheromones are making it hard to think past wanting you inside me."
Shit.
His cock bobbed in reaction. He could get with that.
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