Haven

by Dria Andersen

  Chapter 17

  THE ANSWER WAS NO, no they couldn’t go an hour without trouble. If she remembered correctly it took only mere minutes for Sharine to start the trouble she’d promised. Queen Kaylin refusing to come down from the dais seemed to challenge the woman, and she made it her mission to taunt the short tempered queen. The gossips milled around the dance floor dutifully taking note of every gesture and word exchanged between the two women. Her mother walked around scoffing at the simple decorations and what she deemed tacky food, and her father did his best to keep Arian’s voice lowered as she consumed the wine. The only thing about the ceremony of which she approved.

  It was an unmitigated disaster.

  She snuggled deeper into the feather down blanket and closer to Leo’s body heat. This morning she would not be awakened to her mother’s lecturing tone, flashing the latest headline in front of her. There would be no rushing to get up and beat the next wave of soldiers being sent after her. If she wanted, she could stay in this bed, her marital bed, all day. She would try her damnedest to forget everything about her reception, and call herself lucky for having escaped fairly unscathed.

  Well, there was the matter of her throwing up all over her new father in law’s shoes. She wasn’t likely to forget that anytime soon. She groaned, burrowing her head into Leo’s neck. His chuckle vibrated against her face.

  “It’s not as bad as you’re imagining.” He kissed her forehead, rubbing his hands up and down her back.

  “I wonder if your dad thinks the same.”

  He laughed outright.

  She punched him in the stomach. For all the good it did. He grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips.

  “It’s not funny.”

  “It’s hilarious. Besides, that wine was crap, despite the fancy label on it.”

  “Thank the gods we don’t have to go back there anytime soon.” She intertwined her fingers with his.

  “Here, here.” He kissed her again. “What do you want to do today?”

  She thought a moment through her options. Yes, she could lay in bed for the day, but it wasn’t in her nature. She’d spent years on Adro searching for her sister, somehow starting her new life without knowing what happened to Kita didn’t sit well with her.

  “I have a few things to check on in my office, but it should only take me a couple of hours. You’ll have me all to yourself after that.” Leo interrupted her thoughts.

  She smiled. There was plenty she could do in a couple of hours. “That sounds nice. I’ll look around, get to know my new home.”

  Leo eyed her suspiciously.

  “I promise, I’ll stay out of trouble.”

  He scoffed and rolled from the bed. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

  She smiled and waved away his disbelief. She rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling, listening to him move around their bathroom and bedroom getting dressed. Now that she had inside access to Haven, the question would be where to start looking first. She could try and question a few of the soldiers. See if they remember her sister. It was a long shot with how many years had passed, but she had nowhere else to start.

  “Just promise you won’t leave the Haven without telling me.” His voice interrupted her planning.

  She propped up on her elbows. “Deal.”

  He smiled and leaned over her. “See you in a few hours?”

  She nodded. He dropped small kisses on her face making her giggle. Gods Leo caught her off guard by how sweet he was. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Have a great day.” She whispered.

  “Thank you, ina.” He gave her one final kiss and left the room.

  She waited until she heard the click of the front door to get out of bed. Showering and dressing quickly, she was out roaming the hallway in under thirty minutes. The hallways were bustling, uniformed Amanda soldiers of every kind moving to and from their destinations. She followed a group of people in white coats coming up on Haven’s massive kitchen. It was as good a place as any to start. Servants heard a lot more than their masters wanted. The smells reminded her that she’d not had breakfast.

  “You there!” A tall woman, her black hair pulled into a high ponytail pointed a wooden spoon at her. “What are you doing in my kitchen?”

  Liliana put on her most charming smile. “I’m sorry, the smells brought me here. I just realized I hadn’t eaten breakfast.”

  With narrowed eyes, the chef looked her up and down. Sniffing in disdain she pointed to a small table in the corner of the kitchen. “Sit. I’ll bring you something.”

  Nodding her thanks, Liliana happily took a seat in the wooden chair. She watched the staff move around the kitchen, shouting orders and a few ribald jokes. The whole scene was fascinating.

  Before too long, the chef set a plate of bacon, eggs and croissants on a plate in front of her. A second plate, laden with fruits from different realms followed. Liliana rubbed her hands in anticipation. The chef sat down in the chair across from her.

  “What brings the mate of Death’s Messenger into my kitchen to eat? You could have simply called and breakfast would’ve been brought to you.”

  Liliana paused with the croissant halfway to her mouth. “You know who I am?”

  “I’m Marta, head chef here at Haven. I see lots of things, and hear even more. This is why you came into my kitchen, no?”

  “I…”

  Marta smiled and leaned back in her chair.

  Liliana picked up a small fig and popped it in her mouth, studying the other woman. How much did she know about her? “What have you heard?”

  Marta leaned forward. “I heard you sexed up Death’s Messenger and got caught in trick of fate.”

  She groaned. Of course that bit of gossip was floating around Haven.

  “I also heard you’re looking for your sister.”

  Liliana perked up. “Go on.”

  Marta shrugged. “No one here has seen or even heard of your sister.”

  Her shoulders slumped. Damn, another dead end. And she’d been so optimistic. She picked up her fork and dove into the eggs on her plate.

  “You’re different than I’d imagined.”

  Cocking her head to the side, Liliana finished chewing. “How so?”

  “I hear you’re a noble, a very rich one. I don’t know, I guess I expected you to be more…”

  “Eshu?”

  Marta smiled. “Yes.”

  “Well, let my mother tell it, I’m as common as they come.”

  Marta laughed outright. “You’re sitting in the kitchen eating with the help, so you’re not exactly giving off ‘noble’.”

  Liliana snorted and continued eating.

  Marta watched her silently, tapping her fingers on the table between them. “I tell you what.” She said after a moment. “I will ask around. If I hear anything I’ll call you.”

  She clasped the other woman’s hands gratefully. “Thank you, Marta that would be amazing.”

  “I’ll leave you to finish your breakfast. You should try the surveillance room if you can get access.” Marta stood, leaving her with that last bit of advice.

  It was a great idea. They probably saw everything in the surveillance room. Getting access could be a problem though. She wondered if dropping Leo’s name would help.

  Couldn’t hurt.

  She’d try it. Feeling more optimistic, she smiled. She was off to a good start. Not great, but good. She scarfed down the rest of her food, grabbing a bunch of grapes to take with her. She waved at Marta on the way out the door. She would make a point to befriend the chef. Having a friend who knew things would always come in handy. Now to find the surveillance room. Using the same tactics she used to find the kitchen, she followed the soldiers in uniforms.

  Before long she was at a door of what looked like a break room. Taking a deep breath she went inside. She received a few confused looks, but no one stopped her. Shrugging, she walked up to a group of soldiers standing around a refrigerator. She’d just ask
a few questions. No harm done.

  ***

  Twenty minutes later she was no further along than when she first started. Not only did they not have information on Kita, they wouldn’t give her information on where the surveillance room was located.

  Jerks.

  There was no use staying in the break room. She turned to leave. Leo, was blocking the entrance, his shoulder leaned against the doorjamb.

  “What are you up to, Ina?”

  Lie, or not?

  Leo raised an eyebrow.

  Not.

  She pasted on a sunny smile. “You know, just getting my bearings, looking around.”

  “Oh yeah?” He moved from the doorjamb and leaned closer to her. “Because I heard you were asking questions about your sister.”

  She rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry. These men were a bunch of gossiping women. “Fine, you caught me.”

  He gave her a small smile and crooked his finger at her. She moved closer to him, suspicious. He grabbed her hand and tucked it into his elbow.

  “Come.”

  She followed him through the complicated hallways of Haven until they arrived at an unmarked door. Pulling up a spell, Leo entered a passcode and the door opened with a quiet snick. Eyes wide, she followed him into the air conditioned room, degrees colder than the rest of Haven. It was quiet here, with only the drone of machines to fill the silence and the occasional command or request chirping from a communicator. She was nervous with anticipation. He’d brought her to the surveillance room. Liliana’s heart raced. True to his word he was helping her search for her sister. He pulled her further into the room, the men coming at attention as Leo passed. Except for one male. He scrambled from his chair, fleeing for the door.

  Leo clotheslined him, the soldier slamming into the floor, wheezing. Leo put a boot on his chest to keep him from standing. “I guess I don’t have to ask which one of you rat bastards gave Verity the code to my room.”

  The guy writhed on the floor in pain. “I can explain.”

  “I don’t care.” Leo leaned down into his face, putting pressure on his chest. “My mate was in my room.”

  “I’m sorry.” He wheezed out.

  “If you give out information on another person under Haven’s protection, I will deliver you to death myself.”

  He nodded. “I swear.”

  Leo moved his foot and resumed walking. Liliana looked back at the male still on the floor, but doubled her steps to keep up with her mate. Leo looked back at her.

  “Sorry you had to see that, but that jerk gave out my room information, which is prohibited.”

  She blinked, unsure of what he wanted her to say. He put a hand on the small of her back and directed her to a small desk in the corner. It was away from the rest of the room, a frosted glass divider keeping the desk private from the other soldiers. He guided her into the leather office chair, pulling it out until she sat down.

  “We can look at the Oras here.”

  “What are Oras?” She scooted the chair closer to the desk.

  His hands worked through a complicated spell until hundreds of images wavered in the air in front of them, like holograms. “These are the Oras.”

  The images were too small to really see anything, but shock widened her eyes.

  “There are spells to pull up images of anyplace on the planet. We use information in the Earth’s magnetic fields and magic from the primal source to surveil the whole and breadth of Adro. It’s better than satellites and the spell is nearly impossible to tamper with.” He worked through the images he’d pulled up. “Do you remember the date your sister last came to Adro?”

  Pushing aside her shock and the million questions she had, she focused on his one question. “It was so long ago. Kita and Kedric made so many trips to Adro together, I stopped paying attention.”

  “Hmmm. Was Kedric with her this last visit?”

  Liliana ran a hand through her short curls. She’d donned her human skin to keep her appearance concealed as was her habit after so many years on Adro. Though Marta had seen right through her disguise. Her brows furrowed in concentration. “I honestly don’t remember. I don’t see why she would’ve left without him.”

  “Wait.” Leo straightened. “Xavier and Fallon had already narrowed it down and found the last time Kita crossed the portal. I forgot with everything that has happened. Hold on a moment.”

  He left her in the quiet of the cubicle.

  Moments later he came back, and went through another series of spells. The light of the Oras flickered, went out, then came back, this time with less windows, each with a different view of the main portal of Haven.

  “X put these aside separately to go through. The Oras miss nothing, so you should be able to trace your sister’s steps through Haven.”

  “Do people know about these Oras?”

  “No, only a few Demi have access and knowledge of the Oras. As long as you know where to look and a general time, keeping track of Demis’ activities is a snap.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath. “If that’s true, then how did I evade your soldiers for so long?”

  Leo chuckled. “Don’t remind Xavier of that. You were quick, each time we located you and sent soldiers, you were gone. Sometimes we missed you by mere minutes.”

  He was right. Her heart thumped just thinking of the near misses.

  “Adro is vast, finding one tiny Eshu noble, who changed appearances often, I might add, is difficult. Besides, you weren’t really a priority for X until a few months ago. The queen became uncomfortably persistent then.”

  “I can imagine.”

  Leo worked through the images, narrowing the views down until only six screens showed. “Okay. Start with these views. X saved them, so obviously he spotted Kita on one of them.”

  “There.” Liliana leaned forward, thirsty for an image of her sister. She spotted Kita walking through the portal room alone.

  “Okay, you work through these.” He showed her how to move through the Oras to pick up Kita in other places. “If I remember correctly, Xavier said some of them were corrupted, so you won’t be able to see everything.”

  She frowned. “Corrupted. How is that possible?”

  “Takes some dark magic. X is still working on that.”

  “So these Oras aren’t infallible?”

  “For every spell there is a counter spell. It’s all about balance. Nothing is infallible.”

  He went through other spells with her, showing her how to maneuver and angle the images and how to check different places. Once he saw she’d picked it up, he straightened.

  “I’ll go grab drinks and snacks. There are a ton of these to go through. Will you be okay here alone?”

  Engrossed, she nodded absently and waved him away.

  Chapter 18

  “YO, LEO.”

  Leo turned around careful not to jostle the tray of food and drinks. Fallon stood in the middle of the hall, his face grim.

  “We were looking for you.”

  “Why, what’s up?” He walked over to Fallon.

  “I heard you were slapping people around in the surveillance room.” Fallon grabbed a sandwich off his tray and took a bite.

  Leo growled. “Not people, person. One jackass who had given out my room information, code included.”

  Fallon stopped eating and frowned. “I’ll take care of it.”

  He shrugged. As far as he was concerned, he’d handled it. He doubted the male would be likely to give out any other person’s info. But Fallon would do what he saw fit. He didn’t allow for mistakes.

  “Is that why you hunted me down?”

  Fallon finished off his sandwich as they rounded the corner to Xavier’s office. “No, Rugaba is here to see you.”

  Leo stopped and his stomach lurched. Looking around, he thrust the tray he was holding at the first person to walk by. Running a hand down his chest, he quickly changed into his uniform and took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you say that first?”

&nb
sp; Fallon shrugged, and opened the door, motioning for him to go in first. He walked into the office with his head high, hoping no trace of his nervousness showed. Rugaba in all his power was there. Six feet six in his human form, very dark skin with dreadlocks that reached his back, the god was very intimidating.

  Leo bowed low. “Thank you, my lord, for seeing me.”

  Rugaba nodded. “I know the purpose behind your request to see me. You know I created the Eminzu to deal with these type of issues, right? And I’m sure you’re aware of their very exacting rules when it comes to mated pairs.”

  His heart sank. “I’m aware, and I apologize for the inconvenience, my lord. I simply wanted a chance to plead my case.” He searched his mind for words to use that would convince the god.

  “You’ve served in your post for some decades, yes?”

  Leo kept his eyes lowered. “I have served you and wish to continue to do so. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

  Rugaba sighed. “Your position is a highly dangerous one, Leonalph.”

  “I understand the risk and will be extra vigilant.” He dared not hope, but couldn’t quite corral his optimism.

  “My brother speaks highly of you, and does not wish to lose you as a messenger.”

  Surprise raised his eyes to stare at the god. Azra spoke highly of him? Rugaba shrugged. Leo lowered his eyes unable to hold the god’s gaze.

  “You do your job efficiently, and it has not gone unnoticed.” He opened his mouth to say something else when the door burst open.

  “Oh my God, Leo, I found something! I really didn’t think I would, I mean there are a lot…” Liliana trailed off when she noticed who was in the room.

  She dropped into a deep curtsy. “Apologies, my lord.”

  ***

  Rugaba sighed. “Rise, child.”

  She hastily straightened and stood behind Leo. He really didn’t have time for this. He needed to find out who the other Kokoro souls were and give their names to Xavier for protection. Rugaba dismissed her and leveled his stare at the warrior, trying to hold on to his indifference. He wasn’t supposed to show preference for any one warrior, but this family was dear to him. They had served him with no questions or complaints for centuries, each father passing the leadership of the Amanda to the oldest. He agreed to this meeting simply because the Amanda could not afford to lose Leo. He was the best hunter they had. He knew the warrior wanted him to override the Eminzu’s edict and allow him to keep his position.