Shaun's held Xandros close, taking all the emotion that rolled through them both. Energy poured from Xandros, and Shaun seemed to absorb it. Cerebrally, Xandros knew the rage was a surge of adrenaline, a force of energy, some holdover from Nylar's ancient history when protecting one's mate was a matter of life or death. But subconsciously, he needed to find his marked mate.
The red curtain over his vision seemed to clear slightly. He sensed Carina was no longer conscious.
Calmer, he leaned his forehead against Shaun's. “I have to go after her."
"I know that,” Shaun answered.
"I'm not sure I understand what's going on here,” Leo said behind them.
When Xandros released Shaun and turned to face Leo, he wasn't sure he could explain it either. So much had happened that he hadn't planned. The mark wasn't supposed to mean anything. It just meant he'd fucked her. The rage had been a joke men told to keep women from cheating on them. To find out that he'd been so wrong for so long was difficult to face, much less put into words.
Princess Sera's forehead wrinkled with worry. “Shaun?"
"He needed me. That's all,” Shaun said. “The rage is a surge of adrenaline, and I defused it.” When Xandros turned his head and stared at Shaun, the man met his gaze steadily. “Xandros and I understand each other, I think."
Did they? How many men had Xandros fucked? He could count them on one hand, and none of them had been Nyral males. They'd been submissives, and Xandros dominated them. The fucking was just part of it.
This? This was different. What was their connection? “You've fucked her."
Shaun's gaze slid away. “We used each other."
Xandros should have been angry or jealous...something. Instead, he accepted Shaun's role in Carina's past. It still didn't explain why Shaun posed no threat to Xandros's primitive rage response. He had some connection to all this, some part to play that Xandros didn't understand. “Why didn't you mark her?"
Shaun glared at him. “Because to mark her would expose what she was. The Brotherhood has no idea she's a Nyral female.” He clenched his fists. “And judging by your rage, I'd say they've discovered it."
Fuck. He tried to shoulder past Shaun to leave, to find her, to save her. Once again, Shaun stopped him. “We have to work together to save her."
Xandros tightened his lips and met the man's intense stare. “I might kill you."
"You won't kill me,” Shaun said steadily.
"Shaun,” the princess said quietly, “are you in love with this man?"
"No. He isn't for me, Princess. He belongs to her.” Gently, Shaun brushed back a stray strand of hair from Xandros's forehead. Then, he turned to look at Leo and the princess. “But this is what I'm meant to do."
Leo shook his head. “This isn't about you, Shaun."
"I left them, Leo,” he said calmly. “I walked away, never looked back. Aron and Finn were in the same boat I was in before you saved me. I could have rescued them, brought them home the way you did."
Xandros heard the pain, the guilt in Shaun's voice, and he couldn't stand it. Xandros had never given a rat's ass about another man's guilt, another man's burden, but it ate at his gut that Shaun would blame himself for something out of his control. It had been a long time since he'd had a friend, someone he truly cared about. It was odd that Shaun had come back into his life and filled that role.
He gripped Shaun's shoulder and held it. Shaun glanced at him but talked to Leo. “Instead, I hid. I was afraid of what people would say, how they would judge me because I let you dominate me."
"No one knows about that,” Leo insisted.
"They do,” Shaun said firmly. “It was inevitable.” He shifted beneath Xandros's touch. “Xandros is like me. He is exiled from our people, and the only way back is unacceptable to him. Just as it was to me."
Xandros stared at him. “I chose this path, Shaun. You didn't."
Shaun's hazel eyes were bright. “How many times did you petition the council to let you come back?"
Twenty-eight times. The number popped into Xandros's mind. He'd tried to come back, go straight. He'd longed for home, for his people. But the stigma of being Anton Ivanovitch's son would never be gone. “So what? I chose to walk away. No one blackmailed me."
"Didn't they?” Shaun stared at him. “Your father's betrayal was well-known. Didn't most people assume you were just as guilty even though you were four when he sold those secrets to the Primarians?"
"My father paid his debt."
Shaun nodded. “Sure he did. He did his time with the Mistresses. They broke him until he was a good little submissive."
"Shut the fuck up, Shaun."
"And everyone taunted you, judged you as his son. Your mother was dead, and your father was broken. What choice did you have, Xandros Jasper?” Shaun's voice was relentless.
"We don't have time for this,” Xandros snapped.
"Listen to me.” Shaun gripped his arm. “You have no idea what you're walking into. I do. The Brotherhood knows all about you. Everything. Your father. Your mother's death. Your life on the edge of crime. They'll use it to fuck with you."
"I'm going to find her.” Xandros tried to yank his arm away, but Shaun kept hold of him.
"Not like this. Not without a plan."
It pissed Xandros off that the man was right. He knew better than to go into any negotiation without a plan. He shook Shaun's hand off his arm and ran a hand through his hair. Damn it. The sensation of pain and fear he'd felt from her, from whatever happened, it had ripped him apart. Apparently, all that bullshit about being marked was true. He should have been scared shitless by that thought, but for some reason, he wasn't. He was determined to find her and keep her with him. “Okay. Not without a plan."
"If we're lucky, they don't know who marked her,” Leo stated.
Shaun shook his head. “They have the same vid streams we do. They saw Xandros at the club."
"They're counting on him to go after her.” The princess frowned. “Why?"
"The prophecy,” Shaun said firmly.
"Someone want to fill me in?” Xandros said impatiently.
"Sit down, Captain.” It was the first sign of respect from Leo. Xandros sat in one of the overstuffed chairs in the hotel room. Leo sat on the couch, and the princess sat on the floor at his feet. Shaun sat across from them.
"The first Star Prophecy was written by a Dormrelian named Sindar. Have you ever heard of Dormrela?” Leo asked him.
Xandros froze. “I've heard of it."
Leo lifted his lips in a small smile. “Sindar recorded a prophecy handed down for generations on his planet. The prophecy stated that a Nyral male named Eyler would mate with a woman and create a new power, a new religion. He pinpointed the decade when this mating would occur.” He took a deep breath and shot a glance at the princess. Xandros noted her mouth had tightened. Clearly, she didn't like the conversation. Xandros wondered if it had anything to do with the rumored death of her mother or the attempts on her life. Leo continued. “The Brotherhood has studied the prophecies. When I was mated to Shanie—"
"They assumed she was the one Sindar referred to in the prophecy. And that's why Shanie died,” Xandros said. It made sense. From what Xandros had gathered, the Brotherhood wanted the princess dead because she was Leo's mate, not because she was the leader of some outcast population. It had something to do with the creation of a religion or some other mystical bullshit. Xandros sighed. “What does this have to do with me or Carina or the men you have me looking for?"
Leo ran a hand over his face, and Princess Sera touched his knee. “After Father Pestori revealed the prophecy, Sera and I tracked it down.” He gazed at Xandros. “Not only does Sindar name me in his prophecy, he names Carina. His prediction is that my mate is the beginning and Carina is the messenger. He states that she will be recognized by the mark of a bird on her arm. I tried to warn her, but she's determined to get revenge for Shanie's death.” His nostrils flared. “Shanie was Carina's only blood fam
ily. But it's clear that the Brotherhood intended to corrupt Carina from the start."
"Shit.” He rose to his feet. “Why are we sitting here? We have to find her, save her."
"Sit down, Xandros,” Leo snapped out the order, and Xandros sat. “They won't kill her."
Xandros glared at the other man. “How do you know that?"
"Because the prophecy has a warning. To kill Carina would hasten the very destruction of their organization. It states that the one who owns the messenger's soul will rule the Stars.” Leo stared at Xandros. “They want to own her soul, Captain."
"Over my dead body."
"That may be the idea,” the princess said. “Think, Xandros. If they kill you, her marked mate, she'll be destroyed, isolated, vulnerable. We must have a plan."
"Shaun?” Leo turned an inquiring glance on the other man.
"I say the same thing I said about Aron and Finn. Pelios."
Pelios. Fuck. That planet was barren and miserable. The surface was too hot to survive on. But the Blueshift Brotherhood used that planet, burrowed deep and created a maze of caverns. Near the surface, they placed weferies, creatures that could stand temperatures of up to two hundred degrees. They guarded the only two entrances to the tunnels leading to miles of corridors.
Food was dropped into these holes, and prisoners had to fight the weferies for it. It was survival of the fittest. Every two or three months, the Brotherhood would replace their guardians since the prisoners killed the animals eventually.
No one knew how prisoners were transported to Pelios. It was a one-way trip. If the Brotherhood took Carina there, getting her back would be impossible.
Anyone involved with the Brotherhood knew the risks. The threat of Pelios was always part of the bargaining process, and Xandros had made it his business to find out what he was threatened with before he made any deals. So far, he'd managed to keep on the Brotherhood's good side, but if they'd sent his mate to Pelios—
"We have to stop them.” He rose again to his feet.
"I think I know how they're transporting them.” Princess Sera stood up. She glanced at Leo. “Remember the Star Blessing?"
Leo nodded. “You transported all those artifacts on Teran Three back to Placido."
"It's only one of many such spells.” She tightened her lips. “I think the leader of the Blueshift Brotherhood is very familiar with Placido."
"And has your power?” Leo shook his head. “How is that possible?"
Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows rose. “You do."
Leo frowned. “True. So you think it's someone who understands the power, who can use it the way I can?"
"I don't think he's from Placido.” She stared at the three men. “I think he's from Nylar."
Shock rippled along Xandros's nerves. A Nyral? It couldn't be. There'd been traitors, including his father, but could the leader of the Brotherhood be from Nylar? He could scoff at it, but after all that had happened, he wasn't sure he knew anything anymore.
Leo didn't look surprised. He looked grim. “We'd better come up with that plan quickly."
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Six
A drip hit her in the face. Splash. Splash. She blinked and tried to adjust her vision to the darkness around her. Confusion made her dizzy. Her mouth was dry and sticky. What the hell had happened? Where the hell was she?
And who was she?
Gingerly, she moved, tried to get her feet under her. Nausea swamped her, and her throat burned. The metal walls beneath her fingers were cold and unyielding. Somehow she knew she was on a ship. Maybe it was the thrumming vibration that sounded in the background. All the basics were there in her mind: like she was in danger, like she was naked and shouldn't be.
Memories were just out of reach, and her head hurt. Stop trying. Escape was her only thought. It never occurred to her to bang on the walls or scream for help. It was very clear that she had to use cunning and silence to get off this vessel.
The lights in the small space fluttered and flared, now illuminating her prison. Bruises dotted her legs and thighs. On her left arm was a burn that still throbbed. It was like an unhealed brand, angry and red. She stared at the shape of it. The burn was the shape of an animal. A herwalk. The majestic bird was native to her home planet of...
Shit! She couldn't remember.
Inside the four metal walls, condensation had built up. The drops of liquid on her face had been water from the ceiling. The room was bare, no furniture, no control panels. The lights were recessed and bolted into the ceiling, as if the cell was made to contain whatever—or whoever—was in it. Something was definitely wrong.
Vid streamers were stationed at the right of the solid, unyielding door. Naked, helpless, weaponless, she faced a daunting task. Get away and find...who?
The door beeped, an alarm shattering the silence. When it slid open, she held herself ready. Whoever it was, she was willing to kill to get away from them.
A shrouded figure stepped into the room. Brown woven material more suited to Old Earth than today's priests covered her visitor from head to toe. His hands were clasped in front of him, and an irritating hum came from the dark recesses of his cowl.
Then the humming stopped, and the figure said, “You are well?"
For a moment, she wanted to laugh. Well? Sure. She couldn't remember who the hell she was, where she was, or how she'd gotten there, but she was relatively intact. Probably a normal person would have asked if this stranger knew the answers to her questions, but instinctively she knew she wasn't normal.
Just as she knew this hooded man was her enemy.
He kept the cowl around his face but removed a handheld from the depths of the robe. “Your reprogramming will begin now,” he said calmly.
"I don't wish to be ‘reprogrammed,’ priest,” she snapped. She should have kept her mouth shut. But the words slipped out before she could stop them.
His head lifted sharply. “Your hostility is misplaced. I am your friend."
She snorted. “Right. Would some clothes be asking too much, friend?"
The man was definitely agitated. His fingers flew over his handheld's keypad. “You should be a blank slate,” he muttered. “I need to take a reading. Stand up."
She obeyed him but feigned dizziness, only partially faking it, and stumbled toward him. When he was forced to take her weight, she lashed out, her precision strike hitting his carotid artery. He gasped, a pathetic choking sound.
Without hesitation, she finished him, her small hands crushing the life from him. When he was dead, she searched the heavy folds of his robe and found a laser gun. Fast and furious, she stripped the man of his garb, then pulled it over her head.
What kind of a woman could kill a man and put on his clothes? And what kind of monster could use the laser gun to cut out the man's eyeball so she could pass the eye spectrum?
The desperate kind.
The man's eye was slippery and bloody in her fingers, but she used it to open the door to her cell. Alarms blared all over the ship, and she crept through the corridor quickly.
Though she couldn't remember her own name or where she was from, she knew she was on a Class J freighter and that the lifepods were on the port side. Once she oriented herself, she made a circuitous route toward those pods.
Two men tried to stop her. They died. She sprinted, lifting up the hem of the robe with one hand and firing the laser gun with the other. Noise filled her head, but she didn't stop, didn't think.
Four men guarded the pods. Her back to the wall of the corridor that led to the docking bay, she contemplated her options. She glanced on the wall opposite her and saw an emergency chem canister used to put out fires.
How she knew to cut a hole in the canister and light it, she didn't know or care. It worked, creating a huge blast of gas that burned the men's eyes and caused confusion. That was all she needed.
Quickly and efficiently, she dispatched them, leaving their bloody corpses on the bay floor.
Just as she was entering one of the pods, a voice boomed throughout the ship.
"Kill her!” the voice screamed. “She cannot live."
The voice, familiar and frightening, froze her for a second. Then she catapulted into the pod and activated the release. Her fingers flew over the controls, instinct and memory joined for a moment. The pod exploded from the bay, and she careened through space.
A planet was just in front of her, but she didn't even consider landing there. She aimed for the opposite direction. Laser fire lit up the sky on either side of her.
She smiled grimly. Hitting a pod was rather like hitting a leder coin tossed in the air. Difficult to lock onto and difficult to shoot down. Still, it was a harrowing flight, and she fought to control the pod.
She found a gate. Manmade wormholes that helped men travel in an instant, bypassing light years of black space. The mother ship loomed behind her, but she sped toward the gate heedless of the strain on her systems.
She entered the gate going too fast, too hard. The force of her entry sent the pod spinning through the corridor. She was going to die.
If she bounced off the edge of the gate's tunnel, she'd be tossed into black space. A glimmer of hope existed. Even as the pod twisted and spun, she noted coordinates on a gate exit within a few clicks of her present trajectory. She flung her weight against the controls, trying to get the thrusters to take her that extra distance.
The pod flew out of the exit at tremendous speed and suddenly spun around furiously like a top. She hit her head, then her nose. Blood streamed down her face, and she desperately tried to gain control, but it was no use.
A planet loomed in her viewscreen, and she accepted the fact that her pod was going to plummet into its atmosphere and disintegrate.
Consciousness faded, the blow to her head making her dizzy. She fought it, unwilling to die with her eyes closed. But it was too much.
As she drifted into oblivion, one name was on her lips. “Xandros."
Marked for Danger [Marked 3] Page 5