by JL Madore
My empty stomach wriggled. Gods that would be seven hours with her. Seven hours of Rowan being her plaything. Against my will, I wondered what a session with Mommy Dearest would entail.
I shook my head. Maybe that’s not how things had gone down at all. We were playing a very dangerous game, he and I. If the Queen knew Rowan wasn’t towing the line, Elani would pay the price as Tham had.
A burst of heated fury burned through my veins. What was going on here?
I thought about what the Queen’s end game could be as I pulled on my leathers and tied my empty sheath to my thigh. The woman had dominion over Attalos, was cultivating an army and her breeding program was well under way infiltrating the Nine Houses of the Nobles. One last glance at Coal sleeping and I retrieved my knife from under my pillow.
So, what did she want?
Boots in hand, I backed out of the room, eased the door closed and held the latch so it made only the softest tink as it fell into place. As I stepped back, my foot caught.
“What the—Terran?” I stumbled backward, crashing into the opposite wall. My Jimmy Choo’s flew, my skull rattled, and I ended up sprawled on my ass on the plush hall runner.
“Oh! Princess,” Terran tried to catch me but managed only to rescue an airborne boot. “Are you all right?”
I looked up at the horror on his face and burst out laughing. “Turnabout is fair play. I guess you owed me that.” Gods had that been just two days ago? Or was it three now? “Thanks for not punching me in the face.”
I rubbed the back of my head where I’d connected with the wall and he offered a hand to pull me to my feet. In the aftermath of our collision it dawned on me. “Why are you camped out in the hall? I sent you to bed last night.”
Terran shrugged. “I heard you cry out a few hours ago and raced into the hall. When I was about to burst in, you assured Coal it was just a bad dream.”
“So, you decided to camp out?”
He picked up my boots and handed them back, his sage green gaze despondent. “But I fell asleep in the doorway. I apologize. I am not the best private guard.”
“Ah, no biggie. Besides, you’re better than you think. It’s not too often I end up ass-planted because someone caught me by surprise. You get props for that.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
In the light of day, Rowan’s backyard was a pocket of natural seclusion like nothing I’d seen or smelled in the city of Attalos. The security walls, obscured behind ivy, tropical plants, and the soft drooping branches of fig trees, cast the illusion of there being no walls at all. Birds sang an endless melody, hidden amongst fragrant blooms of flowers and fruit, and perched on the edges of the fountain which was now full and trickling the same champagne colored water as the atrium. But the most important feature to me was the lawn. Manicured and even, it stretched on for the length of the practice field back home. Perfect.
The workout was brutal. After wind sprints, weight training and showing Ydorus, Eury, and Terran a few key gymnastic techniques, they took turns sparring with me. It didn’t take long before they realized one-on-one wasn’t going to get them anywhere so they ganged up, which was exactly when things got entertaining.
“Hits are fast, grabs are slow, boys.” I shoveled a forkful of breakfast casserole into my mouth and chased it down with a tumbler of juice. “You can wrist grab or arm bar any time in your counter – before, during, or after your hits. It’s a basic fact. Keep your opponent on his toes, make him anticipate, and then take him off guard.”
Ydorus sat at the kitchen table icing his shoulder while Leda—Rowan’s middle-aged, rosy cheeked housekeeper—piled a mountain of carbs on his plate. He nodded his thanks. “There is no pattern to the way you fight, Princess. No one could anticipate what you’re going to do. You’re mad.”
I laughed and pointed to the basket of biscuits. “Sometimes preserving your life comes down to one insane move. When the enemy can predict your intentions, you’re in deep shit.”
Terran snorted and, after piling three biscuits on his plate, passed it across to me. “So, predict what our opponent is going to do, but remain unpredictable ourselves?”
“Exactly. Annnnd if you can look good doing it, all the better.” I snagged a couple of biscuits for myself and passed the basket on. “Terran, we need to get you some better gear. This chamber guard uniform bites in battle.”
“Probably because duty guards patrol halls and check window locks at night. Aside from the frequent moments of sibling rivalry, there aren’t too many skirmishes in the Eligibles’ wing. More often, just romantic rendezvous.”
I snorted, remembering the hot-n-heavy we’d almost stumbled into on the grounds the other morning. Something about overhearing those two niggled at me, but I couldn’t figure out why. “You fight well, though.”
“Not to the level of the Strati,” Terran said.
“You’re still decent.”
He stuffed half a biscuit into his mouth. “Initial training is the same for all soldiers. Proficiency during that time dictates where we go after that.”
Eury swiped a pat of butter with his knife. “The Strati are drilled to be a different breed, Princess. Many let the position of power go to their heads and becoming honorless bastards. Not all, of course,” he said, flashing me a charming smile.
Ydorus pushed back from his empty plate. “Some of us are stubborn enough to believe we can recapture the united Attalos we grew up in. In years past, Attalos was an incredible place where everyone was safe to live life.”
I thought about Elani and wondered for the millionth time if she and Rowan were all right. “How many men does my mother have in her personal horde?”
The three men regarded each other as Leda brought a fresh jug of juice over and a pot of coffee. She sat them down and met my gaze. She was pretty, in an older woman kind of way. Her skin had that hint of green that marked an Earth Faery with soft mocha hair and eyes to match. “Can I get you anything else, Princess?”
I pushed my chair back and undid my top button. “Lexi, please, and no thanks. I’m stuffed. But I could use a change of clothes. Is there something I could throw on so I can rinse my shirt?” I gave a cautious sniff and wrinkled my nose. “Yeah, that would be great.”
“I’ll find her something.” The rough timbre of Rowan’s voice had me whirling in my chair. There, leaning on the frame of the archway into the kitchen was the master of the house. He looked freshly washed and well-pressed in grey slacks and a crisp white shirt. He strode across the kitchen and bent to kiss Leda on the cheek. “How have you been?”
“Well, thank you, sir.” She brushed a light hand down his muscled arm and smiled. “And incredibly thankful Jonash called me back to service. I’ve missed this.”
Once again I thought of Elora and the way she ran our household back at Haven. The more mouths to feed the better, nothing was ever an imposition and everyone was always welcome. Leda and Elora were cut from the same cloth.
She swept a hand and gestured to the room. “These halls have been silent too long.”
Rowan’s smile faltered. He turned his back and reached into a cabinet for a mug. He shifted a few around and when he faced us again he wore a mask of perfect contentment. “I left money on your desk for the market. Take care not to draw attention to the fact that we have mouths to feed. The last thing we need is for the Queen’s Guard to end up here again.”
Leda paled and then gathered our empty plates. “I shall be discreet.”
Rowan abandoned the idea of coffee and headed toward the hall. As he passed by, he threw me a gut-wrenching stare.
Was I meant to follow him?
I thanked Leda and hurried behind. His long, smooth stride ate the distance of the massive halls like nothing. He didn’t even seem aware that I was with him. Or he didn’t care.
After a maze of halls and two flights of stairs my cheeks were starting to burn. “Hey, Doc. What did I do now? Obviously, you’re pissed and my keen intuition says it’s directed at me.”
Rowan turned on me and I fought not to recoil. The eyes that locked on mine were blazing and cold.
“Okay, definitely pissed and definitely at me.”
He turned again and the walk of the tempest continued. I followed at a safe distance, watching the tension in his broad shoulders as he stomped through his house. I’d been struck dumb by the strength in his arms and back the other night at the forge, but his butt was rather spectacular too. And his gait, uh-huh, he strode like a predator stalking a kill.
I swallowed hard, knowing exactly who the kill was this morning.
What did I do? That question seemed to be at the root of all my troubles through the years—with Bruin, with Jade, with the multitude of people who I had inadvertently offended—but this time, I honestly didn’t know.
Around another corner and up to the third floor. When we came to a set of ornately carved orichalcum doors, Rowan jolted to a stop, his palms resting on both handles.
Standing behind him I could see the violent flex and hollow of his stubbled jaw as the rest of him remained utterly still. Without warning he rammed his forehead against the door panels. Once. Twice. I leapt forward as he cranked on the handles and sent them sailing.
Shit. The master suite.
The room was stunning. The far wall backed onto the tiered glass atrium. From this side, I couldn’t hear the trickle of water, but the scampering shadows of a never-ending waterfall plummet flickered against the lit glass. A huge canopy bed nudged against it, the lush, heavy draperies hanging in a silver and violet brocade. As Rowan’s fingers trailed down the fringed edge of the drapery, the fury in his frame seemed to drain.
“I never came back.” His voice was dead as he sank onto the violet duvet. “I didn’t want to see this house without them in it. I swore I’d only come back once I reclaimed our family honor and found a way to free Elani from her sentence.”
“But here you are.”
“Yup, here I am.” He fingered the stitching of the bedspread, his head bowed so his hair covered his face. “The Queen’s whore, the embarrassment of the Fifth sector, an utter failure as a Noble, son, and brother.”
“The game’s not over yet. From where I stand, I’d say you’re doing okay. You’ve kept Elani alive this long. Tell me what happened at the palace?”
He winced. “What?”
“Ew, gods, I wasn’t asking about that, I just meant . . . did the Queen seem angry? Did she know you helped me?”
He shook his head.
“Then we still have time to figure out a plan. We’ll get Elani out of the palace and we’ll figure out a way to keep the Strati from ever coming for either of you again.”
As I fell into the green-gold depths of his gaze his expression hardened. “You’re a dangerous woman, Alexannia Grace.” He launched off the bed and opened a drawer of the bureau. “I can’t afford to believe in your promises. Elani is all I have left.”
“I would never do anything to endanger—”
“Intentionally, maybe,” he spat, “but you put people in danger. You stir up trouble. You wreak havoc and innocent people pay your dues. I don’t think you realize how reckless you are, even after your friend’s death.”
The fissure left in my heart from Tham’s death cracked wider. “I’m sorry you’re raw about coming here, Rowan, but you re-opened that wound, not me. I would have found somewhere to stay, if not at Balor’s—”
“Please,” he snorted, venom thick in his voice. “The Queen’s spies would have notified her the moment you set foot near the townhouses. But you knew that, didn’t you?”
I gripped the bedding, trying not to lunge. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means I see through your poor, displaced-orphan routine. There’s nothing weak about you, Princess.” He swept his arm across his front and gave an exaggerated bow. “You’re just getting the lay of the land. Hell, you’ve been orchestrating things since you got here.”
“If you believe that bullshit, you don’t know me at all.”
“I know Terran, Coal, and I have had our lives upended. We used to know how to manage the status quo, now we’re skirting death just by being part of your life. Shit, I walked into my own kitchen just now and you had three soldiers sitting up and panting on your every word like puppets.” His eyes narrowed. “Your mother has that same gift.”
I was off the edge of the bed before his words had even sunk in. “I’m the one caught in the perfect storm here, Doc. I’m riding this wave and trying not to choke on the surf or get crushed on the rocks. In four days, I’ve lost my home, watched my father’s head roll, found out my mother is a demon-bitch from the depths of hell and held my best friend as he died—”
“Poor Tham.” He scrubbed his palm across his unshaven jaw and laughed. He actually fucking laughed. “My point exactly. Even with you in another realm your undercurrent was strong enough to tow him in and drag him under.”
My fist connected with his face hard and fast. Rowan’s head flipped back like a snapped rubber band. I grabbed his crisp, white shirt and swung him to the ground. When he back-flatted on the floor I landed my knee in his chest and pinned him.
“You bastard.” Choking on fury and anguish my hands wrapped around his throat. “Don’t you ever . . . laugh about Tham’s murder.”
He glared at me, his Adam’s apple pressing hard on the flesh of my palm, his left eye doing a serious water and blink from where I’d nailed him.
My temper exploded through every cell in my body and I thought I might kill him. But before I gave in to slamming his skull against the floor I remembered the last time I’d lost my cool. The aftermath of that little tantrum with Mika was something I truly didn’t want to repeat.
“Again I thought we were almost friends. My mistake.” I released my grip and strode for the open double doors. “Forget it. Forget everything.”
I raced past the naked marble statue. Through the room I shared with Coal. The bathroom door slammed behind me and I twisted the lock. I slid down the wall and let my ass bottom out on the cool, marble tile. My trembling arms hung off my knees and my head dropped back.
What the hell was I doing here? Closing my eyes, I fought the tide of emotions threatening to detonate and take out a city block. If one more thing happened, I was going to lose it and it would be a scene or horror like you read about.
Knock. Knock.
I was on my feet. I flung the door open, screeching a particularly colorful string of curses—except it wasn’t Rowan. “Coal,” I choked, my eyes glassing up. He stood wide-eyed, ginger hair poking away from his head in tufts. I’d forgotten he was sleeping in the bed. I probably scared the crap out of him when I slammed the door. “Oh, gods, buddy. I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”
The frozen uncertainty blanketing the kids face was more than I could take. Now I was scaring a little boy? My hands were trembling, my back aching, my pulse thundering in my ears. My chest was so tight that I’d swear no air would ever pass through my lungs again.
I sunk to my knees and opened my arms and he didn’t hesitate. “I’m sorry,” I breathed against his soft neck. The wall of moisture brimming my eyes began to fall. I hugged him tighter. “I’m angry, but not at you. We’re good.”
I pulled back and cupped his lean face in my hands. He looked so lost it broke my heart. “You and I will always be good. You don’t know me well yet, but you’re mine now. I’ll die before I let anything happen to you, okay.”
He leaned back and read my expression.
I lifted my wrist up and let the golden hawk of my Talon brand appear on the surface of my skin. “I swear, on my honor as a warrior and your guardian, that you and I are a team. You aren’t alone in this world anymore.”
His hug clutched even tighter the second time around.
Rowan appeared in the doorway. “Could I, uh . . . talk to you a minute?”
I let Coal go and brushed my tears away. “I’ve heard enough from you for a lifetime.”
He stared at the marble floor of the bathroom. “I’d like to apologize to you properly. In private.”
I stepped behind Coal, pulled him against me and crossed my hands over his chest. He was the tiniest shield imaginable, but I felt better having him there. “The only thing I’m interested in is how to start the shower. Once I get cleaned up, Coal and I will be making tracks.”
“You don’t need to. I don’t want you to go.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t care what you want. I won’t stay here. You’ve made it clear what you think of me. I won’t hear any more from you—”
“Marry me.”
My jaw fell slack. “What?”
“You heard me.” He rammed his fisted hands deep into the pockets of his slacks. “You have to marry a Noble within the next three days anyway and Zale’s a womanizing prick—”
“And you’re a prick of a different breed,” I snapped. “And as proposals go, that sucked by the way.”
His jaw clenched and hollowed. “I believe we want the same things for Attalos. You care about justice and people . . . and you can’t deny we’ve got incendiary chemistry.”
“So, does a Molotov cocktail, but I won’t be hitting the horizontal with one of those either. Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice . . .” I shook my head. “Not interested.”
He exhaled and ran a rough hand through his bronze waves. “I was an asshole. No argument. But you can’t begin to understand how out of my mind I am after a night of . . .” He looked at Coal and stepped inside the bathroom. “Are you really going to make me do this in front of him? Because I’m not leaving until you hear me out.”
I thought about twisting the knife. Laughing at Tham’s death was unforgiveable, but Coal was an innocent bystander in this mess. After a deep inhale, I bent down and kissed the top of his head. “Hey, buddy. You slept through breakfast. Why don’t you go to the kitchen? Ms. Leda saved you some of the casserole she made for me and Terran this morning.”