Aquilla dropped his voice to a menacing snarl. “How dare you blame the Avitras for your own brutality? How dare you come into my house and beg for sympathy—from me?”
“Who begged for sympathy?” Menlo asked.
Aquilla didn’t hear him. “Do you know why you’re here? Do you know why you’re bleeding on my floor tiles right now instead of laughing over your bubbling sanctity in your own country?”
Menlo watched him with patient reserve. “I’m sure you will tell me.”
“You killed my brother!” Aquilla burst out. “You murdered him, and now you’re going to pay the price.”
“I?” Menlo asked. “I killed your brother?”
Aquilla waved his hand. “What difference does it make? An Ursidrean killed him. That’s all that matters. I’ll never rest until I pay every single one of you back for it.”
Menlo arched his eyebrows. “What makes you think an Ursidrean killed him? You people have seen precious little of Ursidreans. You know next to nothing about us.”
“Who else could have killed him?” Aquilla shot back. “He died in the war.”
“Anybody could have killed him,” Menlo replied. “He could have been killed by friendly fire. He could have stepped in front of a cannon as it was going off.”
Aquilla fixed him with a terrible glare. “You’re a prisoner here. Don’t you understand what that means?”
“It means I’m bleeding on your floor tiles right now instead of laughing over my bubbling sanctity in my own country, whatever that means,” Menlo replied. “So your brother died in the war. What of it? My brother died in the war, too. And my mother and my little baby nephew and my great-uncle were all wiped out by the Avitras when they closed up the mouth of refugee shelter outside Harbeiz. You don’t see me taking Avitras prisoners and dragging them back to Ursidrean territory for revenge.”
Aquilla didn’t answer. Faster than thought, he flew across the room and struck Menlo in the face with both fists. Menlo buckled under the blow, and when he collapsed onto the floor, Aquilla fell on him with feet and fists flying. He pummeled the fallen man with blows even after the heavy frame lay still and bleeding at his feet.
Once, Menlo rallied under the hail blows to fight back. He grabbed Aquilla by the ankle and pulled him off his feet. The house shuddered when Aquilla hit the floor, and Menlo brought his elbow down hard across Aquilla’s neck.
Menlo struggled to get up to press his advantage, but he was too big and bulky to move fast enough. The Guards’ rough treatment and Aquilla’s blows slowed him down enough to allow Aquilla to recover from his fall. Menlo got onto his hands and knees and moved toward him, but Aquilla flipped around and locked his legs around Menlo’s waist. With one twist, he sent Menlo crashing back onto the floor, where he kept the upper hand.
Anna and Penelope Ann watched in mute horror. This couldn’t be happening right in front of them. Menlo was the first Ursidrean Anna had ever seen, and now Aquilla was attacking him in their living room. Anna always admired Aquilla for his steady determination and calm leadership. He never lost control before, and now, in front of her eyes, he’d descended into madness.
All at once, black rage erupted from the forgotten depths of her soul. She tackled Aquilla with all her might. She never raised her hand to a living soul before, but something snapped inside her, and she couldn’t stop herself. She slammed her fists into his back and grabbed at his arms. “Stop, Aquilla! Leave him alone. That’s enough.”
Aquilla outweighed her by a ton, and she couldn’t budge him. Then again, she couldn’t hit him very hard. She’d never hit anything before, but she wanted nothing more than to hurt him as much as possible. It was the only way to snap him out of this insanity. In the end, he stopped of his own volition. Menlo lay motionless at his feet. He shoved Anna away. “Leave me alone.”
Anna glared at him and panted to catch her breath. “What’s the matter with you? Can’t you see he’s unconscious?”
He rounded on her, but he kept his voice measured and calm. How he could remain calm at a time like this she could never understand. “Don’t ever interfere between me and my prisoner again.”
Anna shrank back, but she wouldn’t back down. “You already beat him up on the way here. You don’t dare face him in a fair fight, and every word he said just now was true.”
Aquilla turned away. “He’s a murderer. They all are.”
Anna crossed her arms over her chest and looked the other way. What was the point of arguing with him anymore?
Aquilla turned to Penelope Ann. “Come on. You wanted a happy night together after I got back. Let’s go have it.”
Penelope Ann stared at him. Where was her strong steady partner who went off to the frontier, and who was this maniac who took his place? But Penelope Ann didn’t have time to react. Aquilla hooked his arm around her shoulders and guided her out of the room. Just before the two disappeared through the doorway into their own bedroom, Penelope Ann cast one last glance over her shoulder toward Anna.
Their eyes met. The door closed, and silence descended over the house. Anna gazed down at the still form at her feet. Then, all at once, the door flew open again. Aquilla strode across the room and dragged Menlo to the support post holding up the log roof. He tied his wrists behind him to the post before he strode back to his darkened bedroom.
Chapter 4
Anna sat on the couch and stared at the unconscious prisoner. She didn’t dare touch him. Aquilla would fly into another rage if she interfered, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Menlo.
The lamp burned out, and crystal clear moonlight lit up the room. His shoulders rose and fell with grated breathing through the blood in his mouth, but she still didn’t move. The sound punished her for doing nothing. She couldn’t let Aquilla get away with this.
In the small hours of the morning, he stirred and groaned, and when he discovered his wrists tied behind his back, he winced in pain. He struggled against his restraints until he worked himself into a sitting position. He leaned his back against the post, and then his head. He closed his eyes and sighed.
Anna sat motionless and watched in silence. He didn’t know she was there. Why did he fascinate her? She’d seen enough Angondrans that another one didn’t surprise her much. He wasn’t alien enough to make her stop and stare the way she did when she first met the Lycaon. That wasn’t it. His quiet calm in the face of Aquilla’s accusations, his determination to lift himself out of his pain to a sitting position—Anna had never seen anyone act this way.
Before Aquilla went away, Anna thought he was steady and determined and dignified. Now he turned all that on its head. His steady determination and dignified hospitality was nothing but a facade to hide the pathological hatred burning below the surface. No wonder Penelope Ann stared at him in astonishment. She never knew who her mate really was.
Menlo kept his eyes closed, but his breathing settled into a quiet tide now that he sat up straight. Had he gone to sleep? The first glimmer of dawn brought the cries of the tree creatures, and Menlo snapped alert. That’s when he saw her sitting across the room from him.
His eyes flashed once set Anna’s hair on end. Then he sighed and closed them again. His head fell back against the post. “What are you doing here?”
She watched him for a long time without answering. The day expanded outside the window, and in the light, she saw the full extent of his injuries. She compressed her lips. “You must be hungry.”
He didn’t open his eyes. “Don’t offer me that kibble again. I can’t eat that.”
The longer she sat there, the angrier she got. “Did they feed you on the march here? How long has it been since you ate anything?”
He didn’t answer.
She couldn’t sit still anymore. She strode across the room to the counter by the door, but her heart sank when she got there. The Avitras ate nothing but this mixture of nuts and seeds. That was their whole diet. They didn’t hunt or trap animals. There was no
thing else in the house or anywhere else in Avitras territory. She surveyed the counter in despair. Her mind ran through the surrounding forest for anything other than seeds and nuts to feed him.
“If you tell me what you eat,” she told him, “I’ll try to get it for you.”
He muttered under his breath. “Leave me alone. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
Anna spun around. He sat on the floor with his head tilted back against the post. He kept his eyes closed against the growing light, and blood trickled down his temple from a cut above his eye. She pressed her lips together again.
She squatted down in front of him. “I’m trying to help you, Menlo. You won’t survive this if you don’t keep your strength up. Aquilla might want to starve you until you’re too weak to resist, but I won’t let that happen. Let me find you something to eat.”
His eyes squinted open. “You’re one of them.”
She started. “One of what?”
“You’re Avitras,” he replied. “You’re one of them.”
“I am not Avitras. I’m human.” The words startled her, but she couldn’t stop them. They came from some forgotten part of herself, and that part would no longer remain silent.”
“Then what are you doing here?” he asked. “You joined their faction.”
She shook her head. “The Romarie abducted me from my home planet. Their ship crashed here, and I’ve been with the Lycaon for months.”
“I know all about it,” he returned.
Anna blinked. “How could you know about it? All the women on board went to the Lycaon village. They rescued us after the crash.”
“Not all the women went to the Lycaon,” he replied. “The Romarie ship broke up in the atmosphere. One of the women fell out and landed on the Ursidrean border. Our patrol found her, and our medic saved her life. We brought her back to our city for treatment.”
Anna’s blood ran cold. Where had she heard those words before? “You....you know this woman?”
“I told you our patrol rescued her,” he replied. “I suppose I know her as well as any Ursidrean.”
Anna swallowed hard. “What was this woman’s name?”
“Emily Allen,” he replied. “She told us she worked on mountain search and rescue for six years in a place called Prince Rupert. I guess that’s somewhere on your planet.”
Anna frowned. “Emily Allen is my sister.”
Menlo’s eyes flew open. A spark of recognition flashed across his face. Then he instantly recovered his cold reserve. “You’re Avitras now. You lived with the Lycaon for a while, but you joined the Avitras. You’re one of them.”
She shook her head. “I can’t explain why I came over to the Avitras. I guess I wasn’t settling down with the Lycaon. I had nothing to lose by moving. I know Frieda felt the same way.”
“Who?” he asked.
“My other sister,” she replied. “She came with me. We thought a change might help us find our places on this planet. But now.....” She glanced toward Aquilla and Penelope Ann’s room.
He clenched his jaw. “It doesn’t matter. Food won’t help me. He won’t quit until he gets his revenge, and I’m the only Ursidrean around. He’ll find a way to get it from me.”
“Let me help you,” she urged. “Don’t starve yourself to spite Aquilla. You’ll only kill yourself faster.”
He snorted, but didn’t answer.
“Tell me what you usually eat,” she told him. “I’ll find you something.”
“We don’t eat nuts and berries,” he growled. “I can tell you that.”
“What about meat?” she asked. “Do you eat meat?”
His head shot up, and a ray of light crossed his face. Anna smiled. So that was it. He ate meat. “I understand how you feel. I’d give anything for a fried chicken right now.
His chin fell onto his chest. “You won’t be able to find it around here.”
Anna’s smile faded. He had a point. “What else? Do you eat fruit and vegetables?”
He gazed at the floor. “I’m not hungry. Don’t worry about it.”
She leaned back and smiled again. “I’ll find you something. I don’t know what it will be, but I’ll find it for you.”
His eyes shot to her face, but before he could answer, the bedroom door swung open and Aquilla strode into the room. He took one look at Anna squatting in front of his prisoner, and he frowned.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to interfere with my prisoner?” he snapped. “I can’t trust you in my house any longer.”
He slashed the rope tying Menlo’s wrists to the post and took hold of Menlo’s collar. He dragged him across the floor and out the back door. Menlo’s heavy body bumped over the balcony to a windowless store room behind the house. Aquilla flung him into it and barred the door.
When he came back, he pointed a threatening finger at Anna. “Don’t let me catch you doing that again.”
Anna stiffened. “I’ve always respected you, Aquilla. You were kind enough to offer me a place in your house until I found my own home here, and for that I’ll always be grateful. But don’t expect me to go along with your plan to interrogate this man to find your brother’s killer. People die in wars. Be a man and let it go. Your people will be much better off if you do.”
“I’m the Alpha of this faction,” he returned. “I’ll decide what’s best for my people and what isn’t.”
“If your brother died in the war, it couldn’t have been murder,” she told him. “How can I join this faction when the Alpha is obsessed with revenge for a crime that never occurred? What will your people will say when they find out what you’ve done?”
“I’ll be a hero,” he replied. “Every family in this faction lost someone in the war. They’ve been dreaming of revenge ever since.”
Anna shook her head. “If anything happens to that man, you could start another war with the Ursidreans. Your faction won’t make you a hero for that.”
He turned away. “Only an Avitras could understand.”
Anna crossed her arms over her chest. “Then I guess I’m not Avitras.”
Aquilla strode out of the house. He leapt onto the balcony rail and spread his arms. The feathers stood out from his limbs, and he soared away into the rising sun.
Chapter 5
Penelope Ann came up behind Anna, and they gazed over the railing where Aquilla flew away. “You can’t provoke him like that. He could make you pay for it.”
Anna turned on her. “I don’t want to live anywhere in fear of what he might do to make me pay for it. I don’t want to live under tyrant like that. If this is what being Avitras means, then I don’t want to be Avitras. I’ll go back to the Lycaon. They’re sensible people.”
Penelope Ann shook her head. “You don’t understand him. Aquilla is sensible. He’s just eaten up by grief about his brother. You can understand that, can’t you?”
“You can’t seriously be supporting him in this, can you?” Anna shot back. “This is insanity.”
“Well, what can I do about it?” Penelope Ann asked. “Aquilla is my mate. I have to support him.”
“You don’t have to do anything,” Anna countered. “Maybe if you stood up to him, you could stop him.”
“Well, what are you going to do?” Penelope Ann asked.
“The first thing I’m going to do,” Anna replied, “is find Menlo something to eat.”
“You can’t do that,” Penelope Ann told her. “What if Aquilla finds out? He already told you more than once not to interfere.”
“Tell him, if you want to,” Anna replied. “I’ll tell him myself. I’m not going along with this. I won’t stand by and watch him torture an innocent man to feed his appetite for revenge, and neither should you.”
Penelope Ann didn’t answer, and Anna turned her back. She balanced along a tree branch that acted as a bridge between their balcony and the next house. These branch bridges connected all the Avitras houses sp
reading through the forest canopy.
The branch ended at a platform with no house, and Anna paused there to collect her thoughts. She was flirting with disaster to flout Aquilla when she lived as a guest in his and Penelope Ann’s house. She had nowhere else to stay if he threw her out. None of the other Avitras would take her in if she made Aquilla her enemy.
Then again, the Angondran people made their hospitality to strangers a point of honor. Aquilla would never turn her out of his house to go cold and hungry in the wilderness, no matter how mad she made him. Penelope Ann wouldn’t let him, either—would she?
Anna never would have believed Penelope Ann could be so spineless when it came to doing what was right. How could she stand by and let Aquilla mistreat a helpless prisoner right there in their own house? She must have grossly misjudged Penelope Ann. She wasn’t the strong-minded, independent woman Anna thought she was. She went watery in the knees at Aquilla’s word and didn’t think for herself when injustice stared her in the face.
Anna gritted her teeth and turned away from their house. She might be homeless in this world without a friend or relative for thousands of miles, but at least she could do what was right. She might not be able to save Menlo from Aquilla’s vendetta, but at least she could make his ordeal easier. She would prove to him and everyone else she wasn’t like Aquilla. She had to find him something to eat.
Her thoughts turned northeast, toward Ursidrean territory. Her sister Emily was out there somewhere. Just two days before Aquilla brought Menlo to the village, Emily visited her here. She’d trekked south to Lycaon territory to find Anna, Frieda, and their cousin Aimee, and when Aimee told her Anna and Frieda had moved to Avitras territory, she trekked all the way across Lycaon territory to find them.
She found only Anna. Her Ursidrean mate Faruk traveled with her to support and protect her, and not even Frieda’s disappearance could induce Emily to separate from him. The Avitras wouldn’t let him remain in their territory, and Emily left to return with him to the Ursidrean capital.
Damen (Dragons of Kratak Book 2) Page 43