by Liliana Hart
Julian had sent a telepath as strong as I was to greet me. Maybe even stronger. Other than Calista, I wasn’t even aware that someone like this existed. Was she an Enforcer? This was a question I was sure as hell going to ask.
But for whatever reason, Julian had sent her for me. And it wasn’t a good sign. Even in times of war there were rituals to be upheld, and I’d assumed Julian would follow tradition. I’d fully expected a ceremonial greeting as soon as I’d gotten off the plane. Stupid me.
“Halt. And come to me.”
My feet stopped moving before I could control myself, but I didn’t turn around. I kept my breathing calm and slowed my heart rate so my powers would be more effective. I didn’t know how the voice had penetrated my shield. No one had ever been able to breach it before. Not even Calista.
I built the layers, brick by brick, in my mind so the wall was higher and stronger than ever. Chants for protection rolled off my tongue as I effectively shut out the voice. I gained control of my feet and broke into a run, veering my course from the restrooms to the outside of the airport. I needed to put as much distance between us as possible.
The walls of protection I’d built so carefully exploded behind my eyes. Shards of power stabbed at my skull like thousands of needles, and I hunched over, grasping the sides of my head with my hands to contain the pain. Nausea rolled in my stomach. My vision went black. I couldn’t tell if I was still standing or if I was horizontal on the ground.
“Come to me, Rena. I will not harm you. Yet.”
I wanted to scream out, to fight back. To do something. But I couldn’t. The power grew, and I knew whomever the voice belonged to was getting closer. My vision came back and the nausea ebbed. I was still standing. Yippee. My panic escalated as my feet refused to move. My heart pounded harshly in my chest until I thought it might explode from the exertion. I was a sitting target for whoever was coming my way, and no matter how I tried to escape the one controlling me, I couldn’t budge.
I gathered my courage and turned to see who had enough power to render my body useless. I had to look up—way up—to see the face of the woman who had power over me. In her eyes I saw death. She was close to seven feet tall. Her skin was the darkest ebony and her eyes were as black as a starless sky. Skinny braids framed her face and trailed down her back. She was dressed in black leather—a three-button vest that displayed muscular shoulders, pants that looked as if they’d been sewn on like a second skin, and boots that laced in a crisscross pattern up the sides and ended just above the knee.
She was an Ancient, and her power could kick my ass. If Julian had clan members this strong then I was afraid to witness his power. I needed to get as much distance between us as possible and give myself time to think. Julian had obviously decided to dispense with all proprieties and call for all-out war. I’d be glad to accommodate him. Just as soon as I spoke to the remaining Council members to see how they wanted to proceed. It would probably take a small army for us to take someone of his abilities down.
But first things first. I had to break her hold over me.
What I planned to do wouldn’t feel good. In fact, it would probably hurt worse than when she’d broken my shields earlier. But I was left without a choice. I slowed my breathing and drew in every ounce of power I had. It gathered in my stomach and pulsed in time with my dragon fire. This fire wasn’t hot like it was when I was angry. This fire was cold—the color in my mind eerily green when I pictured it—and my flesh pebbled even as sweat gathered at my temples from the concentration it took to maintain it in such a focused space.
The warrior woman came closer and tried to speak to me again, but I didn’t hear what she said. I couldn’t wait any longer. With a scream of torment I shoved all my power and the hold she had over me back at her. I pushed it with a vengeance I didn’t know I had. I stumbled as I felt it hit the solid wall of her body. She gasped in surprise, but she didn’t falter. I’d done what I’d set out to do. I was free of her. For now.
I ran through the sliding glass doors of the airport, where the world was no longer frozen in time, and hopped in the back of a waiting taxicab. I shoved an undetermined amount of money at the driver who stared at me in horror.
“Step on it,” I yelled. Blood dripped steadily from my nose and onto my silk blouse. My ears rang loudly enough that I was partially deaf, and the inside of my mouth was dry with terror.
The driver floored it and I fell back into the seat, rapping my head against the side window. I turned around and watched her run outside and after the cab. She stopped and stared at me, her concentration fierce, but I was far enough from her circle of power that I could shield against her. The cab squealed around the corner, and all the aches and pains of using so much power at one time made themselves known. The burning acid of bile rose up in my throat. I barely got the door open before I vomited all over the pavement.
Chapter Nine
I needed to disappear for a while. I had the cab driver drop me at a small hotel that looked as if it had passed its heyday more than a century before. There weren’t security cameras or nosy doormen. They took cash and didn’t ask questions. I paid for the room, and the man behind the counter didn’t even bother to look at my face as he took my money. Perfect.
I requested a room on one of the lower levels. I didn’t want to be surprised in the middle of the night by a dragon entering through my balcony doors. I had no luggage. I’d dropped my carry-on with the extra change of clothes in it as soon as Julian’s greeting committee had tried to mind rape me, and my luggage was probably still sitting on the conveyor belt at the airport. The only reason I still had my purse was because I’d put the strap across my body to free up my hands.
Alasdair should have already been with the Council, getting the warrant I’d requested and informing the other Archos of what was happening. It was starting to look like Julian could be the guilty party in the murders after all. Why would he go to such trouble to try to control me if he wasn’t?
My hotel room was tiny but functional. Meaning it had a bed and a bathroom. The walls were exposed brick. The carpet was a utilitarian grey. Hazy watercolors hung on the walls and a TV was bolted to a small stand. An exposed bulb in the center of the ceiling was the only source of light in the room. The bed was a full size and covered in a wildly patterned quilt of pinks and greens. But the sheets looked clean. Unfortunately, I wasn’t.
I went into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. Dried blood covered my face, and dark circles were shadowed under my eyes. My hair had come out of the clip I’d pulled it back with and hung limply in my face.
I washed the blood off my face and rinsed my mouth out, using the amenity mouthwash that was on the sink. I’d take time for a full shower once I finished calling the Council. Then I planned to fall face first into the bed and sleep twelve hours straight.
I picked up the phone. My hand was steadier than it should have been as I dialed the number for this year’s Council headquarters. It was an office building in Manhattan, fully staffed with secretaries and assistants to each Archos, with the exception of Julian whose personal staff resided in his home. Because of the feud between each Archos, we also had office buildings in London and the Russian Federation. Headquarters for the Council rotated from year to year, so it wouldn’t seem as if they were being called to meet with one specific Archos. They didn’t want to give each other the opportunity to claim a false right as king.
If an emergency call came through to headquarters, then each Archos would be called and asked to meet about the situation. Only if they thought it was important enough. Most of the time, they didn’t.
The Council should have already been in communication, issuing the warrant for me to kill the Destroyer and all those who followed him. The fact that I suspected Julian was the Destroyer was going to make the Council extremely happy. Drakán in general would be terribly jealous of Julian’s powers and see him as someone who could be a viable contender for the throne to rule all the clans. Th
ey’d want to see his power destroyed, and Julian obviously didn’t have an equal in his own clan or they would have challenged him for the position of Archos.
Julian had already broken the law by threatening me when I’d come into the country. If he really was the Destroyer I wouldn’t even have to wait on the warrant of execution from the Council to legally kill him. The problem was, I had no idea how to kill someone of his power. All I’d brought with me was the crossbow with poisoned spikes and the canisters of dragon’s fire Erik had made for me. I’d gotten the weapons on the plane by controlling the minds of the TSA agents as I went through security. Usually the crossbow and the canister of dragon’s fire was all I needed to kill a Drakán. Unfortunately, my tools of the trade were no longer in my possession.
Before I could finish dialing, electricity crackled across the room. The hairs on my arms stood on end. The temperature dropped to freezing, and ice formed on the mirrors. I touched my finger to it and condensation snaked in different patterns until drops of water gathered in a puddle at the bottom. This was a kind of magic I’d never seen before. White puffs of air left my mouth with every exhalation, and I found it hard to move my limbs. My blood slowed to a sluggish crawl under my skin. I was literally freezing to death.
“Congratulations on your little victory today, Rena.”
The voice in my head lay across my skin like a blanket, warming me and causing my body to convulse with shivers.
“You outmaneuvered my Bellator. Not an easy task for anyone.”
A Bellator was what my ancestors had called the warriors of the Drakán Realm—hulking beasts who protected our lands, whose talons were as long and sharp as cutlasses and whose teeth could shred thick dragon skin with one bite. They were defenders of our people. I’d not heard of any Bellators being born since the Banishment.
“Who are you?” It was hard to get the words past my lips. All I wanted to do was sleep. I collapsed to my knees on the threadbare carpet. I leaned my head against the dresser to keep from falling over, but it slumped at an odd angle. I didn’t have the strength to move it.
“Surely you know who I am, Rena Drake. You already have your perception of me formed in your mind. Do you not recognize the voice of the man you have already found guilty?”
“Julian?”
“Ahh, so you do know who I am. Then let me begin by extending an invitation to stay with me at my home while you are in my territory. The offer will be my restitution for the lack of ceremony I gave you on your arrival.”
I didn’t have the ability to form words anymore, so I replied telepathically. “Thank you for your generous offer. There’s no need to go to the trouble. I’m perfectly comfortable staying in a hotel during my stay. I’ll call on you formally tomorrow.”
His laughter rang in my ears. “I must insist on your staying with me while you’re visiting. How would it look to your family if something untoward happened while you were here? You’d be under my protection. They’d blame me.”
“Sending your Bellator for me is an interesting way of showing your protection. It is an insult to me and my clan.”
“Perhaps. But I’m afraid I must insist on your coming to me.” The voice in my head held a thread of steel that couldn’t be ignored. “Besides, I have your luggage, and your room has already been prepared. Xana is standing outside your door waiting to escort you.”
The chain on my door unlatched itself and the deadbolt turned with a decisive click. The door of my room opened soundlessly and the Bellator came inside, all seven leathered feet of her. I would have run or fought or…done something if I could have made my muscles move. Xana picked me up off the floor like a ragdoll and slung me over her shoulder. The heat from her body warmed me immediately, and I moaned at the sudden flare of warmth, even as my teeth began to chatter.
“I look forward to making your acquaintance in person, Rena Drake. You intrigue me. There are so very few of my enemies I can say that about anymore. Adieu, for now.”
His last words slithered silkily through my head. I felt strangely bereft as he left me.
Xana threw me in the back of a sleek, black limousine and climbed in behind me. I sat stiffly on the soft leather seat as the numbness from the cold pricked like thousands of tiny needles across my skin. She sat across from me and stared out the window.
Almost as soon as the car left the hotel, we came to a stop. I was finally able to move my arms and legs, and I was determined to meet Julian standing on my own two feet. My skirt was rucked up around my waist, exposing the black lace panties I wore. I pulled it down halfheartedly as the driver opened the limo door. He extended his hand to help me out, keeping his eyes averted. He was human. I wondered if he knew who he was working for.
I stood unsteadily and noticed I’d lost a shoe somewhere along the way.
“Come,” Xana said.
I looked up and for the first time noticed where we’d stopped. “Julian lives at Chateau de Longévité?” I asked.
It was centuries old and built in the exact center of the city. I’d never seen it before in person, but I’d seen plenty of pictures of the famous landmark. It was as distinctive as the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower, and decidedly French in its femininity. It was three stories of black stone and glass, surrounded by impressive towers of different sizes at each corner.
“It is the heart of our city. It is fitting for Julian to reside here, no?”
I decided to agree to disagree with her on this point. I figured anything I said would get me in nothing but more trouble.
The chateau was built on a hexagonal piece of lush green land that stood out amid the concrete of the city. It was protected on all sides by a twelve-foot iron and stone fence. Armed guards stood at attention by the front gates and at sporadic intervals around the palace. Again, the guards were human. I wondered why Julian used them at all. Maybe he just wanted to keep a steady food supply close at hand. I couldn’t imagine he cared for them.
I happened to like working with the human authorities on occasion. I found their customs and beliefs intriguing and the simplicity of their minds refreshing. I also enjoyed watching the extremes of their emotions. They never did anything halfway, and were never afraid to let their feelings known. They weren’t judged as weak if they fell in love or if they cried. They were just thought of as…human.
I looked for possible escape routes as I followed Xana past the security guards, through a well-tended garden of red roses and around an enormous fountain. The arched front doors were thick dark wood, and beveled glass curved fluidly around the arch. It would be impossible to get in or out of the palace without being seen. Cars drove at breakneck speeds each way on the roundabout that surrounded the chateau—each person behind the wheel completely oblivious to the horrors that lived inside such hallowed walls.
Xana pushed me in the back, and I stumbled forward. I straightened my spine and lifted my chin. No matter what happened, I wouldn’t cower in front of Julian and shame my family. I was the daughter of an Archos after all, and I deserved a certain amount of respect. Julian didn’t need to know that respect was the last thing I ever got from my own father. But I was here, and I was determined to see that I got it. For once.
Chapter Ten
I’d been left waiting for almost an hour in Julian’s great room. It was well past midnight, and I was going to need to sleep soon. It had been more than forty-eight hours. Normally I could go longer, but my body had taken a beating the last two days and needed the rest.
The great room was stark and cold. Black tiles of granite covered the floors and walls. Probably because it was the easiest way to hide blood. There were no windows. Gilded chandeliers hung from the ceilings. They were lit with actual candles. And there was only one set of very large double doors—one way in, one way out.
The room was completely empty except for a dark red velvet throne trimmed in gold. It sat high up on a platform. Whoever sat there would have a full view of the entire room. It was hard for me to keep from thinking t
hat with a chair that big, Julian had to be compensating for something.
Laughter floated through my head like a silky caress, and the chamber doors opened with a resounding thud. I turned to face the man whom I suspected to be the Destroyer. I didn’t bother to smooth down my skirt or check my appearance when he walked in. I was past the point of caring what I looked like. The anger that had been lying dormant for the last hour surged violently at the sight of him.
The man who entered was huge, at least five inches over six feet, and built of solid muscle—built like the savage warrior his father had been. His chest and shoulders were broad. His waist trim. Hair as dark as midnight hung just past his shoulders in soft waves. The dark suit he wore fit him as if he’d been born in it.
But it was his eyes that held me captivated. A clear, pale blue that had no other color variations. There was something in their depths I couldn’t describe. Something not quite safe. And as I looked deeper I saw a promise—a fulfillment I’d never known and could only wish for. I shook my head as if coming out of a trance and broke eye contact. I thought of Noah and had trouble remembering what he’d looked like. What it was I’d felt with him.
“It’s rude to think of another man when you’re with me, don’t you think?” He spoke in the old tongue, so I answered him in kind.
“Stay out of my head. You haven’t been invited.” I drew strength from my anger and faced him down. “And don’t presume that I’m with you in any way other than what I’m forced to be.”
He bowed his head mockingly. “Understood. But just as I haven’t been invited into your head, you were never invited into my lands.”
“I don’t have to be invited. I’m the Enforcer for the Drakán.”
“Not my Drakán,” he interrupted. “Only your clan.”
“Nevertheless. Law states that if my investigations lead me to think another clan is the guilty party, then I have a right to cross into their territory for questioning.”