by Olivia March
“Very well. We will all go get some rest now. And when you come inside this tent to bed down, Tohran, best you make yourself as invisible as possible. The presence of my mate won’t stop me from killing you if you make yourself a nuisance.”
Nefarion stalked back inside the tent as his men dispersed to their own tents. They’d be doing rotating patrols around the tents and the camp, but Nefarion would spend the entire night protecting Annabelle and resting with her. He ignored Tohran when he entered behind him, and looked around for his mate. When he saw she’d already taken advantage of the bed he went to the corner and began to systematically remove all his armor and weapons. Only when he was down to the skin did he dim the lights and approach the bed where Annabelle was pretending to be asleep.
Nefarion didn’t bother to call her out on it. With his enhanced senses, he’d always be able to understand more about her than she’d ever want him to. That didn’t mean he’d let her know, it was more fun to let her believe that she was getting something by him. He also ignored her body tensing when he got into the bed and joined her under the covers. In turn she pretended to ignore it when he spooned her and wrapped his large body all around her much smaller one.
He was annoyed though by the feel of her sleep clothes against his naked body. Annabelle had the softest, most beautiful skin he’d ever encountered, covering the most wonderful curves. He loved the feel of them against his own, much harder body. Of course, if they were both naked it would be next to impossible to keep himself from seducing her. And then he’d have to fight with Tohran and things would get bloody. For now, he contented himself with spooning, and pressing his lips to the vulnerable spot under her chin. And when she finally realized that he wasn’t going to go any further than that, Annabelle’s body slowly relaxed into his before falling into real slumber.
Nefarion took his time though. He soothed himself with the sound of her deep breathing, watched the rise and fall of her chest. It was amazing what a comforting sight it was just to see the object of his affections breathing. When his mother had been killed, the stillness of her body, the lack of breath, had been the worst. Because it was then that he knew his mother was gone forever, all that warm, giving light extinguished. He’d tried to breathe life back into her, but it had been a futile effort.
Annabelle was here though. He was safely wrapped all around her, and she was warm, and breathing, and finally getting the kind of rest she’d been deprived of these last few months. If it took everything he had, up to his own life, he’d make sure that her heart stayed beating, and her lungs continued to draw air. That was more important to him than every mission, and every person. Nefarion allowed himself to be lulled to sleep eventually, but not before assuring himself that Tohran was on guard as were his men. Let the traitor try to kill Annabelle. He’d fail, and then he’d suffer.
* * * *
There was another one in camp now. Human females would overrun this camp soon if he didn’t make headway on eliminating them. That, or grabbing them to serve the Scourge. Worse, that bastard Nefarion had managed to find Mithrain. Mistakes like this got stupid bastards caught, and he wasn’t usually stupid. It had been too tempting to allow Mithrain to die slowly, to bleed to death, instead of just finishing him when he had the chance. But now Mithrain was back in camp, and he had seen his face, had seen him go in for the backstab.
The situation had officially become untenable. If he stayed to see if Mithrain regained consciousness, he’d almost definitely be caught. But if he left now, his disappearance with be noted and assumptions made. And if his absence was noted too quickly, a team would be dispatched to return him to camp for rough Keeper justice. What to do…In truth there was only one path forward if he was to continue with his mission here; Mithrain had to die. If he was dead, then there’d be no one to connect him to the crime. But how to do that when he was surrounded by guards and was being tended to by Healer Nathal constantly was the question.
He was getting heartily sick of planet Earth. Ever since they’d arrived none of his schemes had gone as planned. That bitch Gwen was not only still alive, but was blooming with the heir to Arloren inside her belly. Mithrain hadn’t died from his wounds when that should have been a guarantee. How he had survived that was an annoying mystery. And the surprise Scourge attack on Helion’s war camp had been an abysmal failure. If something didn’t go right for him soon he’d be dead, by Keeper hands or Scourge ones.
Perhaps there was a way to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. He wanted both Mithrain and Nefarion’s bitch dead, Helion’s too if he could manage it. If she wasn’t swelling with yet another princely spawn, then she soon would be. And Shadow Keepers were a benighted race of Keeper that his employers would like to see wiped out more than the rest. If he could take out both the future queen of Balruin and Mithrain, his cover would be secure and he’d earn a hefty bonus from his employer. Not to mention the pleasure that killing those two would give him. Mithrain’s knifing had been swift and done with too soon, he hadn’t gotten to savor the Keepers pain above a moment. And when he had more time, he could come up with a suitable end for Gwen as well.
This time…perhaps poison. Nathal could heal most poisonings if he got to the victim fast enough, so he’d have to rely on a particularly vicious Scourge poison. It would rot Mithrain and the girl from inside out, and he’d make sure to get a seat close enough to the show to be able to watch the agony on their faces before they died. Now he just needed a plan to get both of his victims to ingest it, and anyone else who might be unfortunate enough to get in the way. The simplest way would be to put it in their food, or mayhap their wine. And whatever food or drink was brought to the medic tent as well. That should cover everyone involved, with perhaps bonus victims he wasn’t specifically targeting.
The traitor walked back towards his tent, whistling a tune under his breath. Soon all his current problems would be a thing of the past, and his pockets would be considerably heavier. And his mission in Helion’s camp would go forward, until every last Keeper in this camp was dead, and every Keeper on Earth as well.
Chapter 19
Annabelle woke slowly, realizing almost immediately that she was alone. It would be impossible not to know when Nefarion was sharing a bed with her. Not only did his large form take up a considerable amount of space, but he also radiated a seductive heat completely at odds with his cool demeanor. Waking up with Nefarion would have been nice, but that didn’t stop her from stretching out and snuggling under the covers again for a while. It’d been so long since she’d had a proper bed, she might just stay here all day. Nefarion would be gone with his company on a campaign against the Scourge all day today, so what was to stop her from lingering in bed if she wished?
“Breakfast was delivered some time ago, Annabelle, but I was loathe to wake you. It should still be warm enough to enjoy though if you get up and eat it now.”
Annabelle groaned, raising one eyelid to see it was indeed Tohran staring down at her and speaking when she wanted silence. How could she have forgotten that he’d be around today even when Nefarion was not? It didn’t make much sense for him to be here when the rest of their company was off fighting, that’s why. Perhaps she could talk Helion into borrowing Tohran as a bodyguard only when Nefarion was on the premises. It’s not like she needed protection from anyone else, and Tohran had just disturbed what had promised to be an epic day of bed lounging. Much deserved bed lounging.
“I suppose I am hungry,” she admitted grudgingly, sitting up with the greatest reluctance. Only the smell of something truly delicious was enough to get her out of the bed though, and she hadn’t eaten much the night before when tensions had been so high. So, she slumped over to the table and looked at all the tasty offerings there. For all that they were in a war zone, the Keepers didn’t stint on the food, everything looked amazing. She chose some sausage and some pancakes, heavily doused in syrup. And then to feel healthier she consumed some strawberries and grapes, with some tart, tangy orange juice
.
“You have a healthy appetite little human, that’s good. You’ll need to build up your strength if you’re to be the mate of our prince.”
Annabelle looked up from her food reluctantly, wanting to eat more but knowing she couldn’t allow such a comment to go unchallenged. One of Nefarion’s men stood just inside the tent flap, Ronin if she remembered correctly. He was as tall as Nefarion, with the same Asian cast to his features, but he seemed somehow more vicious than the Keeper she’d surrendered her body to. He seemed like a man who’d been treated very harshly by life and was embittered by it.
“Since I have no intention of being anyone’s mate, my eating habits shouldn’t trouble your mind,” she replied. She was tempted to leave the rest of her pancakes on the plate out of principle, but they were too good to go to waste, so she tucked back into them.
“Do you really believe that? Even with twenty-four-hour surveillance from Helion’s pet, our prince could have you in moments if he wished. And he won’t ever allow you to leave him, despite your protests to the contrary. The prince is being generous in allowing you this ‘courtship period,’ but everyone knows how this will end. Even you.”
Ronin advanced into the room as he spoke, curling a lip at the silent Tohran sitting again to Annabelle’s left. Testosterone charged up very quickly between the two, making that large breakfast she’d just consumed churn hard in her stomach. She still had her doubts on whether pretty Tohran could take on even one of Nefarion’s men, much less Nefarion himself. And Ronin looked like a particularly brutal opponent to go up against.
Tohran looked as indifferent today as he had last night though. He continued to eat his own breakfast, like Ronin hadn’t even spoken. He even added extra food to Annabelle’s plate, and she ate some to be polite. And when it became apparent that Tohran wasn’t going to rise to the bait of being called Helion’s pet, Ronin grabbed himself a plate and sat across from them. It wasn’t a comfortable breakfast in the slightest, but at least she’d gotten hot, well-prepared breakfast in her stomach for the first time in ages.
“Are you both going to be shadowing me all day?” she asked when she was done eating. In truth, she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her day. She’d brought a couple of her favorite books from her hideout, but sitting in the tent reading a book while these two had a staring contest sounded the very opposite of appealing.
“I will be,” Tohran replied, taking another drink of his tea. “But I understand that charming Ronin will be switching out with Tegan after lunch.”
“In that case, do you suppose Gwen would like some company? It’d be nice to have some real conversation with another woman after so many months in isolation.”
Tohran tilted his head, and Annabelle assumed he was doing the mind-link trick that Nefarion had told her about. Such an amazing ability that was. How she’d love to be able to communicate with Nefarion without ever opening her mouth. Before the invasion, she’d been a huge fan of her iPhone, because it allowed her social interactions without necessitating much person to person contact. With Nefarion she loved the person to person, but being able to talk to him over long distances and without anyone else knowing what they were saying would have been amazing.
“Gwen says she’d love the company,” Tohran finally replied. “Verdun is sending over some clothing in your size. When you’re dressed, I will take you to Commander Helion’s tent. Ronin, feel free to inform the shadow cohort of Annabelle’s plans for the day.”
And so it was that under an hour later, Annabelle was headed back to see the only other human in the camp, her ally. She had Tohran on her left and Ronin on her right, and she had a sneaking suspicion that other Shadow Keepers were following them as well. She knew there were a dozen total, but only one would be obviously attached to her during the day. It was an annoyance to be so closely watched, but for her own safety she was willing to compromise some privacy. Up to a point anyway.
“Annabelle! It’s so good to see you! How did you sleep?” Gwen was walking towards her with a beautiful baby in her arms, and Annabelle felt her uterus react involuntarily. She’d never been pregnant, and hadn’t really considered being a mom any time soon. That’s why she had the IUD after all. But there was something so beautiful and peaceful about Gwen with one daughter in her arms and another child growing in her stomach.
“I slept wonderfully well, if it wasn’t for that delicious breakfast that was delivered I doubt I would have left that bed for the entire day.”
“I felt the same way when I got to sleep in my new bed here in this tent after months on the run with my daughter. More often than not I sat on the cold ground, trying to catch a few winks before we moved on again.”
Annabelle took the seat Gwen gestured her towards and when Gwen sat down too she settled in for a nice chat. It was amazing to be able to relate her experiences to another real person, another human. It’d been so long since she’d seen one, except for those men who’d tried to hurt her. As someone who usually liked to limit her day to day interactions with people, it was odd to feel so compelled to seek out another’s company and chat like they were old friends, but there was nothing more than Annabelle wanted in the world right now than to feel connected.
“I got lucky in that regard I suppose. When my town was attacked, I stumbled across a house that had been, for lack of a better word, exploded. But they had a basement that was accessible from some sunken stairs, and I was able to hide the entrance to that and get inside.”
“Weren’t you worried that the house would collapse on you, if it was so damaged?” Gwen casually covered her chest with a cloth and arranged her daughter to feed while she spoke, and Annabelle was slightly awed by how easy she made it look. Annabelle had always thought that breastfeeding in public would be awkward and difficult, but Gwen hadn’t missed a step in the conversation.
“I was at first, but honestly I’d rather have died by a building collapsing on me that get caught by the Scourge. I could hear people screaming from where I was hiding. I know I should have done something…I should have tried to save some of them. There was enough room in that basement to sleep at least six or more people, and there was food stocked up down there too. But I was too scared to go back out.”
Annabelle looked down when she admitted her shame. Gwen had been out in the world with a tiny infant daughter to care for when the invasion began. And she’d selflessly protected her child at every turn, she was truly brave. Annabelle had cowered in that basement and allowed people to die all around her without lifting a finger to give aid. Even if she had died in the attempt, at least she’d have died with some dignity. But she hadn’t been able to convince herself that a death she could be proud of was better than not dying at all.
“I think you’re being too hard on yourself Annabelle. If you’d left your hiding place you would have died, no doubt about that. You can’t help anyone if you’re dead. But instead you’re alive right now, and you have a chance to still do some good. I heard from Helion that you were there when he discovered one of the refugee camps had been decimated?”
“Yes, I was there,” Annabelle admitted with a sigh. “I don’t even like thinking about that place. Nefarion had told me they were safe from Scourge attacks, and after those men had tried to rape me he thought a camp would be safer than me staying out on my own. But when we got there everyone was dead.”
“Only the men though,” Gwen mused, switching the baby around to burp. “That part has been bothering me for days. When the Scourge first attacked, it seemed like they didn’t have any discretion over who they killed; men, women, children, it didn’t seem to matter. The fact that they’ve started taking women hostage instead of killing them outright…the possibilities are not comforting.”
Annabelle nodded, thinking back on the camp grimly. She wanted to wipe that memory from her mind completely, but Gwen was right. Even in conflicts between different countries and races right here on Earth, the kidnapping of women and children was never anything good.
Women were frequently used as pawns, as spoils, as less than human even without adding aliens into the mix. When you considered what purpose such a brutal race of creatures could have for Earth women, the mind just recoiled.
“I can’t imagine what those poor women must be suffering, if they’re even still alive. Has your husband been investigating that issue much?”
“He sent out his best scout to nearby camps to check on their wellbeing. And of the five that were checked, three have been wiped out, all the younger women taken. Human authorities have been informed that the camps are compromised, but there’s really nothing that can be done except to try to add more security to the camps. High Commander Bron, Helion’s superior, has called for a policing force of Keepers from their home world. Those soldiers won’t do active campaigning, their job will be to keep those camps secure from the Scourge and to call for aid if they are attacked. Still…”
“What’s the matter?” Annabelle asked, sensing Gwen was holding something back.
“Those camps…even without the new threat of Scourge attacks, I don’t think they’re safe. I heard rumors about them when I was traveling around like a nomad. Horrible stories of women having to pay for food and a place to sleep with sex, and how the elderly and the very young were given only scraps to live on because doling out food to those who couldn’t work to earn their keep was considered a waste. Helion almost took me to one of those places when he first found me, and I literally had to beg him not to.”
Annabelle sat back in her chair, considering everything Gwen had said. She absolutely believed that there were unscrupulous men in those camps who behaved this way. Hadn’t several human men tried to attack her just a week ago? They had intended on raping, and probably murdering, her without a second thought. She hated the idea of going to one, right down to her soul. But if she didn’t stay with Nefarion, where would that leave her? Wandering as Gwen had done as a nomad, or going to one of the camps seemed her only two options. And it seemed that neither one was safe.