Brant: Science Fiction Romance (Enigma Series Book 11)

by Ditter Kellen

  She snatched up her clothes and had them on in under a minute.

  “Wait,” Brant called as she hurried toward the door.

  She stopped with her hand on the knob but didn’t face him.

  His hands planted against the door on either side of her head. “I’m sorry for whatever I did to upset you. I’m not exactly sober. I know that’s not an excuse, but I have no idea—”

  “You did nothing to hurt me, Brant. Please remove your hands so I may leave.”

  He didn’t move.

  “Please, Brant.”

  Something in her voice must have reached him. His hands slipped away, and the heat from his body disappeared.

  Syrina opened the door, stepped into the hall, and softly closed the door behind her. She waited until she made it out of the building before her first tears of regret began to fall.

  Chapter Thirty

  Brant stood staring at that damn door long after Syrina’s abrupt departure. She’d obviously been ashamed of what happened between them. He’d sensed her regret a second before she shut him out.

  Why did he continue to touch her, knowing fully well that she could never want him as a mate?

  Mate? Where had that word come from? He didn’t want to mate with her any more than she did him. Did he?

  Brant staggered back toward the bed, his mind and heart in turmoil. He hadn’t felt this lost since Melinda… No. This was nothing like his relationship with Melinda.

  He had spent two years loving Melinda. He’d only known Syrina for a matter of weeks. Besides, he didn’t love Syrina.

  Brant recognized the lie the moment he thought it.

  He dropped heavily onto the bed and stared in disbelief at the wall in front of him.

  When had he fallen in love with Syrina? He didn’t know, but he loved her as surely as he’d loved Melinda.

  Another lie, he realized. He loved Syrina more. Brant had never wanted another with the same desperation and urgency that he wanted Syrina. They shared blood, thoughts, feelings, and desire. She belonged with him. She belonged to him.

  He fell back on the bed, his head swimming from shock and too much alcohol. What did all this mean for him? Male Bracadytes could mate just by sharing blood, but the females were not considered as mated until they shared their bodies as well. And Brant hadn’t entered Syrina’s body.

  Promises be damned. He should have taken her…made her his in every way. She would grow to love him in time. He would give her everything she could ever want, build her the nicest rooms, buy her beautiful clothes—

  Bracadytes don’t care about those kinds of things, his mind whispered, cutting off the rest of his thoughts.

  Brant rolled to his stomach, breathing in Syrina’s intoxicating scent.

  Drunk or not, he needed to find her, to tell her how he felt about her.

  Rolling to his feet, he plucked his shirt up from the floor, pulled on his boots, and made his way unsteadily to the door. He had a four-mile walk ahead of him to the entrance of Aukrabah and another forty-five miles to the living quarters. Thank God for the four-wheelers.

  * * * *

  Brant pulled up in front of the great hall, sober now and more than a little anxious to find Syrina.

  He glanced at his watch, realizing it was four in the morning and most everyone would be rising in another hour or two.

  It mattered not. He came to see Syrina, not the rest of the residents of Aukrabah.

  Dismounting the ATV, he hurried down the hall to find the curtain up on Syrina’s room. “May I come in?”

  When no answer came, he tried again. “Syrina?”

  “She is no longer here.”

  Brant cranked his head around to face Pyre. “What do you mean she’s no longer here?”

  Brant was a tall man, standing approximately six-feet-five without his boots on, but Pyre towered over him. He had to be close to the same size as Zyen. And that blond giant stood well over seven feet in height.

  Pyre’s disapproving gaze bored into Brant’s. “She has returned home to Arkadia.”

  Brant’s heart felt as if it would seize up inside his chest. “How? When? Why did she— I just saw her a few hours ago!”

  “I do not know her reasons for leaving. I can only tell you that she wishes to be left alone. I assured her that her wishes would be carried out.”

  A possessive growl rose up in Brant’s throat. He turned completely to face the giant and stepped in close. “Is that a threat?”

  “If it needs to be,” Pyre rumbled, not backing down.

  “Whoa!” Fiona inserted her body between them, her palms flattening on their chests. “What’s going on here?”

  Brant stared over her head, his pissed-off gaze still glued to Pyre’s as he answered his sister. “Syrina’s gone.”

  “I know.”

  That took some of the wind out of Brant’s sails. “Does everyone know but me?”

  Fiona spoke over her shoulder to Pyre. “Would you mind giving us some privacy?”

  “Not at all.” Without another word, Pyre turned and strode away.

  Fiona nodded toward Syrina’s room. “Let’s go inside.”

  Brant pinched the bridge of his nose and sent his sister a nod.

  He followed her into the kitchen, waited for her to take a seat at the small table, and then sat down across from her.

  Syrina’s sweet scent instantly surrounded him, pulling at his heartstrings and exacerbating his wounded pride.

  He cleared his throat. “Why did she leave?”

  Fiona looked away, her fingernail picking at a tiny rock fleck embedded in the stone table. “Because of you.”

  Brant’s heart squeezed painfully. He could barely speak through the tightness in his throat. “She didn’t have to leave because of me, Fiona. I know that she worried about how our bond would affect her mating with…” He stopped for a moment, swallowed hard, and continued. “Her mating with someone else. I—”

  “Wait, what?” Fiona had long since stopped her rock picking and now stared back at him with her mouth hanging open. “You think she would have mated with someone else? You’re an even bigger idiot than Gryke was in the beginning.”

  Jealousy and angered warred inside Brant. “Do you know something you’re not telling me?”

  “I don’t. But I do know women, and I saw the pain and regret in her when she left. She has feelings for you, Brant.”

  Brant’s stomach flipped. “She never told me.”

  “Did you ever tell her? And if you try to deny that you love her, I’ll have Gryke kick your ass.”

  Brant’s lips twitched. “He can try.”

  Sobering, Brant softly admitted, “I do love her, Fi. More than I ever thought I could love anybody.”

  Fiona reached across the table and laid her palm over the back of his hand. “Then I suggest you get your shit together and go after her. I’ll have Oz ready the yacht.”

  Brant got to his feet and wrapped his sister in a grateful hug. “Thank you, Fi.”

  She hugged him back. “You can thank me later by bringing your mate home and giving me some nieces and nephews.”

  Brant laughed, kissed the top of Fiona’s head, and hurried from the room.

  He would bring Syrina back if he had to take on every Bracadyte in Arkadia.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Arkadia

  Two Weeks Later

  Syrina braided her long, white hair and pulled on her sharkskin boots. Her shoulder still ached a little but nothing like it would if she’d had to swim to Arkadia all the way from Florida.

  Thankfully, Thrasher had procured her safe passage back to Maine, allowing her to rest and heal before her arrival home.

  “May I enter?”

  “Yes, father.”

  Vyken stepped in the room, a powerful presence that intimidated many. “I trust you slept well?”

  “I did. I had forgotten how long it took to reach Maine from Florida. Nearly fourteen days.”

  Disapproval fl
ickered in Vyken’s eyes. “You should not have been in Aukrabah to begin with. I have been worried for you since you left here with Kaspyn and her land walker.”

  Syrina looked away for fear that Vyken would see the guilt she knew resided in her eyes. “Kaspyn is happy, Father. I really wish you would—”

  “She has mated with one of them!” he roared, sending Syrina’s stomach into her throat. “She brings shame to her father, King Kryten, as well as all of Arkadia simply by association.”

  Swallowing her fear, Syrina finished lacing her boots and stood to face her father. “Does no one care about Kaspyn’s feelings in this? She loves him, Father. She carries his child beneath her heart.”

  “Kryten will never accept the spawn of a land walker.”

  “But King Klause accepts those his children have chosen,” Syrina whispered.

  “Klause has made a mockery of the Bracadytes by allowing the humans to breed with his children—his own flesh and blood. It is a disgrace!”

  Syrina thought about the time she’d spent in Aukrabah…her time with Brant. The land walkers she’d met through Klause were good and loyal.

  She opened her mouth to defend them, but the look in Vyken’s eyes stopped her. Instead, she said, “You look well, Father I have missed you for these past months.”

  Vyken stepped forward and wrapped her in a fierce hug. “I missed you as well, my daughter. You are my only child, all that I have left of your precious mother. I am grateful to have you safe at home. I would not want to live in a world without you in it.”

  Syrina blinked back the tears that sprang to her eyes. She missed her mother as well, and it killed her to think of how her father must feel after losing his mate. She would die if something happened to Brant.

  Realizing that she’d just thought of Brant in terms of her mate, Syrina backed out of her father’s arms. “I am going to eat something and then join Astryd in the training room.”

  Vyken nodded. “That is good. She has not been the same since her brother Zyen left. She will be happy to see you.”

  Once in the hall, Syrina breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that her father hadn’t picked up on the differences in her. She knew her scent had changed the moment Brant’s blood entered her body.

  Curious looks were thrown at her as she made her way to the great hall in search of food.

  “There you are,” Astryd breathed the moment Syrina stepped into the room.

  The younger girl waved her over and patted the chair next to her. “Come, have a seat. I want to hear all about Aukrabah and the magical land called Destin.”

  Syrina sent her a warm smile and joined her at the massive table. “It is good to see you, my friend.”

  Astryd gave her a quick hug and began piling several types of fish onto a plate. She set it down in front of Syrina “It is good to see you as well. How fares my brother?”

  Though Astryd attempted to be jolly, Syrina could see the sadness lurking in her eyes. “Zyen is well. He is happier than I have ever seen him.”

  Glancing toward the door, Astryd lowered her voice and met Syrina’s gaze. “Tell me about his mate. I heard he mated a tiny land walker named Carma.”

  “Carmen,” Syrina corrected with a chuckle. “Her name is Carmen. And yes, she is very tiny. But she is lovely. She has a warm heart and loves your brother more than her own life.”

  Astryd’s face fell. “Father is beside himself with rage over Zyen’s choice of mates. And mother cries at night when she thinks no one can hear her. Zyen has broken their hearts.”

  “And you?” Syrina prompted, touching her on the arm. “How do you feel about your brother mating with a human.”

  Plucking at a piece of food on her plate, Astryd softly confessed, “It matters not to me if she is human or Bracadyte. As long as Zyen is happy, I am happy.”

  Syrina’s respect for Astryd grew in that moment. “Sometimes the younger generation is far more intelligent than their elders. I only wish that I had learned to be more open-minded when I had the chance.”

  Astryd frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means nothing. Let us finish our meal and get some exercise.”

  Syrina stared down at the fish on her plate, her mind fifteen hundred miles away. She wondered if Brant had felt relief in her absence or if he missed her even a little.

  She’d been tempted to open her mind to him, to take the smallest of peeks into his thoughts. But she was too afraid—afraid of what she may or may not see. She couldn’t bring herself to face the reality that Brant Henagar wasn’t hers. He never was, nor would he ever be…

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Brant stood at the bow of the boat, staring up at the stars in the inky night skies. They had arrived in the waters of Maine approximately two hours ago. “How much longer?”

  Pyre stepped up beside him. “We will arrive soon enough. Are you certain that you want to go through with this? King Kryten will likely lop off your head the second you step foot in Arkadia.”

  “I’m sure. But I think you should stay behind. You and Thrasher both. I wish you hadn’t come to begin with.”

  “That is not your call to make. Besides, the king will not destroy one of his own. Not that he is above having me imprisoned, but he will not kill me. Thrasher is another matter altogether.”

  “You two talkin’ shit about me again?” Thrasher murmured, sidling up to Brant’s other side.

  Brant shook his head. “No, but had you given us another minute, I’m sure we would have.”

  Thrasher grinned for a moment and then grew sober. “This will likely not end well. You know that, right?”

  “I know.”

  “And you’re sure Syrina is what you want?”

  Brant turned to face his friend and newly found brother. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

  Thrasher clapped him on the shoulder. “Then we’ll go in there and get her back. If not for me, she would’ve had to swim it all the way home to begin with. We would’ve caught up with her by now and could have avoided all the drama that no doubt lies ahead.”

  “What fun would that be?” Pyre piped in.

  “Exactly.” Thrasher pushed away from the railing and strode back toward the wheelhouse where Oz and Gryke waited.

  Pyre tilted his head back as if studying the stars. “Zyen is not happy about being left behind. I can almost feel his anger from here.”

  “Almost?” Brant had always been curious about the power of the Bracadytes’ telepathy.

  Pyre nodded. “It is difficult to communicate from such a great distance. Unless one is mated. Mates are known to have the ability to connect from beyond the grave.”

  Brant would be happy to connect with Syrina for even the briefest of moments, but she had shut him out weeks ago, and he hadn’t been able to reach her since. “How are Zyen and Carmen adjusting to the new sister situation?”

  Pyre shrugged. “Zyen’s mate has many questions, as would I, if I were in her position. But she is handling it better than Zyen. He has been ordered by Klause to keep Trescina in her quarters until he is certain she hides nothing.”

  “Why is Zyen having issues with Trescina?”

  “He does not trust her,” Pyre confessed, a strange look in his eyes. “Nor do I.”

  The engine suddenly shut down on the yacht, halting Brant’s next question. He turned and looked back at the wheelhouse to find Oz, Gryke, and Thrasher exiting together.

  Oz motioned for Brant to follow him. “You’ll need to get your dive gear on. We go in underwater from here.”

  “We’re not going through the tunnels?”

  Thrasher intervened. “Since my last visit here, Kaspyn feels it’s safer to go in by way of water. The Arkadians will be closely watching the tunnels.”

  “Makes sense.” Brant didn’t care how they reached the belly of Arkadia, as long as they got there. He hadn’t seen or spoken to Syrina in more than two weeks. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could survive
without looking at her beautiful face.

  “You comin’?” Thrasher’s voice brought Brant out of his despondent thoughts.

  With a nod, Brant followed Thrasher and Oz back into the wheelhouse with Pyre and Gryke bringing up the rear.

  “Let’s do this,” Oz announced, grabbing his gear as well.

  Brant gripped the hem of his shirt and tugged it over his head. “I thought you didn’t need dive gear?”

  Oz grinned. “I reckon I don’t, but I’m all about comfort. And I honestly don’t relish the idea of swimming forty feet down and suddenly needing to come up for air if we’re set upon. So, yeah…I’ll wear the suit.”

  Pyre chuckled. “Duck.”

  “It’s chicken,” Oz corrected, sending him a blank look. “Not duck. Ya’ll really need to step up your game if you’re going to hang with the land walkers. Take off the Spock shirt on occasion and try a little Captain Kirk on for size.”

  It was Pyre’s turn to look blank.

  Laughter erupted in the small circle before the tension of what was to come began to settle in.

  Brant knew as well as everyone else that he likely wouldn’t come out of this alive. But he’d rather risk certain death than live the rest of his life without telling Syrina how he felt.

  Somewhere between being tortured in Cuba and recovering in Aukrabah, Brant had fallen in love with the Arkadian beauty. He wasn’t even sure how it had happened. He only knew that she belonged with him, and he couldn’t let her go without a fight.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Syrina wiped the sweat from her eyes and faced off with a smiling Astryd. “You have improved in the short time that I have been gone.”

  “I have not improved. You have simply become slower in your old age.”

  Laughter bubbled up against Syrina’s will. “You think I am old? I will show you old.” She quickly dropped to her hands and kicked out with her right leg.

  Astryd’s feet flew out from under her, and she landed with a thunk on her back.