Fang was there in an instant. “My prince?”
He looked at his friends questioning gaze. “Zander was here. The note is from Zolar. If I ever want to see my brothers alive, I must return the girl and give up my cause.”
“They know she carries the DNA. What are your plans?”
“One way or another, I’m going to kill that son of a bitch,” he growled.
“And I will help you. Did he give you a deadline?”
“Twenty-four hours to bring her back here.”
Fang arched a brow. “How do we know when the clock starts?”
“Look behind you.”
Fang swung around ready for a fight then noticed the clock on the wall. “That wasn’t there when we came in.”
“No. It just showed up and began the countdown starting at twenty-four hours.” Greydon fisted his hands and desperately wanted to punch something again.
“Will you turn her over to him?”
“Not a fucking chance. She’s mine.”
Fang’s grin went from ear to ear. “It’s about time you came to your senses.”
He scrubbed his face. “But I’m seriously out of options.” Either way he would lose someone he loved. What a fine time to admit you love her. Guilt riddled him. He wasn’t supposed to be happy right now. Not when all those he was responsible for suffered.
“I believe this is a bluff,” Fang snarled.
“Explain.”
“I don’t see Zander’s aura, therefore I believe they planted his scent for you to find.” Fang scowled. “Once again, the fucker thinks I’m stupid.”
Greydon’s jaw tightened. “Do you swear on my life that you truly believe Zander has escaped?”
“I will swear on yours and mine, my prince.”
He trusted Fang and knew his protector as one of the best, but it didn’t make his decision any less difficult. “Let’s go back to Oshivana and figure out what the hell to do next.” Fang nodded and they both vanished.
Aimee and Bethany had discovered a modern day kitchen, which she found very strange. Even odder was the fact that the fridge contained meats, cheeses and modern day condiments. On the counter was fresh bread. At first Aimee worried that someone else was there, but then she figured either Greydon or Fang had stocked the place. Until the girls sliced into the bread and made sandwiches, and everything they used magically replenished itself.
“I’m not sure if I should be freaked out or what, but this is pretty awesome,” Bethany commented, shoving a bite of sandwich in her mouth. “I could get used to this. I wonder what else this place is capable of?” Her eyes lit up. “Do you suppose if I stepped into the closet in our room and asked for Prada, it would fill up with my size?”
Aimee giggled. “Well, I guess you could try.”
As the girls polished off the last of their lunch, Fang sauntered into the room.
“Ah, I see you found the goodies.”
“Boy did we,” Bethany replied.
“Where’s Greydon? Did you have any luck?” Aimee tried to calm her nerves and told herself if something bad had happened, Fang wouldn’t have simply waltzed into the kitchen.
“The place was empty, but they did leave Greydon a message.” Fang scratched his head. “I should probably let him explain, but I must warn you his mood is not good.”
“Great. I need to talk to him anyway, so I guess I’ll go find him.” Aimee stood and brushed the crumbs off the front of her shirt then headed out of the room. She had no idea how to tell him what she’d learned from the scrolls today. Her hope had been to find something to help him destroy the god and free his people. She had but it didn’t look like it would do him much good.
After several minutes of searching with no success, she finally headed back up to the tower where Uuna sat on her throne. It didn’t surprise her to find him there, kneeling at the feet of his goddess. He’d shed his shirt and wore only the black jeans. His head bent and eyes closed, he looked to be either praying or meditating. Either way, she didn’t want to disturb him, so she waited. She tried to train her eyes on something else but kept coming back to scan his corded muscles. He reminded her of many of the ancient statues she’d seen while touring Greece a few years ago. Gladiators, built to fight for their very lives, had always been a secret fantasy of hers. She wondered what it would have been like to live during that time. Her husband would have been as big, strong and fierce as those very fighters, yet would have known when to give her his gentle side. She’d actually lived part of that fantasy last night with Greydon. He’d taken great care with her and given her a gentle touch. She found herself wanting to nudge him and see if she could coax out his bad-boy side.
“You should take care and try to curb your desires. In my present mood, you may well get more than you bargain for.”
Jerked from her fantasy, she noticed Greydon stood, staring at her. A hint of fang showed. Did her arousal do that to him?
“Fang said the compound was empty, but you received a message?” She watched him grab his shirt and pull it on and swallowed her sigh of disappointment.
“Yes. It seems Zolar is trying to make me believe my brother Zander had been a prisoner in one of the cells. It was there I found the message.”
She took a step closer. “What was the message?”
He marched to the bank of windows and stared out. Not about to back off, she followed him and stepped up beside him. “If I wish to see my brother alive again, I have twenty-four hours to turn you over to Zolar.”
Her heart sank. He had no reason not to give her up. After all, she was only a slip of a human who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sure, she saved his life, but he’d already sacrificed enough to save her. With his brothers’ life on the line…well, there was no competition.
“I will not give you to Zolar.” His gaze never left the window.
“But your brother,” she whispered.
Finally, he turned to look at her. “Did you think I would even contemplate handing you over?”
She looked into his eyes. “You have no reason to keep me safe over your own blood.”
His gaze narrowed. “I have every reason. Besides, Fang believes it was a ruse to try and fool me.”
“Do you think Fang is right?” She wanted to ask more, but it seemed selfish.
“He has never been wrong about anything. Tell me, what have you learned in my absence today?”
“Well if I deciphered everything correctly…I learned that together the king and queen will rescue their people and resurrect the city, but the queen alone will kill the tyrant god. It seems Uuna’s scepter holds some special power that only the queen can unleash.”
His brows furrowed. “Who is the king? Did it say?”
“I assumed it was you. I thought the Oracles said you were the one.”
“They did but this makes no sense. I’m not a king nor is there a queen. My mother and father are both dead.” Pain shaded his features at the mention of his parents.
She chewed her lip. “But I thought you were the king, being next in line.”
“I’m a prince, same as my brothers, though I’m next in line. I cannot become king until the people coronate me.” He spread his arms wide. “As you can see, I have no people—what you call a catch twenty-two. I need my people to become king, but only the king can save the people.” He brought his hands back to his side and fisted them. “And there is no queen. Yet.”
So does that mean his queen is a prisoner with the others? The question stopped at her lips, and she couldn’t force the words out. Instead, she opened the glass door and stepped outside. The warm breeze caressed her cheeks and she watched the sun sink into the horizon. Greydon moved in beside her.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to take my anger out on you. This isn’t your fault.” He rested his arms on the deck railing, and she’d never seen anyone look so broken.
“Maybe I missed something. I mean I’m not an expert at this, and I don’t know your language at all.” She tou
ched his arm. “I’ll try again.” This was definitely not the time to bring up her insecurities.
He finally looked at her and gave a small smile. “You are kind to do this.”
She shrugged. “I don’t see any other way for Bethany and I to go home until this Zolar and his henchmen are taken out.”
He nodded. “I’m sure you miss your world, but you know you’re always welcome in this home as well.
She was truly touched, but also positive she could never live here and see him day in and day out with another woman. “Thanks, that means a lot. Well, I just wanted to tell you what I found out. I guess I’ll be going.”
Suddenly Greydon panicked; he didn’t want Aimee to walk out. One side of him said to let her go, she didn’t want to be in his world. The other screamed to stop her because he needed her, wanted her beside him. He should tell her how he felt but he wasn’t sure he could take the rejection. “Wait…don’t leave.”
She stopped and turned to face him. “Yes?”
For some reason he couldn’t look at her, so he stared into the sunset. “Would you think less of me if I told you I wanted you to stay?” He could hear the patter of her footsteps as she came back to him.
“Why would I ever think that?”
Her lavender scent tickled his senses and stirred his desires. He gripped the railing so tight his knuckles turned white. “What if I were to tell you that I’m being selfish? I’m tired of going this alone.” He could turn himself into a killing machine, yet he let a small female bring him to his knees.
“You’re not alone. You have Fang, and he seems very devoted to you.”
“He is and he definitely keeps me in line, but there are some things that a prince should never share with those who count on him. For some reason, I feel like I can do that with you. I can let my guard down and be myself.” He searched her eyes for any indication of how she felt and her face lit up with a smile.
“I’m honored that you trust me enough to let your guard down, and of course I’ll stay. I was only leaving because I thought you might want to be alone.” She touched his arm. “What can I do to help?”
The urge to take her hand in his prompted him to lace his fingers through hers. “Thank you for all that you’ve done. I consider you a friend, and I’ll have you know that I’m fiercely loyal to my friends.” Fuck, you’re an idiot. Tell her how you feel!
“You’re welcome, and I would like to call you my friend as well. You will succeed. While I don’t pretend to understand all that’s going on, I have no doubt in your abilities. I think you will bring this city back to life, and it will be grand.” She squeezed his hand. “I can’t wait to see it.”
Neither could he. “What if I fail? Not even I can imagine the repercussions if Zolar wins this battle and claims the city.”
“Well, let’s look at one thing at a time. You need to become king. Maybe you’re too close to all of this and not looking at the situation clearly. You need your people to make you king, but do you need all of them?”
He thought for a moment. “I don’t really know. Father was grooming me, but none of us expected him to be slain at such a young age. There are a lot of things he never got to teach me.”
“Okay. Maybe something here will answer that question for us. I mean there are still several scrolls I’ve yet to look at, and I’m willing to bet your people are no different than any other ancient civilization. They kept records.”
Hope awakened deep inside him for the first time since the battle, but it would be short lived. “I only have hours to figure out a way to save Zander. I fear I will lose my brother.” He began to feel twitchy again. She must have noticed the tension that coiled in his muscles because she stepped into him and put her arms around his waist. He buried his nose in her hair and took in her scent. It helped to calm him.
“Deep breath. We need to think. I can’t believe with the magic you possess that there isn’t a way to track him.” She gasped and pulled back to look up at him. “That’s it!”
He could feel the frown forming on his face. “What’s it?”
“If you could form a blood bond with me, why can’t you do it with your own blood brother?” She pulled him across the room and out the door.
“Where are we going?”
“To the room with all the scrolls.”
“Well then…” He teleported them directly into the room.
“Oh damn, I forgot you could do that.” She glanced around. “What did you use before?”
Greydon reached for the scroll he had read from to bond him to Aimee. “I don’t think you’ll find anything here.” He placed it on the table and unrolled it.
“Why is it that you can blood bond to me but not know where your own family is?” She shoved her hands on her hips, her agitation evident.
“That’s a question for Uuna. I really have no idea.”
She sighed in defeat. “What about Fang? I thought he was a protector or something. He found you after he escaped, so why can’t he find your brothers the same way?”
“Daldara like Fang are assigned to one member of the royal family. Fang was my father’s protector and upon his death, he became mine. Both Zander and Orien have their own protector. Since I wasn’t there for the battle and capture, I have to assume they were taken as well, or worse.” He tried not to think about how Zolar had attempted to starve Fang.
“Well, shit. Then we’ll figure out how to make you king and go from there.” She began to rummage through the scrolls. “There are several here I haven’t looked at yet.”
Greydon’s eye caught something tucked back in the same cubby he’d found the other scroll. He reached in and extracted a thick, red, leather-bound book, embossed with his family’s crest. “Perhaps this is what we’re looking for?”
Aimee’s eyes widened. “Oh this is a good sign.”
Chapter 18
Aimee could hardly contain her excitement when Greydon waved the book under her nose. She absolutely, without a doubt, loved ancient text. The thought of flipping the pages in this particular book almost turned her on. “Set it up here.” She patted the table.
Greydon obliged. When he opened the first page, Aimee was disappointed. It appeared to be written entirely in Demonic script. “Dang. Well, at least you can read it.”
The door to the room flung open and Fang came through, weapons strapped to his body as he stood ready for battle. “My prince, I have word of Zander. We must leave now.”
Greydon straightened and looked at Aimee. “You stay here and see what you can learn.” He placed his palm on the book and the air in the room stirred. “You should be able to read it now.” He left the room before she could respond.
Bethany scurried in seconds later, her breathing labored. “Wow. We were sitting there chatting when suddenly Fang went pale. He said somehow he knew where to find the youngest brother Zander, and he was in trouble. I gotta tell ya, the look on his face scared the hell out of me.”
“Oh no, I hope he’s okay.” If something happened to Greydon’s baby brother, Aimee knew it would devastate him. Who knew what a demon was capable of when in mourning? She looked back at the book and gasped.
“What’s wrong?”
Aimee scratched her head. “Oh my god. Just moments ago this was written in Demonic and now it’s in Greek. That freaking demon changed the language in the book!”
Bethany wrinkled her brow. “What the hell are you talking about?” Her friend was clearly agitated.
“I’m referring to the fact that when I looked at this right before you came in, I couldn’t read a damn word and now I can. Greydon was able to change the language using magic.” She shook her head. “Makes me wonder what else he can do.”
“Oh. Somehow I thought you already knew what he was capable of.” Bethany winked. “So what’s it say?”
“That you seriously need to get your mind out of the gutter.” If only she could follow her own advice.
“Hmm. So did you talk to him about the ‘us�
� thing?”
“No. Timing wasn’t right.” Aimee never took her eye off the pages. “Maybe later.”
“Uh huh.”
“What the hell is going on? How do you have news of Zander?” Greydon busied himself, strapping a blade to his thigh.
“Somehow my father was able to connect with me telepathically and sent word that Zander escaped. I don’t know how either of these things occurred, but I’m not going to question it,” Fang replied.
Greydon pulled on his leather coat lined with throwing stars. “I had no idea you were a telepath.”
“All Daldara can communicate with each other, but it’s something we generally keep secret. The less your enemies know about you the better. I lost communication with my father and the others, so I assumed they were being blocked somehow.” He handed his leader a pistol. “I can’t reach my father again, but I trust the message he sent. Zander got away but is being pursued. Father said he isn’t in the best condition either. Nearly starved.”
Greydon felt a slow tick begin in his jaw. “Do you know where to begin our search?”
“I do. Hang on.” Fang touched Greydon’s shoulder and moments later they stood in the midst of a battle between Zander and several Concosa.
“You get to my brother,” Greydon commanded as he shifted into his full demonic form and took to the air. From his position, Zander looked to be on his last leg. Blood poured from several wounds and his color was ashen. He prayed that they had made it in time.
Focusing on the two Concosa who came at him, he drew his pistol and fired. Both demons veered off, the bullet missing them.
Greydon snarled.
One flew at him from behind and attacked, slicing open his back. He breathed through the sting as he did a low fly by and dropped the pistol into his brother’s lap. “Shoot anything that moves.” Fang still battled several demons trying to get to Zander, with more showing up. They were severely outnumbered, but he would die before giving up. He caught sight of Zander’s shaking hands as he tried to keep a grip on the gun. Things didn’t look good and if they wanted to survive, Greydon would have to summon his power again. He thought briefly of Aimee and how badly he wanted to get back to her. The woman was definitely planted firmly under his skin.
Taken By Desire: Demonic Desires Book 1 Page 13