Cloak & Silence (The League)

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  By the fourth empty alley, he was ready to scream.

  Please don’t be dead...

  Raw, unmitigated agony racked him. It was so consuming that he wanted to sink to his knees and scream out from the weight of it. Only the knowledge that Maris needed him kept him upright. He had to keep it together.

  If Mari were here, he’d tell him to stay calm. To breathe.

  As he reached the sixth alley, he heard the sounds of sirens. There were three bodies on the ground up ahead, and people gathered around them.

  Closing the distance, he noticed drops of smeared blood on the sidewalk that stopped suddenly.

  Maris. He must have realized he was leaving a trail.

  Scared and shaking, Ture headed for the alley closest to the blood. He opened his mouth to call out then stopped himself. What if there were more attackers in the crowd? They might hear him and finish Maris off.

  His entire body weak in fear and agony, he searched the alley for any telltale signs. He was just about to leave when he noticed a small red smear on a brick at his feet. Then he saw the heel of a dark maroon boot buried in debris. . . .

  “Mari,” he breathed, running toward it.

  Somehow, Maris had managed to tuck himself behind a small electrical unit. Careful not to hurt him, Ture pulled him out.

  Oh God, no.

  Blood saturated Maris’s side. His face was pale with a bluish tint. Ture cradled him to his chest as he sobbed uncontrollably. “Don’t you dare die on me, Mari! You hear me! Don’t die. I can’t live without you.”

  Suddenly, he heard someone running into the alley. Fearing it was an assassin, Ture grabbed Maris’s reserve blaster from his boot and angled it toward the intruder.

  Darling froze and held his hands up. “Don’t shoot. It’s the good guys.”

  Ture dropped it instantly. He couldn’t speak as he realized how much of Maris’s blood was on him now. His lips trembled.

  Darling and Hauk knelt by his side. He took Maris from Ture’s arms and laid him flat on the ground. “I know you’re going to hate me for this, Mari, but . . .” He ripped Maris’s shirt and exposed the jagged wound in his side.

  Opening a medical bag, Hauk called for Syn.

  Ture struggled to contain his tears. The last thing he wanted to do was distract them with his useless hysteria. But it was so hard when inside he was screaming.

  His hand trembling, he brushed the hair back from Maris’s face while Darling and Hauk worked on him.

  Darling cursed at the same instant Hauk’s eyes widened with panic. He tilted Maris’s head back and started chest compressions. “Breathe, damn you, breathe!” he growled.

  All of a sudden, Syn was there with them.

  Darling moved away and allowed him to take over. When Darling’s agonized green gaze met Ture’s, Ture saw just how much Maris meant to Darling, too.

  In this fearful misery, they were kindred spirits.

  “You stubborn Phrixian bastard. Pain in my ass,” Syn snarled under his breath. “Don’t you do this to us.” He jerked an injector from his bag.

  Ture’s eyes widened at the size of it.

  When Syn went to bury it in the center of Maris’s heart, Ture started for him, but Darling caught him and held him back. “Don’t look.”

  He couldn’t take his eyes off them as Syn injected adrenaline directly into Maris’s heart.

  Just as Ture was about to scream, Maris took a deep, frantic breath and opened his eyes. Panting and shaking, Maris glanced around until he saw Ture with Darling. He held his hand out toward them.

  At first, Ture thought he was reaching for Darling. But it was his fingers Maris’s locked with. He pulled Ture closer until he could place a light, weak kiss to his knuckles.

  More tears choked Ture as he returned to stroke Maris’s hair while Syn stabilized him for mobility.

  Darling sat by Ture’s side and squeezed Maris’s shoulder. “Next time you leave when I tell you not to, I swear I’ll shoot you myself.”

  Maris coughed. “Just don’t hit my groin.”

  “You’re not funny,” Ture and Darling said simultaneously.

  Hauk laughed. “I think he’s hilarious.”

  They both glared at him.

  Aggravated to the extreme, Darling turned his back to Hauk as Maris nuzzled Ture’s palm. It was only then that it dawned on Darling that Maris hadn’t called him when he was hit.

  He’d called Ture instead.

  For one heartbeat, an insane stab of jealousy went through him. Since early childhood, Maris had been the one constant Darling could count on, no matter what. He’d had Mari to himself for so many years that it was hard to accept the fact that Maris finally had someone else.

  Someone he loved enough that it had been Ture’s voice alone that he’d wanted to hear before he died.

  Not Darling’s.

  But that wasn’t something to be jealous over. Maris deserved to be loved and cherished by someone who could give him everything he needed. And while Darling could give him his friendship and heart, he could never share his body with Maris. No matter how much he loved him.

  For the first time, he fully understood the depth of Maris’s love for him. Even though he was in love with him, Mari had tracked Zarya down and brought her back into Darling’s life to heal his ravaged soul. How many people would be so altruistic?

  Leaning down, Darling kissed Maris’s bearded cheek. “Love you, Mari.”

  “Love you, too,” Maris answered automatically. He smiled at Darling’s heartfelt words until fear gripped him. He glanced up at Ture, expecting the worst.

  There was no judgment or hatred in those beautiful gray eyes. No hesitancy in his touch as he continued to stroke Maris’s hair.

  Hauk went to meet the medics who were bringing in a stretcher for Maris.

  Syn checked his vitals. “Barring infection, I think you’re going to make it, bud. And don’t you dare get an infection. This is as close to death as I want you to come in my lifetime.”

  Maris coughed. “I try to avoid Death as best I can. Bastard is relentless. I think he works for the League.”

  Ture and Darling stood up and moved back so that the medics could lift Maris onto the stretcher.

  When they reached the transport, they both started to go in. Ture hesitated.

  Darling smiled kindly. “Sorry. Habit. I know he’d rather have you with him.”

  Ture wasn’t sure about that. Not that it really mattered right now. He dropped his gaze to Darling’s blaster. “You should go. I can’t protect him from another attacker. Not like you can. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

  His smile melted into a frown. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. This isn’t about my ego. It’s about Mari’s life. Keep him safe for me. Please.”

  Darling hugged him before he climbed into the transport behind Syn.

  “Don’t worry,” Hauk said as he draped an arm around Ture’s shoulders. “I’ll get you there before the transport.”

  * * *

  Maris pulled the mask away from his face as the transport took off. “Where’s Ture?”

  Darling returned it to his mouth and nose then held it in place so that Maris couldn’t pull it off again. “He told me to go with you.”

  Wincing, Maris clenched his teeth. After all the times Ture had professed his love, Maris had never responded to it. But with Darling...

  Maris hadn’t even thought about it, or how it would sound to Ture.

  Damn. It had to cut deep. No wonder he’d stayed behind. His luck, Ture would never speak to him again.

  “Shh,” Syn said, leaning over him. “You need to calm down.”

  Easier said than done. He wouldn’t have hurt Ture for anything.

  What have I done?

  When he failed to relax, Syn knocked him out.

  * * *

  True to his word, Hauk got Ture to the hospital on his airbike before the transport arrived. He was weak from fear over the way Hauk drove, but he was her
e in one piece. Physically, anyway.

  Mentally was a whole other matter.

  Hauk led him inside the lobby where Zarya, Princess Annalise, Drake and a man who looked a lot like Hauk was waiting for them. Zarya’s pregnancy was now as evident as Ana’s had been a few weeks ago.

  Ture bit his lip as he saw how pale she appeared. “Are you okay, sweetie? Should you be standing?”

  Her gaze flitted over the blood on Ture’s clothes and skin as she paled even more. “Mari?” Her voice trembled.

  “He’s alive.”

  Closing her eyes, she sighed in relief and placed her hand to her heart. “I was terrified when Darling told me Maris had been ambushed. Are you okay?”

  “Scared like you, but I’m not injured.” Ture pulled her against him and held her close. “I’ve missed you.”

  “You, too.” She leaned her head back to smile up at him. “Told you, didn’t I?”

  He rubbed his nose against hers. “Yes. You were right. I love Mari. He is everything you said, and then some.”

  Drake let out a low whistle to get their attention. “You let my brother see you molesting his wife like that, and I’ll have to scrape your remains up with a spatula. No offense, I hate cleaning.”

  Zarya laughed. “Relax, Drake. Darling won’t say a word.”

  Drake appeared highly doubtful as he moved to stand next to his sister, Annalise.

  The doors opened. Ture turned to see the stretcher with Darling and Syn. Without pausing, Syn whisked Maris past him and through the ER doors.

  Darling stopped by his side. “Mari’s stable. He panicked when he realized I was with him and you’d stayed behind, so Syn knocked him out to keep his vitals at normal.”

  Ture sighed. “He is never going to believe that I’m not jealous of you. I don’t know how to convince him that your relationship with each other doesn’t bother me.”

  Darling arched a skeptical brow that was very similar to an expression Maris used. They’d known each other for so long that they shared many such quirks. “It doesn’t?”

  “No. Why should it? You’ve been in his life a lot longer than I have. It’s not like you’ve slept with him or are going to . . . that I would issues with. Up until now, I’ve thought of you more like an irritating in-law Maris takes care of . . . one whose existence I have to suffer with in silence.”

  Darling’s jaw went slack. “I think I’m insulted . . . And what do you mean up until now?”

  Ture sobered. “He would have died today had you not been here. I could strangle him for calling me and not you. But for you, I would have had no idea where to look or any way to locate him. Thank you, Darling.”

  “You don’t have to thank me for saving Mari. That’s my job.” Darling pulled Zarya into his arms to hold her. “Just take care of him for me. That’s all I ask.”

  “Majesty?”

  Darling turned as an officer joined them.

  The male officer bowed low. “Two assassins were dead on arrival. The third killed three officers and escaped. We’ve notified all agencies to be on the lookout. Hopefully, we’ll catch him.”

  Darling inclined his head. “Thank you for your service and report.”

  The officer started to leave them, then pulled his weapon out and angled it at the door.

  Startled, Ture looked past him to see a uniformed League assassin entering the lobby. As soon as he saw the officer, he held his hands up and froze.

  Darling pressed the man’s blaster toward the floor. “It’s all right, Officer Dalens. He’s on our side.”

  Bowing again, the officer retreated.

  Only then did the assassin approach. Tall, well-muscled, well-armed and raven-haired, he moved with the fluid grace of a lethal killer. Yet there was something strangely familiar about him.

  “How is he?” the assassin asked Darling.

  “He’ll live. Any idea who got away from us?”

  A tic started in the assassin’s jaw. “Draygon. My guess is Mari let him go. There’s no way Dray could have gotten away from him on his own...which means he’s going on an asetum for the compassion.”

  “A what?” Ture asked.

  Darling made a sound of supreme aggravation. “Blood vendetta to avenge his honor. But more serious than it sounds. When a Phrixian makes an asetum, it is to the death.”

  “In this case, Dray’s...unless Mari lets him take his head. Stupid fucking bastard might do it, too.”

  Ture saw red at those words. Without thinking, he shoved the assassin back. “Don’t you dare insult him!”

  Darling came between them before the assassin could retaliate. “Emotions are running high here for all us. But before you two go at it, let me make introductions. Ture Xans meet Safir Jari. Saf is Maris’s baby brother. Ture is the boyfriend.”

  That took the fight out of Ture, and the fire died in Saf’s dark eyes.

  “Sorry,” they said at the same time.

  So this was the brother that had been beaten in Maris’s stead.

  The one Mari loved above all others.

  By the slightly softened expression on Saf’s face, Ture knew Maris had spoken to his brother about their relationship. But he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Like all assassins, Saf kept his emotions visibly checked.

  “I meant no disrespect to Mari,” Saf explained. “He’s just tender-hearted when it comes to our idiot brothers. Personally, I’d like to have a legal shot at Kyr...and most days, Dray, too.”

  “Yeah, but Dray’s not League,” Darling said. “The other two killed were.”

  Saf ground his teeth. “Kyr has called out the whole family on Maris so that we can avenge the shame he’s brought to our house. Your little stunt at the prison killed the last shred of sanity Kyr possessed. While he’d love to have your head on his wall, it’s Mari’s he’s obsessed with.”

  Ture scowled. “Why?”

  The tic returned to Saf’s jaw, something Mari’s did whenever he was pissed off. “It would be bad enough if Maris was just gay. The fact he’s gay and the best, most decorated warrior in our family... Kyr wants his testicles in a jar to prove he’s the bigger man.”

  “Mari’s better than you?” Ture couldn’t help asking.

  Safir went rigid. “I am damn good at what I do. I’d put my skills up against anyone’s, any time, any place...except Maris’s and Nykryian’s.” He glanced to Darling. “And the one man who taught Mari how to really fight, and blow shit to pieces. Growing up, I got into enough altercations with Mari to know he can sweep the floor with my ass, and that’s with him holding back because he didn’t really want to hurt me. While I can make him bleed, I can’t stop him, and I know it. Unlike the rest of my family, I have a healthy respect and appreciation for my brother’s abilities and skills.”

  Darling shrugged. “Yeah well, I learned most of what I know from Nyk.”

  “Which is why I’m not taking that contract. Or yours. I may be arrogant, but I’m not stupid. Luckily, Kyr and Dray hogged the family share of that.”

  Ture was beginning to really like Saf. Unlike the others of his ilk, Saf was strangely humble and kind.

  Safir glanced around the room. “Speaking of, I better go. It wasn’t exactly intelligent to come and be seen here. But when I heard Dray’s report, I panicked and wanted to make sure he was lying about the severity of Mari’s condition.” He held his hand out to Darling.

  “Peace, my brother.” Darling took his hand then hugged him.

  To Ture’s complete shock, Saf pulled him into a full body embrace. “Take care of my brother for me. Tell him he can’t die and leave me the sole source of sanity for the family. I’m depending on him to help me hold the line.”

  After giving Hauk the same hug he’d given Darling and kissing Zarya’s cheek, Saf made a League sign of respect and solidarity over his heart then left.

  Ture quirked a brow at Zarya. “He was unexpected.”

  She nodded. “I’ve loved Safir since the moment I met him. You know he’s the only reas
on you and I are alive, right?”

  Ture frowned. “No. How so?”

  Darling crossed his arms over his chest. “After all of our combined resources failed to locate you, Saf’s the one who found out where you were being held and got word to Maris. You’d both still be in prison, or dead, but for Safir.”

  Ture went cold at the courage that it took for Safir to go against Kyr and the rest of the League. If they ever learned what he’d done, they’d make sure his death was symbolic, painful and prolonged. “I like him all the more, now.” He frowned. “Why didn’t Maris tell me that?”

  “Mari protects what he loves. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t trust you. But given his harsh upbringing, he’s learned to say as little as possible when it comes to handing over information that could get someone killed. You’ve no idea the horrors of what he and Saf have been through. There’s a reason their entire family is insane. And Maris is the sole reason Saf is halfway normal. He went out of his way to protect his brother, and show him that there were other ways to live than the severe life they’d been born to.”

  Ture digested that. “Mari never really talks about his family or past.” Anytime he tried to broach the topic, Maris deftly changed subjects.

  “Because it would break your heart.” Darling led him away from the others so that they could talk in private. “Did you know that the Phrixians have thirty-three words for honor? Twenty for loyalty? Three dozen for betrayal, but not a single word for love?”

  Ture gaped. “You’re joking.”

  Darling shook his head slowly. “Their declaration of affection for one another is two words that translate to, I will cause you no dishonor. Or esera diya kya, which means I will die before I shame you. His people truly have no social concept of love.”

  “None?”

  “Not even parent to child. Phrixian children are viewed as property of the government. Parents don’t have them, nor do they raise them, because they want them or love them. They do so because it’s their national duty to breed warriors to fight, and daughters to procreate the next generation of soldiers.”

  Horrified by what Darling described, he stared at him. “I can’t even wrap my mind around what you’re telling me.”

  “I know. Their world is mind boggling. Kids can be, and will be, taken from any parent who is deemed too lenient with them. At sixteen, their males are all conscripted into the military. Some girls, if they make the cut, can join, but it’s frowned upon. There, they are viewed as government property until they’re forty-two years old. Until then, they can’t own anything or marry. Should they have a child, it’s raised by the government and they know nothing of the child’s upbringing.”