He stood up from the wall abruptly, then settled back into a lean against the wall. “I’m much more prepared for when you attack this way,” he said.
“Shut up, you just want to look cool,” I said.
“I understand now,” he said.
“Understand what?” I asked. Climbing onto the table, I sat cross-legged, looking at him.
“What you were saying that night… You told him it was over but he refused to accept it. And because his family is linked to yours businesswise, they all pretty much considered you staying as a couple.”
“That’s like, almost word for word what I said.”
“I have a good memory. You tried to break the contract?” he asked.
“I might have,” I said.
“But he needed the alliance with your grandfather?” he asked.
“That might have been part of it,” I said.
“And you’re not trying to end the contract anymore?” he asked.
“Not at present,” I said.
“Because you made a deal with him so he’d free your sister?” he asked.
“No. It’s more complicated than that… And Wyvern isn’t as bad as this is making him sound.”
“Just controlling, invasive of your privacy in every way, and using your family connections for his gain?” he asked.
“What are you doing? He’s your friend.”
“I’m just curious why you’d say all those things to me about your relationship and then act the way you do with him.”
“I honestly don’t know why I said all those things to you. Probably because—” I looked away from him, “Everything I do and say is so monitored and controlled, but when I was with you… for the first time in months, I wasn’t being monitored. And you could easily have been cruel to me, I thought you were going to be, but you were the opposite. I just found myself opening up to you—” I looked back to him. “Probably because I really thought I’d never see you again.”
“You don’t want to be with Wyvern? You’re being forced?” he asked.
“It’s complicated. I care about him, I really care about him, it’s just really, really… complicated. And I’m not exactly being forced anymore.” I sat up straight, “And Wyvern would never force himself on me… in that way.”
He nodded. “I know that.”
“Your opinion of me seems to have done a three-sixty since we last talked about this stuff,” I said.
“I don’t like to be tricked,” he said.
“No one does, that’s why I have so many enemies. What I did on your ship was actually pretty standard for me, I’ve been doing it since I was twelve,” I said.
“Why would your grandfather risk you that way?” he asked.
“I think it’s because he wanted me to be strong,” I said.
“So you could hold your own in a political marriage?” he asked.
“No, he told me I didn’t have to marry anyone,” I said.
“Until the Rex offered,” he said, as if he knew what he was talking about.
I leaned in. “I’ll have you know that my grandfather turned down the contract with Wyvern. Wyvern tricked me and forced my grandfather’s hand.” I wiped all expression from my face, realizing what a stupid thing it was for me to admit that. I looked Harrison straight in the eyes. “But no one will ever do that to me again, not even if I revive your sister.”
“I’d never stay in a contract that was formed that way,” he said.
The words seemed to sit heavily in the room, lingering uncomfortably.
“Anyway, enough about my love life, let’s talk about yours. What is Victoria like?”
“What do you want to know?”
I held my hands up around my head. “I don’t know, I have this picture in my head and I want to know if I’m right.”
“What do you imagine?”
“Pretty, sweet, soft spoken, adoring… am I close?” I asked.
“No. She’s beautiful, funny, intense and full of life,” he said.
“Sounds like someone I would like,” I said.
“Everyone likes her,” he said.
“Everyone? Wow. Well, I hope things work out for you two,” I said, trying on a grin.
“Thank you,” he said.
“So how did you meet?” I asked.
“Why do you want to know?” he asked.
“Seriously? You just asked me so many personal questions,” I said.
“We—she—”
The door opened beside him, making him stand up abruptly.
Wyvern glanced in, his gaze immediately finding mine. He stepped inside the room, letting the door close behind him. Wyvern looked over his shoulder briefly to nod to Harrison, then his gaze returned to me.
“What happened?” I asked, dropping my legs over the side of the table and jumping down.
“Your uncle very clearly wants us out of here. Your uncles relayed the message that the political climate of the area was unstable, and he asked me to take you somewhere safe on the mainland personally until it stabilized. They asked me a series of inauspicious questions that made me suspect that Reeves thinks I’m supporting an Oceania takeover of the Mabiian Islands, though I have no idea what gave him that idea.”
“Something triggered Reeves’s paranoia, but it makes total sense why you’d support an Oceania takeover,” I said.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me, either,” Harrison said.
“With my grandfather deposed, the Mabiian Islands are like a restaurant in a prime location that’s fallen on hard times and is begging for a takeover. Reeves knows that since you are like the hotel with a partnership agreement with his restaurant, you can’t openly take over his business or you’ll never get another restaurant to partner with you. So, in his mind you’d likely help another company you’re also partnered with perform the takeover so the restaurant doesn’t go to a rival hotel and lose you the revenue from the partnership.”
They both stared at me, looking a little shocked.
After a few seconds Wyvern said, “I’d have to surrender to a foreign country, weakening my rule.” His brow furrowed.
“Not if they did a quick takeover with a small force that completely toppled Reeves’s rule over the islands. You could then do a show of force when your troops arrived. You could retake the island with no bloodshed and perhaps some economic and political concessions to Oceania.” I raised a hand. “Not that I’m recommending you do it, but it’s how my family thinks.”
“Of course,” Wyvern said.
I continued, “Anyway, Reeves wants me out of here because my contract with you is the only thing keeping all the other Rexdoms at bay. If I die, he’s SOL.”
“That makes a lot of sense along with what else he told me,” he said. He pulled out a freezer bag with what looked like a grimy sandwich bag carrying a note.
“Can I?” I asked, reaching for it.
An intense expression set on his face as he handed me the bag.
I pressed down on the plastic, moving what looked like sea grime away to see the message on the paper. It read, ‘Give us Dakota Kekoa.’
“That was on your cousin’s body,” Wyvern said.
Harrison held out a hand to me and I practically threw the bag at him.
“I think I need to get off this plane.” My head started to spin, and I either needed to take a seat, or fall down. “They killed a cousin I was barely even connected with to send a message to my family? How does that make any sense? Do you think it was actually found on his body? Reeves could have made it…” I said, unable to take my attention from the bag as Harrison examined it.
“I smelled no anxiety on them when they told me, which makes me believe they either didn’t lie or didn’t know they were lying. Dracons usually in the very least feel anxiety when they lie to me,” he said.
“Which uncles were they?” I asked.
“Tyler and Bryce Franklin,” Wyvern said.
“Soldiers from Waibibi. I barely know them,” I sai
d.
“What did they say about the vampires?”
“I made a deal with them, but it’s not set,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“They will allow us onto the island to inspect the hotel. They will also allow me to send agents into the coven before they take action against them.”
“Why? What are you going to do there?” I asked, my voice coming out a little shrill.
“I need to trace back their source before your family wipes them out. The agents I sent to your local covens have made many arrests and learned absolutely nothing. We believe that the coven, or covens, that attacked you the other night weren’t from Mabi island. If this coven is making open public threats against you, they might be our best chance at finding out who leaked the false information about you attacking the Regina.”
“I need some fresh air… Okay, what does Reeves want in return?” I asked.
“For me to take you to the mainland and guard you myself. He says he doesn’t trust your security team to protect you after what happened. This, of course, would mean that Harrison would either have to come with us, or return to the Crimson Midnight. He also wants Harrison’s brothers who don’t live here to depart for Oceania.”
“If they go home they’ll burn the Regina’s body, we’re running out of time,” I whispered, looking between both of them.
“I told them we would need forty-eight hours before we could leave for the mainland,” he said.
“My brothers plan to quit the islands the moment I acquit them of blame for the attack on Dakota,” Harrison said.
“That’s not a lot of time but… but, I’m not really sure how much time my grandfather or uncle Bobby have anyway. And the moment my grandfather is revived, Reeves won’t be a problem,” I said.
“So you want to take the deal?” he asked.
“Yes. I say we go find who’s behind this, force them to tell us how to fix Lorelei and Bobby. Bobby will get the Regina’s body to my grandfather, I’ll fix them, my grandfather will send Reeves back to doing paperwork, and we’re all happy. I think we can do that in forty-eight hours. I found Honua in… only a little more than that.”
“We found Honua,” Wyvern corrected.
“Um no, I found Honua. All you did was follow me, all loomy and angry, and boss me around… And if I don’t get off this plane soon, I will definitely freak out on both of you.”
Wyvern took a step toward me, but spun to Harrison. “I need your agreement too. How does the deal sound to you?” he asked.
“As if I am possibly walking into a trap.” He turned to me. “What is the likelihood your uncle will take me hostage if he believes that my family plans to attack the islands?”
“Pretty likely. It’s what my grandfather would do… Much less likely in Wyvern’s presence. Actually, probably not at all likely in Wyvern’s presence,” I said.
He breathed out a heavy exhale. “It’s a risk I am going to have to take.”
“Oh, thank all the gods. I need to get out of here,” I mumbled.
Wyvern put a hand on my back and motioned for me to go past him.
“Too many people are dying,” I said under my breath. When I was at the airplane door, I stopped dead in my tracks, a horrible realization washing over me in a sudden rush.
“What’s the matter?” Harrison asked, his eyes on my face as he stopped beside me.
I made myself shrug. “Too many things to count. Sorry.”
Chapter Twenty-three
“I hope it’s okay I sat by you,” I said to Sarah as I climbed into the limousine my uncle Reeves had sent for us. Yes, he had sent a limo. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when I saw it parked out front.
“It’s always okay,” Sarah said, grinning.
“We’re kind of like, the kids section over here, huh?” I said, noticing that on the other side of the limo Wyvern, Sophie and Harrison were already locked in a serious conversation, their voices low.
“Ha, yeah,” she said.
I knew that Annie was in the passenger seat, and the last member of my security team, Brian, had taken over driving, leaving my uncle’s driver at the airport.
I leaned into Sarah, resting my head slightly on her shoulder. “I haven’t thanked you yet for fighting for Lorelei on the ship, and keeping her safe,” I said. As I spoke, I gently reached out my power and passed through the layers of her soul. As a human, the outer layer of her soul was easy to pass through.
Her emotions washed over me, a low level of annoyance washed over me, but also a not entirely comfortable friendly affection. Like a hot knife, I slipped through her next layer into her deeper emotions. Anticipation, guilt, sadness, confusion, regret, all stewed together, pulling me deeper, though none showing in her placid expression.
“I didn’t actually manage to protect her as much as I hoped,” she was saying, though my attention was on slipping through her next layer, into her memory emotions.
“What happened that night? I’ve heard it from Sophie, but you were right in the middle of it all…”
She described the night, mostly as Sophie had, me leaving with Harrison then the Regina selecting Sophie. She described deciding to go after me, and as she explained what happened, I watched the memory play in her mind.
The server beside me turned, showing me his strong Europan features as he leaned down to my ear. “You waited too long, we’ve lost our chance.” His lips pressed into my earlobe as he spoke.
Regret and shame surged through my stomach with his words. I licked my lips before saying, “She was never close enough… I couldn’t do it.”
“This is our only chance,” he whispered.
Guilt coursed up from my chest. “I have a plan… I can still make it happen… I can do it another way…”
“Do it,” he whispered.
I looked for Sophie and saw her cradled in the Regina’s arms, neck exposed to be fed upon. An intense wave of absolute loathing rolled through me. I made eye contact with Sophie’s umber eyes, gave the slightest of nods, and then headed for the entrance of the room.
As my hand came up, I paused a moment, a pulse of reluctance surging up into my throat. My eyes squeezed shut as I curled my fingers into a fist and rapped twice on the door with my knuckles. A moment later, the dracon Benjamin opened the door to smirk through.
He met my eyes with a look of interest, sending a pulse of revulsion through my body. Stepping into the hall, he immediately slung an arm around my shoulders, his finger moving up and down over my bare skin. “Are you ready to party?”
“Don’t touch me,” I whispered.
Suddenly I was ripped from Sarah’s memory, as she scooted away to peer at me, her hair falling forward.
“Are you okay? Are you falling asleep?” she asked.
“Just a little disturbed by everything that’s happened, is all,” I said, bobbing my shoulders once. “Well, I’m glad that you and Lorelei made it out safely.”
“Thanks to you, I hear,” she said.
“Thanks to him.” I nodded toward Wyvern. “You were probably having such massive health food withdrawals, weren’t you? Lorelei said all they had for humans were microwavable dinners.”
“Yes and it was disgusting!” She laughed.
“Do you know what happened to all the other servers? Were you locked up with them?”
“No, separate. And I have no idea,” she said. She grinned at me. “So you and the Rex seem to be getting along. My sister must be so happy.”
I hushed her by holding a finger to my lips and giving her a serious expression.
She only rolled her eyes laughing.
“Oh, yeah, I promise to buy you a new phone battery,” I said.
“Yeah, it’s fine, I already replaced it.” She held up her phone. “Just don’t do it again,” she said, holding a finger up to me, though her expression didn’t look serious.
“I won’t… probably won’t… I give it about an eighty-five percent chance,” I said.
“Ha
, I give it thirty,” she said.
Rain showered the windows as we passed the murky outline of the hotel’s entrance. Blobs of color slid by us, greens and reds, more than one shade of bloom.
Less organic shapes interrupted the flowers, the sharp tan lines of the hotel lobby and buildings.
Feeling someone’s attention on me, I turned my head to meet Wyvern’s umber gaze. On his lap, his hands moved in sign language, spelling out, ‘Hey. You okay?’
I signed back, spelling the words out, ‘Not yet.’
He signed, ‘We’re going to save them.’
I signed back, ‘It’s not usually like this here. I’m used to death, but not like this.’
‘Me neither,’ he signed.
We passed the entrance, turning onto an employee road that drove around the golf course, up the gentle slope toward Mailua’s volcano.
When I glanced at the other occupants of the car, I saw that they were each pointedly looking away. The only gaze I caught was Harrison’s as he glanced out of the corner of his eye at me, then fixed his gaze back on Sophie.
I signed, ‘I need to talk to Sophie in private before we go into the hotel, can you arrange that?’
His gaze bored into mine. ‘Yes.’
‘Thank you,’ I signed, turning my gaze back to the window as we pulled up to a familiar convention center. The rain beat down on the red tape that draped around the building like a ribbon around a Yule tree. As we parked, I unzipped and slipped my hand into the portal purse at the small of my back. Making sure to make no sudden movements, I counted by thousands as I reached around for the spare clip I kept through the portal. I was to fifteen-one-thousands when my fingers brushed against the cold metal. Grabbing it, I pulled my hand slowly out, zipped up the purse and kept the clip wedged between my back and the seat.
When the car had fully stopped, Wyvern announced, “Harrison, Sarah, I’d like us to secure the area before Dakota gets out of the limo. Sophie, you stay in the limo with Dakota.”
I turned what I hoped was a believable glare on him. “Seriously?”
“It’ll just take a moment, I’ll come get you when we’ve secured the area,” he said, opening the car door.
Rex (Dakota Kekoa Book 2) Page 22