by Ophelia Bell
He slid off her table, and without a glance back, bee-lined for her front porch.
“Take your time!” she called after him. He grunted in response, his pace increasing to a slow trot as he headed out the door and back down the steps in the direction of the pool at the center of the Glade.
When he was well out of earshot, Aurum slumped into a chair and exhaled.
“Sweet Mother, what am I going to do with him?” All the thoughts of what she absolutely shouldn’t do with him traipsed through her mind. Hopefully by the time he returned to her, his physical cravings would be under control. Then she could deal with the underlying complication, which was the sting of abandonment that remained deep in his soul.
She snapped her fingers and stood. There was one more ingredient she’d forgotten to add to their supper. The intimacy of offering her breath the traditional way might be too much for them both, but there was another option. Opening the oven, she bent down and summoned her magic, then exhaled a long, gilt plume of smoke into the space, infusing the contents with the power that would do the most good for him.
He would have joy for supper tonight.
Chapter Nine
Aodh
With all the red dirt in this desolate place coating his skin and hair, Aodh could have passed for his brother, but he was the only one who could come and go with the efficiency of the drift. As he secured the last wards on the outer door of the hidden hibernation temple where his niece and nephew slept, the small hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Ensuring that nothing but sheer, red rock was visible in the wall of the box canyon, he turned cautiously, expecting that perhaps one of the aborigine hunters had unwittingly wandered off the track while Aodh had the outermost wards down.
Seated on a fallen boulder several yards back and just as coated in red dust as Aodh sat a familiar figure with a dark, serious expression.
Aodh frowned, taking in Nikhil’s trekking gear, from the heavily laden pack leaning against the rock to his dusty cargo shorts and worn boots. His sister’s former lover was shirtless and had been for miles, based on the layer of dirt that covered his broad chest. Nikhil was still a strikingly powerful figure—not intimidating to Aodh, but large and imposing enough to have intrigued him into attempting seduction, if Aodh didn’t already know the man far too well.
“Long trip?” he asked, closing the distance between them until just a few feet were left.
Nikhil bent down and began untying one boot. “Seems walking was my only option this time. I can’t drift within a hundred miles of this place, but based on the limitation, I figured the place you least wanted me was right in the center. I guess I was right.” He tugged his boot off and upended it, a healthy pile of sand falling out to be reunited with the Outback where it had originated.
“You can’t go inside. You know the rules.”
Nikhil shook his head. “I’m not here for Asha, actually. I’m here for you.”
Crossing his arms, Aodh said, “Why me? And why here, of all places?”
“Because I can’t get to the monastery without Belah there—believe me, I’ve tried. And Sterlyn’s too goddamn conscientious of your rules to drift me into the monastery with him, now that he sees me as an equal instead of his boss. Don’t even ask about Naaz. He quit speaking to me when I told him he’d have to work harder to get to my daughter. At least he’s staying on mission, though.”
Aodh chuckled softly. “So you hiked a hundred miles on the off-chance you might catch me here?”
“I wasn’t positive it would be you, but I figured the odds were good. And no, I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait, either. Looks like I got lucky.” He eyed the jagged, red rock face where the opening to the temple had been only moments before. “How are they? Safe and well-guarded, I hope?”
Aodh nodded. “I assigned three more Guardians to the temple today. The children are doing well.” His lips twitched, thinking about how talkative his niece had been. “Asha asked me to tell you to, as she says, ‘kick that Lamia bitch’s ass’ for her.”
He shook his head. This entire situation was too surreal. Less than a week ago, this man had been his mortal enemy, and now he had to admit he was warming to him like family.
“And she said to tell you and her mother that she loves you and can’t wait to see you both together again.”
Nikhil’s dusty throat rippled and he glanced away from Aodh. His aura flickered with warm light, betraying the emotion he otherwise managed to keep hidden.
“I have a lot of work to do before I’ll feel right about the past, if that’s even possible. I need to regain control of the Ultiori to do that, but she’s got me locked out of all the research divisions. The best Naaz and Sterlyn could do is bring the military division around, but they only made up about a third of the staff.”
“Do you have a plan to get to her?” Aodh asked.
“Getting into the facilities is only one issue. We have techs who can get us past the human-designed security, and Naaz and Sterlyn are equipped with enough power that when we work together, we’re sure we can break through any of her magical barriers. The problem is, out of all those scientists, I have no idea how to find her. I only know that she used to be Dr. St. George, but she died a few years back.”
A chill shot down Aodh’s spine despite the intense heat radiating off the canyon walls. The Meri he knew had been devious and single-minded about achieving her goals, and very good at disguising her true intentions. If he’d been able to see through her ruse at the very beginning, they might never have wound up in this position, but he’d been blinded by love for a satyr he shouldn’t have wanted, and lust for the slippery nymph who had made all those false promises so long ago.
“She’s changed hosts already,” he said. “Probably did it the same day the previous one died. How long ago was that?”
“About three years,” Nikhil said. “And I have no idea which of her lackeys is in charge now, if she even moved into one of them. I hoped the trap Calder set would work, but the fact that he’s long gone and we still can’t access any of the other facilities’ research divisions tells me it didn’t. Even if we could identify who it was that took Calder’s bait, we can’t guarantee that’s her current identity.”
Aodh shook his head. “I can pretty much guarantee it isn’t, but it’s unlikely she’s switched bodies more than once since. That kind of jump requires a lot of power, and at least a semi-willing partner. What’s more likely is that she’s gone into hiding, which at least gives us some time to regroup.”
Nikhil narrowed his eyes, hands pausing on the shoelaces of his freshly emptied left boot. “You seem to know an awful lot about the woman for a man who’s been locked in a magic bubble for the last three thousand years. Not even Calder knew exactly where she got her power, and by his accounts, he knew her personally at one time.”
This man was no longer an adversary, but he was digging just a little too deep for Aodh’s comfort. “For the man’s former jailer, Calder entrusted a lot of sensitive details to you. How do you know so much?”
Nikhil stared at him for a moment without answering. Aodh sensed a deep conflict going on inside his mind, his aura rippling with evidence of it.
Finally Nikhil’s shoulders fell, and he opened his hands in a helpless gesture. “Fuck if I know, brother. I woke up the other day with memories I didn’t have before, and all these fucking blank spots in other places. If I could get to Belah to ask for her help working out what the problem was, I would, but those new mates of hers have hidden her away too damn well. I don’t suppose you can dig into my head and see what’s up, can you?”
“No,” Aodh said, his brow furrowing. “I can only see what your aura or your physiology show me. Emotional and mental states are Ked and Belah’s domain. Or Aurum’s, but none of them are accessible at the moment. When did this happen?”
Nikhil tilted
his chin to the invisible door at the end of the canyon. “After Zorion zapped me the other day, just before you brought him and Asha here. It’s like every moment when Meri had control of me is gone. Fucking disconcerting, but it just highlights the fact that I was still an utter shit to everyone when I was in control. In between all those real memories, it’s like there’s this Calder voiceover commentary. As if I needed another goddamn voice in my head.”
Aodh laughed. “If it’s any consolation, I’m pretty sure he isn’t controlling you the way she was. It isn’t his style, and you’d have had to be far more intimate with him than I think you’d be comfortable with.”
Nikhil stood up, the change in perspective reminding Aodh how intimidating this man could be, even when he wasn’t overtly making threats. “So you know Calder as well as Meri, then? Zorion might have been right about you.”
The chill crept back up Aodh’s spine. His nephew was a wildcard—always had been, which was why he’d been locked away in hibernation from the beginning. A dragon with that much power was dangerous, but it seemed Zorion might also have his own agenda, if he was sharing secrets with the likes of Nikhil.
“What did my nephew tell you?”
“Only that his uncle had secrets I should know if I wanted to beat Meri.”
“He has more than one uncle …” He stopped speaking when Nikhil’s expression darkened, his eyes flashing with that inner rage he knew the man possessed, but had thankfully held in check during their conversation.
Shaking his head, Nikhil said, “One thing Zorion did for me was repair my damaged blessings before you left with him and my daughter. You can’t hide the truth from me any more than I can hide it from you. Spill, or we’ll be doing more in a moment than having words. I may be on your side now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t still do what’s needed to win.”
Aodh clenched his jaw, seeing no way out of this conversation without turning tail and leaving. Running from the truth was never a good plan, though, and this was one particular truth he was long overdue to face.
“I knew Calder, yes. Before … all this … I spent time in the Haven. The higher races didn’t mate each other—we never have, until now—but that doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy spending time together.”
With a deadpan look, Nikhil said, “You fucked a nymph. Or was it a satyr? Was Calder your lover before we gave him the ursa cub?”
“Not Calder,” he said, and the irony of the moment hit him like a lightning bolt. There was no getting around it, though. The very person their entire world had vilified, and who his own sister had been ashamed to admit to loving in spite of his sins, was the one about to hear his own darkest secret. “Neph was who I loved, but the secret you’re so unsubtly digging for is that we shared a nymph to legitimize our relationship. It wouldn’t look good for one of the nymphaea Dionarchs to be caught in a love affair with a dragon, and a male dragon, to boot. With a female in the middle, all it looked like was some good, carnal fun.”
“Meri was your third.”
Aodh nodded.
Nikhil rested his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “Man, you and your siblings are something else. And to think Belah had to spend so long believing she was the one who’d fucked the enemy. Did Meri fall for you, or was she in on the ruse? Did she cover for you breaking the rules and falling for a satyr?”
“It was all fun for her. Neph had thoughts of mating her to keep up appearances so I could keep coming back. He couldn’t keep seeing me without making his sister suspicious. Meri had higher ambitions, though.”
Aodh expelled a breath and stared up at the sky, wishing he’d had the balls to escape, but knowing if Nikhil wanted to, he had the power to stop him.
Nikhil leaned back against the rock again and twirled his hand in a little “do go on” gesture.
Aodh stared at his hands, picking red dirt from under his nails. “The Thiasoi aren’t immortal like the Dionarchs. They have incredible power, including the ability to connect with the Diviner—who’s like an oracle—through the River. Most of them are perfectly fine with that. None of the Dragon Court ever entertained thoughts of trying to take over a Council spot … like them, the Thiasoi knew their place. Except after melding with me and Neph, Meri got a taste of what it feels like to be immortal. She wasn’t prepared to stop having sex, and she knew neither of us loved her. She was a means to an end for us. And I guess we became that for her. Or I did, anyway.”
When Nikhil started to speak, Aodh raised his hand.
“Before you say it, trust me … she wasn’t in love with either of us. Remember, we both melded with her. You’ve been melded with the bitch for centuries on end. Tell me whether you ever felt an inkling of emotion close to love in all that time she was in your head.”
“If I remembered any of the time she spent in my head, I might be able to tell you. I remember feeling it myself, though.”
“Well, that’s the difference between the two of you. After melding with her, it was clear her entire purpose was self-gratification. When I made the mistake of agreeing to a blood-meld, all bets were off. She took my body for a joyride, leaving my spirit untethered until the other Thiasoi and my siblings chased her down and forced her spirit out of my body and back into her own.”
Nikhil’s brow furrowed. “Fuck. I thought blood-melds were grounds for execution by the nymphaea.”
“Does your Calder voiceover tell you that? I haven’t been privy to the nymphaea’s laws in a long time, but I’m not surprised. They banished her over it. Not killing her then was a mistake I’m sure they’re kicking themselves over.”
“Yeah, but they’re doing fuck-all about it now. They sent their Thiasoi after her, and she … we, I suppose … managed to shut them all down. All except for Calder, anyway. That sneaky bastard managed to make himself too valuable to kill. I don’t know what Meri did with the other satyr captives. I thought she’d killed them, but it turns out they’re still alive somewhere. All I know is that they definitely haven’t gone home. We don’t know whose meat suit she’s wearing now, but I’m betting those Dionarchs of theirs know how we can find her.”
The Dionarchs certainly knew every secret of the nymphaea race. Neph had been open with Aodh when they were lovers, but knew his limits when it came to sharing those kinds of things. If he ever saw the man again, he would ask.
“What they know doesn’t matter. The Haven’s been inaccessible to outsiders for eons, and if the last year’s changes are any indication, they’re tightening their security even more. Calder’s probably the last one of them to get back in, if he even managed to make it himself.”
“Are you sure about that?” Nikhil asked.
Too late, Aodh felt the familiar tickle of blue magic in his mind like a pair of eyes peeking into his secrets. The bastard still had Belah’s blood in his veins. How could Aodh be so fucking dumb?
“What do you know?” Aodh asked, not willing to just come out with his information until he knew what Nikhil was really after. “If Calder planted information in your head somehow, it would help to know how best to fill in the blanks.”
Nikhil snorted. “Fine, I’ll bite. I know what he told me—not a memory he planted, but a true memory of a conversation I had with him a long time ago. Believe it or not, I used to have lucid moments when that slippery bitch was too busy with whatever other shit she had her fingers in to play with her Nikhil puppet. Since he was the oldest prisoner we had, I made a habit of talking to him. A lot. I suppose you could say we were friends, as much as a prisoner and his jailer can be friends. He probably knows as many of my secrets as I know of his. He knew about my history with Belah …”
He paused, his eyes going glassy for a moment, and he swallowed thickly before continuing.
“Anyway, he confessed that his Diviner, or whatever his source for information was, had shown him Fate’s plan. That the reason he didn’t mind being locked up was beca
use he knew one day he’d be free, and that when he was, he’d become Belah’s sister’s mate. Said he understood wanting a woman like her and not being able to have her because there were too many obstacles. He also said he knew he might not have a choice but to turn her away when she came to find him.”
Nikhil’s gaze lifted and met Aodh’s, holding steady. Aodh threw up a wall in his mind against any more prodding that might come, but there were no more attempts. He raised an eyebrow.
“So what if my sister plans to find the man she’s destined to be with? All of us have dreamed of our mates over the last few centuries. You should know that Belah also dreamed of the North brothers before you walked back into her life. Your presence didn’t stop her from mating them.”
The other man winced, but avoided being baited by Aodh’s little taunt. Aodh only wound up feeling petty because of it.
Nikhil said, “If your sister really is intending to go to Calder, and I have every reason to believe what he told me is true, then there’s a way to get into the Haven, and I’m willing to bet you know how to get there. I want you to take me in so I can talk to those goddamn Dionarchs and find out what they know.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
Aodh scrubbed a hand over his face. “You don’t understand. Yes, there’s a way in, and we’re planning to help Aurum get there. But we can’t let you come with us without starting a war with the ursa. It’s going to piss them off enough when we break through their barrier. We bring you in with us? There’ll be hell to pay. They aren’t exactly your biggest fans, after what you did to their queen.”
Nikhil’s eyes clouded with uncertainty.
“Unfortunately, that event was one of the casualties of my memory loss. I remember the ursa cub, Nicholas, vividly—and my regret that he was an orphan—but I don’t remember how we wound up with him. I don’t expect any of the higher races to accept me, but I do expect the nymphaea to take responsibility for their own fucking problem. I want to face the pair of leaders of theirs and have them tell me to my face what they intend to do to fix this.”