by Lisa Kumar
As he went to lift another chair, someone grabbed him around the waist. Talion struggled and aimed a punch at the idiot’s jaw. But his fist grazed the skin, most of its power going to waste.
“Damn it, Father,” the person hissed in his ear.
Those words fought through his haze, and he opened and closed his eyes twice to make sure he was really seeing the person who held him. He gulped in a deep, shuddering breath. “Relian?”
His son scowled. “Yes, dear Father, please stop trying to lay me out flat. And though it might feel good to demolish your study, I think you’ll later regret it. If I let you go, do you promise to behave?”
Talion nodded, staring at the damage he’d wrought. By Eria, he’d done that? He remembered feeling rage course through him, but after that, nothing….
Relian’s grip tightened before he released him. “Good.”
Everyone in the room watched him silently, as if they expected another outbreak. He didn’t blame them. His tantrums wouldn’t save Maggie. Only his levelheadedness could do that, so he had to stay calm. For her sake. That endeavor seemed nearly impossible, though.
He staggered through the debris littering the floor to the window. His head fell forward until his forehead thumped against the cool pane of glass. A part of him wanted to break through the fragile glass and make it reflect the state of his soul, but he couldn’t summon the energy to do it. He closed his eyes in despair. These highs and lows gripping him threatened to fracture his mind. If he wanted to remain whole and sane for Maggie, he needed to temper these emotions.
Surely someone knew something, saw something? If one servant would come forward…. Of course during the time she went missing, the halls had been nearly empty of servants. Almost all had been at the Harvest Festival still going on in town or at the Harvest Evening Court, either serving or celebrating.
An insistent hand on Talion’s shoulder forced him to surface from his thoughts, and he pushed himself away from the window with a grunt.
“What do you want to do next, Father?” asked Relian, his concerned gaze watching him as if he feared Talion might go insane at any moment. Which might not be too far off from the truth. He kept the madness at bay with a layer of will that thinned by the hour, and it waited to pounce on him during his weakest moment.
Talion gathered his remaining wits about him. Maggie and his people relied on him as king, and to do that, he had to lead. “We send out search parties farther afield than Eriannon.” He glanced at Kenhel with a penetrating stare. “You’ll have everyone marshaled within the next hour, will you not?”
Kenhel inclined his head. “It will be done, though you know any evidence will be more readily visible when it’s light.” He appeared to hesitate before asking, “Though this could either possibly be Eamon’s handiwork or the darkindred’s, as we’ve discussed, I have to wonder how Eamon could arrange all this unless he had a lot of help.”
Talion’s lips twisted. “He would’ve had help, just as the darkindred. We know there’s at least one traitor in the palace. The question of how many townspeople may be involved is unknown, too.”
“We’ll find her, my friend,” Avrin said.
Then why did Talion feel so helpless? “Don’t make vows you might not be able to keep.”
Avrin shook his head. “You need to have hope.”
“I’m trying, but when your heart has been stolen, it’s easy to despair.”
“Then we need to get your heart back,” Sardon said, who up until this time had remained quiet. “And see that the people who are responsible for her abduction are dealt with.”
For some reason the words of the normally stoic Sardon served as a bolt of strength to Talion’s system. But a swirling depression, waiting to suck his well of energy dry, weighed his feet down like stones. Talion rubbed his chest, where an ache had been forming ever since Maggie had vanished. He wanted, needed, to believe there was hope, but any positive emotion was soon sucked from him, leaving him crippled under misery.
Then the truth flashed through his mind like lightning. The bond lie behind much of the madness haunting him, so it wasn’t unfounded that the bond had sensed his fear and was channeling that emotion into a downward spiral of hopelessness. In essence, it was panicking, too, and he needed to calm it down.
To do so wouldn’t be easy, but now that he recognized how the bond compounded his emotions, he’d try to fight its negative pull.
He turned to Sardon and smiled grimly. “You’re right. There’s no other course for me, at least not one I’ll contemplate.”
His friend nodded. “Good.”
Talion expelled a harsh breath. Until the search parties returned, all they could do was wait and see if a ransom note would be delivered or some other demand made. Though their bond hadn’t told him anything by way of her location or emotional health, the fact the link was still perfectly intact told him she was alive.
A knock broke the quiet of the room. Every particle within Talion froze. Would it be another messenger with one more useless report? Or would this person carry the information of Maggie’s whereabouts? Some part of him shouted it had to be the latter. Please don’t let it be a false hope.
With his hand on the knob, Relian looked at him. Talion nodded, silently assuring his son that he had collected himself and Relian was free to open the door.
Qerrin, one of Talion’s royal guards, stepped into the room and bowed before him and the others. To the Qerrin’s credit, his gaze barely flickered over the wreckage in the room. “Your Majesty, my lords, a message has been delivered by official courier.” He held out the missive to Talion.
Talion took it with slightly shaking hand. The folded piece of parchment looked innocent, non-imposing, but he knew the words within it would reveal something much different. He fingered the black seal holding the message closed. The mark wasn’t a familiar one, but he didn’t think it would be.
As he slid a nail under the beeswax, he glanced at Qerrin. “You said it was delivered by courier. Which town was it from?” Though he doubted the people responsible for the missive lived in that town, they might buy a lot of their provisions from there.
“Centvion, Sire, a small village in the mountains about three hours from here. We’ve already questioned the courier. He said that nothing about the male who dropped off the message stood out and that he’d never seen him before.”
Talion grunted in response and then dismissed the guard. Well, there went that hope. The only thing left to do was open the message and try to decode any clues it might give.
He scanned over the contents before throwing the paper away from him in disgust. His body vibrated with rage as he spit out, “Eamon, that bastard, has her. Today at six in the evening, he wants to “meet” with me alone in a cave outside Centvion so he can release her.” He ran a hand through his hair, ripping a few strands out in the process, though he barely noticed the flash of pain.
“It’s a trap,” Kenhel said softly.
“Of course it is, but I can’t leave Maggie in his hands. He says if I don’t come, he’ll kill her.” Anger sizzled through his veins at the thought of Eamon hurting Maggie in any way. His bold, precious Maggie.
Now that he knew who was responsible for her abduction, he’d harness all his fury and put it to good use when he rescued her. He’d smash the pathetic elf to a pulp before he killed him. He straightened his back so he stood proud and confident. “I’m fine now and need to plan for tomorrow evening.”
Relian shook his head vehemently. “You can’t go alone, Father. It would be suicide.”
“I’ll go in alone, but reinforcements will follow.”
His son frowned. “Eamon is smart enough to account for that possibility, don’t you think?”
“I know my nephew,” Avrin said nephew with derision. “And I have to agree with Relian. You’re not going alone.”
Kenhel nodded. “If he’s in a cave, there could be other passages and ways out he’s counting on to use. And we don’t know
how many people will be helping him. They could be guarding those passages.”
“That, my boy, are my thoughts exactly, and why I need to go in alone,” Talion said. “Eamon wants me badly enough that I don’t foresee needing to fight off his men to reach him. Once I find Maggie, you and the soldiers will then follow. I won’t risk her life by having her stuck in crossfire until she’s secured and as safe as possible.” He paused and looked at Avrin. “Please have Scribe Alegrian sent to the council room immediately with all maps of the Green Mountains. We’ll all convene there in fifteen minutes. Once we know the terrain, our best scouts will be sent to observe any movement of the enemy.”
“It might just work,” Avrin muttered, looking mildly surprised he was even agreeing.
Talion crossed his arms over his chest, fighting against the depression that clawed at the borders of his mind. “It had better. All I know is that we have to rout that snake out of his hole and rescue our queen. There’s no other end result I’ll accept.” Unless I’m dead. His unspoken words seemed to hang heavy on the air until he dismissed everyone.
Once the last person filed out the door, Talion sunk heavily down on his now cleared desk, his head in his hands.
Chapter 22
Maggie stared at Andrian. What are we going to do about you? Was that some sort of trick question? Did he really want to help her? Only one way to find out. She licked her lips nervously before asking, “How about getting me out of here?”
“No, no, no, it’s not that easy. Eamon would have my head on a pike if I did.”
“But you stood up to him, and you’re fine.”
He shook his head. “He’s frightened of me, but in the end, he knows he’ll always be able to control me.”
By some form of blackmail? “How so?”
He looked at the ceiling, and his attention seemed to be held captive by something she couldn’t see. “I can’t spill all my secrets.”
She shivered. An eerie quality she couldn’t quite define lie about him. But since he was darkindred, maybe that was why? Still, he appeared more weird than harmful. And so like Talion it hurt, but she had to ignore that part. “I don’t want your secrets, and it’s not like I have anyone here to tell, anyway.”
“Not now, but who knows when someone will show up to rescue you. I have to ensure my people’s safety.”
“Who says anyone will come after me?”
He chuckled as if she’d said something hilarious. “Of course, he’ll come. You’re his precious bond mate.”
She snorted at his choice of words. “Yeah, right.”
“Since you share a complete bond, you’re his in every way, right down to your toes.”
He was as bad as Talion. “I’m no man’s possession,” she said, raising her chin.
“Not a possession, no. But your souls have joined and not even death can cut that bond. You love him. I can see the truth of it shining in your eyes.”
She recoiled as if he’d struck her. “I don’t love him.” Though she’d entertained the possibility before dismissing it as absurd. So why did everyone keep insisting she loved him? Could they be right? Her heart nearly stopped at the idea that she may love him, but before she could explore that supposition further, Andrian drew her attention back to him when he spoke.
“Keep telling yourself that’s how you feel. You might even start to believe it. Maybe it would be for the better.”
Wariness settled over her. “What do you mean?”
“Just before you awoke, Eamon sent one of my men to have a message delivered to Talion. He’s requested Talion’s presence tomorrow evening. I can’t imagine Eamon plans on inviting him to dinner. Or you for that matter. I’m sure he has something much more sinister in store.”
Maggie swallowed against the sick feeling churning her stomach. His meaning was clear. It was better to not love someone who might die all too soon. Hell, she’d probably die, too. If Eamon didn’t do her in, the bond probably would.
Surely, though, Talion wouldn’t play into his hands? But she also knew he wouldn’t leave her here to rot.
Misery swamped her until she wanted to curl up in a ball and never move again. What would she do if Talion tried to rescue her? What would she do if he didn’t? Hope and fear at both possibilities filled her.
She buried her face in her hands, tears prickling her eyes. “God, this is so messed up.”
Andrian made a clicking noise with his tongue, and ran a soothing hand over her tangled hair.
She almost shied away from his caress, but stopped herself. Though for a moment she could nearly fool herself that he was Talion, she wouldn’t allow herself to do that. Still, something made her pause and accept his touch. There wasn’t anything sexual about it. He was treating her as one might a scared child. And that was shocking, considering what he was. Weren’t darkindred vicious, dark creatures? Or were they only misunderstood?
Moving her hands away from her face slightly, she glanced at him. “You’re not meshing up with the few things I’ve been told about the darkindred.”
“I’m much worse than you feared?” he asked with a huge grin, removing his hand from her head.
His reply shocked her out of her melancholy. Maggie straightened up and rubbed her eyes. “Hardly. You’re nowhere as ruthless as I pictured.”
His face sobered. “We can be quite ruthless. Often times we have to be to survive.” He grew quiet before continuing. “But it’s not always by choice.”
Why not by choice? Because they were forced into that mode to protect themselves or because their nature caused them to do things they’d rather not? Which brought her to another question. “What did you mean by calling Eamon a corruptor?”
Andrian drew back from her quickly. “And that would be one of my secrets.”
Maggie frowned. It appeared the darkindred were no better than other elves about opening up. Everything had to be secret. Andrian was as typical as any elf in that regard. So what if he were darkindred and a tiny weird? He was as closed mouth as the next elf, which to her was a glaring elvin trait.
She pinned him with a glare. “Why do you all act the same?”
His forehead creased. “What are you talking about?”
“You elves and your secrets. Everything’s just one big intriguing word game to you.”
Andrian chortled. “I see you’ve been around Talion too long.”
“Yeah, and every other elf who seems to have the same predilection. I swear it must be a national obsession with you guys.”
“I can see why Talion loves you.”
“Not that love crap again.” Not while she was so vulnerable. Not when she could lose him. “Anyway, we were talking about you, not me.”
“I’d much rather learn about you, dear sister-in-law.”
“Nice try. Stop attempting to deflect attention from yourself.”
He shrugged. “Some things are better left undiscovered.”
“So you don’t mind telling Talion or Eamon’s secrets, even though you zealously guard your own?”
A slow smile spread over his lips. “That sounds correct.”
She sighed. It was clear she wasn’t going to get anything out of him, so she might as well turn back to the most pressing matter. “What are you planning to do with me?”
“Why, to get you out of here alive and with all your digits still in place. But I make no promises. My people and their safety come first, and those are hard endeavors to fulfill when under the fist of Eamon.”
So he’d do what he could for her without risking too much? His response wasn’t the most positive one she could’ve hoped for, but she’d take it. “Fair enough. So we now wait?”
He nodded. “Until dear brother comes to get you. I dare not try to sneak you out. Eamon would know. Fortunately, you won’t have much time to suffer his…attentions.”
Maggie reared back. “I thought he wouldn’t touch me?”
“Sexually, he won’t. But physically is another matter.”
She swallowed against the panic crawling up her throat. “Surely he won’t bother with me. Talion will be coming soon, and Eamon probably has diabolical plans to finalize.” Which on second thought that wasn’t a great thing, either. The creep didn’t need to have even more time to plot death and mayhem. But the alternative…. She shivered, goose bumps popping up on her skin.
“He will be busy, and that should work in your favor. Otherwise, I’m all that stands between you and Eamon.” Andrian grinned as if he were pleased by that fact.
Her stomach twisted. What was she doing trusting a darkindred? But it was the only choice she had right now. If faced with Eamon or him, she’d pick Andrian any day. Even though everything about him screamed he could be extremely dangerous, he didn’t seem like he got his jollies from hurting people. She just hoped he could keep her safe until Talion arrived. Her heart plummeted. After that, all bets were off, and who knew what would happen?
***
Before daylight broke over Eriannon, Talion watched as the scouting party left the main courtyard. Though he wasn’t counting on anything they’d find, he’d decided to stay busy so his despair and madness remained at bay.
Turning on his heel swiftly, he headed down a path that would take him to the family wing. He had a meeting in half an hour with his council and wanted to pen a few notes in his study before then. Darkness tugged at his heart. Of course, the messages weren’t important, but he had to do something so he didn’t go insane. One insane elf, not including Eamon, in the family was enough.
Though Talion had disowned Andrian, his mind often ventured to thoughts of him. For some reason, today was no different. He sighed. If he weren’t careful, he’d be following in his brother’s footstep. Oh, not the darkindred part, but the crazy one. A vicious chuckle welled up in his throat. Who would’ve ever thought they’d have something in common? After all, though they were twins, they’d been as different as the sun and stars, especially after Andrian betrayed him. But could he fully blame his brother for his actions? Serrina had turned manipulative in her bitterness.