Great, now she’d have no choice but to be stuck in bed. “I’m not interested.” She continued down the hall.
“He thinks it’s healing from a break, but from your movements it seems that it’s probably a bad sprain. Wrapping it will help and with your ability to heal, you’ll be able to walk by tomorrow. If you stay off it.” Though light, Victoria’s voice held an undertone of a demand to it.
Tegan tried not to roll her eyes. “I don’t want to be stuck in bed for an entire night, or most of a day.”
“Oh honey, I didn’t say you had to stay in bed.” Victoria laughed, “take my arm and I’ll set you up in the most amazing room you’ve seen.”
Tegan raised a brow and turned to the woman. She normally trusted Lucius’ judgment when it came to people, but with Coran here Tegan wasn’t sure who she could trust. “As long as I’m not trapped and someone brings me food...” She paused, “anyone but Coran brings me food.”
“I think that can be arranged.” The woman helped support Tegan and took her back through the foyer, now empty of Coran and Lucius. They continued down another hall and Victoria opened the door to a room with giant chairs and a strange rectangle on the wall.
“Behold, the media room.”
Lucius sensed Kaden enter the mansion and he looked up from the notebook Coran brought him a couple weeks ago. The demon had been gracious enough to give Tegan space last night, dawn was approaching quickly which was when Kaden was needed most. Lucius could not protect his stubborn human during day light hours. Nor could he make sure she followed orders to stay off her leg, luckily he’d been wrong about her knee, but the damage needed to heal. He closed the notebook and placed it on his shelf before going to the foyer to meet Kaden.
“She’s in the media room, resting and watching silly shows.” Lucius crossed his arms, “but you and I have a few things to go over before you spend time with her.”
Kaden bowed his head. “I’m sure we do.”
“You are not to mention what you are to her, you are not to mention when you met, you will keep all that to yourself. Understood?” Lucius kept his snarl under control. He couldn’t have the demon undoing Zaaren’s hard work to keep certain things from Tegan’s mind. Taking the memories was for his human’s best interest and though he didn’t agree exactly with how Zaaren did it, he thought it helped her.
“Understood, I don’t want to cause her any more stress right now. Though, don’t you think she’ll ask eventually? Certainly the mark is still there and she’ll start to notice things when we are together.” Kaden put his hands in his pockets. “How do you want me to explain that?”
“Brush it off, tell her it’s just because she is becoming comfortable with you around and that it was the same with her last guard.” Lucius’ mind went to Orion, the situation would almost be simpler if the Fae could have come back to guard Tegan, but it wasn’t a choice since Orion claimed his crown.
“Okay, what are my duties?”
“Keep her safe, from everything and anything. If you can, start working with her about her memories, I know you can use her dreams to bring up some of the past.” He paced in front of his chair, trying to figure out what else the demon could do. “If need be, during daylight hours only, you may take her to her apartment, above The Disappearing Act. Something familiar and personal might help bring back some of the...trivial memories.”
Kaden drew in a deep breath. “Why do you think Markus did this to her?”
“He had to have been working with the demons, which wasn’t something we expected, but we know it’s him. None of your people have this power and Zaaren is sleeping.”
Which only left the one vampire Tegan was terrified of. Kaden sighed. “I’ll do what I can for her. Once her leg heals, I’ll take her to her apartment and maybe something there will spark her memories.”
Lucius could hope. Maybe he should have taken her there in the first place. “Go to her, but Kaden...be gentle with her.” He remembered Tegan’s reaction to Coran. He still needed to address her concern, but now was not the time and if he was honest with himself, he knew he was simply waiting until her memories came back. Dealing with the past was not something he had planned on.
Kaden nodded. “Of course.”
Lucius waved him away then leaned back in his chair. The only other thing he could think of was to take Tegan to her brother and see if a visit would help stir up memories, but of course the last time he’d done such, she’d opened the coffin and tried to stab him for leaving her. Yep. Tegan was his firecracker ...until her reality set in around her and she realized what all she’d gone through. Then she broke.
Kaden stood outside the media room and peeked his head in. He wanted to be able to assess the situation and gauge Tegan’s mood. She sat in an overstuffed chair, watching the screen. Her leg propped up and it looked like she hadn’t moved in a while.
“You can come in, I’m not asleep.” She called out to him. “Besides, it freaks me out that you’re lingering in the doorway.”
He chuckled and walked further in. She didn’t seem bothered by the television like she had been the hospital machines. Perching on the couch next to the chair, he tried to read her pain level. Her face was pale, but that didn’t seem to be anything unusual. She was leaning forward and he assumed her back bothered her. “How did you know I was there?”
“This is going to sound odd, but it’s like I know when you’re near. I felt you the moment you showed up, but I don’t know how. It’s like...” She didn’t look at him.
He knew exactly what it felt like, like they were a part of each other. It nearly ripped him apart when she disappeared and he was surprised it wasn’t something that she noticed. Of course, she also suffered through the separation of her master. “It’s because you’re used to me around...the territory that is.” It wasn’t a complete lie. “It’s something you’ll get used to again. You can probably sense a lot of Lucius’ people.” He wasn’t sure if that was the truth or not, but he at least had to try. Tegan was smarter and more observant than Lucius thought.
“Right.” She pressed her lips together and looked up at him. Her sunglasses sat on the chair arm next to her and he bet it was because she didn’t like them. “Kaden?”
He loved the way his name sounded on her lips, even in an unsure and shaky voice. “What’s up?”
“Would you...” She raked a hand through her long hair and growled. “I know I shouldn’t ask, but...will you hold me like you did at the hospital?”
His heart skipped a beat. The question wasn’t the one he expected. “Of course.” There was no hesitation in his voice and he maneuvered himself behind her, taking great care when she winced. He smoothed her hair. “How’s that?” He played with the tips of her hair and she relaxed against him.
“Perfect.” She sighed against him and closed her eyes.
The urge to kiss her came over him, but he pushed the temptation back. “Why don’t you get some sleep?”
“I don’t like to sleep.” She whispered.
He knew and now he wanted to figure out why. “You’re safe here, you can close your eyes.”
“It’s the nightmares and the memories, not where I am that bothers me.” She took a shaky breath. “I don’t want to remember what I am.”
Her tone nearly broke his heart. It wasn’t the sound of the strong girl that’d he knew Tegan to be. It was the sound of someone who’d been through too much. “I won’t let you dream of that.” He promised. “We’ll find something happy for you to dream of.” There had to be happy memories in her mind somewhere.
She gave him a sad smile. “Pretty to think so. I think we’ll just watch some more of this show and I’ll let you hold me.”
He chuckled. “Let me, I like that.”
“Lucius would freak if he walked in here right now.” She mused and snuggled into him.
“He should be tucked away for the day and honestly, I think if he knew how much this helped you than he wouldn’t fight against it too much.” He took a deep bre
ath and could smell his mate under the soap she’d been cleaned with. The scent made him relax and feel at home. He would savor this, just like the night he laid with her at the hospital.
He paid no attention to the images flashing on the screen, he watched only her. Confusion played across her features at whatever was being shown on the screen. He tried to imagine what it would be like to be missing all those memories. “Tegan?”
“Hm?” She asked, her eyes still all for the television.
He pressed his lips together. “What was the last thing you remember?”
“Markus in the woods.” She whispered. “I was so stupid, going out with only Trisha with me and without covering my eyes.”
“That was so long ago. You don’t remember anything else?” He ran his hands over her shoulders.
She closed her eyes and hung her head. “I get little glimpses and sometimes, like when Lucius talked about when we moved here, a small memory comes. But not without pain, there’s always this horrible pain when a memory comes to me.”
Because Markus messed with her head. He really wanted to punch that vampire. “Lucius will get it figured out.”
“My brother could just fix it if he was here.” She muttered.
Kaden wanted to be the one to help her. He wanted to be her knight in shining armor and bring back all the memories and soothe her afterwards. To be her mate, to let her know she completed him. Though the moment he would open his mouth to say it, Lucius would kill him.
“He’s not going to come home.” Cael’s voice made Aristides turn around and face her. His mate stood there in her battle armor with her arms crossed.
“And why not?” Clearly she hadn’t done her job of convincing Kaden.
“He feels more loyalty towards the vampire than his own people. Not to mention he’s convinced you’re going to murder him when he gets here.” She stalked towards him. “I tried to convince him it wasn’t true.”
But it was and the king killer knew that. “Either way, he should feel no loyalty towards a vampire.”
“The vampire took him in. Everyone feels that deserves some loyalty, but—“
He raised a brow. “But what, my pet?”
“I feel like there is another reason for his staying. There’s something about him, something that’s tying him there.”
“Isn’t that interesting? Do some recon and figure out what it is. Once we know, we can use that against him. He cannot stay under Lucius. Markus is threatening to pull his alliance from us if we have any people in Lucius’ territory.”
Cael pushed off the wall. “But Kaden isn’t considered one of our people. He’s a rogue seeking refuge in Lucius’ territory.”
“They don’t see it as that. Apparently Lucius has a habit of collecting people, powerful people and I know your brother is capable of much more than he lets on.” He saw his mate shift on her feet, something she only did when she was nervous. “You know what he’s capable of?”
She froze, but then stood tall. “I only know that he’s growing in his abilities. I don’t know how much though, he is descended from one of the most powerful dream demons. We all know what he was capable of.”
He had managed to wipe out an entire army in their sleep. Aristides smiled. “Now if only we could get your brother to come home and join us.” If not than he’d have to die. It was only fair, death was the penalty for killing the king after all.
“I’ll visit him again and see if I can’t make more progress with him.”
“Be careful, I’d hate for him to sway your mind.” He couldn’t lose Cael, she was the biggest asset he had when it came to controlling Kaden. The strong stubborn woman would probably bow to her brother if he tried to convince her to leave. Fate had mated them...they couldn’t be apart for long.
Chapter Three
“I thought we’d go see your brother tonight.” Lucius’s voice caught Tegan off guard as she flipped through the channels on the television.
She’d gotten used to the new technology and it even felt familiar to her now. “Where is his resting place?” She put the remote down and stood. Testing her knee, she found the pain had lessened.
Lucius took in her state and he smiled. “You’re feeling better.”
“I am...sir.” She shoved her hands in the pockets of the fleece pants. “Kaden um...he went to go get food for me.”
“That’s fine. I trust he was a perfect gentleman through the day?”
Tegan nodded. “Yep, he sat on the couch and watched television with me all day.” She shrugged and started towards the door. “I am going to go shower and change before Kaden gets back...” she hesitated a moment. Lucius said they had moved past ownership, but she still felt the need to ask permission for everything. Yet...it felt natural to fill him in with what she was doing. “If that is okay?”
“Of course it is. I need to find a meal myself and then we’ll go up to the graveyard.”
She closed her eyes and an image came to her. An old stone crypt with a name scrolled across it. DeBeau. “DeBeau?” She asked and Lucius chuckled. “It’s the surname we chose when we came to this country. It keeps us unified and gives other people that help us out one name to watch out for. Coran is the only one that came over with his original surname.”
Tegan bristled at the name. “Good for him.” She left the room not wanting to talk about Coran or anything else. All she wanted to do was sort things out in her own head.
“Tegan?” Lucius called and she stopped in the hall. “Come find me in the foyer when you’re done?”
“Of course, sir.” She moved through the hall to her room. Her head pounded as she tried to fight through the memories flashing in her head. The past and glimpses of what she was missing. She put her head against the wall and tried not to cry at the pain. Eventually she moved to her room and undressed for her shower.
She stepped into the cold tiled tub and turned on the water, waiting for it to warm up before she flipped the switch for the shower. She let the hot water beat against her, hissing as it hit the wounds on her back. The damage had to have been bad if some of them were still scabs. Of course Markus’ whip was capable of that kind of damage. She cringed at the memories of him screaming at her. How long had she been there after Trisha died? After Coran forced her to drink poison? Clearly too long.
She washed herself and turned off the water. After a quick look in the mirror to make her sure her eyes weren’t bloodshot from crying she threw her hands up in the air. It didn’t matter; her eyes would be covered anyways.
Glancing over the clothing in her closet she tried to think of the girl who would wear those garments. Who she had been before she was taken? She pulled on a pair of soft stretchy pants and a loose t-shirt before running a brush through her hair.
“You look like you’re feeling better.” Kaden’s voice caught her off guard.
She turned to him and lowered her eyes. “Shouldn’t you have knocked before entering?”
“I did, you didn’t hear or answer me.” He frowned. “Deep in thought?”
“I’m just trying to at least imagine who I was.” She braided her hair before pulling her sunglasses on. “When...When I was taken, I never would have worn clothes like these. When I was with the Father I never...” She glanced at him.
“I won’t judge you if that’s what you’re worried about.” He held his hand out. “The past is the past, but sometimes you need to talk about it.”
She felt comfortable with him, like he wouldn’t do anything to harm her or use the information against her. “I never had clothing when I was with the Father. Very rarely I’d be given a...a dress of some sort, but it left everything exposed.”
“I found you in a dress like that.” He whispered. “Outside of your bar.”
Her bar. Owning an establishment, tight clothes, who was she really? “I don’t remember my bar.” She sighed. “I’m starving though.” She tried to change the subject.
“I brought you food, it’s in the media room. I thought we
’d watch a movie while we ate.” He smiled at her and it melted away her tension. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and let him hold and protect her. In his arms she could pretend nothing would get her.
She put her hands in her pockets. “That sounds great. Lucius is taking me to my brother’s resting place when we’re done eating.”
“I know, I talked to him in passing. Once the sun is up, I’m taking you to see your bar and your apartment.” Kaden walked out of the room, she followed and closed the door behind them.
“Do you think that’s safe?” Her heart sped up and her head pounded at the thought of going to the place she was found.
Kaden looked over his shoulder at her. “Of course it’s safe. It’s daylight and I’ll be with you.”
Of course, and that made everything better. She chuckled. “I’d like to see it.” Especially if Lucius considered the place hers as everyone kept saying. She’d never had anything to call her own, everything she’d had belonged to Lucius. She belonged to...no, that wasn’t right. He didn’t treat her like property. The way he always doted on her after he and Zaaren rescued her proved she wasn’t property.
“Tegan?” Kaden’s voice broke through her thoughts. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, my apologizes. I’m just sorting through things in my head. Trying to figure out how far I’ve come in three hundred years and it’s bringing up bad memories.”
“Don’t dwell on it. The more you think about it the further away you’re going to push everything.” He brushed a hand over her cheek. “We’ll get it figured out.”
She wanted to nuzzle his hand, but stepped back. The smallest touches between them always warmed her and she felt like he could be telling the truth. They would figure out everything and things would be okay, but she couldn’t give into comforting lies. Mates, lovers, whatever they were considered, made you weak and caused problems. She’d seen it first-hand. Lucius had a love who had turned on him and having a mate is what drove Coran to assist Markus. Something Lucius should have killed him for.
But there was something about Kaden. She let her gaze shift to him, glad he couldn’t see her eyes through the sunglasses. What would Lucius say if she mentioned she wanted to be with Kaden? The vampire would probably lose his temper, to a point beyond Tegan’s ability to soothe.
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