by Cherie Marks
He would be so disappointed if his mate was a follower of the High Priestess.
It was time to get some answers. “What are you doing here, Mez.”
“I told you. She didn’t like what I had to say about how to deal with you.”
“No. I mean, here. At Kresley’s place.”
She cocked her head slightly and looked at him like he’d just revealed more than he’d meant to. Inwardly, he’d groaned. Amateur move if ever there was one. Unless he was here purposely, he wouldn’t have known the place belonged to Kresley, wouldn’t have even known her name. He needed to be more careful.
“Of course, I know who she is. Everyone around here knows who she is. She helps those around here who need her. Is that why you’re here?”
“Is that why you came here? To get help?”
“Well, that was smooth. I walked right into that one. Is that why she put you in this room with me? To get the information she wants?”
“No. I mean, yes, but no. I’m here because she wanted to punish me for daring to question her. Noxy and I have a theory that she’s actually losing her mind.”
“Who’s Noxy?”
He saw her guard beginning to come down as she leaned her back against the wall and slid down to a sitting position on the floor before answering his question.
“She’s my familiar. She’s my partner-in-crime and voice of reason. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without her by my side.”
“Sounds like you’re fortunate to have her.”
“No doubt. Do you belong to a pack or are you more of a lone wolf?”
He had to give her props. She was pretty good at working the conversation back around to him. She might be a great candidate for the academy if she wasn’t working for the High Priestess.
“Depends on the day, I suppose.”
“You said you knew about Kresley. Are you from around here?”
Now, she was pushing it. He had to get things back under control. “Yeah. I’m from around here. How about you? How have I never met you before?”
She shrugged. “I don’t usually mingle with others. I like my space.”
“Well, this doesn’t seem to be a place where you get much choice in the matter. Why come here?”
“Trust me, I’d much rather be at my cabin in the woods on the edge of nowhere, but as I mentioned, I can’t control my magic. I thought it would get better on its own. It didn’t. Aunt Kresley helps people like me.”
Had she just told him who she really was? Or was she trying to throw him off again? “You called her Aunt Kresley. Are you two related?”
Her breathing stopped completely, and he sensed she hadn’t meant to reveal that detail. Was she a Wilder witch? If so, this was great news. That meant they were on the same side, fighting the same fight.
After a few moments, she picked up her breathing once more and said, “No, there’s no relation between us. It’s just what everyone calls her. Are you sure you’re from around here? I thought you would know that”
Dammit! Had he misread her reaction? Or was she playing him once more? “Oh, of course. They do call her that.” He needed to get her talking again to see if she would reveal more about her connection or lack thereof to Kresley.
He slipped from the bed to the floor, putting himself almost on equal ground. He was still half a foot taller than she was, even sitting down. Her gaze dropped to his bare chest before lifting to meet his once more. Interesting. He leaned toward her—more technique he’d learned—and said, “Tell me more about your cabin. It sounds fascinating. Do you live completely self-sufficient?”
Now, she was leaning in. “Oh, yes. Noxy and I have been there for about three years now. It’s so peaceful, and there’s so much to explore and do. No two days are ever alike there, but the scenery is gorgeous every day.”
“Sounds like you love it there. What do you do all day?”
“It’s a lot of work. Mostly I spend my time keeping up the place. I must tend the garden, mend fences, keep the house up. You know, all the things required for living day-to-day. But, once all those things are done, I have time to explore the land or draw and paint. There’s so much to do that I never get bored.”
Lucian actually found himself hanging on her every word. The place did sound idyllic in a way. He wouldn’t mind escaping all the chaos of his life as a soldier. It sounded like the perfect place for something just like that.
“What do you draw and paint?”
“Landscapes mostly, but I really like to draw...no, nevermind...it’s stupid.”
“What? Tell me?” He scooted a couple of inches closer.
“You’ll think I’m an addle-brained, silly child.”
“No. Trust me, I won’t judge you. I mean, I’m just curious.”
Her perfect teeth bit into her bottom lip once more as she contemplated telling him something she obviously thought was best kept secret. It was exactly what he wanted her to do, and he couldn’t help celebrating a little at how she was playing right into his hands.
“Okay. But you have to promise not to laugh.”
He held up his right hand as a gesture of honesty. She might or might not know much about wolf shifters, but they were known to be tricky, often fudging the truth or downright lying. Yet, he gave her his most solemn look and said, “I promise I won’t laugh even once.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed before scooting just a little closer and lowering her voice as if they weren’t the only two in the room.
“I like to draw dragons.”
He hadn’t expected this to be her secret. Maybe part of him had hoped she’d admit to him that she like to draw nude men. In an instant, he’d gladly have stripped and volunteered to model. At any rate, he kept his word and didn’t laugh.
Instead, his curiosity took over once more, and he genuinely wanted to know, “Have you ever seen a real one?”
She motioned to him to move closer, so he did at the same time she did. They were a mere foot apart when she said, “Yes. Once. When I was much younger, one flew over our house and landed right in our yard. My father refused to let me go outside, but I watched the majestic creature through our kitchen window.” She seemed to be seeing the past as she continued, “We never actually met or spoke to each other, but I could have sworn we connected through a look. In that instant, I came to an understanding. I felt the dragon’s soul, and it was genuinely good. As fierce as it looked, it was gentle and good inside. Sometimes, you really can’t judge a creature by its outside appearance, you know?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Then, what happened?”
“After a few minutes, it leaped into the air and flew away. I never saw it again, but it left a piece of itself behind. Unfortunately, I lost that piece, and I have to find it once more.”
“Is that the reason you left your cabin? To find this piece that you lost?”
“It’s the only thing that would have made me leave.”
“Well, there aren’t any more dragons now, are there?”
“Completely eradicated as far as we know. It’s sad. They didn’t deserve it.”
Lucian didn’t think as he reached out and placed his hand on her bare calf. It was a genuine reaction to her turn in mood as he said, “Well, hopefully, you can get out of here, find the missing piece, and get back to your cabin so you can continue to draw them. In a way, that keeps them alive.”
Their gazes locked, and he slowly pulled his hand back, realizing he’d fallen into his own trap. He’d let down his guard briefly, and she’d seen something he hadn’t meant to show. His weakness might just be her. She was his mate after all. He had to remember she wasn’t as innocent as she appeared and would be trying to work him over as much as he was her.
She reminded him of that very fact when she said, “You know, if you just tell Kresley what she wants to know, we could both get out of here. Don’t you want to leave?”
Lucian straightened and stood up slowly. “You’re good.” He turned away and walked across
the room, crossing his arms as he leaned against the cold, rough wall. “You’re really good. I almost believed all of that.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Sure, you don’t. You weren’t sent here to try to get me to lower my defenses? I don’t buy that at all.”
She stood up and dusted herself off. She crossed her arms and glared at him. He’d caught on to her little game, and she wasn’t happy with the result.
“As a matter of fact, if you want to know the truth, I was sent here to seduce you. However, I don’t like duplicity, so I decided just to try to talk to you. I’m sorry if you feel it was all a tactic. I was genuinely opening up, and I meant every word I said.”
In an instance, she was gone, and Lucian kicked himself for letting his temper get the better of him.
She’d been sent to seduce him? His mate had planned to seduce him. If he’d known that, he might have been a little more amenable. He still wouldn’t have told her anything, but it would have had a good time seeing her try.
She really was his weakness, but he now knew he could use her empathy to help him. She might not have said it was so, but he could recognize the empath in her. Again, understanding other people’s inner emotional responses could be of use in Lucian’s line of work. Spying on people took knowing people better than they knew themselves. She could make a good spy.
He couldn’t wait until she returned. And she would. Kresley also knew she was his weakness, and she would exploit that fact until he confessed everything.
Honestly, it was concerning. Given enough time with Mez, he just might.
Chapter 9
“I don’t know, Noxy. It was weird. We connected, and I didn’t want to leave. He’s...” Mez searched for the right word. “...vulnerable.”
“You never could resist a wounded creature.”
“But it’s more than that. He has a strength of character that few do. I found it...irresistible.”
“Oh, and the naked chest had nothing to do with it?”
Mez felt her cheeks heat. She had liked to look at his chest with its undulations of muscle under smooth skin that just beckoned her lips to explore every inch of him.
“Okay. I’ll admit he’s nice to look at.”
That was an understatement. She could stare at him all day. He had the blackest of hair, a deep midnight that reminded her of the sky above her cabin on a moonless night. His face was angular with natural dimples that formed with a rare smile, a straight nose, and a high, wide forehead. But his eyes were what drew her in. They were an intense ice-gray and held promises of pleasure when he looked at her. She felt a pull into his world with every glance, every stare, every smolder he produced with those eyes.
And, yes, he had a nice body. His bare chest had been impossible to ignore. She had to fight hard not to let her gaze focus solely on the exposed golden skin that delineated every oversized muscle in his arms and torso. Also, she wished Kresley had been able to produce some better fitting pants for the man. The fabric strained so tightly over his thigh muscles that they appeared to be ready to break through at any moment. Not to mention, he hadn’t been able to camouflage much about what he was packing between his legs, not with that tight of fabric. The bulge there seemed to grow each time her gaze happened to drop to that area. For a fleeting moment, she had been rather worried about the circulation to his nether regions, considering the fit of his pants.
Yet, that had faded the minute he had begun to ask her questions about herself. He had shown genuine interest. Now, she wasn’t so addle-brained not to know he’d been trying to get into her head. It had been a game they had played, and so often a few moves were simply to get the other to let down his or her guard. In the end, though, she had felt his actual interest...in her. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.
Of course, she had slipped up once. She had accidentally revealed that Kresley was her aunt. She thought she recovered nicely from it, considering he was clearly lying about being from around here. He’d never admit he didn’t know that no one ever called Kresley anything but, well, Kresley. So, he seemed to buy her hasty reason.
She wasn’t so sure it had been wise to reveal her true mission had been seduction, but some feminine part of her she’d never even known existed wanted to see his reaction. As his eyes had widened and then narrowed quickly, she’d felt a thrill of excitement. He’d liked the idea of that, even if he would not have admitted as much.
Now that she’d spent time with him, she kind of liked the idea of seeing what a kiss from him might be like. A kiss and maybe more.
Unfortunately, she would never know. She had failed to get the information Kresley wanted, so he would probably be tortured once more. The thought made her insides crumble. She didn’t want to see him hurt.
Noxy and she continued to look through books and Mez explained, “But I wasn’t there to get an eyeful. I was there for information, and in that, I failed.”
“Oh, that reminds me. I never told you what I discovered at his campsite.”
Strangely, a small part of Mez didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to ruin her current image of who he was, and she was sure that whatever Noxy found, it wouldn’t be positive.
“He wasn’t there alone—at least one other person had been camping with him. Whoever it was with him wasn’t there currently, and from the looks of things, hadn’t been there in days, but that made me think it wasn’t pure chance he was hanging around Kresley’s property, so I did some more digging. I rifled through all his stuff and found a pin on which was an emblem. When I showed it to Kresley, she knew what it was immediately.”
“And?”
“Mez, I don’t know how to tell you this, but he’s a member of the High Priestess’s Secret Army. He’s a bad guy.”
Mez shook her head back and forth a few times. “I don’t get that vibe from him.”
“Well, maybe your vibe is wrong this time.”
“Maybe. But it’s also possible he stole the pin from someone. We don’t know who the other person was with him, do we?”
“No, but you have to admit, he was hanging around, seeming to watch us awful closely. It sounds like something a spy would do.”
Mez knew that Noxy’s logic was sound, but she still didn’t want to believe he was anything other than what she’d been able to pick up from him. She knew of creatures that could disguise the character of their souls, but she’d yet to meet one who could keep it from her. She had an ability to see the real person underneath, and although no power was foolproof, she hadn’t been wrong once yet.
She would be so disappointed if he were working for the High Priestess, and she couldn’t quite grasp why it mattered to her so much.
Kresley Spanned beside Mez in that moment, causing her to jump back in surprise. Noxy gave a little squeak at the sudden intrusion.
“Sorry, girls, but we’ve got company, and I need all hands on deck for this one. We’re under attack.”
* * *
Kresley Spanned the three of them outside to the top of the hill that overlooked the property. From this vantage point, they could see for miles, and Mez didn’t like what she saw.
In the distance, around twenty bodies were closing in on the property. They were approaching from the north, which meant they had most likely come from the mountains. Yet, to the south, another twenty bodies approached.
“There are so many of them. What do we do?”
Noxy spoke up, “I’m going to climb to the top of the tree above and see if there are any more that we can’t see.”
Kresley nodded. “Great idea. Here, Mez. This is for you.”
With an outstretched hand, Kresley shoved a peppermill toward Mez. A little afraid of what Kresley was asking her to do, Mez took the container from her and shrugged.
“You’ll take the northern group. One good sneeze ought to hold them for now.”
“What? That seems a bit iffy. What if nothing happens when I sneeze?”
“Well, make somethi
ng happen. Otherwise, we are outnumbered. My fighters and I can handle the group coming in from the south. We’ll need you to buy us some time by holding off the invaders from the north. Do you think you can do that?”
Mez wasn’t as confident as she let on with her strong nod toward Kresley. So much could go wrong, but she didn’t want to let her aunt down.
“Anything we should be concerned about, Noxy?” Kresley called up.
“From here, it looks like that is the entire invasion. I think your plan will work. For now.”
“Then, let’s go. Not only the safety of my home is under attack, but the entire kingdom will pay if these soldiers are successful. We can’t let anyone get their hands on any more of my stink root.”
Mez was sure no one could possibly want something called stink root, but she trusted Kresley’s assessment and asked, “What happens if they do?”
“We all live in oppression under a more powerful, practically immortal High Priestess, and I can guarantee, she’ll be near to impossible to defeat if we allow her to get a second chance.”
Mez nodded, understanding exactly what was on the line. This wasn’t just protecting Kresley and all that she had built here. They were fighting for their freedom. And after having lived under a despotic regime for years, nothing was more important than that.”
With little confidence, Mez started down the hill, peppermill in hand and Noxy by her side. Behind her, she heard the distinctive pop of Kresley Spanning away. This part of the plan was completely up to her, and needless to say, she felt like they were all doomed.
“So, how nervous are you?”
“Let’s just say, for the first time ever, I’m thinking that my magical malady might be the only thing that saves us today. My disadvantage is our advantage. Who would’ve ever thought that would be the way of it?”