by Aimee Moore
Dal’s deep voice was relaxed when he spoke in Kraw. “In the old language, it means… every world has a sun, and you are now the sun in my world.”
My breath caught at the beauty of it. I set the needle into the vial and placed my hands on Dal’s strong legs to lean forward and kiss him. He pulled me close with a growl and kissed me back. Demanding, possessive. I let off a soft moan of need between our lips.
“Now, Sera, you will find me no matter where fate takes me,” Dal whispered between us.
I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn’t. I was touched beyond words, the space in my chest expanding with such gratefulness and love that I could barely draw breath. I would never again be kept from my mate.
Dal gave a soft laugh, whispering to me as his hand stroked up the back of my neck. “No words are needed. I feel it now.”
I kissed him then. When he touched me, everything that needed to be said was said through our skin, and nothing else mattered. I eased into Dal’s lap, straddling him, and pressed our bodies close as I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him harder. Dal let off a soft growl, pulling me close, trailing soft bites down my neck. I could feel his need of me through his leathers, and I wanted to oblige.
But then Dal’s fingertips brushed the shard in my shoulder, and he stiffened. I pulled away, trying to clear the haze of throbbing desire that seemed to rule me when Dal put his hands on me.
“Do you still wish me to attempt removal?” Dal asked, examining the shard.
“If anyone can do it, it’s you,” I whispered.
Dal frowned at the shard, wrapping a strong arm around my waist. He pulled at my tender skin here and there, and I tried not to make a noise of pain even though it was as if he was slicing into my very being.
Dal grasped the end of the shard, gentle as always, and applied a soft tug. My vision dimmed as pain radiated into my bones and I slumped in his arms. Dal swore in Kraw and caught me, laying me across his lap. Pain was throbbing through me, my vision fading. Dal rubbed at his own shoulder for a moment, a crease in his brow as he frowned at my malady. He placed his hand over my chest, stilling for a moment before letting out a long breath.
Then Dal placed his hand on the shard, closed his eyes, and began to mutter something in a language I didn’t understand. He took his time with whatever he was doing, until his body tensed as he yanked his hand away from the shard. I looked down, and it was glowing purple again.
“I am loathe to admit I am puzzled,” Dal said, shaking out his hand as if burnt.
I let off a quiet laugh. “It was worth a try.”
Dal rubbed at his shoulder again as my own throbbed with agony. “You have a Kraw’s tolerance for pain, Sera. But not the fortitude.”
“Felt that, did you?” I whispered.
Dal gave a nod.
“Curious thing, this blood bond we have now,” I said with a smile.
“Even with the pain I would not wish it undone,” Dal said.
“Wish what undone?” Came Ysiel’s voice from the entrance to our secluded grove.
I stood on shaking legs, and Dal drew his sword and stepped to my side.
“Surely we’re past this?” Ysiel said, glancing at Dal’s sword.
“What do you want?” I asked Ysiel with a frown. I was not the same woman of six months ago. Now, I looked her over, assessing, wondering what I could gain from her if I played my cards right.
She did the same, lilac gaze traveling over my form.
“You look as one of our own. As if Nialae blood flows in your veins. Who, I wonder, did this to you…” Ysiel came closer, her light blue dress rippling in a breeze that wasn’t there.
I stepped back. She would know sooner or later, I wanted to witness her reaction. “Karne did this.”
Ysiel stopped in her tracks, the flutter of surprise widening her eyes for a beat of a moment. If I hadn’t been observing her with such care, I might have missed it.
“I have not heard of him,” Ysiel said, clasping her hands in front of her.
“Odd, your queen certainly has, since he introduced himself to me as the Queen’s First.”
Ysiel regarded me with a neutral expression. “My queen had many firsts, it is inevitable for a species as long-lived as ours.”
“Why are you here?” Dal said.
“We have lost precious time to find the Helegnaur. I’ve had word that my queen stirs among the courts, and soon will rise.”
That snippet of information told me more of what she did not say. I gave her a small smile. “Truly? If time is so precious to you then why did you wait months to contact Dal? Surely you would have known I was captive? Or perhaps that Lianne was injured and in need of care? You can fabricate tents and cottages with ease, I’m sure a bandage and a hot meal would be easy for you.”
Ysiel’s long lashes swept down as her lilac eyes fixed on my collar. And then further as she studied the shard in my shoulder.
“How long have you been in bond with this man?” Ysiel asked with a frown. Her voice held the barest hint of a catch to it.
I glanced at Dal.
“No. The Nialae. You are in bond with a Nialae,” Ysiel said.
“I’m not,” I said. “It’s a ruse.”
Ysiel looked into my eyes then. “It has a soft glow because the bonding words have been spoken. It is no ruse, Seraphine, this Karne is truly your husband.”
The world threatened to go dark for a second time that day.
Chapter 24
Poison
“Remove it,” Dal growled at Ysiel, stepping forward.
She didn’t even flinch. “I cannot. Only the royalty caste has the power to break the bond between two souls.”
I swayed on the spot for a moment, dizzy with the epiphany of Karne’s trickery. But knowing the significance of my collar didn’t change anything in this moment. I sucked in a breath and straightened my spine.
“Two souls, my foot,” I muttered. “It doesn’t matter. You didn’t answer my other questions. Where were you all this time?”
“Your king is demanding, rarely letting me leave. And I must confess, I could not find you, Seraphine, while you were in your husband’s care. His house is cleverly warded.”
“He is not her husband,” Dal growled.
Ysiel’s gaze fluttered to Dal, and then me. “I’m sure you know by now that Children of War are complicated, their minds elusive to us. I cannot seek them out as I do you.”
My heart thrummed erratically as a realization stole over me. “Yes,” I said slowly, “I can see how their savage wills would be impenetrable. The mind of a second in command, or perhaps even the Warlord himself would be completely unreadable to you.”
“It is most frustrating,” Ysiel said, confirming my suspicions.
Another piece of Nialae puzzle fell into place. They couldn’t see Kraw minds. Patroma was in my mind. When my tormentor took over, she was also my shield from Nialae. All this time, she’d protected the most vulnerable parts of me from Karne’s intrusions.
“She cannot track Lianne, either,” Dal said, straightening and sheathing his sword. He glanced at me. “They can only track you. Because of your gift.”
But I knew that.
Ysiel smiled. “Children of War and their conversational finesse, what delight under such an ironic barrier.”
“Because a thing is complex to you does not make it a barrier. For a people as old as yours, you intuit little beyond your fleeting pleasures,” Dal said.
Ysiel gave Dal a half smile. “Your people may be shorter lived than mine, but your species’ existence spans that of my people, and then some. In the end, Children of War warm Nialae beds at our whim. Perhaps your complexity is perceived only by you.”
Dal cut Ysiel a cunning smile. “And perhaps a Nialae begs the help of a Child of War and his mate. Perception is irrelevant in the face of your inability to save yourself.”
I bit back a grin of my own.
Ysiel’s face put on a hint of a glare for onl
y a moment, but then she was her serene self again. “Very well. Call it what we must. In the end, the Helegnaur will ensure my freedom, and you will be free to leave as you wish.”
“You know she cannot leave with that in her shoulder. Remove it.”
Ysiel cast a glance down to my shoulder, then again to my eyes. “I cannot remove it. But since you risk much for the Helegnaur, I will help in what way I can. How did you acquire it?”
“In the vault below the university. A trap was triggered, the room exploded, and I came to in Karne’s care, with this in my shoulder. I have reason to believe he doesn’t want it removed.”
“No, of course not,” she murmured, approaching us.
Dal grumbled. “Tell us what you know of it or do not return to us until you have found a way to rid us of it.”
Ysiel gave Dal a smile. “All your complexity, Child of War, and you have not yet figured it out?”
“I have more care for her safety than her captors,” he said. “Finding the truth of it would put her life in danger, and I am not going to take that risk.”
“Dal, what do you mean?” I whispered.
Ysiel laughed, clearly enjoying their battle of wits. “I shall show you.”
“Carefully,” Dal growled.
Ysiel stepped forward and raised her index finger, touching it to the tip of my shard. The urge to sleep for an eternity overtook me, and I gasped, struggling to stay upright as the fire came to life once again in my veins, flowing up to my shoulder. Ysiel channeled whorls of fire out of her other hand. My fire.
As she turned her head and watched me, the long tendrils of her hair also caught the flame, and every muscle in my body complained that I was lifting mountains of battle ready Kraw just by standing there. Just before sweet oblivion claimed me, the goddess of flame standing before me let go. I crumpled, Dal catching me with quick reflexes.
“That was unnecessary,” he growled, showing sharp canines.
The fire was completely gone from Ysiel. “You see, now, what it does. It makes her a conduit between the powers of humans and Nialae.”
“That bastard,” I said in a slow slur, blinking. Then I forced my aching body to stay awake, to respond. “Help us remove it,” I whispered, fighting fatigue.
“Tell me what your Karne wants,” Ysiel said in a whisper that was steely and regretful all at once.
Dal’s arms were strong around me. With a long breath out of his nose, he simply picked me up, as if I were weightless, and I rested my head against his shoulder with a soft sigh.
“You took too much,” Dal said. “If you attempt that again, you will lose an arm.”
I would question later. Another time. In another life. After I have slept in his warm embrace for all of eternity.
Their voices were soft murmurs to me now; outside of my sphere of caring. Dal had me, I was safer than I’d ever been. I welcomed the blackness that took me.
∞∞∞∞∞
“Sera.”
I stirred with a groan. I was still so tired; I didn’t want to leave the languid darkness and comfort of Dal’s arms.
“Oy, looks like you drugged her, it does. She’s more tired than a bull in a pen full of horny heifers.” I knew that voice.
“She must wake.” Dal’s voice.
I fluttered my eyes open to see Lianne in the bed we were seated on, pale, stripped of her imposing armor, yet awake and alert. Dal was still holding me.
I smiled at Lianne. “You’re alright,” I murmured.
“Oh aye, gonna be pushing noses in dirt again real soon.”
“I’m glad to see you,” I said.
Lianne rubbed the back of her hand over her nose. “Alright alright, save the hard nips for the Kraw.”
Dal gave me a squeeze, returning my attention to him.
“How long?” I whispered, turning to look up at my mate.
“A few hours,” Dal said.
I frowned, closing my eyes again. “We’re going to be caught.”
“He cannot come here, Sera. Nialae are forbidden.”
“Nearly tossed you out,” Lianne said. “Make a gods damned convincing Nialae, you do.”
“Can I just sleep five more minutes?” I whispered, turning into Dal’s shoulder. His arms were so strong and sure. His scent, it was the sweetest thing my senses could behold in my tired state.
“I am sorry, but we must address this now,” Dal said.
“I don’t have all day my dear,” an unfamiliar voice said.
I sat up to see a woman with stark black hair and olive-toned skin looking at me. Dal set me on Lianne’s bedside and rose to watch.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “Who are you?”
“My name is Cesapine. I’m a healer. May I look at your shoulder?”
I shot a quick glance at Dal, who did not look alarmed at her presence, then presented my shard.
Cesapine pinched her brows together in a frown as she bent closer. “What in the seven hells…” She murmured to herself. She pulled at my shoulder this way and that, stressing it, and I forced myself to relax at the pain. I glanced at Dal to see him give his own left shoulder a slight roll.
“Kanza, come look at this,” Cesapine said.
A dark-skinned beauty appeared, this one with black lined eyes that made her absolutely radiant under her bush of black hair. “Is it the Nialae-not-Nialae?” The one called Kanza asked.
“Yes. She’s mostly human, actually. Come feel this.”
Kanza glanced at me. “Mostly. Her blood is a little different...” She glanced around the room a bit, then stopped on Dal. “It’s a bit like his,” she said. She watched Dal for a moment, then she came and leaned near me, talking to Cesapine. “You see the structure difference?”
“No, I can’t see that small like you can.”
“Didn’t think to see bits of Kraw in a human. Would be an interesting study, since we can bet she wasn’t born with it.”
I opened my mouth to protest at being someone’s study.
“I don’t think she plans to stay,” Cesapine said. “Feel this thing in her shoulder.”
I deflated and let them talk.
Kanza stooped before me, shot me a quick glance and a brief, “Hi there,” then frowned down at my shard. She, too, pulled at my skin, running a fingertip over the shard. “Where did you say you got this?”
“In a vault, below the university,” I said.
Cesapine spoke then. “Thought you’d like this one, being university trained.”
“Yeah,” Kanza said, “but I’ve never been in the vault. It was forbidden. And I didn’t know they had stuff like this stashed down there. Seven hells, this is nasty. Do you see what it’s doing to her?” Kanza turned her head to look at Cesapine without removing her hands from me.
“Yes, I see it. The question is, how are we going to get it out?” Cesapine said.
I let off a harsh breath. “What, exactly, is it doing?”
Kanza glanced up at me. “It’s killing you. And then it’s healing you.”
My blood chilled. “That doesn’t make sense,” I said.
“Does to us,” Kanza said. “Look here, around it. See how it only bleeds when you stress it? It’s drawing directly from your heart, here.” Kanza traced a finger from it to my chest. “But there’s more to it. Look at this.” Kanza touched the tip of the shard and nothing happened. She swore. “Ces, this is more of your area.”
Cesapine moved in and touched the tip of the shard. It glowed bright purple.
Kanza straightened back. “Seven hells, that’s weird.”
“I haven’t the faintest clue, never felt it before,” Cesapine murmured.
“Your gift,” Kanza said to me. “What in demon fire is it?”
“Just fire,” I said with a shrug of my good shoulder.
Kanza exchanged a glance with her peer, then shook her head at me. “No, it isn’t.”
“It is as far as I know. How do we get it out?”
Two pairs of eyes were on me. K
anza spoke first. “That’s a very purposeful place to have that shard. It’s a part of you in ways I can’t even begin to explain. It’s not deep, barely in there actually, but it’s not coming out without killing you. There’s no doubt about that. You’re stuck with it.”
“Bloody grim news,” Lianne muttered.
“Coming from the woman who went eye to eye with a tondithil?” Kanza said, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re lucky we’re grim around here, else you’d be flapping your arms like a chicken.” Kanza tossed that last part over her shoulder as she turned and left.
“Wait,” I said. “I need to get it out. There has to be a solution.” Kanza left anyway.
Cesapine let a long sigh out of her nose, her shoulders sinking slightly as she shook her head at me. “My dear, we’re gifted with great feats of healing. We can regrow limbs, restore memories, even reverse death in some cases. But this, this is like asking us to remove your heart. That is not the work of healers, it is the work of demons.”
I looked at Dal. “Then we’ll ask the demons how to remove it.”
Cesapine gave me a dry smile. “It would appear Kraw blood comes with a precarious dose of fearlessness.”
“That is just Sera,” Dal said in a low voice, a slight smile playing at his lips.
Cesapine gave a short laugh. “Alright then. But we should very much like to see you back after your confrontation with the demons, Seraphine.” Cesapine turned to go, and I was left with a sinking sensation.
She stopped in the doorway, looking over her shoulder. “You know. Healing comes with a few tricks of its own. Sometimes, the best way to make a body immune to poison is to give it more poison.” And then she left.
I let off a long sigh and lay across Lianne’s legs.
“I can’t be stuck with this thing,” I said, watching the stone ceiling as I spoke. “It’s not practical.”
“They sure had a time looking at you, yeah?” Lianne said. “Kraw blood, that’s your secret. How’d that happen?”
“Carefully,” I said, looking at my tattoo.
“It was not just the tattoo,” Dal said as he joined us.
I didn’t want to think about our lost child and what his own blood may have done to mine. I sat up and turned to Lianne.