“What the hell is going on, Coop, and why were you shutting me out?”
“Are you okay? Are you someplace safe?” he counters.
“I’m fine. I’m in the secret society’s base in Egypt. Now tell me what’s going on with you?”
“Nothing’s going on. We’re fine too. Nothing for you to worry about.”
“Cooper.” I hope my annoyance is conveyed through the bond. “Don’t lie to me. What is it? Are the others okay? Is this something to do with Dane?”
His sigh is almost audible through the connection. “We are fine. Our accommodation has been downgraded is all.”
I’m instantly on high alert. “Why?”
“I did as you said. I told Dane he didn’t have to do it, so he told Alandra to go fuck herself, and then we were all thrown back in here.”
I almost drown in fear. “Is Dane okay? If she hurt him I’ll—”
“He’s fine, beautiful. We’re together again, and we’re going to figure out a way to escape.”
“No, Coop. You just need to hang tight till I get there.”
“You can’t come here, Alinthia. You know it’s a trap.”
“And you know there is no way to escape that place! You already told me the security is tight. Please don’t risk it. If you are caught trying to escape, who the hell knows what that psycho will do to you! Please promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
Silence trickles down the line, only adding to my fear. I know how these guys operate. How Dane operates. They would lay down their lives if they thought they were protecting me. I can’t let them jeopardize themselves. I won’t let them.
“Cooper. Listen to me. You have no idea of the things I can do now. My powers are developing every day, and now I’m with the society I’m hoping they will know how to tap into the hidden intel and I can find out exactly how to take Arantu down. You have to stop worrying about me. You need to have more faith in me. I can do this. Nothing will stop me from coming to get you. Nothing. Do you hear me?”
“We do have faith in you, beautiful, but you also can’t ask us to willingly go along with this plan. Not when we all know it’s what Arantu wants. What Zorc wants.”
“Zorc must be fuming with me.”
“Oh, he is,” Coop spits out, and every muscle in my body locks up.
“Shit!” I sit up in the bed, hugging my knees to my chest. “That’s why you were moved! I was afraid he would punish you for my escape.” I knew Zorc wouldn’t react well to this, and now the guys are paying the price. A new layer of guilt dumps on top of me.
“Something like that,” Coop murmurs. “But don’t worry. We can handle it.”
“Well, I can’t!” The urge to get out of bed and race to the elder’s quarters and beg him to take me to Xzanthar is riding me hard. I can’t stand my guys being there a second longer.
“Just concentrate on your training, and we’ll hang tight,” Coop says.
“You mean it?”
“Yes. We’ll do it your way, but please don’t take unnecessary risks.”
A layer of pressure lifts off my chest. “I won’t. I’ll be careful. And I’m coming to get you as soon as I can.”
We wrap up the conversation after that, and then I quickly check in with Tav, delighted I’m now able to freely telepathically communicate with him and pleased both he and Ellya are safe.
As I drift off to sleep, I silently pray to whomever might be listening. Begging them to keep my loved ones safe. And asking for strength to do what I need to do next.
CHAPTER 21
Donovan is uncharacteristically chatty the next morning as he escorts me to the elder’s chambers for breakfast, and I’m starting to see a different side to him. I raise a brow when he stops outside the room and turns to face me. He clears his throat, looking squeamish. “I’m, ah, sorry for the way I treated you in the compound.” He rubs the back of his neck, “and I hope you understand I needed to play a certain role to throw suspicion off me.”
“It’s fine, and I accept your apology. Thanks for everything you did to help get me out of there.”
He nods slowly, and a look of determination crosses his face. “I know you didn’t like leaving the others behind, neither did I, but we will figure out a way to free them.”
“Good, because I’m going to need all the supporters I can get.”
“Yes, you are.” His tone is grave, and I appreciate that he doesn’t try to downplay the severity of the situation.
I wonder why he’s helping us.
What incentivizes people like him and Daniel to aid extraterrestrials instead of running screaming for the hills? Before I can quiz him, he opens the door and guides me inside.
The elder rises, smiling as I reach a table laden down with a variety of pastries and breads, fresh fruit, and cooked eggs and bacon. Donovan discreetly exits the room, leaving us alone.
“I hope you slept well,” he says by way of greeting, pulling out a chair for me.
“I did, thank you.” I plop down into the seat, helping myself to some fruit and bread.
“I wanted to meet alone this morning to give you some background on our organization and how we came to be,” he starts off explaining while I pour a glass of orange juice. “But first I have something to show you.”
Waving his hand in the air, he conjures up a holo screen in the center of the table. “This is a message from your parents,” he quietly supplies, and my fork clangs noisily on the table as it slips out of my fingers. I gulp over the sudden wedge of emotion clogging my throat. “I’ve held onto this for the last seventeen years. Keeping it safeguarded for your arrival. No one has watched this message, because it’s set up so only you can activate it. I need you to lift your palm to the screen to set it in motion,” he requests. My hand shakes as I oblige. The instant my palm comes into contact with the screen, it flickers to life.
An image appears, and I draw a sharp breath as tears instantly well in my eyes. The woman—my mother—is wearing the same gold gown she was dressed in when I had one of my previous visions. Her striking green eyes are rimmed in red, her cheeks puffy from crying. My father has his arm around her shoulders, clutching her securely to his side.
“Darling Alinthia,” he says, and tears roll down my face unbidden. “If you are watching this, then I know you are safe and that our plan has succeeded.” My mother smiles weakly, holding more tightly onto my father’s arm. “I understand how confusing this must all seem to you, but, please know that everything we did was done out of love. It has almost killed us to send you away, to send your protectors away, but keeping you safe and out of harm’s way is our ultimate goal.” A look of absolute devastation appears on his face. “We had no choice when General Arantu invaded Verron with the sole intention of taking you hostage.”
He looks urgently over his shoulder and sounds of shouting echo in the background. “Arantu relies on dark magic to exert control,” he hastily continues, talking at a faster pace. “No one can kill him until the immortality spell protecting him is removed. You are the only one who can do it, and we’ve found out how. We’ve hidden the knowledge in your mind until you are old enough to receive it. We embedded the key you need to unlock those memories in the travel pod you were sent to Earth in. Find it and release the information you need.”
A loud noise in the vicinity has my mother almost jumping out of her skin. She exchanges a worried look with my father, and they both stand. She leans into the screen. “My beautiful girl. I already miss the feel of you in my arms. The smell of you invading my senses. We may not ever make it back to you, but I know you are going to do great things. And not just because the prophecy has foretold it, because I’ve seen it. In here.” She taps her temple. “My baby is going to be the greatest warrior the galaxy has ever seen. Be brave, my beautiful Alinthia.”
Sounds of pounding footsteps on the screen send shivers cascading down my spine. Even though this happened many years ago, I feel fear as potently as if it’s happening right this min
ute.
“Trust your instincts and always follow the goodness I know is in your heart. Have a long and happy life darling.” She blows a kiss at the screen as several men burst into the room. My father squares his shoulders and turns around as my mother offers her parting comment. “And never forget how much we love you.”
The screen dies with the sound of gunfire and my mother’s screams ringing in my ears.
We both stare numbly at the hazy holo screen. I bring my shaking hand to my mouth, overcome with emotion and unable to articulate a single word. A lump the size of a soccer ball is jammed in my throat, constricting my airwaves and making breathing difficult.
The elder looks deep in thought and as shell-shocked as me. He gets up, rounding the table, and dropping into the chair beside me. Without hesitation, he pulls me into his arms, and I let him hold me as I work hard to maintain composure. I’m conscious I’m shaking and trembling in his arms, but I can’t control it. An emotional tornado of epic proportions is battering my insides, and I’m fighting tears.
After a couple minutes, he eases back, scrutinizing my face.
I look into his eyes. “They never made it out of there alive.” I sniffle, tears pooling in my eyes. “They’re dead, aren’t they?” I whisper.
His sympathetic eyes lock on mine. “We have never been able to conclusively confirm it, but no one has seen them since that day. We feared Arantu killed them in revenge for sending you away.”
“They died to save me,” I whimper.
“They loved you, and your father was a wonderful leader who cared deeply about his people. He did what he had to do to protect you and safeguard their future.”
“You knew my father?”
He bobs his head. “I was a senior officer in the ranks guarding the palace, but I knew my role in the prophecy and that I would assume leadership of the secret brotherhood. Your father programmed that transmission to be sent to me because he knew who I was and what I would become. I’ve always been honored he trusted me enough to know I would do the right thing.”
“Brotherhood?” I ask, still sniffling.
“When the secret society first fled to Earth, they formed alliances with some of the ancient pharaohs. The society worked closely with the Egyptians for many years. We helped them build the Pyramids at Giza and many other monuments that form tourist attractions today. For years, we coexisted in harmony, and the humans came to call us the Brotherhood of the Snake. It was a name we assumed for a while until Akhenaten turned on us. He was the last pharaoh entrusted with our secrets and our technology, and when he betrayed us, we were forced to destroy him and leave Earth. We chose to drop the name of the brotherhood and assume a more simplistic approach.”
“How do you know all this?” I inquire, shucking out of his hold. “I mean, you haven’t been around all this time, right?” As I stare into his youthful face, I ponder how old he is. He chuckles, and I swipe at the dampness under my eyes with my thumb, grateful for something else to focus on.
“No, I haven’t been around for thousands of years.” His grin expands. “Although our life expectancy exceeds that of humans, no one survives that long.”
Not unless you’re Arantu and you’re immortal, I think, recalling my father’s words.
“Every leader who has been in charge of the secret society since inception has kept accurate records. My first task when assuming control was to absorb all our past history and to study and understand the real prophecy.”
I chew on the inside of my mouth. “If you were here all along, and you had access to the real prophecy, why didn’t you come for me sooner? Why wait until now?”
He gets up, grabs the coffee pot, and fills both our cups. “It is all preordained, and to interfere with that could set you and the galaxy on a completely different course. We had no choice but to sit and wait.”
“I get that, but why couldn’t you have brought me here? Why couldn’t my training have started at a much earlier stage?”
He sighs and leans forward on his elbows. “The prophecy outlined the crossroads our savior would face, and it was clear we couldn’t interject until you followed the right path.”
My brows climb to my hairline. “Crossroads? I don’t understand.”
“The line between good and evil is a narrow one. The prophecy speaks of temptation and the call of the dark side. We couldn’t intervene until you chose a path. Until it was clear you were on the side of right, not wrong.”
I frown. “Does that mean the prophecy believed there was a chance Arantu would manipulate me and pull me to the dark side?”
“Yes, and no.” I wait for him to continue while he slowly stirs sugar into his cup. “There is no doubt Arantu is a master manipulator and he has dark magic on his side; however, the dilemma was more of an internal one.”
I’m struggling to understand where he’s going with this. Yes, I remember that dark entity that lived inside me. That horrible black shadowy thing that dragged me from my bed and pulled me to the basement that time. That horrific dark voice whispering in my ear. But that was all Zorc and Jentarr’s manipulations. It wasn’t anything I conjured myself. Was it?
“I can see I’m confusing you,” he says, taking a sip of coffee. “There was a point when you first discovered who you were, and what you would be able to do, when it could go either way. When you could choose what you wanted to do. How you wanted to proceed. We had to wait until you had chosen the righteous path. The one which would protect the galaxy and see you fulfil your destiny. When you made that decision, I traveled to Indiana to take up the temporary principal’s role. It was my intention to make my real identity known and talk to you about all of this, but your friend thwarted my plans when she betrayed you to the humans.”
I slump in my chair, blowing air out of my mouth. This is a lot to take in first thing in the morning. “I was in way more danger than I realized.”
“In danger from yourself. Yes.”
We both let that settle in the room before resuming our conversation. “But I never felt any pull to darkness. Yes, I was scared and afraid I wasn’t the savior and that I couldn’t live up to the prophecy, but I never contemplated turning my back on my destiny. I might have doubted my abilities but that didn’t stop me from trying.”
He smiles. “And that is how we knew.” He takes another sip of his coffee. “To be fair, Daniel was always adamant that you would do the right thing. Finding him was a pivotal moment for us. Because he knew you so well, he could speak to your character, and we had faith you would do the right thing, but we couldn’t know for sure.”
It’s good to know at least one of the Trainors believed in me. I have a lot to thank Daniel for.
“And is the threat passed? I don’t have to worry about that anymore?”
“No, although I’m not happy Zorc was training you to use your dark emotions to fuel your powers.”
“I knew he was still manipulating me, but I was powerless to disagree.”
“You did what you had to, Alinthia, and there is no shame in that. But now we will show you the correct way.”
I nod absently, my mind latching onto another thread. “I need to unlock the information in my mind, but I don’t even know if my human parents kept the capsule. What if they didn’t?”
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it.” He rises. “We’ll speak to Daniel and ask him to talk to your mother about the travel pod’s whereabouts, and then we’ll take it from there.”
He gathers up my fruit and bread, placing it in a small plastic container. “We need to leave. Donovan and Denzil are waiting on you, and I would like to give you a tour of the compound first. But you need your sustenance.” He hands the container to me. “You eat, and I’ll talk.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say, feeling more reassured than I have in ages. My Veronnian mother said to trust my instincts, and my instincts tell me I’m finally in the right place to get the answers I need.
And there’s no time like the present to st
art.
CHAPTER 22
Elder Glennev insists I call him Glennev from here on out, and we stroll leisurely around the facility as he gives me a quick guided tour. The facility is extensive, very high-tech, and uber impressive. From the slick, well-maintained residential quarters to the massive auditorium, research center, tech hub, medical facility, gymnasium and sports center, training rooms and beyond to the retail sector where a select number of stores provide the basic necessities, the attention to detail is exquisite. There is no reason for anyone to have to leave the facility for anything should they choose not to.
“Travel outside the facility is closely monitored and scheduled. No one gets in or out without us knowing,” he assures me. “We take security and privacy very seriously here. It’s the only way the society has managed to survive for so long.”
He veers a sharp left, and I trail behind him. We step into a glass elevator, shooting upward for what seems like forever. “I want to show you the observation deck,” he says, gesturing with his head for me to follow when we reach the top level. We walk side by side. “We can see out, but no one can see in.” A few people mill about the space which is a long, wide decked area with an abundance of recreational areas. “People like to hang out here and enjoy the view,” he explains, noticing my curious eyes. He stops in front of a handrail and steers me around by the shoulders. “Well, what do you think?”
In front of me is a massive window highlighting the outside terrain in all its magnificent glory.
Humongous beige-colored chipped-stone walls tower over a long, flat structure built on ground level. A multitude of steps lead up to it, and throngs of people crowd the main path, like dots in the distance. On both sides of the building are a multitude of smaller paths, leading into separate entrances, some nestled in the cliff face. A vibrant orange hue rests over the valley, casting the historical tombs in a magical light, and there’s an awe-inspiring aura surrounding the entire place. One can almost see the ghosts of these women floating above the valley, inspecting proceedings. There’s a reverential quality to the atmosphere that raises all the tiny hairs on the back of my neck.
The Warrior Princess: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance Page 16