by Kate Rudolph
Just after lunchtime someone banged on the door. Doryan and Amy shared a look.
“More family?” he asked.
“My family doesn’t knock.” She got up from where they were tangled together on her couch and took a step towards the door. Then she paused, grabbed her blaster from where it was on the table, and continued on. It was a harsh reminder that danger could find them at any time, and Doryan’s claws ached.
Amy checked the security camera and turned to him, confused. “I think you should answer it. It’s Manda.”
That got Doryan up from his seat and across the room in three strides. He flung the door open and had an armful of teenage girl in his arms before he could even greet her. Then she pushed him away and glared. “What the hell, Doryan?” Manda demanded.
Amy guided her inside and closed the door. This wasn’t a conversation they wanted all of Amy’s neighbors to hear. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “How did you get here from New York?” She was probably old enough to figure out transit by herself, but Doryan didn’t like the thought of her alone. She’d been through enough.
She rolled her eyes. “We got home last night. Kyla told me where you were.”
A cross-city journey was better than a cross-country one, but Doryan still didn’t like it.
But Manda was talking again before he could say anything. “We promised to stick together. I know you couldn’t do anything about the Legion, but I thought you would get to say goodbye! When Naomi told me that you’d gone, how do you think that felt?”
Her eyes watered and Doryan was at a loss. In all their time together, no matter the hardships they’d faced, he’d never seen Manda cry. He didn’t know how to react to that. “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to put as much emotion as he could into the words, but they sounded flat. More emotional than he’d been a week ago, but not by much.
“Are you?” she glared. “What’s going on? No one would tell me why you left with the detective woman. They treat me like a kid even though…”
Doryan led her to the couch. “We don’t want you hurt again,” he said once they sat. Amy retreated into the kitchen, and Doryan was grateful. Manda seemed on the verge of something and he knew that really seeing Amy might set her off.
“It hurts when you lie to me.” Manda wiped at her eyes fiercely and glared at him again, as if to dare him to call her out for crying.
Doryan wouldn’t say a word about that. “I didn’t lie,” he pointed out. “But you’re right. I didn’t tell you the entire truth. I’m still wrapping my head around it. Amy is my denya. That’s why I came with her.”
“And that’s why you’re acting weird now?” Manda asked. “Like you’re a person instead of a robot?”
His newly uncovered emotions might eventually find that description offensive, but for now Doryan just nodded. “Does anyone know where you are?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I left a note.”
He couldn’t get mad at her, even if protective anger simmered beneath the surface. He wasn’t going to lash out. But it was an effort to keep his voice even. “You can’t just take off like that. Everyone is going to worry.”
“You weren’t even there to worry,” she pointed out.
“Doesn’t mean I don’t. I knew you were safe because there were five people to protect you. You were in good hands. You—”
Someone pounded on the door and Amy was there in a flash. Deke didn’t wait to be invited in. His gaze honed in on Manda and he approached. Doryan didn’t like that look. He stood in the other man’s way, protecting his charge.
“What were you thinking?” Deke demanded. He pushed against Doryan but didn’t put up much of a fight.
“Lower your voice,” Doryan said.
“She just took off. She could have been snatched off the streets again and we would have never found her!” Deke’s chest heaved and his eyes briefly flashed red.
“I left a note,” Manda protested.
“A note? Oh, well that solves everything!” Deke advanced again.
“Everyone quiet!” Amy yelled, and it somehow worked. Attention snapped to her. “Screaming isn’t going to solve this.” She met Doryan’s eyes and glanced at Deke. “Talk to him. Manda? You’re with me. You’re not in trouble.”
She shepherded the girl into her bedroom and shut the door behind them. Deke stared at the closed door for several long seconds and Doryan wondered if he was going to try and bust through it. But when he looked back at Doryan there was a quiet desperation in his eyes, his anger bleeding into worry.
“We didn’t know where she was,” he said.
“She’s okay,” Doryan promised. “But I think you and I have some things to talk about.”
AMY WAS GLAD THE CLOSED bedroom door managed to muffle most of the noise from the living room. Deke had looked ready to brawl, and while she hoped Doryan could keep it from coming to that, her priority right now was getting Manda calmed down and talking.
The girl sat on the bench at the end of the bed and Amy was glad that for once it was free of clothes that needed to be put away. They were quiet for several moments. Amy wasn’t exactly sure how to treat Manda. Her brothers’ kids were all a lot younger, and Amy could handle that, but Manda was in that in-between stage, almost an adult but not quite. Ready to take offense at the slightest misunderstanding.
Tough as nails and fragile as glass.
But she needed a friend right now, and Amy would do her best.
“I know I screwed up by coming here,” Manda bit out. “But no one was saying anything.”
“I can see how that would be frustrating.” Amy sat beside her, leaving enough space between them so they weren’t touching. “Doryan and I left really early in the morning. Deke and Naomi were the only ones who saw us off. He would have said something if there was time. I’m sure of that.”
“Oh, another thing Deke won’t talk about. How fun.” Manda slumped and hung her head.
Unease curled in Amy’s stomach at Manda’s tone. Her impression of Deke had been good, in their limited interactions, but she knew all too well that people could hide away the darkness hidden inside. “Are you and Deke close?” she asked.
Manda buried her head in her hands, her cheeks turning pink. It took her a minute to answer, but when she did she sat up tall. “No, I don’t think he likes me at all. And he makes me feel weird. We’re not…”
“Weird how?” She did not like the sound of this, but she kept her cool. She needed Manda’s story before she did anything… like shoot a certain Detyen with her blaster.
“I don’t know,” Manda muttered. “I can’t explain it.”
“Try.”
Manda sighed. “It’s weird. Like there’s something pulling me to go hang out with him. And I mean that literally. Like there’s a rope wrapped around my chest and it tugs me in his direction. And I have dreams sometimes. Where we hang out.”
She was not going to ask about the details of a sixteen year old’s dreams. But she recognized the feeling Manda was talking about. It sounded a lot like the denya bond. But Manda was just a kid. What did that mean? “Has Deke touched you?”
“No!” Manda burst up from her seat and started pacing. “He wouldn’t. He’s not like that. And I know everyone thinks that I was… that that happened to me after I was abducted, but it didn’t. I swear. And Deke wouldn’t. Okay?”
“Okay,” Amy raised her hands in surrender. “I believe you.” And that was good to hear on both counts. She couldn’t imagine the tortures that Manda had endured while she and Doryan were held captive, but to know that there was at least one thing she hadn’t experienced was a small relief.
The door slammed and she and Manda shared a look before heading back towards the living room. They found Doryan standing in front of the door, chest heaving and eyes red. If it were someone else, she might have been wary. But never Doryan.
She approached slowly and noted that his claws were retracted. That was good. “You okay there?” she asked, running
her hands over his arms.
Doryan’s eyes slowly bled back to black and he pressed his forehead against hers while he sucked down deep breaths. “I’m still getting used to my emotions,” he admitted. “I may have overstepped.”
“It’s alright.”
She hoped. She turned toward Manda. “Who do you want me to call to come pick you up?”
Manda smiled. “You’re letting me choose?”
Amy shrugged. “If I like your answer.”
Manda just rolled her eyes. “I guess Shayn or Naomi would be fine. Vita can be scary.”
“I’ll call them,” said Doryan.
They didn’t take long to arrive. And when they did, Amy watched the worry drain off of them. Well, off of Shayn. Naomi didn’t seem as concerned, but maybe she’d psychically sensed that things would be okay.
“We have news,” said Shayn, as soon as they’d finished the greetings.
“Am I in trouble?” Manda asked. Her arms were crossed and she looked ready to argue.
“We have word about your parents,” was Naomi’s response. “Confirmation of their last known location, and the trail is fresh. Brax and Vita are getting ready to go find them. This time next month they’ll be home.”
Manda’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open, but she didn’t say anything.
Not long after that, the three of them left, and Amy and Doryan were alone once more.
“Deke set up the meeting,” her mate told her. “We got that far before we argued.”
“What did you argue about?”
“Not what. Who.”
Manda.
“Do you think Manda is Deke’s mate?” The question had been roiling in her since she’d talked to Manda and she didn’t want to hold it inside for long. She loved being Doryan’s mate, loved the certainty and the bond, loved the feel of him beside her. But she was old enough to be Manda’s mother. She’d had years and years to figure herself out. Manda still had a lot of growing up to do.
“He didn’t say,” said Doryan, but clearly he’d been thinking along the same lines. “As far as I know, the bond doesn’t trigger until adulthood. But Detyens age a little faster than humans because of the denya price.”
“What does that mean for her?” Amy didn’t like to imagine the girl’s choices being taken away again, but the bond was powerful stuff.
“I don’t know,” Doryan admitted. “She’s smart, she’ll figure out that something is up. But…”
There were no easy answers. Detyens died without claiming their mates. Or they became soulless. But Manda wasn’t old enough to take a mate, and she deserved to live out the rest of her childhood without the claim hanging over her.
“We’ll do what we can to make sure she’s not taken advantage of,” said Amy.
“I think Deke may need help too.”
Amy remembered the ferocious look on her mate’s face. “What did you talk about? Why were you so angry?”
Doryan hung his head, but she wasn’t going to let him wallow. She wrapped an arm around him and held him close. Eventually he let out a breath on a sigh. “He was trying to tell me about the bond, I think. But with all these new emotions swirling around, I’m having trouble with my control. I spiraled out, thinking he would do something to her, even though I know him. If he hadn’t left…”
“But he did. We’ll figure this out,” Amy promised. “Somehow.”
Chapter Seventeen
IT TOOK NEARLY TWO days to get the meeting set up with the formerly soulless Detyens and Doryan was feeling nervous. He and Amy had ensconced themselves in her apartment, hiding away from the world, and this would be their first sojourn out. Lieutenant NaMasee could be on the lookout for him. He still had to face the Legion. But he hoped the meeting went well and he ended with enough information to save himself.
The meeting was set to take place at a small cafe that Amy knew. When he and his mate walked in, it was easy to spot their companions. Everyone else was human.
Two Detyens, both teal with dark hair, sat at a table in the back, but that wasn’t the most eye-catching thing. As Doryan and Amy got closer, Doryan spotted a small girl, the same teal as the men, bouncing from foot to foot and clinging to the edge of the table. She was young, but he didn’t know how to judge the ages of babies. And he didn’t see any clan markings, despite her Detyen appearance.
Red hair was gathered into pigtails and she was all giggling smiles until Doryan and Amy got close enough, then she hid behind the leg of the closest Detyen, shielding herself from view.
The man further away from the baby stood and nodded for them to sit. “Doryan and Amy?” he asked. This wasn’t Kayde. It had been years since Doryan had met the man, but he remembered Kayde being gold, not blue.
Was this a trap? But who would bring a baby to an ambush?
“Where’s Kayde?” he asked, keeping half a step in front of his denya. He felt her hand on the back of his arm and could imagine the exasperated face she was making, but he was the reason they needed this meeting and he was going to do whatever it took to keep her safe.
“He couldn’t make it,” said the man who was standing. “I’m Dryce, Raze’s brother and little Remy’s uncle.” He pointed at the girl and smiled. She giggled.
“Up!” Remy demanded, coming out of hiding and pulling on her father’s pant leg, little claws peeking out of her knuckles to help her climb.
“No claws,” Raze said gently, patting her hand.
“Up!” Remy repeated with a little jump.
Raze picked her up and settled her onto his lap, kissing her forehead. He looked over at Doryan and Amy and it was impossible to tell that he’d once been emotionless. His face carried all the love he felt for his daughter and a warmness that Doryan rarely saw on warrior faces.
Doryan and Amy sat.
“My denya had meetings that couldn’t be avoided today,” Raze explained. “And Remy’s grandpa is off planet, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” said Doryan. “She’s—”
“Half-human,” Raze answered. “And all devil.” He tickled her and she giggled again. “She just turned one last month. As far as we know, she’s the first Detyen/human child and we have some questions, but she’s healthy and for now that’s all we can ask for.”
A hybrid, just like the NaZades, though the other half of their parentage was Oscavian. Doryan didn’t mention them. If they wanted to contact the Legion and reveal their ancestry, that was up to them.
“I have a problem,” said Doryan. They could talk about the girl all day, but he was meeting these brothers for a reason.
“We,” Amy corrected.
Doryan smiled at her and nodded.
“You were soulless,” said Raze. It wasn’t a question. “And now you’re not. How long?”
“It started about a week ago,” though Doryan had lived a lifetime since then. He laced his fingers with Amy’s. “We bonded shortly after.”
“That was fast, nice!” Dryce grinned at both of them.
His brother glared. “Don’t make me regret bringing you.” He turned back to Doryan. “We’re not sure exactly how it works, but that tracks with what happened to Kayde and me. We met our mates and when we bonded, we regained all of our emotions. Before that there was pain and some disorientation.”
“Did you pass out?” Amy asked. “Have there been any health issues since then?”
Raze shook his head. “I’ve been perfectly fine. But, yes, I did pass out after we sealed our bond. Nothing since then, though.”
She sat back and Doryan could feel relief radiating through their connection.
“So you and Kayde are the only other soulless to find your mates?” Doryan asked. It made him a little sad. There were so many soulless, so many who’d sacrificed everything.
“As far as we know,” Raze confirmed. “There’s been some speculation about what fixation really means, some questions about whether soulless before us might have been prevented from claiming mates out of fear,
but there’s no way to know. And there’s been some… skepticism about Kayde and I among certain factions in the Legion.”
“Skepticism?” asked Amy. “I may not be an expert, but the difference between Doryan today and when I met him is undeniable.”
Both Raze and Dryce shrugged. “There’s always been some factions in the Legion that don’t approve of the soulless,” said Dryce. “They’ll latch onto any excuse.”
Like NaMasee. Amy and Doryan shared a look.
“And I’m guessing that’s your problem?” Dryce asked.
“You’ve heard about what happened to Captain NaPyrsee?” asked Doryan.
Dryce scowled and Raze’s eyes flashed red for a moment before settling back to black. “He’s been particularly aggressive about wanting the soulless retired now that we’re on Earth. Or, he was, I guess. But I never thought someone would kill him.” Dryce didn’t seem to be grieving.
“The Legion and the other Detyens who have come to Earth are trying to put together a council to ensure we have representation among the human governments,” Raze explained. “NaPyrsee and his people have been trying to gain control of that council for months. And his support has been growing. Many are starting to see the soulless as something we no longer need… and they don’t want the wider world finding out about us.”
“That’s terrible,” said Amy. “You can’t just execute people when they’re no longer useful.”
“You won’t find disagreement here,” said Raze. “But that’s not the issue we need to solve immediately, is it? NaPyrsee flagged you,” he said to Doryan, “he was probably preparing the retirement paperwork. You need to convince the higher ups that you’re no longer soulless. And that you’re not a threat.”
Doryan nodded. But his own issues seemed to pale in comparison to the threat Raze had just brought up. There were hundreds of soulless. Would they really all be executed?
“So what do we do?”