Bonds of the Mazza

by Blake Blessing

  “Then why did you lean away from me as if you did something wrong?” Okay, maybe I was going to dwell a tiny bit. I would never admit it, but the rejection stung. I managed to hide it with indignation in my voice but his eyes said he wasn’t buying it.

  “I think it was habit. I swear, I don’t have feelings for her.”

  Sage rested against the back of the chair and pinned me with a hard stare before coming back in slowly. As if to make a point, the fingers of his free hand whispered over my jaw as he kissed my lips softly.

  I hated the flutter in my chest.

  A few weeks ago my love life was dry and empty. Now I had all these men, and all these feelings. It was like I wasn’t in control of my emotions anymore. How was I supposed to navigate this world and my supposed role if I couldn’t even make sense of my feelings?

  Lucia’s loud huff broke the spell we’d woven around ourselves and it was obviously meant for that purpose.

  Four spots were now open across from us, and thankfully they were mostly behind the statue so I didn’t have to look at them for the rest of dinner.

  Once they were seated I met the eyes of all my guys to check the pulse of their reactions. Nato was alert, and wide-eyed. Egan hunched over the table, glaring daggers at Rainer. When our eyes met, he winked and relaxed a bit.

  Rand, of course, was the most affected. His skin had lost a significant amount of color but he nodded at me.

  “What do you think this means that Rainer’s here? Didn’t you guys think he would stay in the Earth realm to keep working on his secret project?” I slid my chair as quietly towards Sage as I could. The men and women closest to us were staring but content not to make conversation with us. These people were more leery of me now that the Mazza effect had vanished, like they didn’t quite know what to make of me. Well, the feeling was mutual.

  Sage pulled my hand higher up this thigh. “I can think of two possibilities. He has trusted people working on his initiative, so Rainer feels confident leaving them to come here. Or he’s so enraged by Rand leaving him that he came here anyway to confront him. There’s no way Rainer doesn’t know Rand’s not a captive by now. Who knows, Aamori might have alerted him as soon as she left.”

  “Yunez seemed to trust her.” Actually that could have been Yunez moving a chess piece. He was good at that.

  “Yunez could have known she was going to share and not said anything to us. Especially if it all played out in the grand plan he has.” Resentment colored his words.

  “Yunez is on our side.” That almost came out as a question but I knew Yunez was in our corner.

  “He’s on his own side. If we weren’t part of the solution for whatever goal he’s trying to attain, I don’t believe for a second that he would have taken us under his wing.”

  I wanted to argue with him but this was the wrong time and place.

  Instead, we filled our plates, only I’d lost my appetite.

  I picked up my fork anyway and started to eat mechanically when the man next to me smiled my way. I tentatively smiled back, but when he didn’t turn away it was obvious he wanted to make conversation.

  “Hello.” He braced his head on his hand.

  I finished chewing and swallowed my bite. “Hi.”

  “I’m Jude, from the house of Janer.” His smile was charming and handsome, if a little on the cheesy car salesman side.

  Immediately, I didn’t trust him. Not that I got the feeling he was a bad person. Only in the sense that he was the kind of man that only cared about furthering his own agenda. Much like Sage accused Yunez.

  “Isolde. Nice to meet you.” I shoveled a bite of green beans in my mouth.

  My shoulders stiffened as Rainer discreetly leaned to the side so I was in his view. His expression was a complete one-eighty from when I was at his lodge. It was also much colder from when he entered the room.

  I paused in chewing as it dawned on me. He witnessed Sage’s kiss. If Lucia saw, then Rainer did too. My eyes darted to Rand and as if he knew exactly what I was thinking he nodded his head again.

  Rainer knew I didn’t bond to Rand. And he had to know I’d completed all my bonds. No one going crazy over the Mazza was the first big clue.

  I completely ignored the man next to me and put my mouth right over Sage’s ear. I didn’t want to take any chances tweedle dum next to me would hear.

  “Rainer knows you’re my Janer bond.”

  Sage’s eyes popped out of his head. “Shit. I didn’t even think of him being there. That was a horrible move. I’m sorry, Iss.”

  “It’s fine. I think we should leave before he has a chance to corner us. If we wait until the hall empties, I’m afraid he’ll ambush us.”

  “That’s a very real fear. Who knows how many people he brought with him.”

  “Can we get out of here now?”

  Sage studied the people at the table and then the exits. “No, we at least have to wait until dinner is over. Aamori will want to move us to the courtyard for a more relaxed environment for politicking.”

  I blew a deep breath out and faced my plate again. There was no way we would be able to get out of here without some small confrontation with Rainer.

  “So, what city are you from?” The man beside me tried to pick up conversation again.

  Sage leaned across my lap. “She has a Janer bond already. Me.”

  “I, that wasn’t—” he sputtered.

  “I’m not saying that was your intention, but I’m just letting you know, Isolde is not interested in a mate or back room romp.”

  A bark of laughter burst out of me, and the corner of his lips twitched. Jude on the other hand, straightened, frowning.

  “I’m sorry, Jude. We’ve been traveling for a while now and I think we’re a little slap happy. Sage is always cranky when he hasn’t had a full night’s sleep.”

  Jude’s eyes softened when they came to mine and his posture lost some of its rigidity. “That’s all right, Isolde. I am merely happy that you’re here. Fennina has needed a Mazza for a while. I was wondering when one was going to pop up.”

  I fidgeted with my napkin and broke eye contact. It was weird for people to view me as the answer to their prayers and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with their expectations.

  Sage laid his arm around the back of my chair and turned into me, to better join the conversation.

  “Forgive me, Jude. Our bond is still new and we’re navigating our relationship. How has everything been in Louniva? You do reside in Louniva, yes?”

  The fuck? Who was this and what had they done with my Sage? The moody, resting dick face Sage had completely disappeared. In his place was some type of suave, compassionate man. I didn’t think Sage had it in him to be this… charming.

  “I do. My family is originally from Senadia and some are still there. I’ve lived here since I was about fifteen though.” He laughed like that was a hilarious thought.

  I studied his eyes. How old was this guy? There were no wrinkles, but after meeting Yunez, I knew looks didn’t mean a damn thing.

  “The morale has been damn low this last year. There’s talk of making the humans pay, but I’m just not convinced it’s them. Then there are some pretty weird characters making their way through the towns. I guess it could be the dire situation weighing on everyone but it just seems like more.” Jude rubbed a forefinger over his eyebrow.

  Hot diggity dog, we might have made a breakthrough with Jude. And to think, Sage almost ruined it all by being ridiculously possessive.

  “What are these people doing?” I set my fork on the plate, all thoughts of eating now behind me.

  “I don’t really know. It could be nothing at all. It’s just I don’t recognize them and they aren’t friendly. Not even a little bit. I’ve tried to befriend some of the drifters, because that’s what I do—I serve on Louniva’s council, taking care of hospitality—and they shoot me down at any attempt at conversation. It’s not normal.” He jerked his head in disbelief.

  Sage and I
exchanged withering looks. For a second, I thought we might have been on to something. And maybe we were. But there was a bigger chance that Jude just couldn’t fathom people not wanting to make conversation with him. This could totally have been a case of a swollen ego. He needed to stroke it a few times before it went back to normal size.

  “Is it odd that you don’t recognize people that pass through?” I was genuinely curious on why he thought he should know everyone. Sage clearly didn’t know him.

  “That in itself isn’t odd. What’s odd is that none of my acquaintances knew these people either.”

  That perked me up. Rainer could have spies coming in avoiding everyone. Who knew where he was potentially pulling his Shadow Society members from.

  “If you don’t mind sharing…” Sage dropped an elbow on the table. “Where can we find these people? We might see if we can make friends.”

  “Sure. Give it your best shot. They’re usually hanging around that tavern out by the Wasaeris.” Jude picked up his fork and resumed eating.

  That did us no good. That place had it out for us and knew exactly who we were.

  “The Rusty Nail?” Sage prompted.

  “That one, and the one right down the street. Copper Bucket is a popular hangout for the less than savory sort.”

  Sage nodded his head… sagely, as if he agreed completely.

  A tap on the shoulder pulled my attention away from the conversation. When I looked up, Jari was beaming at me.

  I squealed in delight and knocked my chair over in my excitement. I pounced on him, wrapping him up like a taco inside my arms and legs. He chuckled in my ear, and held me up by my ass.

  Sage cleared his throat, bringing the room and the dinner attendees back into the forefront of my mind.

  Jari’s light blue eyes sparkled as he lowered me to the ground. “My sweets, that was the longest three days of my life. Let’s not do it again, yeah?”

  My head bobbed like a delirious bobblehead on a roller coaster’s dashboard. “I don’t think I want to be separated from you ever again either. Where have you been?” I tried to keep my voice low but my excitement was building too fast to properly whisper.

  “That’s a conversation for another time.” His gaze darted around the room, stopping on Rainer and his family, then Lucia next to them. The warmth in his eyes cooled significantly, leaving behind a raging storm of gray. “I see there’s a party going on in my absence. When are we leaving?”

  “Welcome, Jari.” Aamori called from across the room, a less effervescent greeting than Rainer received.

  Jari threaded his fingers through mine and addressed Aamori. “Thank you, Aamori, can you have a chair brought over here?” He pointed a finger in the space between Jude and me.

  Aamori motioned to a man standing by the wall with a flick of her wrist.

  Jari ushered me back to my seat but I needed to keep looking at him. It had hardly been any time at all but so much had happened since we were separated.

  Jari looked exactly the same as when we left, only a little more glowing. He smirked down at me as if he knew I missed him too. There was no strain around his eyes, leading me to believe whatever happened on his secret mission went well.

  Jude moved his chair down with only a few sniffs and the chair was placed in the empty space. I positioned a little closer to Sage so Jari had room to climb in. As soon as Jari was seated he casually dropped his arm over the back of my chair and leaned in, blocking out anyone on his side. Sage did the same and I was cocooned in a glorious bubble of three.

  “What’d I miss?” Jari picked up a green bean from my plate and tossed it in his mouth.

  I wasn’t even sure where to start so I kept my lips firmly closed together. Sage directed an irritated gaze at Rainer before answering.

  “It’s been insanity the whole time. Things we can’t talk about here but I think I know where we should go after dinner. To avoid certain parties and get some more info. We should be able to be much more incognito now.” Sage’s gaze flicked to me.

  Jari quirked a brow and side-eyed me before taking in the rest of the calm men at the table. He had no clue I completed my bonds. He also probably thought the lack of over eager men was due to Yunez’s illusion. I dreaded hashing over all he’d missed.

  “Where’s Yunez?” Sage bent farther over me.

  “He’s coming. He couldn’t leave right away but I was ready to get back to you guys. He shared you were all back together without me.” Jari playfully pouted.

  Conversation died as soon as Aamori stood, all eyes resting on her.

  “It is a momentous time in our history to witness the Mazza. There’s been too many attacks and too many deaths. While the appearance of the Mazza means we are at one of our lowest points in history, we can finally have faith the attacks will come to an end. Isolde will be a tremendous asset to our people and she has the support of the House of Janer.” She bowed her head after her short monologue.

  Was I supposed to clap now? The only movement in the room was slow head nods as the focus slowly drifted from her to me. And talk about a way to make a girl self-conscious. Just announce she was going to save the world and that would do the trick.

  “Thank you for attending. You may now be excused to the gardens.” Aamori dipped her head and left through the same door she entered.

  Jari and Sage each placed a hand on my arm to help me up. I could take a hint so I removed myself from the table completely as Egan joined our group. He pulled Jari into a man hug and patted him on the back.

  “It’s nice to see you, man.” Egan smiled, relief flashing in his eyes.

  “You too, mate.”

  “I hate to break up a happy reunion but Rainer and Lucia are both heading this way. I don’t think we should hang around.” Nato poked his head into our circle.

  Rand was right behind Nato, continuously casting glances behind him. He still hadn’t regained any of his color, poor guy.

  “We have a potential lead to follow. Let’s run before they get to us.” Sage broke away from the circle to start heading toward the exit.

  “Man, Yunez said we need to hole up and not go running around.” Jari snagged Sage’s arm to prevent him from going too far.

  Sage slightly turned his head and curled his upper lip. “We might not get this chance again with Rainer here. Who knows how many people are on their way to back him up.”

  Jari raised his eyebrows like Sage was being dense. “Who knows how many people he actually brought with him. We could be surrounded already.”

  Rainer and his posse were so close but a crowd of people blocked his path.

  “Guys, whatever we do, we need to get out of here now.” I pointedly stared behind them.

  When they all got a look at how close Rainer and fam were to us we started running to the exit on the other side of the room. Jari took one hand and Sage grabbed the other. People stopped their conversations as we ran by, some even shouting greetings to the Mazza. We were making a huge scene but adrenaline from potentially getting caught by Rainer pulsed through my body.

  I didn’t know what he’d do, but I was positive Rainer felt betrayed and outsmarted. That was a horrible combination and didn’t promote a safe and loving agenda. No, he probably wanted to peel our skin from our bodies while roasting us over an open fire. I was fairly certain that was exactly what I saw in his gaze.

  “Isolde,” Theon jogged toward us, but we sped right past.

  In the hallway, one of the LL slammed the door shut behind us, then blocked it with a decorative table. There were only two men in here and other than gawking, but they left us alone. At the end of the corridor a bright lamp illuminated an intersection. When we got there, Sage and Jari tried to run in opposite directions, nearly yanking my arms out of the socket.

  “Ouch,” I squealed as I jerked my arms out of their hold.

  Sage and Jari argued over which way to go, when Rainer appeared at the end of the hallway. Rainer pointed and said something to the men that follo
wed him into the hallway.

  “This way!” I ran to the right, taking up the direction that Sage was trying to go. Not because I thought Sage was right, but because there was less light down this side, and less light provided a sense of safety. Like maybe we could hide in an alcove or something if Rainer and his men caught up to us.

  We got to the end and I rammed my shoulder into the wood, at the same time twisting the knob. I fell through, stumbling forward into the cold night air with all the guys following behind me. My breath puffed out in a cloud, a nice reminder of how cold it was while I was in a thin dress.

  We had landed in a back alley between two towering buildings and the sky was a rich shade of violet, casting deep shadows over every surface. It seemed a perpetual state of dusk in Feninna. That or we were slowly becoming nocturnal.

  “This way!” Sage yelled as he caught my hand, sprinting down the narrow alley.

  Sage and I started out ahead of the pack but it was soon apparent that I wasn’t as athletic as I thought I was.

  Nato soon shot ahead of us, seeming to know the best route out of this place. Rand was right behind him, while Egan and Jari jogged beside me, like we were just out for a friendly turn around the park. Then there was Sage who still had a hold of my hand, practically dragging me behind him.

  “Do you need me to carry you, Sweets?” Jari winked.

  “Fuck no,” I huffed, and Egan chuckled.

  Fuck them. Not really, just their running abilities.

  I picked up the pace when I heard a loud bang behind us. Egan lost all amusement when he glanced back.

  “We have to go. Shit, there’s like ten of them.” I was starting to turn my head but Sage jerked my arm.

  “We don’t have time to look. Keep running.” Nato took another street when Sage whistled.

  “This way.” Sage darted around the opposite corner and to a plain door that I might have otherwise missed. He jiggled the handle and when it didn’t budge he punched his shoulder into it once, twice, three times until the lock broke and the door creaked open.

  Without a word we all followed behind him. It was dark with the only light streaming in from the street. The building had a stale, musty smell like it had sat unused for years, but Sage had some idea where we were because he never slowed his pace, navigating the building with ease. The farther we got inside, the darker it became, and someone twisted their hand in the small of my back. Our shuffling was the only sound until Sage spoke again.