I shrugged. “Nothing personal. I was looking for my friends. Ones your operatives took because they heard or saw something they shouldn’t have. I wonder how the public would feel about you condoning the abduction of innocent civilians. I wonder how they’d feel about you brainwashing them, and I’m sure they’d love to know about your chimera experiment and the fact you’re holding Others simply to power a treaty that could, if activated, wipe out the East and South sides of Arcana City.”
Okay, so the blackmail card had been played a little soon, but they needed to understand what was at stake, and that we weren’t blind to the truth of Arcana. They needed to understand what lengths we’d go to in order to get what we wanted from them.
Lannister’s furious gaze was fixed on Noir. “You knew about this? About this neph’s exploits?”
Noir lifted his chin. “Yes, I did.”
A collective gasp filled the room.
“And now you stand here and allow her to blackmail us?” the woman said. “We are well aware that data was stolen from the facility.” Her face was a ruthless mask. “It’s a capital offense, and the sentence is harsh.”
They hadn’t mentioned Quinn or subject zero, as they had labelled him. Could it be that the operatives at the facility had decided to leave that loss out of their report? Best not to mention it, just in case.
“Blackmail is the wrong word. Call it an insurance policy,” Noir said coolly. “If you try and press charges against Miss Bastion, then that data will be released to the public.”
“That data is private for a reason.” Lannister’s hands, which had been pressed flat on the table, curled into fists. “We are protecting the people the only way we know how, and revealing our methods would achieve nothing but panic. We are a dwindling race in a sea of interlopers. Our world has been overrun by monsters and we are forced to negotiate with them. We do what we must to maintain an upper hand. It is the Arcana objective.”
He was right, there was no denying that, and revealing the truth to the public would cause mass panic. “And we understand that. The data release is a last resort, our way of making you listen, because we want the same thing. We want to protect Arcana, and we need your help to do it. Elora is a real threat.”
Malcolm tucked in his chin. “We can’t simply dismiss these claims.”
“What claims?” the woman asked. “The video clip of a disgruntled Draconi prince coupled with the ravings of a lunatic neph?”
Who the fuck was she calling a lunatic? “I’d look in the mirror if I were you, because only a lunatic would wear those colors together and think they look good.”
Malcolm made a choking noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
I ignored him and kept my attention trained on the woman. “And how many lunatics do you know that can break into a maximum-security facility and get out alive?”
She smiled thinly. “Only a lunatic would try.”
Touché, bitch.
“She’s obviously delusional,” the woman continued. “And she’s convinced Noir of her fantasy. Or maybe his interest in her is less than professional, and we all know about Valance and his sexual appetites. Elora has shown us no ill will, she has abided by the treaty for decades, and our eyes on the ground have reported nothing to indicate she’s planning much of anything.”
“You know me,” Noir said. “I take Arcana business very seriously, and I would not be standing here if I did not believe everything Miss Bastion has told you. Elora has some kind of key. She used it over a century ago to alter the memories of her people. There was meant to be a treaty between the Shedim and the Draconi, one that promoted equality and peace, but she killed Ivan, the king at that time and her scalemate, and then used this key to alter historical memory. She turned herself into a savior and Ivan into a monster. She enslaved the Shedim, and because they believed her to be their liberator, they allowed her to do so.”
Succinct and to the point, something I was way too pissed off to be.
“And how did you come about this knowledge?” Malcolm asked.
Noir looked down at me. “Miss Bastion?”
I filled them in on my contract with Elora, leaving out Noir’s involvement in my reason for being there. I told them about Azren and our torture at the hands of Elora, the things she’d said and the scenes I’d seen through Azren’s eyes once we’d connected as kindred. I explained that Azren was the map to finding the key, and we needed their help to get him back.
“Wait,” Lannister said. “How is this possible? How can you be kindred to a Shedim? You’re a neph.”
“No. I’m not neph.” I glanced at Noir, who nodded in encouragement. This was the moment that they could turn on me, on us, but it was also the only way to prove a bigger plot and to assure them I had the power to take Elora down. “I’m not a neph, but I’m neither Shedim nor Draconi. I’m both. I’m something new.”
“This is ridiculous!” the female Arcana said with a curl of her rouged lip. “I sense nothing special about you, and I would know.”
Anger flared to life in my chest at the obvious dismissive derision in her tone. Talons slid out from my fingertips, scales erupted across my face, and my body was suddenly lighter, almost as if it were drifting.
Chairs scraped back, and exclamations filled the room.
“I’m not a neph.” My tone was deeper, huskier. “I’m not dragon. I’m not Shedim. I’m both.”
Noir was staring at my legs, and a glance down showed that they’d misted to nothing but the wavering shadow that Shedim sometimes had. Well, this was new.
“Would you like to see my dragon form?” Okay, so I had no idea if I could shift to dragon, even though something had definitely happened in the Everdark when Valance had been wounded. But I’d been upset and under duress. It had been an instinctual thing.
I’m here, Seb said in my mind. Your dragon is here with you. All you need to do is call on it. It’s just like scratching your nose.
Good to know.
But Lannister was holding up his hand, his eyes narrow, lips thin. “Protocol 8!”
The Arcana stood up as one, all except Malcolm, who was watching with interest.
Noir turned to me. “Wila, we need to go no—” Blue fire slammed into me, knocking Noir back. It surrounded me, pinning my arms to my sides, holding me captive. Arcana magic, their magic combined.
“Stop this,” Noir said. “She’s not your enemy. Elora is. We need Wila to stop Elora. She’s the only one that can. We came here to ask you to get us into the Triumph Games. Wila can challenge Elora and win Azren back. With the map, we can find the key and stop Elora from using it on Arcana. Wila is our only hope.”
“We have a treaty,” Lannister said.
“Your treaty won’t mean a thing if she alters your minds,” Noir said.
“No one has that much power,” the woman said. “Not even your little abomination. Look at her, trapped in Arcana grip. Even if I did believe you, her easy incapacitation hardly inspires confidence in your assertion that she’ll beat Elora in the Triumph Games.”
Laughter filtered into my mind, and my skin prickled with an icy heat. Seb. My lips curled in a sadistic smile that echoed my ether-kindred’s emotions, and then Sebastian materialized beside me within the blue Arcane magic.
Several of the Arcana took a step back.
“Well, what do we have here?” Seb asked, arms crossed, finger on lips. “A little fizz? A little pop.”
“Who are you?” Lannister asked.
“Me?” Seb’s brows flicked up. “Oh, I’m with her.” He jerked a thumb in my direction. “And we don’t like it when people try to restrict us.” He snapped his fingers, and the blue magic shattered, sending a shock wave outward. The Arcana went flying, slamming into walls. I was free.
I rolled my neck on my shoulders. “Thanks.”
Seb walked around me to stand behind me, his chest against my back, waiting while the Arcana regained their equilibrium.
It was Malcolm who spoke
. “Who are you? What are you? I can see ... I can see the universe.” He took a step toward us, and then caught himself.
Seb’s hands caressed my shoulders. “I’m nothing, and I’m everything. I’m the ether and the universe. I belong to Wila and she belongs to me. So ...” He rested his chin on the top of my head. “If you fuck with her, you’re fucking with the universe.”
Lannister opened his mouth to speak but Malcolm held up his hand. “Enough. I’ve heard enough. Is this the power you intend to use to best Elora?”
“No. This power is mine alone,” Seb said, “but Wila will have access to my elemental power once she has taken her mates.”
I could practically see Malcolm’s ears perk up. “Mates?”
“As part Draconi, Wila will take mates, and her mates will lend her their stamina, enough for her to wield my power.”
Why was Seb telling him this, and why did Malcolm suddenly look so excited? In fact, why wasn’t anyone else saying anything? And then it hit me. I’d made a mistake in thinking Lannister was in charge here. It was obviously Malcolm who ran the show. The old Arcana was studying me with intense interest.
Malcolm nodded slowly. “Having taken on board everything you’ve said and everything we’ve seen, I believe that there is a real threat to Arcana. It is our duty to protect our way of life and our people. Therefore, the Arcana Institute will give you our invite to the Triumph Games this year. It will be your ticket into Draconi territory, your ticket into the Central Keep. Mr. Noir, as one of the founding family members of the Institute, will escort you, but in return we’ll need something from you.”
Okay, now we were cooking. “What do you need?”
He smiled, and this time, the friendly old guy demeanor slipped to reveal the cunning Arcana beneath and the true reason he was the voice of the committee.
“You will take an Arcana as a mate.”
Seb let out a bark of laughter. “And there it is.”
I glanced back at Seb. “What the fuck?”
Seb pressed a finger to my lips. “They know how powerful we are, and they want a piece of it, a hand in the pie, not just a finger. By mating with an Arcana, you’re agreeing to a marriage with the Institute.” Seb pursed his lips. “And that’s fine. We agree.”
“Seb?”
“We agree on the condition that we get him.” Seb pointed at Noir. “Adam Noir will belong to us now. He will be bound to us.”
“And to the Arcana that runs through his veins,” Malcolm said. “He will still remain Arcana. He will still be one of us.”
“Agreed,” Seb said.
He was making the decisions, taking the reins, but how could I argue with this? How could I deny that I’d wanted this all along? Noir ... Noir would be mine.
He was staring at me, stunned.
“In that case, we have a deal,” Seb said. “Now isn’t it nice when we can all get along?”
A hint of the manic was creeping into his tone, and I shot Noir a warning look. We needed to cut this meeting short.
“There is one final thing,” Malcolm said. “If you fail, then this conversation never happened. If you lose, then Noir will be an outcast and a traitor to the Arcana.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “If we lose, then you’ll be fucked, and you won’t even know it, because Elora will amplify her key and strip your memories. I suggest you get eyes on Kelter, if you haven’t already.”
“Nettie.” Malcolm turned to the color-clashing woman.
The female Arcana inclined her head and then strode from the room.
“Go,” Malcolm said. “The invites will be delivered to you later tonight.” He turned away, dismissing us.
Seb watched him with a strange gleam in his eyes, one that, if I didn’t know better, I’d say was respect.
I pressed a hand to my ether-kindred’s chest. “I’ll catch a ride with Noir.”
Seb glanced at Noir. “Yes, I suppose you’ll want a minute with your new mate-to-be.” There was no bitterness in his tone. “I’ll update the others.” He winked out.
Noir slipped his arm around my waist, his dark blue eyes fixed on my face. Despite everything we were about to face, there was a bubble of euphoria building in my chest, words on the tip of my tongue, words I’d never thought I’d get to say. But we were already fragmenting, and those words would have to wait.
We’d got what we came for, and in two days’ time, we’d be bringing Azren home.
13
Azren
Lashes of fire on my back keep me moving forward, inky black snakes project from my skin, clawing at the earth, dragging me inexorably toward a destination I have no control over. The tattoo Elora etched into my skin is alive, writhing and aching and burning as if trying to outdo the white fire searing my back. I grit my teeth and forge on, trying desperately to keep up with the snakes that tug me forward.
Elora sits in her carriage behind me, pulled by me, cocooned in a haze of blinding light that keeps the monsters at bay. But I hear them and smell their hunger. They hover at the edge of the light, waiting, eager, and hopeful.
And then there are more lashes.
“Faster, faster!” Elora shouts.
How many hours? How many days? When will we reach our destination? The Everdark is a lethal land that on initial inspection looks barren, but there is so much more to it than meets the eye. It was home to another race once, a race of beings forged from fire. But our prison encroached on their reality, and they cut us off, left the Everdark behind and never looked back. Where are they now?
“There. Look, Azren, we’re almost there.” Elora is excited and her excitement makes the lashes come harder and faster.
There is no skin left on my bones. My blood soaks the parched earth and feeds the monsters we leave in our wake. They have a taste for me, and if the lights go out, I will be their next meal.
Up ahead, balanced on the edge of a steep cliff, sits a castle with towers and turrets. It is merely an obsidian shadow against the starlit night, and it is our destination.
“Almost there, Azren, my pet. You’ve done well. It’s almost over.”
There is no fighting this. Not for me. Only my kindred can stop what’s to come now, but I fear she may be too late. I fear that all may be lost.
14
My fingers caressed Valance’s face as, with my eyes closed, I listened to Seb’s dulcet tones.
“Reach deep within. Can you feel a connection, the desire to mate?”
He’d been harping on for the past ten minutes, getting me to touch all the guys, and so far, all I’d felt was ridiculous. This wasn’t working.
I opened my eyes and stared up at Valance woefully. “I don’t feel anything.”
He stared at me flatly. “Well, that’s flattering.”
“Urgh.” I dropped my hands to my sides. “You know what I mean. This is pointless. Maybe we’re wrong. Maybe I’m not like the other Draconi females, maybe I can’t mate.” I leaned my head against Valance’s chest and inhaled him. Man, he smelled good.
“Maybe stop sniffing your potential mates and actually try,” Seb said sternly.
“Fuck you, ether boy. You fucking try it if you think you can do it.”
“Ah, the anger laced with humor,” Seb said lazily. “Snap out of it! You can mate, and you definitely need more than one mate. I can feel it.”
“You can?” Quinn leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “You mean she’s horny all the time?”
Seb dismissed him with a cutting glare and then focused on me. “Why is he here again?”
“Because he can walk through walls,” Tay said gruffly.
He was like a bear with a sore head now; the troll’s influence was strong, and it seemed like the only thing that kept it under control was napping frequently. I walked over to him and ran a hand through his hair before sliding onto his lap. Frequent contact seemed to help. He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me against him.
Seb watched us from beneath hooded lids
. We hadn’t had the opportunity to talk about our little experience of earlier today, and my neck heated under his regard. The corner of his mouth lifted.
“I can walk through walls,” Seb said absently. “We don’t need him.”
“Hey!” Quinn pouted.
I patted Quinn’s shoulder from my perch on Tay’s lap. “Lay off him, Seb. Quinn’s part of the team.”
“He also makes an excellent pot of tea,” Gilbert added.
“And gives great ear rubs,” Trevor admitted.
“Feeling the love, guys,” Quinn said with a grin.
Tay nuzzled my neck, his grip on me flexing tellingly as a particular part of his anatomy got a little active.
“Wila.” His voice was gruff and strained. “Could you ...”
Okay, time to jump ship. I slipped into the vacant seat to our left, reached for a chocolate chip cookie off the plate in the center of the table, and handed it to Tay. Okay, so it was a poor substitution for sex but it was all there was to hand.
Amber had been on a baking spree most of the day, and the house smelled of cinnamon and strawberries. She was tucked up in bed now with a book, a plate of cookies, a glass of milk, and instructions not to come downstairs.
I glanced at the clock. It was almost eight-thirty p.m., and the high of our earlier victory was wearing off under the pressure of not being able to complete the next phase of our plan. Triumph Games were in forty-eight hours. The invite the Arcana had couriered over to us stared at me from its perch on the table. Forty-eight hours and I had no clue how to bond with my guys. How the fuck would I beat Elora without them?
Valance poured himself more tea, and Noir stared at his cup. There’d been no time for me to discuss the change in circumstances with Noir. Amber had jumped us as soon as we’d gotten back, and I’d backed off to give him some time with his daughter, and then everyone had congregated in the kitchen and the how-to-get-Wila-to-mate meeting had begun.
I crossed my arms on the table and laid my head on them. “I don’t know, guys. I don’t know what to do.”
City of War (Chronicles of Arcana Book 4) Page 9
