I was a horrible person. Selfish.
Astrid’s footsteps thumped closer and closer. A moment later, her head appeared around the last row of shelves. “Gretchen.” She hurried the last few steps and sat down beside me. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this. I lo—” My chest tightened and I froze. What if they were angry at Alek? What if Rose punished him or sent him away. What was I doing?
Astrid’s arm went around me and she tensed. A rush of air fled her lungs, and I knew she was having a vision. Her fingers tightened around my arm until the pressure was painful. I held in the hiss I wanted to release and just waited. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a long vision.
When her fingers released, I watched her and waited. Her eyes opened and her worried gaze mirrored the sense of dread wrapping around my stomach. “You haven’t slept with him yet, have you?”
My heart stopped in my chest. Slept with who? What had she seen?
“Gretchen.” Her fingers tightened again, digging painfully into the flesh of my forearm. “Tell me you haven’t slept with him.”
I shook my head, still unable to speak. Fear blossomed in my breast, spreading like a dark cloud over my soul.
She audibly sighed with relief. “You can’t let this happen, Gretchen. We are not allowed to copulate with supernatural men. Our powers would transfer to the child if we were genetically compatible. They would forever be tied to this life. At least humans age and die in the span of a century, but paranormals would exist in this—”
“Hell?” I snapped. As if just because we had a typical human lifespan, it was easier to survive this sentence. At least an immortal would live with the hope of seeing the end of this torment. We lived and died knowing the end wouldn’t happen in our lifespan. The visions hadn’t shown anything more than that. Astrid had seen the seventh Protector in a few visions, but they’d been blurry and unclear—a sign that our numbers were weakened. More Sisters equaled more magick equaled better visions.
“We have a good life. This is far from the hell it could be if it weren’t for Rose.”
“They made us this way. How can you defend her?”
“Regardless of how we arrived at this moment, Rose protects and cares for us, and if I want my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be free, then we have to keep our numbers solid. If we don’t, the visions will remain unclear. You know as well as I why my visions and some of the other Sisters are covered in shadow.”
“I can’t.”
“Then you would curse more of our Sisters’ children to the same fate, instead of pulling your weight and helping us to finish this. We’ve added two Protectors in the last year because Vella, Keri, and Mata have all had two children each in the last three years. Their favored joining choices have returned to them year after year.”
“It’s not that easy for all of us. Reagan has only conceived once in ten years, and some of the Sisters have never conceived.”
“You’ve never tried, Gretchen. What if you’re one who can bless the House with many children?”
“I can’t—”
“You’re being selfish.” Astrid’s angry tone bit into my already tender emotions like the sting of a whiplash. “You can’t be with him, and I’ll make sure of it.” She got up quickly from the sofa and marched away from me and out of the library.
I sank to my knees on the floor. Sobs overtook my body. My tears burned with the knowledge that I’d not only ruined my life, but I’d ruined Alek’s as well.
“Astrid!” I screamed, getting up and chasing after the Oracle. “Astrid, please!” I turned the corner and ran down the hallway, nearly colliding with one of the Blackmoor Drakonae brothers.
Miles caught me by the shoulders and leaned down to meet my gaze. “What’s wrong, little one?”
“She’s going to tell Rose, and Rose will hurt Alek. I can’t let her. I love him. I’ll never see him again. We didn’t do anything. He shouldn’t be punished because of something in a vision that hasn’t happened.” Oh, gods! My hand clapped over my mouth like it had a mind of its own. How could I have blurted that out? Could I really make it worse? Of course I could. I could tell one of the dragons that the Sisters oh by the way I’ve fallen in love with the Gryphon who lives in town. That’s definitely what I should do.
I wanted to evaporate into the air and disappear on the breeze flowing down the hall from the open window ahead.
“Alek Melos?”
“I don’t want to sleep with a stranger at the joining. I was hiding in the library, but the Oracle found me. When she touched the couch where Alek and I used to read together, she saw it.”
“Saw what?” His tone was calm and comforting. I trusted him. I didn’t know why, but I did.
“She saw the vision I’ve had of Alek and me…together.” My voice was barely more than a whisper, but he’d heard every syllable. I waited for the lecture to come, but all I saw in his brown eyes was compassion and flecks of orange that looked like flames dancing in his irises.
“No one will force you to participate in the joinings. It has never been forced in the past, and it will not happen in the future, little one. On that, you have my promise, but I also know the limitations placed on the House of Lamidae are there for a reason.”
“I know.” The words fell from my lips, and my hope shattered like a crystal vase smashed against a stone floor. At least I had his promise that I could live the rest of my lonely human life without being afraid I’d be forced into something I didn’t desire.
“Your Oracle is in the courtyard. I can hear her speaking to Rose on the com connected to the Cafe.”
My vision blurred, and a new wave of tears burst from my eyes, rolling down my cheeks and leaving hot streaks of pain in their wake. “Please stop her.” I couldn’t live with myself if he were hurt or cast out of Sanctuary. At least if I knew he was safe and in Sanctuary, I could survive alone with my fantasy of how my life could’ve been in a different world.
Miles clucked his tongue and pulled me close, enveloping me in a very warm but comforting embrace. “Shh, little one, we will talk to Rose. Your Oracle is elected to represent the House, but she can’t dictate your life or Alek’s. Rest assured, the old battle-scarred Gryphon can hold his own.”
Everything was ruined. Not only had Alek rejected me personally, but now Rose would make sure he never forgot who had ruined his life. “He’s going to hate me.” I pulled away from Miles, my body still shaking and tears streaming down my face.
“I doubt that. Alek’s hatred is reserved for those who separated him from his family.” Miles waved toward the other end of the hall. I’d never been in that direction—toward the dragon’s personal chambers. “I’m going to leave you in my office while I go find everyone necessary to clear up this mess.”
“I don’t see how it will be fixed…”—I spoke, my words drawing out like honey dripping from a spoon—“by talking.”
A chuckle rolled out from Miles’ chest. “You never know until you try. I need you to feel comfortable in your home. Astrid’s not the first to harass you about the joinings.”
“How do—”
He pointed to his ears. “Good hearing.” A smile warmed his usually-intimidating face, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “Have a seat. Couch is comfy. Help yourself to any of the books. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure, little one.” He gave a half-bow and exited the grand office, leaving me to explore his personal space. An oversized mahogany captain’s desk guarded a wall of bookshelves overflowing with well-worn books I’d never seen but I didn’t care about that right now. Right now that same sick feeling crept into the pit of my stomach as I’d had when Alek left me in the library a week ago.
I climbed into the window seat and stared out over the wall at the town. A few people crisscrossed through the streets. Several stood in front of Rose’s Cafe across the circle, laughing and carrying on with each other. Just last week,
I’d overheard Eli and Miles discussing the death of a Lycan who’d been murdered in the street.
Another life taken while I and my Sisters remained safe and secure behind a wall of stone and solitude. A few minutes later, I saw Miles and Eli both cross the street and enter the Cafe, ducking their heads to fit through the door.
Time stood still while I waited for them to re-emerge. I caught myself tapping a rhythm on the window, stopped, and closed my eyes, playing through the scenarios of what would be said when Rose got here. I’d never been so glad to have the Blackmoor Drakonae brothers on my side.
“Father, I need to—” Mikjáll Blackmoor burst into the office, snapping his mouth shut when he saw me.
I pulled my legs up to my chest and curled into the corner of the window as tightly as I could manage. “He’s in the cafe. They are, I mean—”
Mikjáll’s features softened from their surprised state, and he nodded. “Thank you, miss. Are you well? Can I help you?”
I scoffed and shook my head. “Unless you can make me a dragon. That might solve one of my problems.” If I was a supernatural—something, anything besides a Sister of Lamidae—Alek would’ve given us a chance. He wouldn’t have put me back on the shelf in the library, like a book he knew he’d never have time to read again.
“I’m afraid I can’t manage that request, but I’m sure my fathers will make sure whatever plagues you is taken care of. They take their guardianship of you ladies very seriously.”
“What do you think of Sanctuary?” Perhaps I could distract my mind from its self-terrorizing thoughts. I’d never had the chance to speak to the Blackmoor’s son before. He’d only been in Sanctuary a short time, arriving shortly after Diana, their mate and his mother, had returned. Both had escaped the Veil.
And from what I’d discerned from Diana, neither was keen to remain in Sanctuary longer than necessary. Diana said she wished she could raise her babies in the snowy mountains of her homeland. She wanted them to know the freedom of flight, to not be ashamed or afraid or hide what they were from the world.
“I think it is a world very different from my home.”
“It is not your home now?”
He shook his head. “We will go home soon.”
“What makes you say that? There is no way through the portal without fulfilling the prophecy.”
“Things are not always as they seem.”
Again with the vagueness. He and his mother both acted like the prophecy wasn’t the end-game for all of this. The town. The House of Lamidae. The war with Xerxes.
“I’m sick of that.”
His eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth turned upward, the start of a handsome smile.
“I wish people would just say what they mean.”
“People say that, but it rarely helps diffuse situations.”
“There wouldn’t be situations if people were up-front from the beginning.”
“Says the woman who sees visions of the past, present, and future. How much do you and your Sisters see that is never shared?”
I took a deep breath and nodded. He had me there. We experienced dozens of visions every week and kept them to ourselves, because they didn’t relate to finding the next Protectors. “We don’t keep anything relevant from Sanctuary.”
“You say that, and you might very well believe it.” He pursed his lips—no doubt trying to decide whether or not to finish his statement. “But…what you have, however you may have come by the magick you and your Sisters possess, it is leverage. Never forget that. You are not something that can be recreated. It took the entire high council of the Lamassu to cast the spell to create the Sisters of the House of Lamidae.”
“How do you know that?” I’d never heard anything about the creation of the House.
“My fathers,” he answered, shrugging it away as if it weren’t a big deal.
But it was. I knew nothing about our origins. No one did, unless they were lying. And I’d certainly never considered that the visions we held back might be relevant to other things…just not our end goal. I glanced out the window at the small innocuous town that few outside even knew existed at all. My mind drifted back to his mother’s words spoken to me last week.
Things are not always as they seem.
I was beginning to believe her.
When I looked over again, Mikjáll had disappeared from the room.
Chapter 12
XERXES
“Master.” Cal stepped up to the table where I was eating my afternoon meal. “Commander Martin and his captain are here with a report from Sanctuary.”
“Good.” I took a sip of the rich merlot and nodded. “Show them in.”
He bowed and backed away from the table, leaving me once again in solitude. I enjoyed the silence. After as many years as I’d lived and breathed, silence was a rare commodity. The people on Earth always screamed and cried over something. Not that I didn’t enjoy the screaming and crying, but I preferred to be the one who’d caused it. The one who made their chests tighten and their hearts stop. The one they all feared.
Heavy boots clomped through the entrance ahead of me. Martin and his man came to a stop, feet apart, hands clasped behind their backs. These wolves were good at following protocol. Their faces were hard. Eyes cold. Calculating…but obedient. Very obedient. Like well-trained attack dogs.
“I see no gifts.”
“No, General Xerxes, sir. We encountered a barrier spell that alerted the residents of Sanctuary to our presence. The witch you assigned to my forces was able to cut through it, but an alarm sounded. We killed one Lycan before we made it back to out.”
His tone was hesitant, worried that I’d take the news badly, but it wasn’t anything I hadn’t anticipated.
“It wasn’t the hole that set off the alarm. It was the Djinn. Rose and Calliope and probably several other ancient supernaturals the bitch has added to her town are able to sense magick. Every time a Djinn jumps, they give off a unique magickal signal,” I answered, deepening my voice with displeasure. Even if it wasn’t his fault, no need for him to feel that I was pleased with his lackluster report.
“Can that signal be masked?” Martin spoke again, his tone hopeful this time.
I shook my head. Smart dog, though. “A witch could potentially hide the Djinn signature, but only if she was already in position at the final destination with the spell in place. Too much trouble to be effective.”
Martin nodded. “We detected no sign of the key dagger, General, when we dumped the magick locating potion inside the town’s barrier. It didn’t react. No floating cloud to follow, but we can try again as soon as you command. My men are ready.”
“How many men?”
“Six hundred. Two hundred and fifty are Lycan, and the rest are human turncoats from part of the Washington Republic’s army. We would need a large force of Djinn to move us quietly into the Texas Republic, far enough away from Sanctuary that we would still maintain the element of surprise. Currently, we have about fifty men in the compound twenty miles south of Sanctuary.”
“You need to capture one of the Bateman witches. They are the only ones that will be able to undo the spells blocking Djinn teleportation on the castle and other buildings in the town. Until the Djinn can jump in and out of the buildings unimpeded, the forces in Sanctuary will still be too much. That castle may not look like anything special, but it was built to withstand heavy fire, and it’s likely the entire lower levels are secured bomb shelters.”
“Yes, General, sir.” Martin and his captain both saluted.
“Once the teleportation blocking spells are broken, we can begin mobilizing the larger force to take down the pain in my ass that is Rose Hilah and her band of fucking bothersome supernaturals. The Sisters will be mine. Sanctuary will be gone. I’ll have my revenge on Rose and Naram once and for all.”
I waved a hand, dismissing the wolves.
“Cal, bring me Manda.”
“Yes, Master.” Cal disappeared into the air. Bare
ly five seconds passed before he reappeared with Manda in tow.
“Get your fucking hands off me, you traitorous asshole.”
The fury in her tone hardened my dick instantly. It’d been months since I’d seen a hint of her strong personality shining through. This was a most pleasant surprise. I hadn’t had the pleasure of her body in nearly two weeks. Overthrowing a government took a lot of time.
“How dare you grab me out of my office? What if someone comes in look—” Her voice faded to silence, and her gaze rose to meet mine. The fury and strength dissipated like a sunny afternoon rainstorm. Her lip quivered, and she took a step backward.
“Thank you, Cal. Leave us.”
My servant hurried from the room, leaving a trembling Manda in the cleared center of the oval office.
“Strip.”
“Please. How will I explain my absence? You’ve put me in a position to help you overthrow the SECR from within. I can’t be the most effective if—”
I used my magick to turn the pulley system and lower the steel frame from the ceiling. Then I pulled the wooden a-frame from the wall on the far side of the room. Chains clinked above her head, and a whimper slipped from between her lips.
“Strip now or I’ll do it for you. Then you can explain to your colleagues why you’re naked in your office.”
Her shaking fingers worked at the buttons on her white blouse. It came away quickly, revealing her ripe breasts held high in a beige lacy bra. The rings through her nipples prodded at the fabric, and I licked my lips. Just the thought of the metallic taste of the rings coupled with the pain caused when I pulled on them made my pants even tighter.
The bra came off. Then her high heeled shoes, skirt, and panties. The rings in her labia glinted in the bright light flooding through the open window. Each one had been placed strategically to incur the most discomfort and lasting pain. The enchantment on them clipped her wings, preventing her from using teleportation to escape these little sessions.
Sanctuary, Texas Complete Series Box Set Page 102
