by Robyn Bachar
Recovered. That was one way to put it. Jace might be under the sway of the phase, but he hadn’t suffered from it as Sabine had. Nor would he have to experience the joys of pregnancy and childbirth.
When she returned to Jace’s quarters—their quarters, she corrected silently—Sabine and Jace had fallen into an exhausted sleep. Bryn looked down at them, her chest tight with emotion. Sabine was curled in Jace’s arms, and he held her close, protective even in his sleep. For a moment she was tempted to crawl into the bed and join them, but she needed to remain vigilant and keep guard after having witnessed Wylarric’s derision firsthand. It was a long way from scowls to assassins, but considering the enormity of House Morningstar and its wealth, Bryn could see how it might pit brother against brother. All Jace had to do was produce a son, and Wylarric would lose his position as pampered heir.
Bryn closed the bedroom door and returned to the outer room. There wasn’t much to do, so she picked a spot in the middle of the floor, folded her legs beneath her and calmed her mind into meditation. Shadow swords used meditation to maintain their focus on long missions, and it had been a godsend during her time as a slave.
Time passed in calm quiet, with only the measured whisper of her breath and the familiar hiss of ventilation systems. Then a new noise interrupted from the direction of the entrance, and Bryn’s brow furrowed as she strained to identify it. It was high-pitched, almost whining, with irregular clicks and whirrs—someone was hacking the lock on the door. She drew her pistol and fired into the door lock, and the bolt melted the device shut. Whoever was outside would have to manually bypass it and force it open.
Retreating into the bedroom, she brought the lights up and locked the door.
“What’s going on?” Jace asked, no doubt roused by the gunfire.
“Someone’s hacking the main entrance. Get in the closet, both of you.” Bryn glanced at the furniture in the room, and decided to relocate a chair and footstool in front of the doors. It wouldn’t work as a barricade or cover, but it might slow their attackers down for a moment. Long enough for Bryn to get an extra shot in.
“Give me your pistol,” Jace said.
Bryn shook her head. “No. Get yours, and get in the closet. Now.” He scowled, and she glared at him as she moved furniture. “Jace. I need you to protect her, so I can protect you. Trust me.”
With a growl he scooped Sabine into his arms and carried her off. She murmured a question, still half-asleep—not surprising, considering how enthusiastically the pair had been going at it earlier. Bryn locked them in, found herself a place with cover and a clear shot at the bedroom door, and crouched behind the desk.
The lights died, plunging the room into darkness as the doors slid open. Like any Cy’ren, Bryn could see perfectly well in the dark, and she frowned at the empty doorway. The assassins must be using either side of the door for cover, waiting for her to take the first shot and reveal her position. Her heart thudded in her chest as she waited for them to make their move—they needed to enter the room to pursue their target and eliminate him as quickly and quietly as possible. Bryn, on the other hand, had all the time in the world to defend her mates.
A small metal object sailed through the doorway and bounced onto the mattress, and Bryn ducked and covered. The stun grenade rattled her for a few moments, but her cover and armor blocked most of its effect, saving her from falling unconscious. For once, Bryn found herself wishing she had a helmet as her vision blurred and her ears filled with an irritating high-pitched ringing.
Two shadows darted forward, and Bryn fired a spray of bolts across the room. She didn’t hit the assassins, but as they dove out of the way one directly entered her line of fire. Bryn dropped him, but then her pistol whined and red warning lights blinked on the grip. Overheated. Damn. She set the weapon down, drew her sword and charged.
The barrel of the assassin’s gun swerved in her direction, and Bryn slapped it aside with her blade with a clang of metal-on-metal. He reached for his blade—a shadow sword? Seemed ballsy of Wylarric to send the house’s own men against his brother. Bryn cut the male down, but then shrieked as a laser bolt burned through her light armor and struck her in the side, beneath her right arm. She stumbled and fell, spotting a third assassin just outside the room.
Stupid. Missing the attacker’s presence was a raw recruit’s mistake. Grimacing, Bryn used the bed for cover and hugged the floor. The pistol of the assassin she’d just run through was just within reach, and she lunged for it. She rolled to her knees and fired a volley of bolts, and the final assassin shuddered and fell.
All was ominously silent, and when no further targets appeared, Bryn rose and checked for more. Once she was certain the rooms were secure, she pounded on the closet door with her good hand. Pain throbbed in time with the rapid beat of her heart, distracting but manageable.
“It’s clear, Jace.”
The doors opened, revealing a now-dressed Jace and Sabine. “You’re hurt,” Sabine exclaimed.
Bryn forced a smile through gritted teeth. “It’s not bad, a’gra. I’ve been hurt worse than this. I need you to get into your isolation suit. Jace, get your armor. We’re going to have to move to another location. Pick a female you trust, preferably unmated.”
“Andelynn,” he replied without hesitation. “But you need a medic first.”
“No. I need to see you safe first. I’m your shathlinn. Do you trust me?” she asked, and though Jace glared he nodded in reply. “Then do this for me.”
As they donned their suits, Bryn checked the fallen assassins for any clues to their identities. Each bore a Nightfall heritage mark, and no slave marks—not just shadow swords, but important ones. Not mercenaries or hired thugs. Why would House Nightfall go after Jace? Did they think he knew something about the Lazarus project? There were no alarms, no sounds of other attacks, so this wasn’t an invasion. She shook the thoughts away. Someone else could worry about that. Bryn needed to get her mates to safety.
Chapter Fourteen
As soon as her wound was healed, Bryn was summoned away from the med center by Captain Hawke. Though she would rather have gone straight back to Jace and Sabine and allowed them to kiss the lingering pain away, she dutifully followed the order in hope that the captain had answers.
Raised voices blasted through the door to the sitting room—how many sitting rooms did one family need?—and echoed down the hall when Bryn entered. Lord Najamek was arguing with Wylarric and another male Bryn didn’t recognize. The captain stood off to the side with another male and female, also unfamiliar to her.
“I am the heir. She should belong to me,” Wylarric snapped.
“I won’t allow anyone to take advantage of her condition,” the other male argued.
Her condition? The phase? Why were they arguing over Sabine? Anger chased away the last remnants of pain meds.
Lord Najamek took a deep breath and raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Najacen has already claimed Sabine—”
“Then I will challenge for her,” Wylarric interrupted.
Bryn whistled sharply, and everyone turned toward her. “Sabine isn’t a bone for you to fight over like hungry dogs. She likes Jace. She wants to stay with Jace, and anyone who tries to take her from him will have to go through me.” Bryn leveled a furious glare at Wylarric. “I don’t care if you’re heir to the whole damn universe. You won’t have her.”
“How dare you,” Wylarric sputtered. “You have no right! And no say in this matter.”
“Actually I do. I’m Jace’s shathlinn, and that makes me his champion in a challenge. I’ll gladly gut you or anyone you name in your place. It’ll be a cold day in blazes before I’ll let you knock her around like you do your other mates.”
Wylarric snarled, clenching his fists, but then he stormed from the room through another entrance. Bryn squared her shoulders for a further fight, fearlessly meeting first Najamek’s e
yes and then the other male’s. She glanced past them at Captain Hawke and her companions, and then blinked. The female bore a striking resemblance to Sabine—her skin was lighter, a warm lavender instead of Sabine’s cool violet, but their eyes were the same unique gold, their faces similar in shape, and they both had long, thick waves of white hair. She was also quite pregnant, and Bryn’s chest tightened at the reminder that her mate was very likely to end up with a child of her own thanks to the phase. Sabine would be a mother—the thought had permanent weight to it.
“Captain?” Bryn said, hoping for answers.
“Lieutenant Viera. This is Lord Degalen Fairren of House Sunsinger, and these are my mates, Talena Spenser and Lieutenant Mordackai Loren.”
“I see. My lord.” Bryn bowed politely.
“I understand that you are…close to my half sister, Sabine,” Lord Degalen replied.
“Half sister?” Bryn repeated. Lord Degalen was Sabine’s half brother? His skin was similar in shade, but his eyes were a bright red and he had a strong nose instead of Sabine’s delicate features. His white hair was cut short, though not quite short enough to contain the weight of it, giving him a slightly tousled look.
“Yes. We share the same mother, as does Talena. Her name was Sharaiya.”
Bryn frowned as she digested that information, remembering Captain Hawke’s explanation of what happened to the Sunsingers—Sharaiya was sold into slavery. By agents of House Nightfall. Sabine’s heritage data must have thrown up all sorts of red flags, which meant that the Nightfall assassins were after Sabine, not Jace. They would be doubly in danger now, from both Jace’s jealous brother and the agents of House Nightfall eager to cover up any tie to slavers.
“Sabine was my mate,” Bryn said. “Now she and I are Lieutenant Commander Harrow’s mates.”
“Is she all right?” Talena asked. Bryn fought the urge to demand that someone find a chair for the female. She shouldn’t be standing in her very pregnant condition.
“She’s in much better health now than she was before,” Bryn replied.
“But Jace hasn’t…” Talena trailed off, her face flushing.
“Knocked her up?” Bryn guessed. She glanced at Talena’s belly, imagining what Sabine might look like in a few months. The females had the same build—petite but curvaceous. Soft. Vulnerable. “It’s possible, but she hasn’t shown signs of conception. Not for lack of trying.”
“No, I mean, he hasn’t hurt her?” Talena blinked up at her, her golden eyes so like Sabine’s, and Bryn shivered.
“Of course not. I’d kill him if he did. Why would you—” Bryn stopped as she realized this was the female Jace had spoken of before, the one he had stopped pursuing out of respect for Captain Hawke. “Oh. Right. Look, I get that you’re not fond of Jace, but he hasn’t raised hand or voice to Sabine. I don’t think he will, because he’s completely besotted with her. Actually I’d say he’s suffering from an overabundance of protectiveness at the moment.”
Talena sighed with relief. “Oh, good.”
“Harrow can’t be trusted,” Lieutenant Loren growled.
Bryn’s brow rose. “He hasn’t given me reason not to trust him.” At least not since he’d spilled the entire tale of his family’s sordid past. Jace had been brutally honest, as promised, and she respected him for that.
“He will.”
“And we’re supposed to trust you instead? I don’t know you.”
“We only want what is best for Sabine,” Lord Degalen said.
“Really. What is your definition of best?”
Lord Degalen straightened. “A place of honor in House Sunsinger, where she can be appropriately provided for and given freedom to pursue her own interests.”
“Jace and I can provide for her. It sounds like your plan is to rescue her from her mates and whisk her away to someplace she’s never been before, where she’ll be surrounded by complete strangers.”
“She’s our family,” Talena said softly.
“She’s my family.” Bryn’s jaw clenched, and she took a deep breath before continuing. “You might share some genetic makeup, but that doesn’t mean you suddenly know what’s best for her. She’s my mate and I love her, and I never would have agreed to this arrangement if I thought Jace would harm her. You don’t have to like it. You just have to respect it.”
“I understand. Would it be possible for me to speak with her?” Talena asked. “I would like to meet her.”
“We’ll work something out. But please sit, you’re making me nervous,” Bryn said, and the other female nodded. Lieutenant Loren ushered her into a seat and stood over her, as did the captain. Talena’s own bodyguards—the corners of Bryn’s mouth twitched, because she and Jace would have done the same with Sabine.
Bryn turned her attention back to Lord Degalen. “My lord, have you met with Malcolm? The indexer?”
“No, I haven’t. We received the news of Sabine’s heritage while en route, and I wished to deal with that first.”
“I see. Perhaps Captain Hawke and Talena could accompany me to speak with Sabine, and you and Lieutenant Loren could meet with Malcolm?” she suggested. “I can alert Andelynn to fetch him and meet you in the archive.”
“That would be acceptable. Thank you, Lieutenant,” the lord replied.
“A word, please, before you go.” Lord Najamek drew Bryn aside and frowned at her. “I understand that you are upset, but you threatened my son and heir. I cannot tolerate threats to the heir of my house.”
“But you tolerate attempts on Jace’s life?” Bryn’s nerves were already frayed, and her temper snapped and crackled. “That hardly seems fair.”
Lord Najamek’s frown deepened. “Considering the news of Sabine’s heritage, it seems likely she was the target of this attack, not Jace.”
“I wasn’t talking about this attack. Jace may not be your heir, but he is your son too. I would have expected better from the lord of a ruling house.”
“What? I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Najamek replied.
“No? Ask Wylarric. He was the one who tried to have his own little brother killed. Twice. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Bryn turned on her heel and marched away.
Relief flooded Sabine when Bryn finally walked through the door of their new bedroom—both Sabine’s relief and Jace’s, his emotion washing over her in a soothing wave. Sabine leapt on her, and Bryn grunted.
“Easy, a’gra. The tissue is still regenerating,” Bryn said. Jace wrapped his arms around both of them and held them tightly as he kissed Bryn. “Sorry about your jacket.”
Jace smiled. “The jacket is replaceable. You aren’t.”
“Glad you think so. How are you both feeling?” she asked.
“I’m all right, at the moment. But…” Sabine held up one hand and a fine tremor ran through it. Bryn frowned, but clasped Sabine’s hand in both of hers and held it tight. “What if it doesn’t get better? What if the phase ends but I still want the drugs?”
“It will wear off. Dr. Morgan said the withdrawal won’t last much longer,” Jace assured her.
“I hope she’s right.” With the demands of the phase fading, Sabine was anxious to return to a life free from constant cravings. Particularly because they faced so many other issues now—assassins, politics and the constant press of the emotions of a city filled with people. The noise never left her, and she waded through it, emotions lapping against her like waves across a pond. She hoped she could speak with Jace’s sister about aleithir training soon, before the noise turned into worse torture than the phase had been.
“You seem much better.” Bryn brushed a stray lock of Sabine’s hair from her face. “You look beautiful in that gown.”
Sabine blushed and fidgeted with the cuffs of her sleeves. The new gown was gold with red and orange accents, like a sunset. It had been so long since she had clothing to wear—probably
as long as it had been since she had last been planet-side to see a sunset—and she’d never owned something this nice. Technically she had never owned anything at all, because as a slave all of her possessions belonged to her master.
“It’s very pretty,” Sabine said.
“Though of course I prefer you naked,” Bryn teased, and Sabine smiled.
“Agreed, for both of you,” Jace teased, and they chuckled.
“We were very worried about you.” Sabine nuzzled Bryn’s neck, taking comfort in Bryn’s familiar strength. The image of Bryn bleeding and in pain was seared into her memory, and Sabine knew it would haunt her nightmares. Part of her never wanted to let Bryn out of her sight again, but she knew that was foolish.
“It looked worse than it was,” Bryn said.
“You should strip so we can see for ourselves,” Jace suggested.
Bryn blushed and laughed. “You’re greedy, Second Son. The celebratory sex will have to wait until later. We have guests.”
“Oh?” Sabine said.
“Yes. Your heritage data came back. Your half sister is here, and she wants to meet you. I also met your half brother, but that introduction will have to wait until after your phase.”
The floor seemed to drop out from beneath Sabine, and she wavered in her mates’ arms. Sister. Brother. Family. The idea seemed like a dream, a hallucination induced by the uppers she craved. When she was a girl she dreamed of being rescued by her mysterious parents and taken away to live a better life. As the years passed and no one came for her, Sabine accepted the fact that she was alone, and there would never be a better life. Bryn changed everything, giving her hope and purpose, and Sabine had dreamed of a future with her lover. The fact that the future now included a handsome, wealthy male only made their situation more surreal, and now siblings…
“Do you need to sit down?” Jace asked, his concern cracking her numb shock.
“No. She’s here? Now?” Sabine asked.
“Right outside, in Andee’s sitting room. Apparently your half sister is worried that Jace is being mean to you, and wants to see for herself that you’re not being abused,” Bryn said dryly.
