“Let him go,” Stiller growled softly.
I tried inching back from the blade, but Stiller advanced with me. With Jax still in surprise at my sudden appearance, I had no option but to release Jax’s hand. As soon as I did, I didn’t even see Stiller’s blow coming. With a shudder of pain, I was flying backward through the air as my chest burned with the agony of Stiller’s heave.
I still held onto my knife though.
Landing with a brutal whack on the sand, I rolled a few feet until my body’s momentum stopped. Spitting sand from my mouth and chugging much needed air into my lungs, I barely got to my knees before I saw two new pairs of feet advancing toward me. A quick glance up and I knew I was in the worst trouble possible.
It was the Plumas of the east.
By their expressions, seen through my locks of my hair, they had recognized me.
“Jax,” I whispered, glancing in his direction. I stumbled to my feet, seeing him now moving, rushing toward me. It was about time his shock had worn off. But I groaned, holding my bruised chest as Stiller followed directly behind him, and grabbed him by the waist, holding him back from coming any closer. My eyes reluctantly lifted to the Plumas who were almost on me. “Fuck.”
With white, long strands of hair blowing out behind him in a breeze of his own making, Pluma Phila Moir moved to stand between Stiller, Jax, and me.
Pluma Killeg Creo stopped directly in front of me, his white, chaotically chopped hair in disarray.
He lifted one hand in front of my face.
Opened his fist.
He blew out hard, and a fine purple dust flew from his palm into my face.
I blinked as a haze immediately started to envelop me.
As I started to sink deeply into oblivion, I felt warm, muscled arms catch me as I fell.
The rough toe of a boot kicked my knee. “She’s awake.” I knew that voice. I had heard it before. It belonged to Pluma Killeg Creo. He kicked me again. “Open your eyes, Ms. Valorn.”
I opened one first, and then the other. I hadn’t been awake for more than a minute. Just long enough to tell that I was lying on my side, soft leather was beneath me, and my hands were bound behind my back by a scratchy, thick rope. I also knew that there were four sets of lungs breathing by their slow intakes and exhales, meaning four people were near.
I was right.
They sat in a half-circle in front of me.
I was lying on a white couch inside a parlor of some sort – location unknown. The individuals who stared at me were also sitting on white leather chairs. All four were peering at me with varying expressions.
My kicker, Pluma Killeg Creo sat directly by my feet in their little half-circle.
Stiller sat to his right.
Jax sat next to him.
Pluma Phila Moir sat directly beside him, closest to my head.
Trying to keep the fear from my system, I ground my wrists against the rope holding them. A little pain to take the place of fear couldn’t hurt. Especially since the Mian sitting here had their nostrils flared and sat far back on their seats, like they were trying to control the urge to attack me.
My gaze quickly landed on Jax. I tried not to let my hurt at his betrayal show in my eyes, but I grumbled harshly in English, “How are you no longer a slave?” He was Human, like me. He should act like it, dammit. Not be putting his tongue in other people’s mouths.
With a flick of his finger, Pluma Creo tapped the bottom of my boot, gaining my attention. “That is the first thing that you have to say?” He spoke in Mianese, eyeing me oddly. “Just what the hell are you doing here, Ms. Valorn?”
Stiller grunted softly, muttering under his breath, “At least we know why Pluma Kreob and Pluma Wazra have been beating the borderline and demanding entrance.”
Pluma Creo flicked him an irritated glance, one that meant ’duh’. Though, his gaze darted back to mine, and I felt my brows pucker as I really got a firsthand view of his eyes as he leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “Answer my question, Ms. Valorn.”
His eyes were crystal blue…but they were so light in color against his tan complexion that they pierced me. I remembered having a similar reaction to his other half, Pluma Moir. This Pluma’s eyes held an indefinite amount of mystery, knowledge and intelligence sifting as he studied me. I felt my body go completely still when I only wanted to lean forward to gaze a little closer, to see if that dark outer rim was aqua or black, to see if I could figure out the secret that lay there so guarded but still teasing, as if he knew but would never tell.
My lips thinned as I jerked my attention away and glanced in the opposite direction.
Black as night eyes watched me, Pluma Moir much closer to my head than Pluma Creo.
His gaze trapped mine just as it had the first time I had met him in that small room after the ‘arrival ritual.’ It was a gaze that made you hunger for more. A midnight that you wanted to savor, to keep him looking your way, just so you could stare that much longer into delicate, yet punishing depths.
These Mian…they were dangerous.
I sucked in a harsh breath, and quickly tugged my legs up and shoved my body so that I was now sitting. I stared at the floor. At the black tiling. It was safe there to look. Speaking their language, I stated slowly, “I won’t answer any of your questions.” Though, I did find it interesting that my Vaq were beating down the borderline to get in. Did that mean they actually couldn’t pass without allowed entry? I had thought they had just given up on me, had gone back to Belvar to live happily together.
No one spoke for an indefinite amount of time.
The breeze coming in from an open window ruffled my hair, but I stayed gazing at the floor.
Silent. I could do that.
Apparently, they could too.
My legs began to ache, starting to numb from sitting in one place for too long.
My ass even started to hurt, but I stayed still.
Eventually, Jax grumbled, “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He shoved out of his chair and pushing Stiller’s hand away when he tried to yank him back. He landed on his knees right in front of me. I jerked when he placed his hands on my knees, but he only gripped me that much tighter. His grey eyes, no glow, just normal Jax – normal Human - peered up at me from his dipped position while I kept my head down. “Braita, what happened?” He ground his jaw together, speaking through clenched teeth. “Did those Plumas hurt you?”
Yes. “No.”
“Then what ha-”
“She’s lying,” Stiller interrupted.
Instantly, Jax paused. He continued watching me, but asked, “How do you know?”
Stiller shrugged. “It’s in her voice.”
I cursed quietly, then grumbled, “It’s not like that. They didn’t physically harm me.”
Jax rubbed my knees with his thumbs in a soothing gesture. “Explain.”
My cheeks instantly flamed red, and I peered directly into his eyes. “I’d rather not.”
Jax’s dark brows furrowed deeply. He was quiet for a full minute before he shook his head of dark, curly hair. His grey eyes scanned my face repeatedly, not missing anything. His tone was quiet, as if he were talking to himself. “I heard that they don’t have a Harem, so you wouldn’t be jealous of other women.” He was too perceptive. And too close to the truth. “What is it then?”
I sighed heavily, a vision of Jax kissing that woman flittering through my mind. “What happened to you?” My eyes narrowed into a pointed glare. “You aren’t a slave anymore, and you’re acting more like a Mian than a Human.”
Jax bit his lower lip, peering down to the floor. But when he met my gaze once more, there was defiance in his eyes. A stubborn tilt to his chin. “The leaders of Joyal made those rules when our people first arrived there. On Earth, it was different – as you know well enough from our history lessons. Not much different than the Mian. What I’m doing, who I am, it is human nature.” His eyes never wavered from mine. “When I found the other half of my Vaq, I
realized this.”
My hands and body went cold as my mind halted of all thoughts, shivers of frigidness keeping my spine straight as Stiller placed his palm on Jax’s shoulder and left it there. Stiller even gave a light squeeze of reassurance. This…was too much.
“Okay, I’ve had enough,” I argued, rising to my feet. Jax would have landed hard on his ass if Stiller wouldn’t have had a hand on him. I quickly stepped over my stunned best friend and jumped through their semi-circle of chairs, and turned a heated eye on all of them. “Release me now. I want the hell out of here.” I was dead serious. I couldn’t take much more of this. “And whatever you have done to my best friend, I suggest you reverse it now. He never would have acted this way before coming to this damned planet.”
Jax was instantly on his feet, holding his hands up in supplication. “Braita, they’ve done nothing to me.” He shook his head softly as he took a tentative step toward me. “The Plumas here, they told me that you are Soul to the Plumas of the west. In a sense it is the same, me finding my other half. Your Plumas did nothing to you, just as Stiller did nothing to me.” His grey eyes were penetrating on mine, pleading me to see his case. “It just is.”
I turned my angry glare on Stiller. “He is my best friend.”
Stiller had the nerve to snort. “He may be your best friend…but he is mine.”
I snarled. “The hell you say.” I charged him. My hands were still bound, but my teeth worked just fine. I could bite right into his neck and rip out his throat if I had to.
But I slammed into a blur. The fast moving projectile was Pluma Creo.
He lifted me straight off my feet, holding me flush against his body.
“Braita!” Jax hollered, still holding his hands up, trying to calm me. “He is mine too. It works both ways. Stiller’s just being an ass right now.”
“Am not,” Stiller grunted. He paused, glancing at Jax’s scowl. “Okay, maybe a little. Calm down.”
“Argh!” I shouted, wiggling fiercely inside my captor’s hold. “Let me down, damn you!”
“And there she goes talking about ‘cows’ again,” Pluma Creo muttered. He merely tossed me into the air, where I landed bent over his shoulder with my stomach smashed against it. He even whapped me on the ass when I started squirming again. “And she was doing so well there.” He paused, clasping a well-muscled arm around the back of my thighs, holding me tightly in place. “Phila, what do you think?”
Pluma Moir replied in an amused tone, “Our old pet’s cage?”
Pluma Creo chuckled softly. “That could be fun.”
“Wait,” Jax growled. “You aren’t going to hurt her, are you?”
Pluma Moir answered vaguely, “Only when she misbehaves.”
I gulped for oxygen right before my head was thrust under water again. Two strong pairs of hands held me under once more until I was almost depleted of oxygen, then pulled me back up. I sputtered and coughed, and glared as Pluma Creo grabbed for the foaming shampoo and sprayed it all over my head – all over again. It made the fourth time these Plumas had taken it upon themselves to wash my hair in a tub that all three of us were now in. This ‘bath’ had started with just me in it, when they had tossed me in – with my clothes on - but then I had fought their demands so hard that they had landed in the tub too to keep me contained.
My wrists no longer bound, I rubbed water from my eyes. I growled, “I can do this myself.”
Both sets of glowing eyes glared.
I had said this once before…and almost made it out of the bathtub when they had released me. Their expressions were warranted, I supposed, since I had made one of them bleed that time. But this time, I was serious. I lifted my black brows, and stated, “I’m being honest. I would rather not drown in this bathtub. If I’m going to die, it should be doing something worthwhile.” Not fighting a damned bath because they thought I smelled too bad.
Ever so gradually, they removed their hands.
I waved toward the door. “If you two would leave, I can finish this. There are no windows in here so I can’t escape.” I pulled the edge of my shirt away from wrist before it suctioned back to my skin. “To bath properly, I can’t have these on.” I shooed again toward the door. “And no matter how ass-backward your planet is, the two of you are not seeing me naked.”
Pluma Creo grunted. “As if we would want to see that.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. Like I hadn’t noticed both of them staring at my breasts that were in full view - thanks to my wet shirt. I now knew what those expressions meant after watching the Mian on the streets of Vlymun. It was attraction, the type that led to sexual contact. I had viewed that enough in darkened alleyways to blind me. “Just give me five minutes alone, and I’ll be done.”
Pluma Moir raised one brow, and then laughed softly. “Make it twenty, and you have a deal.” His nose crinkled as he stepped out of the bathtub. “Your stench is overwhelming, Ms. Valorn.”
Pluma Creo grunted again – this time in agreement – as he jumped out of the bathtub with ease.
Both left the posh bathroom without another word, shutting the door quietly behind them.
I could still hear them outside talking in quiet whispers, but at least I had some damned privacy. Standing up, I started tugging my clothes off. With my initial anger ebbed from finding out Jax was now half of a Vaq – my best friend was part of them and he liked it - I called loudly out of pure curiosity, “I thought you were taking me to your pet’s cage? Or was that just a lie so Jax wouldn’t know where I am?” As I got my shirt over my head, I almost had to hold my breath from the foul stench. They were right. Living in a sewer hadn’t done my hygiene any favors.
Pluma Moir chuckled, and asked through the door, “What do you think, Ms. Valorn?”
I grunted, and almost fell when I tried taking off my boots while standing. I quickly sat on the edge of the tub, and thought that through as I yanked them off. My pants came next. When they were discarded with a wet plop on the black tiling, and I had started on my underwear, I grumbled, “You’ll keep me close.” It was the wise option.
“Very good,” Pluma Creo murmured. It sounded like he ran his knuckles down the door, as if he were choosing his next words carefully. “If we don’t kill you, that is.”
I snickered this time, sinking back down into the warm water. “If you were going to kill me, you would have done so by now.” I started scrubbing my arms in the wake of their silence. My brows lifted as a thought occurred. “Are you afraid of what my Vaq will do if-”
“No,” Pluma Moir snorted, cutting me off. He paused an extended moment, and then asked, “Did they tell you nothing about what being a Soul means?”
My head teetered in thought. “I know my Vaq can feel me, like I can feel them. It’s like a pull to be together. I also know that if they die, I will also die.” I stopped washing, and my brows puckered. “That’s all I know.” It wasn’t much really, now that I was thinking about it.
“For all that is holy, they didn’t tell her shit,” Pluma Creo muttered, but it was still loud enough that I heard. “She’s as blind as a damn babe in the dark.”
Interesting. Apparently, their young couldn’t see well in the dark. Our books on Joyal had never mentioned that. I asked as calmly as I could, “What else is there to know about a Soul?”
Pluma Moir hummed softly in contemplation, and then finally deigned to speak. “Once a Soul is found, that person is what holds a Vaq pair together - instead of their bond. The farther away a Soul is, the less a Vaq is unified. If their Soul is too far away, they are no longer able to feel each other’s emotions or hear each other’s thoughts or easily know where the other person is. It would be akin to having a piece of your mind ripped away. That is how deeply linked a Vaq pair is.” He paused, and his next words were soft. “That is how your Vaq feel right now.”
Thank Joyal they couldn’t see me. With this new twist of information, my jaw was bobbing up and down but no sound was coming out. I managed to mumble, �
�Keep going.” There had to be more with his pregnant pause.
He did. There was. “It’s not just you who dies if they are killed. If any one of you three are killed, the other two also perish. Instantly.”
I squeaked - which was incredibly embarrassing – but I also scanned the bathroom for the nearest weapon. They had taken my knife while I had been unconscious. I blubbered in complete confusion, “Why haven’t you killed me then?” It would be so easy for them to get rid of their enemy just by slitting my throat.
Pluma Creo sighed. Heavily. “As much as it would be entertaining to do so, Pluma Kreob and Pluma Wazra…well, they are not so bad as far as individuals of the west go. We know them, know their tactics, the way they run business. We have a long-standing relationship with them. It would be far worse to have them dead.”
I blinked. “Why?”
With humor lacing his tone, he asked, “They really told you nothing, did they?”
“Just tell me,” I grumbled.
“Pluma Leo Kreob is the direct ruler. He was born into the line of succession. His father was the Pluma before him.” He snorted softly. “Pluma Kreob’s younger brother, Emalt Kreob, leaves much to be desired. That young terror…” He laughed outright. “Well, Pluma Kreob was smart enough to send his senseless brother far, far away from Belvar.”
Pluma Moir muttered softly, “He should have killed him.”
Pluma Creo grunted. “I’m still surprised he didn’t.”
I slowly started to wash my toes, my fear diminishing with their honest tones. “What did his brother do that was so bad to send him away?”
Pluma Moir asked mildly, “Have you seen Pluma Wazra’s back?”
My eyes widened, and I swallowed heavily, a flash of Malik’s back forming in my mind. All of the tiny scars. Hundreds of them. Repeatedly sliced…tortured. My voice came out in a pained wheeze, “Leo’s brother did that to him?”
Pluma Creo grunted. “Our sources tell us that Pluma Wazra was the younger Kreob’s pet for a time.” He paused. “Pluma Kreob didn’t meet Pluma Wazra until after his brother had his fun with his other half. They were not linked then.” Another grunt. “From what we understand, it was Pluma Wazra who initially stopped Pluma Kreob from killing his younger brother.”
Sink (Cold Mark Book 2) Page 2
