Without another word, Fiona spun on her heels, leaving Gryke and Pyre no choice but to run after her.
Oz met Carmen’s gaze. “I’m going to go check on Maria and see if the radio works on the plane. Hopefully, we can get a rescue crew out here before daylight.”
Carmen sure prayed so. Zyen was in bad shape. Not to mention that Brant and Syrina were lost somewhere out there. And Brant had obviously been injured.
“Tell me again…”
Zyen’s voice floating through her mind, caught Carmen off guard.
She leaned down and brushed his lips with hers. “I love you.”
“Again…”
“I love you. I need you. I want you.”
His beautiful amber-colored eyes fluttered open. “You saved my life.”
More tears sprang to life. “No, my gorgeous Arkadian, you saved mine.”
“If we make it out of here, I will never fly again.”
Carmen laughed through her tears. “Neither will I. We will go back to Aukrabah, make babies, and live happily ever after.”
She felt the instant that Zyen changed.
He blinked up at her, worry swimming in his eyes. “I fear that will not be possible, sweet Carmen. Your body is far too small to birth a Bracadyte child.”
Carmen narrowed her eyes. “You said that about sex, too, and I handled you just fine.”
“I did not enter you fully,” he whispered, his voice sounding weak. “But a babe is something altogether different.” His eyes drifted shut.
Carmen didn’t respond. She would speak to Doctor Sutherland when they made it home. Aukrabah not only had a lab, but it now had a clinic. If the only way Carmen could birth a child of Zyen’s was through a C-section, then so be it.
But for now, Zyen needed to survive.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Zyen awoke to the sound of voices. He carefully opened his eyes, squinting up at the bright light of the sun trickling through the trees.
He eased his knees up a bit, biting back a snarl as pain sliced through his gut.
Memories of the night before came rushing back. The crash…Carmen’s screams.
“Carmen?”
“I’m right here, love.” She quickly knelt beside him. “How do you feel?”
Zyen reached up and cupped her cheek, ignoring her question. She had survived.
He remembered the plane falling from the sky, the moment he’d removed his seatbelt and covered Carmen’s body to protect her from flying debris. “You are unharmed?”
“I’m fine. And you still haven’t answered my question. How are you doing?”
More memories snaked through his mind. Carmen’s confession of love, the blood she’d given him, the quick, efficient way she’d sown up his wound, even though her hands trembled uncontrollably. Her desire to give him children. “I will live.”
Relief shone in her beautiful brown eyes. “You gave me quite a scare.”
“You want to bear my children.” It wasn’t a question.
She bent and brushed her lips across his. “As many as you want.”
Zyen had never felt a more powerful emotion than he did in that moment. It surpassed anything he’d ever experienced before. “I cannot voice my feelings for you. What I feel in my heart when I look at you cannot be defined by mere words. But I will spend eternity attempting to show you. You will never want for anything, sweet Carmen. I will never lay hands on you in anger, nor will I allow another to harm you. I vow it to you.”
Instead of answering him, Carmen kissed him once again. Her tears dripped onto his lips even as her mind fully opened to him.
She didn’t need words in that moment, Zyen could feel her emotions as clearly as if they were his own. And on some level, he supposed they were. She possessed a love for him as deeply as the love he held for her.
“I hate like hell to break up a tender moment,” Oz sarcastically announced. “But the Jeeps are ready to roll out.”
Carmen broke off the kiss, and brushed her hair back from her face. “Jeeps?”
Oz nodded toward the east. “The beach is about a half a mile walk from here. It was the closest they could get to us.”
“But what about Zyen?”
Zyen wasn’t about to appear weak in front of Carmen. “I am able to walk.”
“No way,” she scolded, placing her palm against his chest as if she could hold him down.
Oz chuckled. “If you could only see it from my eyes.”
Speaking of eyes, Zyen narrowed his in Oz’s direction. “You would be wise to keep your opinion locked behind your teeth.”
“That’s a hell of a way to speak to the man you now share blood with.” Oz grinned, showing a hint of fangs; which surprised Zyen. He hadn’t known Oz possessed fangs.
Zyen sent him a grateful look. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Oz quietly remarked, his fangs mysteriously disappearing. He glanced toward the tree line where Pyre had just emerged.
Pyre jogged his way over. “Zyen, it is good that you are awake.”
Zyen scanned the area behind Pyre. “The others?”
Pyre shook his head. “Gryke and Fiona have gone out in search for Brant and Syrina. But each time…they return without them.”
“You have not been able to link with Syrina?” Zyen’s heart began to pound in dread.
Pyre lowered his gaze. “I have not.”
Zyen’s eyes slid shut. He opened his mind and reached out to Syrina with every ounce of strength he possessed. But was met with silence. He moved to sit up, biting back a groan as agony seared his gut.
Carmen gasped. “What are you doing? You can’t get up yet, you’ll bust your stitches!”
Zyen pressed his palm against his wound, gritting his teeth together while attempting to stand. His knees buckled beneath him.
Pyre caught him before he hit the ground. “Oz and I will help you to the rescue vehicles.”
Unable to do anything else, Zyen allowed Oz and Pyre to shoulder his weight and help him to stumble toward the beach.
“Son of a bitch,” Oz remarked, sounding winded. “You’re like carrying a truck.”
Carmen quickly scolded him. “You shouldn’t tease him, Oz. He’ll likely remember it the next time you’re in the training room together.”
As bad as Zyen hurt, he could no more stop his lips from twitching than he could stop the pain from robbing him of breath.
They eventually arrived on the beach, and Zyen was ushered into the back of the largest vehicle available. Carmen crawled in beside him.
She leaned over the back of the seat, barking out orders like a seasoned warrior. “Watch the bumps! And we are not going to a hospital.” She rattled off Oz’s address. “There will be a doctor there.”
If Zyen wasn’t in so much pain, he would jerk her down to him and kiss her breathless.
She glanced down into his face, a knowing look in her eyes. “I heard that.”
“I love you.”
Lowering herself down to his side, she pressed her mouth against his ear. “I love you back.”
Zyen stared up at the ceiling of that Jeep, in the worst pain he could ever imagine, and felt his heart fill with joy. No matter what he’d been through or would ever go through, he had Carmen, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Carmen sat on the porch of Zyen’s bungalow, watching the waves crash against the shore. They had returned from their near-death experience over twenty-four hours ago, and still no word from Brant or Syrina.
The door opened, and a shirtless Zyen stepped out onto the porch.
Carmen narrowed her eyes. “You know you’re not supposed to be on your feet.”
Zyen peeled back the bandage on his stomach to reveal a rapidly healing wound. “It grows better by the hour.”
Pointing to the chair next to her, Carmen relented. “Well, at least sit down.”
Zyen moved toward the steps, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “I fear I must disobey you in this, mate.
The salt water will help me to heal faster, as will the blood of a fresh grouper.”
Carmen made a shooing motion with her hands. “Do what you must and hurry back to me. I miss you already.”
He ambled over, planted a firm kiss on her lips and then left the porch to head for the Gulf.
Carmen watched him go, still marveling at his great size. If she lived to be a hundred, she’d never grow tired of watching him.
“I hope not,” he sent through her thoughts. “Because you are stuck with me for all eternity.”
Carmen remained on the porch long after he disappeared beneath the waves. She had found her happily-ever-after in a giant Arkadian from Maine.
Happiness filled her soul for the first time in her life. No more anxiety or late-night panic attacks. No more watching others and wishing she had just a small amount of their confidence. No more standing on the outside looking in. No, Carmen had found her prince, and not only her prince, but she had found her people. She had the blood of a Bracadyte flowing in her veins, and she would carry it with honor.
Epilogue
Zyen stared up at Carmen as her naked body straddled his bare chest. She had just made love to him for the third time in one night.
No matter how much Zyen wanted to roll over and take charge, she wouldn’t hear of it. “Not until you’re completely healed.”
She bent and circled his nipple with her tongue, wringing a moan of pleasure from him. He would never grow tired of her touching him.
“Zyen…” The sound of Syrina’s voice inside his head pulled him up short.
He quickly sat up, much to Carmen’s surprise.
“What’s wrong?” Carmen gasped, scrambling to the side.
“Syrina is reaching out to me.”
Zyen held completely still and concentrated on the sound of Syrina’s voice. “You are alive! Where are you?”
“I do not know. Brant and I are being held in a room…someplace dark.”
Relieved to hear that Brant yet lived, Zyen continued. “Held? You have been taken?”
“Yes. Brant is injured, Zyen. He has not woken since the crash.”
“Have they harmed you?” If they had laid one finger on Syrina, Zyen would hunt them down and mount their heads on spikes.
Syrina answered immediately. “Other than the drugs they have injected me with, I am unharmed.”
Rage poured through Zyen. “Were you taken by Kerik?”
“I do not think so. I believe we are being held by the Cuban government. They seem to be more interested in me than Brant. They have drawn my blood more than once.”
“Do not fight them,” Zyen quickly sent back. “Keep your mind open to me at all times. Fear not, blood of my blood. I will find you.”
Keeping his connection open with Syrina, Zyen threw his legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the pain the action caused.
He spoke to Carmen as he pulled on his shorts. “We must dress and find the others. Syrina and Brant are alive.”
Carmen’s eyes were huge in her face. “Where are they?”
“I do not know, but they are taking blood from Syrina. She believes it to be the Cuban government.”
“Why would they take her blood?” Carmen hurried from the bed and began pulling on her clothes.
Zyen met her gaze. “We must locate the doctor who ministered to our wounds. My guess is that he holds all the answers.”
Once they were fully clothed, Zyen and Carmen hurried from his bungalow and made their way to Oz and Maria’s house.
Oz answered the door on the second knock. “Should you be out strolling around?”
“Syrina has contacted me.”
The door was suddenly opened wide. “Come in. I’ll call the others.”
Zyen waited for Carmen to enter first before following her inside. He stopped in the living room to pace while waiting on Gryke, Fiona, and Pyre to arrive.
Fiona came barreling through the door, her face a mask of impatience. “You have news of Brant?”
“No,” Oz informed her, nodding in Zyen’s direction. “But he does.”
Zyen repeated everything Syrina had told him, ending with, “I say we grab Oz’s healer and force the truth from him.”
Oz held up a hand. “Now wait a minute. We don’t even know if Dr. Gomez is responsible for this. If he is, there are ways of pulling the truth from him without his knowledge. If he’s innocent, I’d rather not cause him to have heart failure.”
Pyre stepped forward. “Why would you think the human doctor is involved?”
“Because,” Zyen responded, “they are taking Syrina’s blood. Why would they need her blood? They already have a vaccine. That doctor is the only human on this island outside of our group who had knowledge of Thrasher and Carmen’s miraculous recoveries.”
Oz cleared his throat. “Zyen’s right. And Doctor Gomez was aware of our departure. In fact, he was the only one aware.”
Zyen stormed toward the door before Oz had finished speaking.
“Wait,” Oz growled, running to catch up. “Don’t kill him. We don’t know the situation.”
Zyen rushed along the sand, his barbs filling with venom. “I will not take his life. At least not until I have Syrina’s location.”
Rounding the hedges, Zyen bounded up onto the doctor’s porch, gripped the doorknob, and yanked the door from the hinges.
Doctor Gomez stood in the front room, his eyes big as eggs and his suitcase in his hand.
Zyen reached for him, only to come up short when Oz barreled through the doorway, and gripped the doctor by the shirtfront. “You better start talking, or you’ll be dealing with that.” He jerked his chin toward Zyen.
The doctor’s mouth opened and closed, resembling a fish out of water. “What do you want with me? I haven’t done anything!”
Gryke entered the room, Fiona tight on his heels. He pushed past Oz and gripped the doctor’s head in his hands.
Zyen watched as Gryke’s gaze became hooded and veins bulged in his temples. He abruptly let the doctor go. “Kill him. I have their location.”
“Please,” Doctor Gomez begged, only to crumple to the floor as Oz snapped his neck.
Gryke swiveled around to the face the room at large. “I know where Syrina and Brant are being held.”
“Where?” Fiona growled, obviously anxious to get her brother back.
Gryke faced his mate. “They are being held in Havana by the Cuban government in a house outside of the city.”
“Let’s go,” Fiona barked, spinning toward the door, but Oz’s next words stopped her.
“Havana is nearly six hours from here. And since the Cuban government is behind this, we are going to need help getting them out of there. A lot of help.”
Fiona stared into Oz’s eyes, the set of her jaw telling Zyen that she wasn’t backing down. “Get Klause down here. Now.”
Oz ran a hand down his face. “You do realize with Kerik on the loose, we’ll be placing the king in danger by bringing him here.”
“I don’t give a shit about anything at the moment but my brother’s life. Get Klause down here, or I’m going in alone. Either way, I’m getting my brother back.”
Oz glanced at everyone in the room before returning his gaze to Fiona. “Okay then.”
Zyen left the doctor’s cabin and returned to Oz’s to find Carmen wringing her hands. She rushed into his arms. “What happened?”
He filled her in on everything that had transpired, ending with, “As soon as the others arrive, we will be invading Havana.”
Tears sparkled in Carmen’s eyes. “Will this nightmare ever end?”
Zyen stared down into her beautiful brown eyes. “Someday…”
~THE END~
Be watching for Syrina and Brant’s story, Enigma – Book 11 - coming soon!
Read Below for a Sneak Peek into the Pages of Vlad the Impaler – Book Three in the Bestselling Seeker Series.
Chapter One
Vlad had always loved the night. It repr
esented safety, peace, and desire. Only, he hadn’t felt anything close to desire in centuries.
Glancing up at the Alaskan sky, he attempted to recall the last time he’d enjoyed sex or participated in sex for that matter. But the memories were vague at best.
“Will you be needing anything else from me before I retire, my lord?”
Vlad had sensed Mordecai’s approach long before his otherwise silent arrival. The elderly butler had been with him for over fifty years and was the only human Vlad completely trusted.
“I don’t require anything further this evening. Have a good night, Mordecai.”
“You as well, my lord.”
Pulling the hood of his cloak up over his head, Vlad ventured out to the hot springs bubbling in the distance.
He stared into the pool’s depths for long moments, debating on whether or not to strip out of his clothing and sink into its welcoming warmth.
A wolf’s howl sounded in the distance, echoing through the mountains in a haunting melody of pain.
The animal had likely been injured in one of the bear traps set by the locals, Vlad thought, his vision sharpening with vampiric precision.
Vlad despised the wolves, almost as much as he despised his own immortality.
Another agonizing howl split the night, signaling the descent of Vlad’s fangs.
He lifted his heated gaze in the direction of the tormented sound, his breaths suddenly coming in rapid succession. Vlad had one thing on the brain as he blurred his way to the foot of the mountain… Death.
A shot rang out, slowing Vlad’s steps. His vision sharpened, scanning the distance for signs of hunters.
Vlad could hear the bullet enter the wolf’s flesh, wringing a cry from the animal’s throat.
His fangs lengthened in rage. How dare someone deprive him of the kill?
Taking off in the direction of the gunfire, Vlad ran with the speed born of a vampire, stopping directly in front of a raised rifle.
He could hear the intruder’s heartbeat thumping inside his chest at an increased rate.
The man jerked his rifle higher up against his shoulder and pulled the trigger.
Zyen: Science Fiction Romance (Enigma Series Book 10) Page 14
