Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2)

by Morgana Phoenix

  “Fine.”

  Kyaerin nodded slowly. “I know this must be very hard for you. I know I wasn’t thrilled when I first imprinted on Liam. I was furious. I could not stand him.” She laughed when Valkyrie’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh yes,” she said, still chuckling. “You think you and Gideon butt heads? Liam and I couldn’t even walk into the market without everyone making a run for it. Our friend would go out of their way to keep us apart. Maybe that was why it took us so long to imprint. But there was no love between us. Attraction, yes, but not love. When we touched for the first time, he was as stunned as I was. I think I even hit him, blaming him for ruining my life.” Her blue eyes softened at the memory. “But he was persistent. Once he knew who his mate was, he was determined to win me over. Eons and four boys later, I would still give my life for him.”

  Valkyrie wasn’t sure what to say, or how to comment, so she said nothing and waited for a question.

  Kyaerin tilted her head to the side and observed Valkyrie with a sad smile. “I can’t imagine how it must be for you.”

  It wasn’t a question, but it seemed like the woman needed some type of reassurance.

  “I’m fine.”

  Kyaerin sighed. “What do you want, Valkyrie? This very moment, what is it your heart desires most?”

  It was something she had never considered. Being a Harvester was about building a pack mentality. Everything was for the good of the people. Warriors were never allowed to indulge in things like feelings and desires. Valkyrie had never once even considered what she wanted.

  No. That wasn’t true. There was once when she had thought of herself. The night Gideon had asked her to leave with him. She had almost forgotten her pact. She had almost taken the hand he had offered. She had almost thought of herself. Had Serinda not shown up, there was a very good possibility that she and Gideon would have imprinted centuries ago.

  “What I desire and what needs to be done are—”

  “No.” Kyaerin cut her off by gently settling a hand on the one Valkyrie had squished into her own lap. “I don’t want to know what you think you need. I want to know what you desire.” When Valkyrie could think of nothing to say, Kyaerin changed gears. “When you think of the one thing that makes your insides warm and your heart feel light, what is it?”

  Gideon.

  His name jumped into her skull even before the question had been fully asked. But embarrassment kept a tight chain around her tongue. She couldn’t possibly tell his mother the truth.

  “We should return,” Valkyrie said instead. “They will be questioning Kyros and—”

  Kyaerin seemed to realize she was getting nothing. She rose to her feet and waited until Valkyrie had followed before speaking.

  “It’s okay to be happy,” she murmured. “You deserve it as much as anyone and it’s okay to want it.”

  The words continued to play through Valkyrie’s mind as they made their way back. Liam was waiting by the door when they stepped into the main parlor. His gaze jumped from Valkyrie and went straight to his wife. Valkyrie didn’t mind. Her own attention was surveying the room, seeking the single person that came to mind when she thought of happiness.

  He wasn’t there.

  Everyone else sat around the coffee table, except for Kyros who had been made to stand in front of the hearth. The spot Gideon usually occupied next to Magnus was empty. Something like distress tightened in her chest.

  “Where...?”

  Strong arms immediately came around her middle from behind and she was drawn into the security of a warm chest.

  “Here,” Gideon murmured into her ear.

  It was ridiculous how quickly her emotions fluctuated in the span of two seconds. They went from alarmed at him not being there to an explosion of relief the moment he touched her. And it wasn’t subtle, like misplacing something important and then finding it. It was like hanging off the edge of a cliff and being thrown a rope, like the rest of her life depended on finding him.

  “I’m here,” he said again, and she wondered if he was feeling it too.

  “What is this?” she whispered, oddly breathless.

  His arms slid further around her center, practically folding her in half as he crushed her to him. “Does it matter?”

  It should, she wanted to tell him. It should mortify them both to be so open about their affections. His family was a mere ten feet away. What would they think? Instead, her traitorous body all but dissolved against him. Even the thump, thump, thump of their hearts aligned, becoming a single, unified force in complete tempo with the other. It was incredible.

  “I believe we are all here.” Liam, with Kyaerin’s hand in his, led them to the sofa. Kyaerin took her spot and Liam lowered himself into the armchair. “Let’s see what our guest has to say.”

  “Come on.”

  Taking her by the fingers, Gideon led her to their spot. Once again, he sat her next to Magnus and claimed the armrest at her shoulder. His fingers, almost like he’d done it a million times, slid through her hair and curled along the back of her neck. The contact was exactly what she needed. Her body swayed sideways into his.

  At the head of the group, Kyros stood resolute and fearless. His bag lay at his feet. He looked every bit like the warrior that he was and any other time, any other person, Valkyrie would have felt a twang of respect as she did with all those in her field. But the hatred boiling inside her was too angry, too powerful. It refused to relinquish its hold on her.

  “Tell us what happened the night my sons went to see your queen.” Liam leaned back in his chair and regarded the man across the table with a steely coolness that Valkyrie’s father would have been proud of. “Your queen betrayed our trust in the worst manner possible and we would like an explanation as to why.”

  “Wait.” Riley put her hand up to stop the debate. “Can we trust him to tell us the truth? I mean, if Kyaerin’s correct and he’s a spy, odds are he’s going to lie, or tell us enough half-truths to make himself seem useful so he can kill us all in our sleep.” She leveled Kyros with slitted eyes. “Yeah, that’s right, pal. I’ve seen that movie, too!”

  Valkyrie had no idea what she was talking about, and from the bemused frowns from the others, they didn’t either. Neither did Kyros, because he stared at the redhead as though she’d lost her mind.

  “I am a draconian prince,” Kyros stated slowly. “I was raised with dignity and pride. I would not be here, shaming my queen, had there been another choice.”

  “So, because she kicked you out, you’re ready to spill your pretty little guts out to us? That is some loyalty.”

  Kyros seemed to tense at the implication. “My loyalties reside with the man who spared my life until the debt has been repaid. To refuse would only further shame my lineage and my family. I am a man of honor.”

  “One who participates and promotes the drugging and raping of young, helpless women to make babies,” Riley countered, her voice rising. “You can take your honor and shove it straight up your—”

  Octavian settled a tender hand on Riley’s arm. “Green eyes.”

  “I personally don’t give a flying fuck what he has to say about anything,” Riley said vehemently. “He’s a monster and I’m all for watching Valkyrie filet him alive.”

  It was astonishing, the sudden burst of desire to pummel the other woman in an embrace that exploded through Valkyrie.

  “Our traditions are how we have survived this long,” Kyros said with barely suppressed rage. “Our women are cherished and loved in ways that you cannot imagine. We would never cause them harm. That is what the drosen does, it prepares them, keeps the fear and pain away.”

  “Said every rapist who slipped a roofie into a girl’s drink,” Riley muttered.

  Talk of the drosen made Valkyrie shift uneasily. Her heart was beating a little too fast, a little too hard in her chest. Chills passed along her spine and her sweater seemed to be radiating heat so she couldn’t breathe properly.

  The hand on the nape of her neck pulled
away from the sweat accumulating between Gideon’s palm and her skin. The fingers combed lightly through her hair to flatten against her spine, mashing her top to her clammy back.

  “Baby?” Gideon murmured quietly into the side of her head.

  “I’m fine,” she lied.

  Thankfully, Liam spoke then, distracting Gideon from pushing.

  “Why did your queen not honor the promise she made with my sons?”

  Kyros pried his gaze away from the heated battle he seemed to be having with Riley and focused on the dark haired man.

  “The queen had every intention of following through with the promise had she not been disrespected by the Harvester.” Brown eyes flicked to Valkyrie. “We do not take kindly to outsiders embarrassing our queen.”

  “So you drugged me.” The non-question slipped free through stiff lips.

  “A lesson in humility,” Kyros corrected without an ounce of remorse.

  “You drugged me!” Every nerve seemed to tremor as her nausea and anger rose.

  “The queen thought it fitting, the arrogant daughter of Arild Devereaux shamed and betrayed by her own body.”

  “My body had no say in what you did!” Her ears were ringing, because of its deafening shrill, she couldn’t tell if she was screaming or not. “You speak of honor, but what you did was spineless. You attacked me when my back was turned and forced me to drink your foul concoction. How many of you were there? It couldn’t have been just you. You could not possibly take me on alone. You are weak and cowardly. You are not a man. No man would force a woman. Your entire species should be eradicated like the filth you are and that, that is precisely what I am going to dedicate my life to doing. I will slaughter every single last one of your people and save your queen for last. I will take my time gutting her.”

  Something sparked in Kyros’s eyes. Something violent that filled the brown of his eyes to a crimson red. A fine trickle of blood marred his chin from the jagged fangs that had replaced his human teeth and were cutting into his bottom lips. Talons extended on each hand and curled into fists at his sides. At his back, fabric ripped and wings exploded in leathery, black fans. They strained to span the length of the room. Everyone jumped to their feet. Valkyrie didn’t look away from the monster forming before her eyes, but she knew Octavian had pulled Riley out of harm’s way. Liam would have done the same to Kyaerin, who would have no doubt grabbed Imogen. Gideon took ahold of Valkyrie’s arm, but she refused to be moved.

  “You will not get close enough to my people before they remove your head from your shoulders.”

  Valkyrie shook off the hand restraining her. “You took everything from me that night. There is nothing I will not do to get my revenge. I promise you this.”

  To everyone’s surprise, Kyros laughed. The sound rumbled and vibrated through the room like thunder.

  “I hope you try, Harvester,” Kyros sneered. “The only thing that kept my queen from giving you to the men instead of your mate, was me. Believe me, next time, there will be no potion to ease the pain and make you forget. I only wish I could be there to watch.”

  Gideon cleared the coffee table in a single lunge before anyone could stop him. The full force of his weight cracked into Kyros, slammed the other man to the fireplace with one hand necklacing Kyros’s throat. The knuckles blazed white against the bronze coloring of Kyros’ skin.

  “You dare threaten my wife?” Gideon snarled inches from Kyros’ face. “You have no idea who you just fucking pissed off, you son of a bitch.”

  Valkyrie couldn’t hear whatever was said after that. The room had begun to spin and with it, the buzzing had escalated until it was all she could hear.

  It hadn’t truly hit her, the weight of what they’d done, what they could have done, until that moment. It hadn’t dawned on her just how much worse that night could have been. They had drugged her and forced her to have sex while she was completely out of her mind. They had set her up to get raped. Had it not been Gideon ... had Tiana gotten her way...

  Her stomach won the war. Her nerves wavered and she barely missed her own feet when her supper hit the back of her throat. The carpet cushioned her fall when she struck the ground on all fours. The bitter bile smothered whatever mortification she would have normally felt at showing weakness. There was nothing but the horrific images his words had forever burned into the back of her eyelids. Her body shuddered and a sound between a groan and a sob escaped her.

  “It’s all right, sweetheart.”

  Strong arms eased around her and lifted her up as though she weighed nothing. She was gathered up against a chest that felt nothing like Gideon’s. It rose and fell steadily as she was carried from the room like a child.

  She didn’t care who it was. She kept her eyes squeezed tightly closed and hidden in a wide shoulder. Her tears soaked into the fabric of their top. She was only vaguely aware of another set of feet just behind them.

  It wasn’t until she was being set down on her bed that she finally forced herself to see who had saved her from further humiliation.

  Liam offered her a small smile as he brushed away a stray curl off her sweaty brow. He smoothed away a tear with a sweep of his thumb.

  “You are safe here,” he murmured quietly. “He will not hurt you again.”

  Leaning forward, he kissed her brow lovingly before stepping back to allow Kyaerin to take his place. He left, shutting the door softly behind him. Kyaerin hurried into the washroom. There was silence and then the rush of water. A moment later, she returned with a damp cloth in hand.

  “It’s all right,” she murmured, tucking one leg under her as she took the spot next to Valkyrie on the mattress.

  Numb, Valkyrie could find no sense to stop her when Kyaerin began cleaning her face. The act was so gentle, so motherly, that it shattered everything holding her together. Valkyrie dissolved into sobs. The force of her grief shrieked between her ears. Her body folded in on itself and rocked violently. Kyaerin’s arms were there instantly, catching her and pulling her into the first embrace she’d ever had. Gentle hands moved over her hair and down the length of her heaving spine in rhythmic strokes. Words she would have understood under different circumstances murmured incoherently in her ear. It was unclear how long Kyaerin held her, but she didn’t stop until the last tremor had left Valkyrie and the tears had stopped. Only then did she pull away.

  Valkyrie said nothing as the other woman rose off the bed and ventured over to the dresser. She continued to say nothing as her things were rifled through. A moment later, Kyaerin returned holding several pieces of clothing.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up, hm?”

  She let herself get led into the bathroom where she was stripped down and helped into the tub. Kyaerin left her to wash herself, but she knew the woman was hovering somewhere nearby, waiting to swoop in and help. Any other time, that would have irked her. The woman’s compassion would have driven her crazy. But she honestly didn’t think she could handle being alone just then.

  Sure enough, Kyaerin was there when Valkyrie finished. She was bundled into a fluffy towel and helped into black shorts and a black camisole. Kyaerin helped her rinse and scrub her teeth before taking the hairbrush and attacking the tangles. Her hair sleek and braided down her back, Valkyrie was taken back to the bed and tucked beneath the covers.

  “I will stay until you fall asleep,” Kyaerin promised.

  Tears she didn’t think she had left spilled in silent trickles to soak into her pillow. She honestly had no idea what she was crying about now, only that she couldn’t seem to stop.

  “Where’s Gideon?” she heard herself ask.

  “On his way.”

  Valkyrie sniffled. “I don’t know why I’m crying,” she confessed, which only made her cry harder.

  “Shhh,” Kyaerin whispered gently. “It’s all right.”

  “I’m a Harvester,” she stated, more to remind herself than to argue with Kyaerin. “I’m not supposed to be weak.”

  “Feeling emotions does no
t make you weak,” Kyaerin said. “You are allowed to be happy. You are allowed to be sad. No one can tell you not to.”

  But she couldn’t even remember the last time she had shed tears, not even when she had been prepared for her marking ceremony. Three hundred whips over the span of five days hadn’t broken her. Living in a deep, dark hole for months without light, and just bread and water hadn’t broken her. She had survived every battle, every kind of pain, yet this ... this horrific possibility of being violated had broken her. And all she wanted was Gideon.

  He arrived a few minutes later. His mother rose quickly off the edge of the mattress and turned to him. The two exchanged glances, but neither spoke. Gideon peeled his top off and kicked off his shoes.

  “I’ve got her,” he said, reaching for his pants.

  Kyaerin paused only a second to brush a kiss to Valkyrie’s temple before leaving, shutting the door behind her. Then Gideon was climbing into bed. Valkyrie twisted towards him and was immediately gathered up into his arms.

  “Where is he?”

  “Not dead,” was all the answer he would give her.

  She shut her eyes and wiggled closer to him, to his heat and comfort. Part of her wished she could simply crawl straight inside him and never have to face this side of herself again.

  “All I can think is what if it hadn’t been you,” she choked out.

  His arms tightened. “But it was.”

  “But if—”

  His fingers were firm when he forced her chin up. His eyes were hard and ferocious.

  “Listen to me,” he growled. “It was. It was me. Only me. There was and never will be anyone else. Only. Me.”

  A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye. The sight of it seemed to startle him. Then anger him as he wiped it away. But when he kissed her, it was soft and sweet and so tender it made her want to live in that moment forever.

  “Rest,” he murmured after a moment. “I’m right here.”

  She had no energy to argue. She closed her eyes and burrowed as deep as she could in the circle of his arms. It wasn’t until the shroud of sleep had begun to settle over her when it struck her that he had called her his wife.