Until then, she dismissed the elves from the equation, because the Dhark Empire was the immediate concern. If the Khr'Vurr's connection to the lords of the Dhark Empire was strong enough, she was in deep trouble.
The Khr'Vurr and elves she could handle, but the Dhark Empire's armies were massive. If they realized she was Chi’Kehra, the dhark lords would not simply stop at killing her. The empire would crush Trellick Valley, her family’s ancestral territory. Abandoning the second dimensional valley was not an option, not with the dangerous secrets contained within the vast area. Secrets she would die to protect.
She stifled a growl of frustration. She had hoped the peace camp would provide her a way to nullify the threat of the Dhark Empire. No such luck. Nearly a week had passed since the first day of camp and she still didn't have the critical information she needed.
If she could just convince the dragons to help her, she might have a fighting chance against the empire. As it stood, the dhark lords could attack at any moment and crush her home.
Over the next hour or so, Sarah and the teens stood in the dank cave arguing with Guardian Alexander, trying to convince him that she was not the boogieman he thought her to be.
Arguing with the recently tortured shifter was turning out to be an impossible task, but she refused to give up. In order to keep the Dhark Empire out of Trellick Valley, she needed the secret of how to close a gateway, and only the dragon council knew that information.
As a guardian, Alexander was her best hope to contact the dragon council, a group of elderly dragons stuck in the past. The dangerously stagnated council had refused to change with the times. The denial to change had brewed the perfect atmosphere for the Khr’Vurr to step in and stir up a rebellion.
To gain Alexander’s trust, and to make him believe her, she even sliced her hand and placed the bleeding palm in a bowl of liquid crystal, the Sídhí version of a lie detector.
Unfortunately, the move didn’t help as much as she had hoped. Arguing with the wind would’ve been easier, because Alexander refused to cooperate. Deep in thought, her eyes narrowed. If the guardian - and the stubborn council - needed a little incentive, she was more than willing to give it to them.
Her tactics changed, turning her voice syrupy sweet. She watched Katie shiver. It was good to know that someone had enough sense to be terrified when Sarah turned too sweet for words.
“Having seventeen hidden gateways that open into Dragon Valley, and other dragon dominated valleys, might be the turning point toward change. Don’t you think?” Sarah asked, bluntly laying facts on the table. Her voice was pure sugar, holding the barest hint of sharp steel as she threated the dragon council, referring to the deadly secret that Trellick Valley possessed.
Alexander hissed his fury, staring at Sarah in disbelief. Specifically, at her hand that lay submerged in liquid synth crystal, not only was synth the root of immortal life on Sídhí, but a powerful lie detector. Had she lied, the semi-clear liquid would have turned black.
“Impossible,” Alexander snarled, glaring at the translucent liquid, pure energy no matter the form.
Sarah smiled and watched Katie cringe. She supposed the girl was correct: the lifting of Sarah’s lips - that exposed her fangs - was not a nice smile. “I am aware of seventeen gateways leading into dragon dominated valleys. Gateways the dragons are completely unaware of. If the dhark armies found those entrances, Dragon Valley would be destroyed. At the very least, the dragons would be in a war more horrific than the last Great War on Sídhí,” Sarah said, watching Alexander’s face for the slightest change as she mentioned the Dhark Empire, a sprawling network of second dimensional valleys ruled with blood and terror.
By the time she finished, the dragon had turned from red, to white, and back to a mottled red. His growl made her want to grin with satisfaction. She withheld the telling emotion, keeping an ice-perfect appearance.
He opened his mouth to speak and abruptly snapped it shut. Smart man.
When Alexander finally found the right words, his voice sounded nearly defeated. “I’ll say it again. The Dragon Council will never trust you. I wish I was wrong, but even if you show them one of the gateways, they’ll scoff and call it pure happenstance. I believe you, but they... they’re old.” He stopped again. His skin took on a greenish sheen, looking like he was about to be sick.
Katie surprised Sarah by asking the dragon, “What if Sarah proved she is trustworthy? Would that help?”
Sarah stifled her growl. The girl needed to learn to keep her mouth shut.
Seeming to sense her distaste for Katie’s suggestion, Alexander glanced at Sarah. “In order for them to believe, you would need to save Dragon Valley single-handedly and even then, they might take years to agree with your demand.” He sighed, raising his hand as if he were helpless. “I personally know a high councilor and I swear to you, on my word of honor, I will do everything in my power to sway her opinion, but only if you swear not to reveal the location of those gateways to the dhark lords.” He hesitated. “But I would like to know how you found the gateways and how you are keeping them secret from your father.”
“My dad showed them to me,” Sarah said with a soft snarl. Pausing, she considered his offer. It seemed to be her only choice, because as much as she wanted the information she knew she’d never give the dark lords access to Trellick Valley’s gateways, not that the dragon needed to know that. “Let’s compromise. In exchange for your oath of assistance, I won’t betray the location of the gateways to the dhark lords, but I want an introduction to your council contact.”
Alexander growled. If he clenched his teeth any harder, he might shatter his jawbone. “She’ll never trust you.”
“What if Sarah helped you catch the traitors?” Jared asked.
Sarah groaned. Why had she helped them again? Right, Katie was family. She was beginning to think the two teens had it in for her. Stopping the traitorous Khr’Vurr would not be easy, nor was it her job.
Alexander slowly nodded his head. “That might work. She’s furious over this whole screwed-up mess.”
Well, great, just fabulous, she grumbled to herself, quickly suggesting yet another alternative, “All right...”
The cavern rumbled with an aftershock. A shower of grit drifted down, covering her with a second layer of grime. The baby tremor stopped her words.
The vast cavern shook again with a bit more strength. She waited for the movement to stop. After the earlier explosion, that destroyed half the mountain, aftershocks were inevitable.
Her eyes landed on Guardian Alexander. An idea crept through her mind. It would be simpler to make him disappear. She shook her head, refusing her plan before it took root. She couldn’t make the dragon guardian disappear, not when the man posed a problem and a possible solution, at the same time.
She needed Alexander’s help, but heaven help her, she didn't know how to reach an agreement with the stubborn dragon when the mountain’s foundation kept shaking. It was the third strong tremor in as many hours.
She stood still, waiting for the mountain to cease its bucking, but the gentle trembling turned into a violent shudder. She glared upward at the swaying stalactites.
Gunshot-like cracks filled the dank air as several dangling rock formations snapped. With little warning, the entire ceiling collapsed, crashing toward them with the destructive force of an upside-down tsunami.
Sarah rolled her eyes in resignation.
Honestly, the entire day had been a disaster. What else could go wrong? Her cool demeanor didn't flicker. She mentally ordered a thin cord of synth crystal around the ankles of the three people in front of her. A split-second later, she ported Jared, Katie, and Guardian Alexander to the teenager's cabin, which was located inside the summer camp's main campground area.
She didn't wait to see if they faired okay. She instantly ported to where she had left her obstinate mate, the mate who refused to bond with her, who essentially hated everything about her.
Every Sídhí had a si
ngle chance to find his or her mate, the one person who was their perfect soul mate. Nick was hers. Too bad, he didn't want her.
Less than a heartbeat later, she appeared below a steep cliff, next to a cave. The rocky tunnel appeared empty. Pebbles and dirt rained down the side of the mountain, bouncing and tumbling across the clearing.
Sarah sucked in a deep breath through her nose, smelling hundreds of scents in the mountain air. She searched for a single scent, Nick’s spicy, mouth-watering scent. She got a nose full of dust for her troubles.
She sneezed and backed hastily away from the small cave as a thumb-sized pebble hit her in the thigh. Fear trembled in her belly, making her hand shake. After she left to help Katie and Jared, Nick might have gone back into the dark opening. Snarling, she mentally reached for the synth crystal, planning to build a protective covering over her head and search the tunnel for her missing mate.
A deep voice, coming from the tree line, stopped her in her tracks. "Dang it, Sarah, get away from there."
His voice, harsh with anger, sent a tremor of longing through her. From the bottom of her soul, she strengthened her resolve. She refused to spill her guts to him. She prayed her resolve held. She couldn't reveal her secrets until he bonded with her. Too many lives depended on her steel control.
At that moment, she hated what she was. She hated being the long awaited Chi’Kehra. All powerful, except where her mate was concerned.
For several months, long before summer camp started, Nick had unwillingly invaded her dreams. The Sídhí scientists called it Mate Dreaming, shared dreams between two un-bonded mates, dreams that pulled destined mates together.
Sarah’s nightly mate dream with Nick didn’t have the same outcome as most Sídhí couples, not when each dream had ended with Nick’s claws ripping her throat out.
Freezing her face into a mask, she turned calmly toward him.
In a familiar gesture of frustration, he shoved his hand through midnight colored hair. The rough movement created an oddly spiked style. The harsh scowl on his face registered in her gut like bits of glass cutting her to pieces.
Her heart twisted. She clenched her teeth, obstinately refusing to let him see how much she loved him. She would’ve spread the world at his feet if he’d let her. The very thought frightened her, sending a shiver of dread racing down her spine, because if anyone was capable of conquering the world, it was her. The power she controlled was terrifying, even to her, especially to her.
His face, clenched in anger, filled her vision. He grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the falling debris. The sun beat down on them as he hustled her away from the tumbling mountainside. After several minutes of silence, they neared a smooth flowing stream.
"That's far enough, don't you think," she said softly.
He jerked her to a stop.
Raising her hand, she automatically shielded her face, which was burning under the scorching rays of sunshine. As a blood-drinking vampire, an Exile, the sunlight not only turned her vivid blue eyes ruby red, the yellow ball of flame also burned her pale skin at an incredible rate.
"Tell me you weren't stupid enough to even think about heading back in there," he demanded, waving his free hand toward the mountain. "I'd say a little sunburn is better than getting crushed. What the bloody hell were you thinking?"
Her face flushed with anger. Unconsciously, she angled her hand to better shield herself against the sun, not too sure that she agreed with his assessment. The brilliant ball of fire gave her the mother of all migraines. Leave it to Nick to belittle every move she made. She was so sick of his attitude. When he wasn’t snapping at her, he was taking a swing at her or calling her vile names.
Of course, he didn’t know the type of person she was really like.
He only knew her reputation, a rep she had spent a lifetime building, a vile rep that included death and torture. Creating such an evil rep had not been easy. She had her family and loyal guard to thank. Without them, setting up intense torture sessions would have been impossible. As it was, the memories made her blood run cold, memories that included her insane laughter as victims screamed in agony. Each performance built her guise, creating her evil mask to the world.
Looking into Nick’s face, she realized that perhaps she had done too good of a job.
She sneezed again. Keeping a haughty demeanor and sneezing didn't go together, ratcheting up her frustration over the entire situation. One thing at a time was her motto, but today had been one irritation after another.
Nick’s attitude shouldn’t bother her, but it did. For pity sake, how could her own synth-laced blood not attract a loving mate to her side? Instead, she ended up with a gorgeous young man who hated her.
He was the most frustrating, hardheaded… a third sneeze interrupted her internal monologue.
At the constant sneezing, Nick’s hand loosened its steely grip on her arm.
She jerked her arm from his grasp, quickly putting several feet between them. She glared at him through the tumble of her hair and sucked in a calming breath. Three little sentences and he brought out the beast in her, a nasty temper she preferred not to have.
Oh yes, she had a temper, not that anyone except her closest family and guard ever guessed the truth. Her reaction to Nick bordered on insanity.
The word ‘insanity’ stopped her cold. Could she be falling into a psychotic state? It was a well-known fact that older Sídhí, those wretched souls without bonded mates, often went insane. She was only nineteen, but she wasn't what anyone would ever describe as normal. Synth crystal flooded her body like no other person alive. She was a walking, talking synth spring of pure energy.
She couldn’t fail, but the thought of insanity frightened her. She wanted to scream at the injustice of it all, not that screaming or crying ever helped.
She fought a silent struggle to regain her inner peace. It wasn’t easy, but as always, her desires, her emotions didn't matter. From her first shaky steps as a toddler, people submitted to her demands, her leadership. She simply had too many people depending on her mental stability.
She stiffened her spine, knowing she didn't have the luxury to feel fear for herself, much less take time for a pity party.
Shoving the palest of blonde hair out of her eyes, she glared at him. Looking him in the eyes, she refused to let him see exactly how much his words had hurt her, cutting into her spirit. Like a synth crystal knife that cut through metal, his hurtful words and actions destroyed her soul a tiny bit more each time they clashed. She wasn't about to tell him how terrified she'd been that he was in the cave, that she’d rather die roasting under the sun in the Sahara desert than to lose him forever.
"A bit of dust and pebbles, the after-shock wasn't that bad." She flipped her slender hand carelessly toward the mountainside. Arrogantly tilting her head, she reinforced the callous image of a cold, heartless exile. If he didn't want her, she couldn't risk his seeing her true face. "You, Mr. Self-Righteous Clan Vampire, always overreact."
He hissed, baring his slightly lengthened fangs. "And you don’t consider the consequences of your actions or how many innocents die because of them," he said in a growling voice, glaring at her with solid black eyes as the sun beat down on them. The black eyes of a clan vampire, a valley full of vampires who refused to drink blood except as a type of recreation.
He thought the worst of her.
Grief clenched her heart in an unrelenting knot, and she barely concealed a body-length shudder. Clan vampires were the poster children of do-good vampires. They had fought against the Dhark Empire for thousands of years.
Arrogantly, she raised a single eyebrow in question. "I always consider the pros and cons," she said coolly, intentionally misunderstanding his statement. Before she could ease him away from the topic of high morals that every clan vampire boasted about, he plowed ahead.
“And the people you kill? What do you consider? That you killed some innocent person who questioned the powerful dhark lords? Do you even consider the griev
ing families? That you’ve committed murder?” he asked in a rapid fire of heated questions.
For a second her heart stopped. From his heated words, he might have guessed one of her darkest secrets.
The memory of her first assassination target was vivid in her mind. Nick had been there. She didn’t know if he recognized her from that day at the fairgrounds or not. She prayed he had not, hoping he had been too far away to see her clearly.
She tried slowing her rapid heartbeat, knowing that even if he had seen her, it had been nearly seven years earlier.
She would never forget that night, one stamped vividly in her brain for all time. Dusk fast approached as she slid behind her assassination target. She glanced around. Her eyes landed on Nick who was a dozen yards away. Her body’s synth crystal sang for a solid hour after seeing him. Without a single doubt in her mind, she knew Nick was her destined mate. It made confronting her assassination target so much harder, but she steeled her nerve and completed the critical mission.
She thrust her sword through an innocent man’s heart as the beautiful synth mating song hummed through her body. The man’s life-blood poured over her hands, condemning her actions.
She shuddered, once again praying Nick had not clearly seen her that day.
Jerking herself back into the present, she shrugged her shoulders. She knew the movement was jerky, but grace wasn’t possible as fear pummeled her body. “I do what must be done for my people.” She looked him straight in the eyes and sucked up her courage. “If you'd promise, on your honor, not to breathe a word of what I say, I'll tell you every secret I have even before we bond.”
Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3 Page 2
