“I don’t get it.” Brenna fingered the strings draped across the gaped opening and glanced up at her mom. “They put holes in them on purpose?”
Surprise flashed across Abby’s face a second before she frowned. “How can you not know that? They’ve been that way for years.”
Lexi bustled up behind them with an armful of clothes, deftly cutting off any chance for Brenna to answer. “People don’t like to wait for a good thing anymore. When I first started wearing jeans, we had to work ’em in the hard way.” She held up her selections by their hangers. “Any of these work for you?”
Abby’s gaze snagged on something behind Brenna. Her expression hardened, and she lowered her voice. “Tell me again why they have to be here? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No, Mom.” Every time her mom laid eyes on Wes, Troy, and Jagger, her demeanor vacillated between terror and cautious curiosity. “Just trust me when I tell you they’re good people. If it weren’t for them and Lexi, I wouldn’t be here.”
Abby scowled like she wanted to argue, or at least press for more. Instead, she clamped her mouth and nodded. “Lexi’s right. The real faded look is much better.” One corner of her mouth quirked in an almost grin. “I’ve still got a pair from college in the back of my closet. I probably couldn’t get one thigh in them anymore.” She cocked her head slightly. “If you want, you could try them on. I was about your size at your age.”
“Awesome.” Lexi elbowed Brenna’s arm and winked. “I’d pay good money to see the look on Ludan’s face when he sees you in Levi’s the first time.”
Brenna sighed and turned away, searching for more of the comfortable cotton skirts she liked. Maxi skirts, Lexi had called them. “He already did. I borrowed some of yours when we got to Dallas. I don’t think he was all that impressed.”
Abby hurried to Brenna’s side. “You and Ludan are together?”
Now there was a tricky question to answer. Half the time she thought there was something between them, and the other half it felt like his attention was based on pity.
“They will be.” Lexi paused to pick up a flirty blue tank top with spaghetti straps.
Brenna and her mother both stopped dead in their tracks.
Lexi lowered the top and cocked her head. “What? They’ll totally end up together. Everyone with eyeballs knows it.”
“But he’s so…” Abby opened and closed her mouth twice and still couldn’t find a word to finish her sentence.
Lexi chuckled. “Huge? Daft? Stubborn?” She checked to make sure the men trailing them were far enough out of earshot. “Aren’t they all?”
Brenna shook her head, snatched the clothes from Lexi’s arms, and headed for the fitting room. “You’re wrong. He doesn’t want anything to do with me. Trust me. I know.”
She must have made her point because Lexi dropped the subject and focused on helping Brenna find her own style. Her mom seemed happy with the change in topic, too. It was hard to tell whether her mom was relieved that she and Ludan weren’t an item, or if she was simply uncomfortable with discussing her daughter and relationships. All Brenna knew was the whole tone of their outing shifted, one focused solely on enjoying the moment. Three women, laughing and indulging in mindless chatter.
Until they stopped at the food court.
Abby excused herself to go to the restroom.
She’d barely made it two tables away before Lexi chimed in. “I’m not wrong.”
Brenna broke a bite off her chicken strip and tried to peel off some of the overcooked batter. “About what?”
“You know damned well what I’m talking about.”
Sure she did. She just didn’t want to go there. “I told you. Jeans are uncomfortable. I like the skirts better.”
“I’m talking about Ludan. Talk to me, Brenna. Let me help.”
Sighing, Brenna pushed her plastic tray far enough away that she could fold her arms on the table, an act that her mother would have scolded her for when she was little.
“Come on. It’s obvious there’s chemistry between the two of you,” Lexi said. “Ludan’s a good guy, and he’s been chummy with me since we got past the awkward how-are-ya’s, but I’ve never seen him this protective of anyone save Eryx. He broke his vow for you, for Christ’s sake.”
“He what?”
Lexi gaped and tossed the fries she was about to eat back to the tray. “Holy shit. He didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Glancing over her shoulder at Wes, Troy, and Jagger, Lexi leaned in and lowered her voice. “A somo takes a vow for life. They protect the person they’re sworn to until they’re too old or unable to do so. No warrior, not once in Myren history, has left his post before his time. Except Ludan. He did that for you.”
The drone of voices around them wavered, drowned by the increasing thrum of her pulse.
Lexi kept going. “You can’t tell me he did that if there wasn’t something between you. Maybe he doesn’t know it yet, but I felt it in him. A blowtorch couldn’t be hotter than his emotions when he’s around you.”
He wanted her. Enough to forgo his future and give her hers. So why wouldn’t he give in?
“We kissed,” she whispered. She lifted her gaze from the white tabletop to Lexi’s. “I saw a couple kissing, and I asked him what it was like. If he would give me one.”
“And?”
“It was perfect.” All the sensations she’d tucked away from that first night rushed through her, shame and shock close on their heels. “Until I messed it up.”
“Messed it up how?”
Her cheeks burned and tears welled in her eyes. “He was…” She bit her lip, searching for the right words. “When he pulled me against him, I felt him. I freaked out and ran.”
Lexi grinned, one of those juicy, lascivious smiles that said she was seriously enjoying herself. She anchored her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her hand. “You mean he was hard.”
Their very public environment crashed in on her. The food court was packed with bodies, none of them looking directly her way, but it still felt like they could hear every word. She nodded anyway.
“So? He knows what you’ve been through, Brenna. I’m sure he understands.”
“You don’t get it. Now he won’t have anything to do with me. He says he’ll hurt me. That he doesn’t ever want to see me run from him again.”
Lexi dropped the hand beneath her chin to the table and glowered. “You’re kidding me.”
“No. There are times I think he wants me. Times I’ve seen him…” She swallowed and forced herself to be as outspoken as Lexi. “Hard.”
Lexi grinned.
“I heard him in the bathroom, too.”
“Heard him what?”
Brenna semi-ducked her chin and motioned toward Wes, Troy, and Jagger at the table beside them. “You know. What guys do.”
Lexi’s voice dropped to a sexy, husky rasp, not unlike the way her own had sounded after she’d listened to Ludan climax. “He got off.”
Brenna nodded.
Pursing her lips, Lexi leaned back in her chair. She draped one elbow over the back, crossed her legs, and tapped her fingers on the table. “So, basically, he wants you, but he’s got it in his head he’ll hurt you.”
“Basically.” She dragged her finger along the condensation on her drink, exhausted, but glad she’d finally shared with someone. “I thought I could change his mind. I’ve tried to get close to him, but the only time he lets me is when I’m sad or scared. Like you said, he’s stubborn. I’m not sure I’ve got enough in me to get past it.”
“But getting past it is what you want?”
Brenna folded her hands in her lap and picked one jagged nail. “I think if anyone could replace my past with something worth remembering, it would be him.”
“You feel safe with him.”
More than safe. She felt special. Even cherished. A tear slipped free and splattered on top of her hand. “Yeah.”
Lexi’s
chair legs scraped against the industrial tile, and her hand covered Brenna’s. “Then no more tears.” She lifted Brenna’s chin and pinned her with such a confident stare it resonated clear to Brenna’s toes. “Remember what you want and throw his stubbornness right back at him. He can’t fight you forever.”
“I wish you were right.”
Lexi settled back in her chair and winked. “Oh, I’m right. I felt what he felt, remember? And sister, let me tell you. I can’t wait to watch him fall.”
Chapter 20
Ludan owed Brenna an apology. A big one wrapped up in groveling and ass kissing. Outside the library window, the ocean’s waves rolled to the shoreline. The breeze was warm and devoid of the taint so common in Evad, not that he was in a frame of mind to enjoy it. He hadn’t even been gone twenty-four hours, but the voices were driving him nuts. Less than two weeks he’d been with Brenna, almost always close enough to dampen the hubbub in his head. Apparently, that was enough to soften years’ worth of the mental calluses she’d built.
He shouldn’t have jumped her shit for sleeping with him. What kind of jerk read someone the riot act when all they’d done was show kindness?
Yeah, huge ass kissing was in order. Histus, if she asked him to, he’d grovel naked in Times Square and give her a month to sell tickets.
“Once upon a time, I would have thought you being here waiting on me meant you were eager to get in Angus’s head,” Eryx said.
Ludan flinched. The fact that his friend had gotten so close without Ludan hearing him only proved how scattered his sabbatical with Brenna had left him.
Eryx sauntered the rest of the way into the room and braced his hands on the open windowsill. “Now I know it’s more you slept for shit.” He pegged Ludan with a glare. “Last night any different?”
No point in dodging it now. While he hated the remorse he might have caused Eryx, it felt damned nice not to have the secret between them. “Not really.”
“That why you’re always ready for a fight?”
“It helps.” He twisted the empty tumbler of strasse he’d left on the ledge a quarter turn, wishing he could take another belt before they headed for Angus. “Booze helps, too.”
Letting out a tired sigh, Eryx hung his head. The metal beads that held his commitment braids clicked against the quiet. “I can’t ask you to do this. Not now. Not ever.”
“Don’t.” Ludan pushed away from the ledge and stalked to the liquor cabinet. Fuck being levelheaded when he scoured Angus’s head. Crazy thoughts and inane chatter he could tolerate, but pity would kill him. “You don’t ask me to pull my punches when we spar. Don’t ask me to roll over when it matters.”
“Roll over? You think me looking out for my best friend’s sanity is some jacked-up form of sympathy? Damn it, Ludan. I can’t remember the last time I saw you really sleep. Or smile.”
The night before last, thanks to the pretty little black-eyed nymph he’d left in Evad. He sure as hell wasn’t sharing that with Eryx, though. He threw back another slug and thunked the glass on the sideboard. “Let’s go. I want to get back to Brenna.”
“The Great One take it, you’re a stubborn ass. I can scan Angus just as good as you and not add more to what you’re already wrestling.”
“You can do it, but you’re not as good as me. I’m faster and far more thorough. You know that.” Ludan stalked to the library doors. “It’s one voice on top of hundreds. You can come with me, or I can do it on my own.”
Eryx’s hand clamped down on Ludan’s shoulder and yanked him around with enough force that Ludan’s neck cracked. “No.”
“You can’t stop me.”
“Like histus I can’t. I’ve got a whole row of zeolite cells downstairs that would suck the fire right out of you.”
“Then you might as well cut my nuts off while you’re at it. Maybe you could hang ’em in the hallway so everyone can get a visual to go with the gossip.”
“Fuck!” Eryx spun so fast the beads at the end of his braids whistled a quarter inch from Ludan’s nose. He planted his hands on his hips and scowled at the ceiling. “This is insane.”
“This is important. I’m not scooting around in someone’s head to see what they had for breakfast. I’m trying to cut Serena off at the pass and make sure Brenna stays safe.”
Eryx turned, a shell-shocked expression on his face.
Damn it.
Ludan looked away and swallowed, the weight of what he’d just admitted smacking him square in the jaw.
“You want it for her,” Eryx said.
“I want it for all of us.” Not a complete lie. A giant, bullshit foul, maybe, but not a lie.
Eryx half scoffed, half laughed and shook his head. “Yeah. You keep telling yourself that.” He jerked his head as he sauntered past. “Let’s get this done and get you home.”
The trip to the training center elapsed in silence, the riot between Ludan’s ears notwithstanding. By the time they crossed the wide open arena and wound through the underground tunnels to the detention cells, the lower-ranking warriors already had Angus bound to a chair in the main interrogation room.
Eryx motioned one guard stationed behind Angus toward the door. “Bring the ellan in.”
The warrior dipped his chin and strode away.
Angus watched the man leave with a healthy dose of dread radiating from his eyes. “I already told you, I’ll tell you what you want.”
Ludan held his place by the door and crossed his arms, waiting for Eryx’s cue.
Eryx paced the room, cataloging Angus’s disheveled appearance. Where the uppity old man usually sported white council robes so crisp they could stand on their own, today’s looked as though it hadn’t seen a wash in weeks. His thin white hair always looked a little on the manic side, but Ludan would bet the wild edge to it now came from a long night of tossing and turning.
“That chance came and went weeks ago.” Eryx paused behind him. “You claimed council protection. Now I’ve got dispensation, so I’ll just take what I want.”
Angus tried to crane his neck and keep Eryx in his sights, but the bonds around his ankles and chest held firm. His breath kicked in stronger, coming out as a strangled chuff. “Please. No.”
The ellan padded through the doorway, an unimposing young man in an ivory robe that marked him as a newer council member. His brown hair was bound in a low ponytail. Surprising. He barely looked old enough to be awakened, let alone mated. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “My malran. I’m at your service.”
“No need for ceremony, Theodore.” Eryx clapped Angus on the shoulder. “You know Theodore, don’t you, Angus? Your esteemed colleagues sent him here to retrieve what you claimed as protected information.” He grabbed one of the ladder back chairs lined up along the bare gray wall, spun it around, and straddled it, crossing his arms casually along the back. “Given your hesitancy to share, I’m guessing what’s between those ears of yours isn’t exactly pretty.”
Angus swallowed, genuine fear racking his body so strongly his aged jowls trembled. He lowered his voice. “I’m begging you. He’s just a boy. No one should see my past. Least of all him.”
Eryx cocked his head. “I never took you for the compassionate type.”
“He’s innocent.”
“So was your page, Sully, but he’s dead. He’s the one who took the translations from Maron’s home while you distracted him, isn’t he?”
Angus hung his head.
“You killed him to keep him quiet, am I right?”
Shoulders sagging, a ragged sob shook Angus’s chest. “Yes.”
“How?”
“Poison.” Angus’s gaze dropped to the floor. “He had an allergy to coconuts. It wasn’t a problem since they’re rare here, but any contact to him was lethal. I laced the package I gave him to deliver that day with it.”
Eryx glanced back at Ludan. “Serena asked you for the translations?”
Angus’s answer came out devoid of emotion, dead and broken. “Yes.”
“Tell me who she’s working with.”
He lifted his head. “I was contacted by her solicitor, Thyrus Monrolla. He never confessed to knowing what she was up to, but I know he supported the Rebellion.”
“Who else?”
Silence.
Eryx leaned in. “Who else, Angus?”
Angus shook his head. “Maxis is dead. She knew Reese, but no other warriors…” His focus sharpened. “Maxis’s strategos. The one who replaced Reese. She mentioned him the day she asked for the texts. Said there would be a new ruler. When I asked if it was him, she didn’t deny it.”
“What’s his name?”
“I only met him once. He found me and took me to the Rebellion camp.” Angus’s gaze drifted back and forth as though scouring his memories for any crumb. He jerked his head up. “Uther. Uther Rontal.”
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know. He barely said a word to me.”
Eryx’s voice slid through Ludan’s head. “Ever hear of him?”
“Nope.”
Surging upright, Eryx spun the chair with his mind and slid it to the back of the room. “Why did she want the texts?”
The sudden movement must have fired Angus’s adrenaline to a fresh high, because his answer came out close to a shout. “You know why. She wants you off the throne. She said she had something that might make that happen. Something to do with the prophecy.”
“And that was?”
“I don’t know!” Angus’s eyes filled with tears, and they spilled down his weathered face. “Yes, I got the texts for her because I wanted vengeance. I wanted you off the throne as bad as she does, but I swear to you, after I handed them over, I never saw her again. Not once.” Angus glanced at Theodore, motionless near the far wall. “Please. I’ve told you all I know. Don’t ask the boy to do this.”
Eryx looked away so Ludan couldn’t see his face. “I don’t like this.”
Eden's Deliverance (The Eden Series Book 4) Page 16
