Shit. What was he thinking? It was almost two o’clock in the morning. Of course his dad wasn’t up. Most sane men slept at night.
“It’s late for you to be up,” Graylin said, nearly jolting Ludan out of bed. “Particularly for a man who carried a languid woman into the house just before sundown.”
So his dad had seen that. Not surprising. He’d gotten away with zilch growing up. Just because Ludan was an adult now didn’t mean his dad wasn’t still sharp. “I was thinking.”
Graylin chuckled with far too much enjoyment. “Thinking isn’t how your mother and I spent our nights, but to each his own.”
“I need to talk to you about Serena’s father,” he said before Graylin could venture any farther down their awkward conversational path. “Could he hide or blur his memories?”
The link to his father buzzed. If Graylin had been asleep or dozing, he wasn’t now, not with that kind of energy. “Outside of delta sleep? No, not unless he could channel memories the way a solicitor does.” He paused and Ludan could almost picture his father’s frown. “Although, I’ve heard influencers can sway memory perception. Rather the way a human might throw a lie detector test off. Nothing conclusive, but enough to make the test questionable.”
“And influencers are prone to vendor-focused skills.”
“They are,” Graylin said. “I take it this has something to do with Reginald or Serena?”
He wasn’t sure what to think. Not yet. But his instincts prickled the same way they did before an attack. “I think Reginald dodged my scan. I checked his memories after Serena disappeared. There was a section with him and Serena talking.” He hesitated, reassessing what he’d felt. “It may be nothing, but I can’t afford to miss anything.” He combed his fingers through Brenna’s silky hair. “Not now.”
Weighted silence streamed between them before Graylin spoke. “Have you found your definition then?”
Ludan’s arms tightened around her, a hoarder prepared to fight both seen and unseen threats. A fist-sized knot lodged in his throat. “She’s my mate.”
More silence, though emotion warm and saturated with pride echoed through it. “Yes, son. She’s yours.” His voice hitched before he added, “Your mother would be pleased, as am I. You’ll be a strong mate for her.”
He couldn’t talk. Couldn’t process the sentiment rioting in his head and heart.
Graylin spoke before Ludan could wrestle himself to steady emotional ground. “You’ll come to grips with it. When you do, you’ll find contentment. Even peace.” He paused for only a moment. “Goodnight, son.” And then he was gone.
Brenna’s easy breath fluttered against his chest, the rise and fall of her chest hypnotic in the dark. He closed his eyes and gave in to the moment. To his father’s reaction. To the promise of a future with her and all that brought with it.
He matched his inhalations to hers and focused on her scent. Sweet like Orla’s kitchen. Bit by bit, his thoughts drifted. Random memories darted between consciousness and sleep. The first time he’d seen Brenna and how the voices dimmed when she drew close. How she’d anchored him while he scanned the Rebellion warriors’ minds. The ugliness of Angus’s youth, and snippets of Serena’s time with the Rebellion.
“Did you see it?”
The Spiritu’s voice jangled him to awareness, and his eyes snapped open. His heart slammed against his chest, and adrenaline spiked so high a ringing sounded in his ears. Only blackness and silence surrounded them. No energy registered save that of his father near the front of the cottage.
Maybe he’d dreamed the voice.
No, he hadn’t been asleep. Merely drifting and recalling real memories. Serena’s. She’d visited Maxis’s strategos multiple times. Now that he knew the memory was there, it seemed clearer. Sharper than before. He’d grabbed it the one time she’d given them unprotected access to her memories, just after she’d been sentenced, but he’d glazed over it.
“Because she wanted you to.”
So, Serena was an influencer like her daddy. No wonder she had so many men whipped. Though, he couldn’t imagine the information would do much for Eryx’s ego considering their history.
He backtracked, zeroing in on Serena’s visits with Uther at a run-down shack. The land around it was barren. Desolate and empty.
The Underlands.
It was the perfect place to hide. Far below Serena’s standards, but perfect for staying off Eryx’s radar.
Gently lifting Brenna, he eased from underneath her and gave his anxious energy free rein, pacing the room while his thoughts zigzagged. If he could trail the memories close enough, he could track the place.
He yanked on his leather pants and drast, combating frustration and eagerness to follow his newest trail. All this time, everything he’d needed had been right there, waiting. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on his boots.
“Ludan?” Brenna lifted her head and blinked against the darkness. “Is something wrong?”
Far from wrong. This was the answer he’d been looking for. A chance to make things right. Shifting closer, he smoothed her hair away from her face and pressed his lips to hers. “Everything’s fine.” Or it would be. “Go back to sleep.”
Her eyes fluttered closed, her dark lashes forming pretty crescents against her creamy skin. Everything he’d ever needed—ever wanted, but hadn’t realized—was right here. He kissed her temple, fortifying his strength with her scent. He’d keep her safe. And then he’d make her his.
Chapter 33
Ludan stalked through the cottage’s darkened halls, following Graylin’s link toward the study. Two in the morning was a hell of a time to take in a book, even for his night owl father. That meant either he hadn’t been able to go back to sleep after Ludan woke him, or he was up to something.
Firelight spilled through the office door, the scent of leather and woodsmoke greeting Ludan before he crossed the entrance.
Graylin’s head snapped up, eyes rounded in surprise. An ebony box no bigger than a foot long and half as wide sat on his lap. “Ludan.” He shut the hinged lid and set it on the side table beside him. “Why aren’t you with Brenna?”
Yeah, definitely up to something. No one snuck up on his father unless he was severely distracted. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
A sheepish grin crept into place, and Graylin motioned to the box. “I’d forgotten about this until our talk. Your mother set some things aside after you were born. Things she planned to give your mate when the time was right.” He stared at it, his eyes distant. “I never explored what was in it at the time. Turns out your mother was quite sentimental.”
A gift for someone she hadn’t even met yet. It was just like his mother, thoughtful and always planning for the best. He braced for the guilt, for the shame that always came with thoughts of his mother, but for once, the weight didn’t crouch on his shoulders.
“She would have liked Brenna,” Graylin said. “Very much.”
And Brenna would have adored Rista. The Great One take it, they’d have been inseparable. Two graceful yet inherently strong women woven from the same cloth.
Graylin coughed and pushed from his leather armchair, headed for the gleaming bar along the far wall. Its carved mahogany woodwork featured Celtic details and winding ivy with lattice edges. Inside was every fine liquor a man could ever want. “Now you know why I’m up. Explain why you’re dressed to fight instead of wrapped around your woman.”
Ludan startled and shook his head. He had to be out of his mind, standing around ruminating on the past and future when the present was shooting by too fast. “I’ve got a lead. Something I missed in Serena’s memories. I think she’s in the Underlands.”
“No one lives in the Underlands.”
“Maxis’s so-called strategos does. Near the border into Asshur.”
“And you think to capture her alone? That’s a hotheaded move, and you know it.”
“Not capture. Confirm. I’m not stupid. If I bungle the intel, we risk Serena disapp
earing again. I’ll follow the memories, mark the place if it’s a plausible lead, then come back and strategize with Eryx.”
Graylin set aside an unmarked crystal decanter, strasse given the auburn color and sharp berry scent. The frown he aimed over one shoulder said he wasn’t entirely buying Ludan’s plan.
“I’m not even sure I can find the place,” Ludan said. “If I do, one person casing the perimeter’s a hell of a lot safer if anyone’s monitoring for activity.” His shoulders pushed back a fraction, and he lifted his chin. “Plus, I’ve got incentive to keep breathing.”
Graylin’s mouth twitched. He sipped his drink to cover the smirk, but amusement shone in his eyes. “Indeed you do.” He waved his hand toward the door and returned to his chair. “Your woman will be safe. If anything alerts me, I’ll get her to the castle or the training grounds.”
Ludan nodded and spun for the door.
“I expect regular communications.” It was a command, one outranking warrior to another. “I know you want Brenna safe, but I won’t lose my son in the process.”
“You won’t lose me.” His lips curved, the movement far more awkward with his dad than it had been with Brenna. “I’m too stubborn to die.”
Ten minutes later, Ludan was airborne and headed to the farthest edge of Asshur. The voices were back and as incessant as ever, but their edge was gone. Where the constant din had made him irritable and short before, now it was an annoyance. A bothersome gnat his psyche refused to engage.
Because of Brenna.
She was the difference. Not just the way she dampened his gift’s impact, but the way she grounded him. Life wasn’t just something to be endured from one day to the next anymore. It was something to experience and share. To look forward to.
He laughed into the dark night, not bothering to mask the clumsy, unfamiliar sound. It was a damned good thing Eryx and Ramsay couldn’t see inside his head. They’d load him up with chocolates, maxi pads, and a lifetime supply of Midol. Even more bizarre, he didn’t care. They could razz him all they wanted, but he’d never be ashamed of Brenna or what he felt for her.
A silver stream of energy arced across the cloudy night sky, briefly illuminating the land below. Asshur was the dreariest of Eden’s regions, seldom bearing sunshine and more prone to tumbleweeds than crops. No wonder Maxis had built his fortress in such a nasty space. Plenty of room to roam without anyone questioning his presence.
Another five minutes and the temperatures began to drop, marking his approach to the Underlands. Serena’s memories hadn’t shown her traveling more than a mile or two past the border, but the region spanned a good two hundred miles wide. Far more than he could cover in one night.
He slowed his flight and hovered high in the air. In one of Serena’s memories, he’d noted a limestone outcrop he recognized from Asshur, not ten miles from where he was now.
Recalibrating his path, he backtracked to the location he’d recognized. It took everything he had not to pour all his energy into flying full speed, the seasoned, patient warrior in him pointing out that diligence and care were critical. The beast didn’t give a shit. Only wanted the threats to his mate obliterated in short order. He’d give that side of himself free rein soon, but not at the risk of leaving Brenna alone and unprotected.
The scent of burning wood floated on the wind.
Ludan stilled and pulled his mask into place. This was it. His eyes had yet to focus on anything tangible in the inky darkness, but his body hummed with certainty. He lowered to the ground. The cracked clay surface was strewn with rocks and pebbles. The only thing blocking the empty stretch of land was a line of boulders.
One step forward. Then another. His heart thumped a steady, almost deafening beat in his ears, and sweat coated his skin despite the chilled wind.
The clouds broke, and a flash of moonlight washed across the desolate landscape. Not three hundred yards ahead sat a simple hut built in sturdy, dark wood. The boulders he’d noted circled the perimeter, roughly a hundred yards in all directions. Darkened windows dotted a crude front porch, and smoke curled from the chimney. No light, though. If anyone was inside, they were asleep or hidden behind dark drapes.
Ludan inched toward the giant stones ahead. The moon flickered in between clouds, and light glinted off one of the boulders.
Odd. They’d been dark like the rest of the muddy surroundings when he’d landed. Not something he’d expect to reflect light. He skimmed the top of one.
Pain razored through his veins, ripping away his mask and consuming his powers.
A zeolite barrier.
He jerked his hand away and staggered back, loose clumps of dried dirt falling to show more of the crystal’s sparkling surface. Before he could gather his balance, pebbles crunched behind him and warning tingles fired across his shoulders.
He spun.
Serena stood shrouded in the darkness, one long strand of her near-white hair slipping free of the hood she’d drawn over her head. “About time you got here.”
He lurched toward her.
Solid iron bashed the back of his head and his legs buckled, leaving him sprawled against the cold, unforgiving clay. Pain speared from the base of his neck and ricocheted down his spine. Above him two figures stood, Serena and a man, backlit by the cloud-covered sky. Darkness crowded the edges of his mind, and reality slipped farther and farther from his grip.
He reached for his father’s link with the last of his strength. “Protect Brenna.” The connection wavered and the black took him.
A sharp, heavy knock on the bedroom door jerked Brenna from sleep. Only a hint of light filtered through the solar tubes, leaving the room in a dusky glow. It couldn’t even be six o’clock yet.
Blinking to clear her fuzzy vision, she lifted her head from the pillow and found herself alone in Ludan’s rumpled bed. “Ludan?”
The door swung open, and Graylin strode into the room dressed for combat in full drast, leather pants, and boots. “Unfortunately not.” Not pausing for any explanations, he jerked the top dresser drawer open, rooted around, and closed it. “Where are your things? We need to move.”
“In the armoire.” Her heart jerked into second gear, and she fisted the soft sheet in her palm. She’d never once seen Graylin dressed like the other warriors. She knew he’d been somo to Eryx’s father years ago, but seeing him like this, clipped and ready for action, triggered all kinds of alarms. “What’s going on?”
Graylin snatched the first outfit he laid hands on, tossed it to the bed, and turned his back to give her privacy. “I’ll tell you on the way to the training center. Right now, I need you up and dressed. I’ll have your things brought later.”
She scrambled from the bed. The room’s chill mingled with her surge of adrenaline and cast goose bumps out in all directions. “What about my mother?”
“Orla’s helping her now. She’s going with us.”
Leggings in place, Brenna pulled her tunic over her head and wiggled it past her hips. “You can turn around.”
Graylin turned, his gaze alert, but not once meeting hers. Something wasn’t right. His eyes always held a hint of sadness, but there was more today. Worry or fear.
Ludan.
He’d been dressed for fighting when she’d woken in the middle of the night. But that made absolutely no sense, unless he’d gone and done something stupid. “Where’s Ludan?”
Graylin grimaced and averted his face.
Nerve-numbing terror wrenched her heart. “Graylin, tell me what’s wrong.”
“I don’t know.” He snatched her hand and tugged her toward the stairs leading up to the main floor. “He went to check a lead last night. About thirty minutes ago, he reached out from the Underlands. I got his location via link, but the connection’s gone fuzzy since. I can’t track him. Eryx, Ramsay, and Reese have headed out with search squadrons.”
She stopped dead in her tracks and jerked her hand from his grasp. “What?”
Graylin backtracked and moved in close, the
same move Ludan used when he wanted to impress a point. “I need you to listen to me. I know you’re afraid for my son. I am as well. But I made a promise to him to keep you safe. Until we know what’s happened, I need you someplace defendable with ample guards. Once you’re safe, I’ll give you every detail I know. Until then, I need you strong and focused.”
Strong and focused. That’s what Ludan would want, too. What he’d expect. She swallowed and jerked a terse nod.
Answering with one of his own, he hurried her up the stairs and through the quiet cottage. She’d barely made it two steps past the front door when the enormity of Graylin’s fears slammed home. At least a dozen warriors formed a protective barrier between her and the front yard, their eyes sharp and bodies poised for action.
Her steps slowed, the mere thought of being around so many men, particularly those she didn’t know, jangling free fears she’d thought long gone. “I thought no one but Eryx’s family knew where you lived.”
“Until this morning, they didn’t. I’m not transporting you without a guard.”
“But—”
He gently squeezed her arm to cut her off. “You’re my son’s chosen. I would never favor something so selfish as privacy over your safety.”
Her mother’s voice sounded behind her, mixed with the hurried slap of Abby’s and Orla’s sandals against the soft stone walkway. “What’s going on?” A flush tinted Abby’s cheeks, but sleep and confusion still clouded her gaze.
“Ludan’s missing.” Brenna glanced at the men gathered close and smoothed her hand across her stomach to still her nerves. “These men are taking us to the training center.”
Taking that as his cue, Graylin urged Brenna farther away from the house. His sharp command rang out against the still morning. “Tight formation. Make it quick. Phillip, you’re with me.”
Beside Brenna, Abby tensed, her gaze ping-ponging from warrior to warrior as they surrounded. “I don’t understand. How can he be missing? I thought he was with you. And who are these men?”
“They’re warriors.” Brenna clutched her mother’s hand in hers, feigning more confidence than she felt. “The men Ludan and Graylin fight with.”
Eden's Deliverance (The Eden Series Book 4) Page 28
