“Fireann.” Ramsay sat in a crimson and gold wingback.
Galena backhanded Ramsay’s shoulder on her way to sit beside Lexi. “I wouldn’t provoke her if I were you. You’re a dead ringer for the idiot who left her here alone. She might decide to slug you instead.” She focused on Lexi and tilted her head. “Everything okay?”
Lexi nodded. The tail of the winged horse peeked out from her sleeve. Surely the mark was a coincidence.
Galena edged closer, the deep teal of her loose fitting linen pants and tunic a defiant color amidst the mostly red and black room. “Did you have a good night?”
Lexi almost laughed. If Galena was shooting for nonchalant, she’d missed it by about two football fields.
Both men raised one eyebrow at Lexi. Synchronized, silent commands.
Her mouth screwed up, deception bitter on her tongue. The whole mating secret custom didn’t sit well. Hell, she wasn’t even sure she’d worked through it in her own head. “I think I can safely say it’s a night I’ll never forget.”
Galena’s face fell and her shoulders slumped. She shot a venomous glare at her companions. “Killjoys. I’ll find out.”
More with the smirks from the high and mighty men.
Galena tossed her head and gestured at Lexi’s arm. “So, let me see….”
Gathering the sleeve of her robe, Lexi displayed the mark for her small audience. Her heart clenched. “It’s beautiful, don’t you think?”
“It’s magnificent,” Galena whispered, reaching for an outstretched wing.
“It’s huge.” Ramsay surged to his feet for a closer view.
Ludan stayed where he was, arms crossed with an I-know-something-you-don’t-know stare. “Wait until you see Eryx’s.”
Galena and Ramsay stopped their inspection to glance at Ludan.
Oh, hell. She’d probably gone and done something to screw the whole mating thing up. “Is it okay? What is it?”
“Nope, not going to ruin it.” Ludan shook his head, completely unrepentant.
Lexi swallowed, but the lump in her throat wouldn’t budge. Knowing her luck she’d left him with Mickey Mouse ears. “Is there something wrong with it?”
“It’s impressive.” Ludan’s face softened a touch, but his grin stayed in place. “I just don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
She zeroed in on Ramsay. “Don’t most look like this?”
Ramsay resumed his sprawl in the wingback and laughed hard enough to rattle the knickknacks. “Hell, no. Most reach the elbow at most. Yours screams, ‘I mated a bad ass!’”
“Eryx’s shouts, ‘Don’t fuck with my baineann.’” Ludan slid forward in his sly, prowling manner, eyes still locked on Lexi, and stopped in front of her. “But then, such a mark would be appropriate for a malress wouldn’t it?”
Galena gasped.
Ramsay’s smile flat-lined.
Ludan held out his hand, palm up.
Maybe company had been a bad idea. Not knowing what else to do, Lexi laid her hand in his.
His callused fingers wrapped around hers and he dropped to one knee. He bowed his head and laid a chaste kiss to her knuckles. “As I have pledged my loyalty to our malran, so do I pledge to you, our malress.”
Apprehension swirled around her, chilling her to the core. “Malress?”
Ludan rose, silent.
Her three guests stared at each other, gazes darting back and forth. Damned telepathy. Now they weren’t even bothering to hide when they did it.
Ramsay laughed, a good-natured one that shook the room. He stood and ran his fingers through his sun-streaked hair. “Eryx’s gonna kill us.” He sauntered forward, snatched her hand from her lap, and dropped to one knee. “As I have pledged my loyalty to my brother, our malran, so do I pledge to you, our malress.” He peeked at her and winked. “And my shalla.”
Ramsay stepped back and Galena pushed forward to both knees. She scooped Lexi’s trembling hands into hers. Her Caribbean-colored eyes bore into hers, solemn, peaceful. “You are my shalla and my malress. My skills and my loyalty are yours to call upon.”
Lexi looked from one person to another. “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this question, but what’s a malress?”
“Eryx is our malran, Lexi.” Galena gave her hands a gentle squeeze. Her voice slipped around Lexi, cool and tranquil. “The interpretation for malran in Evad would be king.”
White noise.
“You’re now his mate,” Galena added. “Which makes you the malress, or our queen.”
“I’m not…” Every word she reached for fizzled into nothing. She closed her gaping mouth, licked her dry lips, and tried again. “He said a malran was a leader. I thought he was an ambassador, maybe a senator, or something. I didn’t know—”
“And he didn’t want you to.” Galena squeezed Lexi’s ice-cold fingers. “But not for the reasons you might think, so try not to be too harsh when you judge him. He’s high-handed and overbearing at times, but he’s still a man.”
“Ah, Lena.” Ramsay whined petulantly from the couch. “Don’t go mending bridges for him. Was gonna be fun watchin’ Lexi hand him his ass on a platter.”
So playful. Light-hearted as he always seemed to be. Didn’t he get what a colossal problem this was?
“I don’t know how to do this.” Lexi leaned closer to Galena, nearly pleading. “I’m not that kind of person. I mix drinks and have decent street smarts. What the hell was he thinking?”
“You’re wrong.” Ludan’s words slashed out, and from the look on his face she was about two pouts shy of a lecture to rival his father. “You’re perfect for Eryx and will make a strong queen.”
“But I—”
“For you to doubt yourself is to doubt Eryx and his judgment.” Ludan prowled forward. “Do you honestly think he would take a mate who would fail his people?”
“You’ve gotta get over this doubting thing, Lex,” Ramsay said, totally at ease with the fact his brother—a king—had shacked up with a no one.
Galena settled close to Lexi’s side and draped her arm along her shoulders. “Sounds like you’re the only one doubting you.”
Christ, how was she going to handle this? A new realm. A new race. A new role. Her life had turned into one big Etch-A-Sketch.
The room grew silent and the stares of those around her, no matter how kind, stifled normal breath. She stood and angled for the bathroom. She had to get out. To move and think. Do something.
Ludan blocked her path, head tilted in a silent question.
She huffed and stepped around him. “Don’t worry. I’m not running.” Pushing open the elegant doors, she added over her shoulder, “Just working on that ass-handing thing Ramsay wanted to see.”
* * * *
Eryx strode into the council hall amidst the steady rumble of curious voices. It wasn’t a cozy place. More like a high-domed museum with gold walls and filigreed platinum hieroglyphics from their earliest days.
Long ivory cushions lined the lower level, one in front of the other, with an aisle left open down the middle for the lower statesmen. Those more established in the hierarchy were already perched in the boxes jutting out from the circular ledges above.
He nodded at some he passed, smiled at others. Some he avoided at all costs. His race was at a tricky place in its lifespan, stuck between the antiquated ways of old and the promise of new ideas. One way or another, what he was about to share was sure to knock a whole lot of people off the fence.
“Surprised you want anything to do with us.” The voice scraped at Eryx’s nerves and pulled his footsteps to a stop.
“Angus.” Eryx did a pointed scan the councilman’s stark white robe. “I barely noticed you without your colors.”
Angus flinched, not that Eryx had expected otherwise. The reminder of how Eryx had revoked the man’s rank only months before h
adn’t been intended as a subtle jab.
“Colors don’t make the man.” Angus waved at Eryx’s platinum council attire, a symbolic representation to the metal reserved for use by the royal family alone. “If they did, you might be worth something.” He harrumphed and shuffled off in a decrepit huff without another word.
Eryx stormed toward the front of the room. He had more important things to think about than a bitter old man stuck in the dark ages. Things like coming clean with his mate and sharing his—and now her—role within their race. The weight of what he’d withheld sat heavy as a brick in his chest and he wanted it gone. The faster he got this task behind him, the faster he could bare it all.
Odd. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out why he’d taken the tight-lipped route.
The room settled to a dull murmur the moment he reached the dais. As he turned, the more junior members of his council settled to their knees, while those in their boxes reclined in their sumptuous chairs.
“Dunstan.”
Head high and clutching his official tome of records, the council page stepped forward.
“Call this special session to order.”
Dunstan gave a solemn nod and faced the room. His voice rang out the customary call to order with a layer of pomp and circumstance that made Eryx ache to pace.
When the formalities were done, Eryx let a punctuated silence fall across the room. “I’ve called you together for an important purpose that will catch many of you by surprise.”
A trill of whispers floated along the council floor.
“I know many of you have been concerned with my time away. My presence today marks the end of my necessary absences and the dawn of a new and exciting time for our race.”
“And you expect to give no explanation of your deeds in the human realm?” Angus screeched from the rear of the room, his place among his peers the lowest of them all. He struggled to a stand. “While your councilmen have been faithful servants of our people, you’ve gallivanted about with those not of our race and left us here to toe the line. And you expect to return to our good graces without any account?”
Eryx tensed and his blood pounded through his fists. He should have killed Angus for his treasonous acts when he’d had the chance.
With long-standing years of practice, Eryx pushed the fire building along his throat deep into his belly. “You act as if I’ve been completely absent, Angus. I believe my responsibilities have been thoroughly filled regardless of my activities elsewhere. In fact, I’m certain only a few months ago we clearly established which of us is malran and which is not.”
The grossly public putdown fired a ripple of whispers along the council floor.
“Unless you’d like to challenge me for the right?” Even from the front of the room, Eryx could see Angus’ angry tremors.
“I do challenge you.” He stood as tall as his stooped form would allow. “I challenge your time in Evad. I challenge your adherence to the tenets of The Great One. Have you or have you not brought a human among us, breaking the most sacred of laws our race is meant to abide?”
Gasps shot out from all angles of the room.
Eryx took one slow breath after another. Focused inwardly on the quiet, solemn place in his soul, and thanked The Great One for the repeated releases Lexi had gifted him with the night before. Otherwise, the sparks of electricity and flame from his temper would have fried more than half of his council already.
“Far from it,” he answered, the words deceptively smooth considering his emotions. “I brought your new malress.” He pulled his over-robe from his shoulders and tossed it to the floor. “I did bring a woman to Eden from the human realm, but she was one of our lost. As you can see by the mark I now bear, the woman in question is not only very Myren, but is also now my baineann and your malress. My call for special session was to advise you of this change in keeping with our traditions and to plan her presentation tomorrow.”
Mumbled comments trickled among those present, then faded to dead silence as each member grasped the significance of his mark.
“Her name is Alexis Shantos. You will receive her at session tomorrow and confirm her rightful place as malress. Together we will begin the new and promising years to come for our race.”
A cautious smattering of applause and rumbling voices rolled across the room.
Eryx exhaled, slow and cautious. He opened his mouth to call the session to an end.
“Malran.” Angus’ voice was stronger than Eryx had heard in years. “I’m interested to know how you managed to confirm she was Myren before you divulged our race.”
Eryx’s fisted his hands and prayed for guidance. He definitely should have killed Angus when he’d had the chance.
Chapter 21
Lexi stepped beyond the castle walls into the brilliant Myren sunshine and most of her tension released. The chill of the night before was gone, dew sparkling off every surface in the morning light. Flowers dazzled under the light of day, a perfect balance of wispy pastel petals and vivid, sharp-edged blooms. The air shimmered and her lungs sang with a mix of sweet and exotic perfume from the garden.
She tilted her head back and closed her eyes against the sun’s warmth as she walked. “I love it here. It’s like a fairytale.”
Ludan’s lazy footsteps swished in the soft sand path beside hers. “Since when are you the fairytale type?”
The ocean roiled beyond the castle bluff. God, she could relate. Nothing in her life felt settled right now. Nothing except Eryx. Her anchor in the center of the chaos.
“Every girl dreams of fairytales. Some of us are just more realistic than others.” She crooked one eyebrow at him. “Which is rather ironic when you consider the last week of my life.”
Her closet had proven to be a fairytale too. The thing was as big as her entire apartment in Evad and packed with gowns in bold colors. Some were casual, made of comfortable, soft fabrics. Others were elaborate and covered with jewels, guaranteed to make any number of female jet setters swoon.
She’d chosen a comfy gown for her walk, but Galena had shoved it back in with the others and insisted on a blood-red number trimmed in black. It fell from one shoulder and clung to her curves, leaving the Shantos Pegasus well exposed.
She’d brushed out Lexi’s hair and made her promise to leave it unbound. When Lexi asked why, she’d shrugged and said, “Trust me.”
“Galena told me to call her before she left. Did she mean I could talk to her telepathically?”
Ludan scanned the far edge of the garden. “She did.”
“I thought it was only for family. And people you’re linked with.”
“She’s your family now. Once you’ve mated, you gain the family links of the person you’ve mated as well.” His gaze kept roaming, never stopping for long on any particular spot.
He tucked her hand protectively around his arm, the bare skin of his elbow warm against her fingers. Odd how the touch of another man felt awkward. “Can I talk with you that way?”
“Not yet. Eryx and I are close enough to be brothers, but we don’t share blood.” His gaze flicked to her fidgeting fingers, then back up. “You’d have to share a link with me.”
“Will you teach me how?”
Ludan halted and a rare, wicked grin crept into place. “What the hell. He’s already gonna rip me for ratting him out. May as well have a little more fun.”
“Ludan?” An airy, cultured female voice flittered from behind them.
Ludan stiffened.
Bitterness scented the garden, heavier than lemon, but lighter than vinegar. Out of place with all the flowers. Irritation. On the bright side, she was getting faster with her new gift. The downside, they were kicking in over a woman.
Ludan pivoted, a solid wall of muscle between the woman and Lexi. “Serena.” Not a greeting, but an accusation.
“I came t
o see Eryx.” The stranger paused. Sand crunched as the woman shifted. “Who’s your friend?”
Ludan’s shoulder blades bunched beneath his drast.
The fine hairs along Lexi’s arms and neck rippled to life. Oh, hell. Ludan’s emotions. Pissed as hell and ready to pounce. Not a good sign for things to come.
“Eryx’s not here.” His tone spelled trouble. All the better to eat you with. “I’ll introduce you to his baineann though.” He stepped back and angled himself so Lexi’s marked arm stood on display. “Allow me to present you to our new malress, Alexis Shantos. Lexi, this is Serena Doroz, an old acquaintance of Eryx’s.”
Two seconds and Lexi hated her. Cerulean blue eyes, pale blonde hair to the small of her back, and soft-looking pink lips. The type of woman who could bring a man to his knees with little more than a crook of her fingers. Perfect.
All of a sudden she was fourteen again, gangly and inadequate, keeping to the shadows where the mean girls wouldn’t see her.
Screw that. No Barbie doll was going to knock her off her fantasy life. Not without a decent catfight. She squared her shoulders and offered her hand. Emotion to rival a blowtorch blasted her and her knees nearly buckled. She struggled for breath, the weight of Serena’s feelings as heavy as a smoke laden room.
“A proper welcome is in order, Serena.” Ludan stepped closer and towered over her.
Serena’s ire spiked another notch.
Lexi’s legs wobbled. God, she was going to kill Ludan. Slowly. With a spork. Just as soon as she could get away from the beautiful Satan and her pissed off mood.
“Of course.” Serena coughed less than delicately. The ocean breeze teased her long, powder blue tunic, the chiffon panels lapping at her matching silk pants. “Forgive me, my malress. I was unaware Eryx had taken a mate. I was with him only a short time ago.”
Bitch. She’d had more powerful digs thrown at her in kindergarten. Eryx was hers and she’d flay this bitch before she let Serena anywhere close to her man. Assuming she could stay upright. Beads of sweat formed along the back of her neck and the muscles along her back shook with fatigue. Her vision turned dim and fuzzy.
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