Serena dropped as smooth as a feather to both knees and bowed her head, her near-white hair framing her devil/angel face. “It is my great pleasure to meet you.” She rose without waiting for a response and faced Ludan with an oh-so-haughty smile. “I suppose I’ll have to speak with Eryx another day.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Lexi snapped a little straighter. She gripped Ludan’s forearm in a way she hoped would cause him to follow and strolled past Serena with the proudest stride she could manage. “I’ll convey your request. If Eryx’s interested in what you have to say, he’ll send for you.”
Serena gasped as they passed.
Even with Serena behind them, malice shredded her from the inside out. Her lungs seized, but she kept walking.
Fifty feet away color registered in her vision, but no focus. Stay upright, keep walking, and breathe—best plan she could come up with. Except maybe pray the woman would storm off in a huff.
“She’s gone.” Ludan’s voice seemed far away. Muffled. His hand settled on her back and his heat spread across her skin in a wave of strength.
Her sight sharpened. She gulped in air, coughing and sputtering, greedy for oxygen. “She was really pissed.”
“Serena’s been a thorn in Eryx’s side for years. Their thing’s old news. Didn’t last. Comes around every now and then, convinced he’ll change his mind. He banned her a few days ago—for all the good it did.”
On trembling legs, Lexi angled toward a wrought iron bench nestled by tall grass capped with cotton-ball tops.
“The anger impacts you more?” Even his cool curiosity came out with the strength of a dominant.
She rested her elbows on her knees, let her head fall forward, and stretched her neck. Her temples pounded. “Apparently, anger does.”
Blissful quiet, only the hum of wind and happy birds.
Ludan’s feet shifted in front of her. “If it’s any consolation, you rocked the queen bit.”
Lexi looked up.
Pride filled his gaze, so powerful it rocked her to her toes. “It’s not often Serena gets the setback you dished out.”
She sat up and reclined with a throaty chuckle. The cool iron fairly sizzled against her heated skin. “It is a consolation. A good one. No woman likes confronting an old girlfriend.”
“Lexi?” Eryx’s voice.
She sighed. “Too bad he wasn’t here a few minutes ago.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lexi sat ramrod straight. No way did she hear him in her head. She was imagining things.
“You’re hearing fine. What happened?” His demand whipped through her mind.
“Guess that answers how telepathy works. And don’t get snippy with me.” Could she add a snarl to her thoughts? “I’ve had a hell of a morning.”
Eryx’s sigh of resignation feathered through her head. Maybe sounds were possible. “I take it I won’t find you warm in our bed?”
She gripped the slats of the iron bench so hard her fingertips turned red. It was either the bench or Ludan. The latter didn’t seem fair since it was really Eryx’s neck she wanted to choke. “Oh, no. I’m up and about. Greeting my people, so it seems.”
“I see you’ve got telepathy down.” Ludan’s low voice, spoken aloud, startled her.
“How could you tell?”
“You have a shitty poker face.” His mouth curled in a sarcastic twist. “Plus he’s bitching in my head. It wasn’t a stretch.”
Eryx landed not ten feet away with an earth-rattling boom. He jerked his head at Ludan. “Go.”
Ludan blinked, slow and lazy. An intentional move that flipped Eryx the bird without lifting a finger. “Think not. Too risky.” He headed toward an arbor less than thirty feet away. “But I’ll give you space.”
“What happened?” Eryx strode toward her until his towering form threw her in a too-cool shade. He scanned her in a quick but thorough assessment.
Lexi folded her hands in her lap with a mock sigh. “I’ve had a lovely morning, thank you for asking. How was yours?”
Eryx crouched before her. He hung his head on a heavy exhale then looked up, his gaze resolute and sincere. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have learned about who I am from my family.” He wore cuffs around his wrists and throat—the same as Ludan and Ramsay.
After the workout she’d endured via Serena, she was too tired to muster much of a fuss. “I think I understand.” She traced one wing of the horse etched into the platinum surface, a perfect match to the one along her arm. “Everyone deserves to be loved for who they are, not what they are.”
Eryx stood, pulled her from the bench, and wrapped her up tight. His leather scent still clung to his skin, though it was silk that caressed her cheek. “I could have done without meeting your ex though.”
The muscles along his chest went cinder block rigid. “Did she hurt you?”
Her eyes slipped shut and she melted deeper into his strength. “I think it’s safe to say the fair Serena is not pleased with my newfound status, but she’d very much like the pleasure of your company.” She leaned back and found his brow creased with worry. “I’ve also learned angry emotions are extremely unpleasant. Especially when they’re directed at me.”
Eryx massaged her neck. “I haven’t been with her in a long time.”
Lexi’s eyes burned with fatigue. She cupped the side of his face. “Everyone has a past. I just don’t want to run into her again anytime soon.”
His expression shifted, the look of a guilty boy gauging how much he could fess up. “You’re not angry about being malress?”
Her inner radar pinged with the promise of an incoming sucker punch. “Angry isn’t the word. Anxious maybe.”
He ran his fingers through her loose hair and a muscle near one temple twitched. “Ludan said you held your own quite nicely.”
She rolled her eyes and rested her forehead against his chest. “Nothing like a crash course.”
He angled her face toward his. “Then buckle up because I’ve got two more bombs for you.”
A growl ripped past her throat and she stomped a good three paces away before she faced him. “More?”
His shrug was so typically male she wanted to scream. “Nothing too bad.”
She raised her eyebrows and waited.
“Your presentation to the Myren government is tomorrow.”
She raised them another notch.
“A tidy chunk of Myrens will show up to see it.”
She straightened and a slow throb started at her temples. “What else?”
He studied her a second then shrugged out of his silk coat. An incredible sword marked the entire stretch of his arm. Her mark. Elaborate symbols with a Celtic flair were etched into the hilt, jewels nestled above and below the grip. Its blade resonated with power, and ivy twined around it, tapering off near his shoulders.
She shuffled forward, eager to trace the fine lines. Her hand shook as she made contact.
Memory snapped its fingers and plastered the picture from Graylin’s sunroom on the wall of her mind. Her stomach nose-dived, and she swayed. Words refused to surface. She lifted her gaze to Eryx. She was a bartender, not a queen. All that came to mind were the words she’d use if she’d run out of liquor on a busy night.
“Oh, hell.”
* * * *
Maxis strolled the main hallway of his grandmother’s vast estate, hands clasped behind his back. Each footstep echoed off the white marble, but otherwise the grounds were still as winter snow. Gray and gold veins ran along the slabs beneath his feet.
His plans weren’t moving. Not like he’d hoped. Ramsay’s troops scrambling to find Maxis tickled him shitless, but it also kept his spies too far from the castle for any sighting of Lexi. Reese had all but disappeared except for a few grumbles about locating Serena.
He stopped at the
end of the hall. Evening sun slanted through the windows of the rooms behind him in a dramatic angle. Everything was ready. The warriors’ quarters, the estate, his receiving room. Soon Brasia would be the home of the malran as Evanora had intended. Only a few loose threads to tie off.
The main entrance rattled open in the foyer beyond, then slammed shut with a hollow boom.
Maxis strode toward the sound, his clipped steps hammering against an equally confident stride headed in Maxis’ direction.
He turned the corner and nearly slammed into Reese. “What in histus are you doing here?” Even at low decibels, Maxis’ voice rumbled along the stone floors and walls.
Reese’s gaze roamed the tall, domed ceiling with its sky murals and gold edging. “Nice place.” It wasn’t a pleasantry. A rabid dog near to starvation would hold less bite.
Maxis didn’t mind. He had teeth of his own. “Not on par with where you grew up?”
Reese’s green eyes took on a lethal edge. “I’d take my homestead over your pomp and bullshit any day.”
“Then why are you here?”
He sneered at Maxis and meandered to the wall of windows overlooking the rear grounds. The mountains rose in the distance, covered by a blanket of snow with a soft rainbow of purples, pink, and yellow thrumming beneath. “I thought I’d make use of our new link and seek you out. Share the latest and greatest news.”
Maxis’ pulse leapt. Reese seeking him out for any reason was a move in the right direction. That he brought news made it even sweeter. “And?”
Reese turned from the window. “I’m out on the bit with Serena. The woman’s a short-tempered shrew. If she means so much to the cause, you court her.” He took a few steps toward the entry.
Maxis stepped into his path. “Giving up so soon?”
“Hardly.” Reese chuffed out a derisive chuckle. “I finally found her, only to walk in on a ridiculous tirade. I’ve got better things to do.”
“And what’s got her in a snit?”
A slow, sinister grin split across Reese’s face. “Seems the malran’s claimed a mate. The news isn’t settling all that well.” He sidestepped Maxis and continued on his path. “So I’m out.”
Maxis scrambled, clawing for some piece of his plan left untouched.
A few steps from the corner Reese stopped, stomped one booted foot on the floor, and held up his hand. “I almost forgot.” He spun and flashed a smile that said he hadn’t forgotten a damned thing. “Your ellan lackey? Seems he’s got a bit of a temper too and accused the malran of breaking the sacred tenets during special session.” The crinkles around Reese’s narrowed eyes deepened. “Come to find out, the human you’ve been looking for? She’s no human. She’s Myren. And your new malress.”
Chapter 22
Lexi stared from a high, slender window of the council building in Cush, into the streets below. Specks of gold twinkled from the ivory and tan brickwork roads that wound through the town.
From the sky, the capital had looked more like a low-sitting cloud than a city, the rounded rooftops sparkling with silver, shimmering tiles atop high stucco walls of ivory and white. Mix Moroccan style with a sci-fi flick, and you’d end up with a region like Cush.
An ironic smile tugged at her lips. If someone had told her she’d be flying into a city on a real-life Pegasus a week before, she’d have tabbed them out and refused them any more liquor. Never mind they could have flown themselves. Oh, no. They had to do it with an extra bit of flair on a winged horse, black as sin. One more holy cow on top of a heaping pile of jaw-dropping events.
Alone for the first time since she’d woken, blissful silence surrounded her. The cavernous chamber echoed the tiniest sound. Even her breath ricocheted from the hard surfaces. Ancient-looking gold symbols ran a thick swath on each wall. Their raised surfaces lent a formal elegance to the otherwise smooth gray walls—Celtic patterns whispering of mystical secrets. The ivory furniture dotting the room held the only other color. No rugs, no pictures. Only cold, flat gray. Beautiful, but cold.
She strode to the full-length mirror for one last check of her appearance. Her sandaled footsteps tapped along the way and her dress hissed behind her. She stared at the mysterious woman in the mirror and marveled at the work Orla and Galena had done. They’d amplified her blue-gray eyes with smoky, sexy colors across her lids. Her skin shimmered in even the dimmest light from the diamond dust they’d brushed all over her body.
Her hair hung in one simple braid, plaited by Eryx before he’d left the women to their ministrations. He’d huffed something about Galena not being trustworthy before he’d left them alone and Galena had laughed herself silly explaining the Myren custom of bound and unbound hair—the former indicating commitment and the latter signifying openness to the opposite gender.
She smoothed the front of the magnificent gown. Delicate, platinum mesh that shimmered with every infinitesimal move. The design was simple, yet deliciously sexy. One full-length panel in the front with a halter cut top. Another draped from the small of her back to form a short train behind her. All that held the two pieces together were black silk knots at her sides, leaving the sides of her legs exposed. Embedded in the mesh were diamonds of varied sizes.
Two sharp knocks boomeranged around the room.
The modicum of calm she’d nurtured in the last five minutes fizzled.
The door opened a crack. “Lexi? You decent?”
Ramsay. Not Eryx. God, she could sure use his touch right about now. “Come on in. I’m ready.” A complete lie, but she sucked it up and smiled anyway.
Ramsay and Ludan ambled into the room, Ramsay whistling his appreciation and making a show of looking her up and down. “You know, if you weren’t my brother’s woman I’d definitely hit on you.”
“You hit on all the women.” Ludan crossed his arms and braced, feet shoulder width near the door. Never an animated man, his scowl seemed even worse than normal. A tiger locked in a too-small cage. Maybe it was the clothes that pissed him off.
“Do you guys always run around in silk jammies at these things?” She tried to hold back her laugh, but it filtered out between her words any. To be fair, they weren’t any different than Graylin’s attire, except they didn’t do the over-robe like him. Just the tanks and loose fitting pants in a light silver color. Still, on these two? Hot.
Ramsay reached for her elbow. “Don’t start with the jammie thing. Ludan’s more of a Levis man. Getting him to suit up for council is tough on a good day.” He steered her toward the door and leaned in close with a wink. “Silly or not, they make getting naked a breeze.”
Ludan stepped close to her exposed side, and they padded into the eerily quiet hall. Her train dragged against the stone floors to fill the air with white noise, and the blood in her veins surged to match its pitch.
The men steadied her at the first stair down and every step after cranked the beat of her heart up one click. By the time they reached the landing, every council member in attendance would be able to hear its exacerbated rhythm.
“Lexi.” Eryx’s voice settled her, warmed and comforted from the inside out. “This should be straightforward. No matter what happens, you can say or do nothing wrong. We are equals.”
She couldn’t answer. Her mind and throat may as well have been coated in ice. She jerked a nod, and then remembered Eryx couldn’t yet see her.
Ramsay chuckled and covered her hand resting on his arm with a loving pat. “Just keep your senses turned down or off like we practiced. You’ll be fine.”
They halted behind two closed doors the size of a three-car garage back home. The two halves parted outward with a groan and a stream of cool air slipped eagerly between the cracks to fan her heated face.
Oh…wow. Myren big wigs didn’t mess around when they went high town.
A domed ceiling spanned at least three stories. Gold and ivory walls with platinum detail woven i
nto intricate symbols circled the perimeter. Half of the building had theater-looking boxes that jutted out from the wall, and thick ivory cushions lined the main floor with an aisle down the center.
Every space was taken, people kneeling and waiting with stiff backs, their breathing the only sound. At the end of the aisle two large ebony chairs sat on a dais. Sunlight poured from the glass dome to shine on the stately fixtures in a natural spotlight.
Eryx stood between them, his presence so strong and confident it reached her at the rear of the room. His eyes matched the color of the stone floors. Dangerous. Daring.
Ramsay and Ludan stepped forward together.
She followed reluctantly and every head turned in her direction.
With rigid formality the crowd stood and followed her progress.
A clammy sheen covered her face. Probably a pasty flu-white she’d be ashamed to have caught on tape. Thank God for the lack of electronics.
Eryx wore the same council garb, though his matched the platinum of her dress. His braids hung down his back and a thick band of platinum circled his head.
A crown. An honest to God crown. Panic speared through her belly. The urge to wipe her sweaty palms on her gown pricked at her instincts. She wiggled her fingers instead and focused on the regular intervals of tribal etchings and black diamonds adorning Eryx’s circlet.
They reached the dais steps and Ramsay pulled her to a subtle stop. The swoosh of fabric and moving bodies whispered behind her.
She cast a surreptitious glance over her shoulder and found the council members on their knees with heads bowed. She faced Eryx, heart hammering.
A grin flickered at one corner of his mouth. “Rise.” His voice rang out like a God.
Her libido poked an eye out from its hidey-hole. “Wow. That was hot.”
“Really? You think that’s hot?” Ramsay’s laughter chimed in her head. His voice shifted to a considering tone. “Is it a dominant thing? ’Cause I’m pretty comfy in that mode.”
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