Snow and the Shadows (Once Upon a Harem Book 2)

by Cara Carnes

  Slade reached over and grabbed the portable holo-projector. It was as close to the face-to-face interaction with him the Guardians deserved. He rubbed the ache in his chest away. Warmth seeped into him. He closed his eyes and released the Tezan souls within him from their constraints. They flexed beneath the energy flowing from Snow.

  Enough, Snow. Rest. We are here. We are okay.

  Slade

  * * *

  Slone hadn’t changed much since Slade last saw him. Aside from the Admiral marking on his uniform, he was very much the same. Slade’s gut twisted. “Admiral Slone.”

  “Slade, brother.”

  The greeting dissipated some of the unease within him. “Brother.”

  “Admiral Zarx filled me in on what happened with the Roteran Council.” The grim expression tipped into a smirk. Amusement glinted in his gaze. “The female has a remarkable spirit, a warrior in many ways. Few would dare take on the Roteran Council.”

  “Snow is many things. Timid is not one of them.” Slade’s voice rattled as he looked over at her. He shifted the projector so his blood brother would see her. “We have no access to a Tezan healer this far out, but an old Avaru one believes she’s slipped into a Summoner’s Rage.”

  “Yes, several of my older Guardians recall it well. It has been some time since a powerful soul has interacted with the Well. She must be quite strong.” Slone looked over his shoulder, made a motion Slade didn’t recognize. “We are en route to your location.”

  “You are.” Slade made the reply a statement rather than a question. Big brothers did not answer questions. A Dark Guardian Admiral never did. He was the highest Commander within the Roteran soldiers.

  “We have much to discuss, brother. This line is not secure, so it will wait. My squadron and I are honored to assist with the ceremonies. You honored all Dark Guardians with what you did, Slade. You left before we could speak privately.”

  “I assumed it was best that way. My actions put you in an awkward position,” Slade admitted. “I did not want to be around to see your choice.”

  Slone’s jaw twitched. “You expected my squadron and me to side with the Admiral.”

  “I could not fault the decision.”

  “Blood comes first, always,” Slone said. “Father would be proud.”

  A tightness around his chest loosened. “I should have trusted you with what I found. It was wrong to go around you.”

  “You were within the confines of procedure,” Slone said. “I was the second in command. Being cautious made sense. We found many betrayers after you departed, some within my own squadron.”

  Anger rose within Slade, a protectiveness he hadn’t expected. “I should have stayed, made sure you were secure.”

  “No. Your departure was smart. It gave the Guardians time to heal, handle the fallout within our own ranks. Know you are welcome within any squadron whenever you wish.”

  “Thank you,” he said. His gaze slid over to Snow. “I’m content where I am.”

  “We will speak soon,” Slone said. “Tell your female about us so we do not frighten her.”

  “You can speak to her?” Marden shouted. “Why have you not done so?”

  “Brother,” Slone warned. “Tell me you have reached out to her.”

  Slade and his comrades could send their telepathic souls into the dimension between realities and where she was—the one warriors often maintained a telepathic connection to each other. But Slade also possessed a unique telepathic strength, one everyone within his bloodline wielded. He could speak across the planes. He would be able to speak with her if he sent his telepathic self there.

  But to do so, he’d have to release the prison he’d encased the Admiral in long ago. He’d put everyone at risk, including Snow, if he didn’t maintain his constant isolation of that bastard’s soul.

  Slade had to remain telepathically silent, as he had since he’d salvaged the Admiral’s soul. He’d communicated with his comrades through his other telepathic souls ever since. His own soul remained isolated, locked in a permanent battle. It was his penance.

  “Our spirits are with her. I took a warrior’s vow to not break my silence. Only my spirit is strong enough to keep him contained. I cannot release my hold on him.”

  “Yet you have. You have spoken with her on the telepathic realm,” Marden argued.

  “Yes, through other spirits, not mine,” he admitted. “My own spirit’s telepathic silence is the only thing keeping him secured. I won’t risk exposing her to him.” Slade looked over at Marden who had calmed enough to lean back in his seat. He understood more than anyone how violent some souls were. “He would harm her if given half a chance.”

  “Yes, he would,” Slone admitted. “It shames me to admit I’d forgotten you took on the former Admiral’s soul.”

  “Someone had to. I didn’t want any of you carrying him. At least within me his is no longer a Guardian.”

  “You will always be one of us, brother.” Slone fisted both hands and struck his chest. “We will see you soon.”

  He waited until the holo image died before speaking. “It pains me to not reach out to her, but the spirit would hurt her. I will not risk it.”

  “I understand,” Marden said. “The spirits keep her company. She knows we are here, even if none of us can speak with her. She is not alone.”

  Snow

  * * *

  I drifted. Unable to escape the confining mob of emotions, I burrowed behind the protective spirits. Each offered more of themselves, as if distracting me from the constant barrage of images, memories, and emotions. The more time I spent with them, the easier it became to identify the individual thoughts. Strangers. Species from all over.

  Their plights were a complicated tapestry I had no hope of solving.

  I couldn’t even solve my own plight—I was stuck in a realm beyond the psychic one, so far removed from where others tread there were no paths leading back. Murky dread, fear, anguish, and pain loomed around me everywhere. The screams, groans, and voices drowned out the reality unfolding around me on the physical plane. Someone gripped my hand. The steadfast presence anchored me to that plane, gave me a direction as a drifted within the…what was the opposite of a void?

  If I focused enough, I could identify those closest to me on the physical realm. Marden never moved, always there. Gripping my hand. Slade, Varik, Ren, Ashan, Dacian, and Zelig were almost always present as well. Their spirits alternated their sentry positions around me. So many. I never had any idea. Some I’d never met rarely left now, as if refusing to release their protective grip on me. Though I drifted, I was anchored.

  Because of my Shadows.

  Love.

  I loved them.

  Fiercely.

  I pushed the sensation through the spirits, each of them. So many. Then to the Shadows.

  Would I ever recover from whatever this was? I hoped so.

  Power radiated through the area.

  Shock rippled through the spirits surrounding me, as if they too sensed the strange presence striking us from the physical plane.

  I wished I could speak with the spirits protecting me, but all my attempts went unanswered, as if nothing would penetrate the thin barrier separating this existence from the telepathic realm they were within.

  A gasp escaped me as a presence thrust itself between me and the warrior spirits around me. Their rage struck in violent fury, but the man, the spirit looming within striking distance of me, remained unfazed. I remained frozen in place, defenseless. My heart pounded wildly. I heard Daxan and the others raging, screaming. Fighting.

  I heard them. Shock kept me mute. I didn’t know the man, yet I knew him. Deep, deep down, the spirits within Slade recognized him. He had found me, opened the doorway so I could hear the spirits my Shadows had sent to protect me.

  Leave them be. I ordered lamely.

  They can flee their plane whenever they wish. You are frozen, locked within the Rage. Yet your first thought is to protect the warrior spir
its around you. Humor and curiosity filled the voice.

  He offered me no name, didn’t offer a connection between himself and Slade. I sensed he was part of what my Shadow hid behind the silence, the deep void of nothingness was somehow tied to the man within my presence.

  A brother?

  Yes. That felt right. Yet he said nothing, so I kept my thoughts to myself. My Shadow would tell me when I saw him again. The man growled at the spirits when they surrounded him.

  They are mine. Leave them be or incur my wrath.

  And what would you do, female?

  I had no clue. Did my power over the Well work within this realm? It hadn’t so far. I didn’t even know where I was. As far as threats were concerned, mine was beyond lame. I said nothing. Knowledge was power, and I lacked any right now.

  You are quiet. Do you not wish to be rescued?

  Hope was a fickle beast, a cruel one. I knew better than expect a complete stranger to do what must be impossible. Were there a way out of this, my Shadows would have found it.

  You seem very confident.

  I am. There are none better than my Shadows. Now, leave. You agitate their spirits. They are too weary for the havoc you create.

  Masculine amusement drifted around me, waves of boisterous laughter I could hear if I focused hard enough. Keep fighting, for you and them. It is good to see my brother has found a worthy mate, Snow.

  I was right. He was Slade’s brother. I basked in my brilliance a moment. He disappeared.

  Wait. Come back.

  Nothing.

  I burrowed behind the protective spirits and focused on the new bead of hope Slade’s brother had given me. He knew my name.

  My Shadows found a way to communicate with me. I was not alone within this plane. I’d known all along I wasn’t, but the visit was the first real hope I had of returning to the physical plane.

  I love you, my Shadows.

  14

  Slade

  Slade sensed their presence before the vessel appeared on the sensors. Unlike most Admirals, Slone remained within the field, in his squadron. The Roteran Council had argued against the decision, but his brother declared it so. They’d reigned over their fellow Dark Guardians as a squadron, seven fierce leaders rather than one pompous one. From the field, alongside their fellow warriors in battle rather than aboard the space port above Roteran Prime.

  “They approach,” he commented.

  Zelig shifted beside him. “They have amassed many spirits; their strength is a tidal wave.”

  “Yes.” He worried for his brother of blood, the one who’d always remained steadfastly within his mind. Until the fateful day Slade changed everything for them both.

  “My spirits say he contacted Snow within the plane.”

  Slade squeezed his eyes shut and breathed a relieved, but shame-filled sigh. “I should have been the one to do that. I failed her.”

  “No, you keep her safe from the Admiral. Marden and I would have done the same. All of us would have. There is no shame in the choice you made,” Zelig said.

  The vessel trembled with the docking of the mightier Dark Guardian fighter. Six warriors appeared in tight formation moments later. The one in the center shoved his way through when their gazes locked. A moment’s shock rippled through Slade as he recounted those assembled. Guardian squadrons ran with seven warriors, as did all Shadows. Where was their seventh?

  “Brother.” Slone ate the distance up in two strides and drew Slade into a rib-crunching hug.

  “Brother.” No other words spilled forth. The spirits within him remained silent, stoic beneath the crush of relief, joy, and pleasure. “It’s been too long.”

  The admission dredged the darkest of his regrets. It’d been too long because he’d chosen to make it so. His brother’s squadron offered their sword arms in greeting, a symbolic gesture reserved to only fellow Guardians. Slade returned it quickly to each one even though he wasn’t one of them, not any longer.

  “Thank you for coming,” he said. “This is Zelig, squadron commander.”

  Introductions ensued. Tension wafted between the two squadrons. Marden and Zelig remained near him.

  “You have a strong female, worthy of a Roteran warrior,” Slone commented.

  “She is ours,” Marden growled.

  Slone’s squadron laughed but made no move to intercept as Marden faced off with Slone.

  “She’s chosen well,” his brother commented. “We will begin the blood bond ceremony immediately. Broc will coordinate with your medic while Enzo speaks with your historian.”

  Zelig nodded, motioned Varik and Dacian to accompany the two men who’d separated from their Guardian brethren. Marden’s jaw twitched as Ren and Ashan approached. Curiosity filled their auras as they observed the Guardians.

  “Slade was our seventh,” Slone stated. “He will remain our seventh.”

  The enormity of the statement thundered within the vessel. A six-warrior squadron was unfathomable. Slade had been a protector. It meant Slone, the Dark Guardian Admiral, was operating his squadron with only one. Rylen was the mightiest protector Slade had encountered, almost as strong telepathically as anyone. Protection of an entire squadron’s psychic plane was too much for one warrior. “Brother, you must replace me.”

  “Never.” One by one, the warriors repeated Slade’s reply.

  “Our squadrons are already bonded in spirit,” Ashan commented. “We will be a good blood bond match.”

  “Two of your warriors are younger. They will experience a tremendous burden,” Slone cautioned.

  “We are aware,” Ren said. “It is a warrior’s duty to carry the burdens of those within his squadron, his fellow Shadows.”

  “We will do anything for Snow,” Ashan said.

  The medics and historians returned. Both Slone’s warriors motioned for him to separate from the huddle.

  “What you say to me you say to them all,” Slone said. “We will soon be one squadron unified by blood. We have no secrets.”

  “Their spirits protect the female within the Oracle plane. If they retract them, the female will be defenseless,” Broc said.

  “Snow is never defenseless,” Varik said.

  “I will not leave her alone. Neither will my spirits,” Marden declared. “Two have steadfastly refused, despite my attempt to reign then in.”

  “Mine refuse as well,” Zelig said. “We will perform the ceremony without drawing our protection from her.”

  “That is not possible,” Enzo said.

  Slade admired Slone’s squadron. They’d once been his. “I trust Enzo and Broc. I trust them all, as I do you, brother. But we cannot leave her unprotected.”

  “There is a way to do both,” Marden said.

  “How?” Slone asked.

  “One of the ancients within me shows me images of her feeding energy to you all through our strongest telepath.” Marden glanced over at Slade. “I have always supported your silence, but it must end to save her.”

  “How would her feeding energy to us all help?” Ashan asked.

  “When Slade siphons the energy to us all, a bond will form on the Oracle plane, where she is. It seals us to her and each other while we perform the blood bond,” Enzo said. “It is an ancient rite, one which hasn’t been used in many generations. The spirit within you must be quite old to recall it. It requires tremendous power, likely more than your female can provide.”

  “Power will not be an issue,” Slone commented. “It is time to release your grip. You have carried the burden alone too long.”

  “Once I do, I will not be able to contain him again,” he admitted. Shame burned within him.

  “He will be dealt with,” Rylen stated. “I will assist your connection to the female if you wish.”

  “As will I,” Slone offered.

  “I will be fine.” His spirits hummed with anxiousness, clawed to be released. He’d wanted to form the telepathic bond and ease her suffering since the fiasco began. Surely he could do something to
alleviate her burden.

  It meant shoveling his own burden to the warriors around him, the ones he’d fought alongside since childhood. His family.

  He removed his dagger and dragged the blade across each palm. He passed it to Zelig first, who repeated his motions and offered it to Slone. One by one, the warriors formed the bonding circle around Snow. The words to seal the bond would only be uttered after they had each withdrawn all the spirits protecting their mate. It was up to him to ensure her safety.

  No. He was not alone.

  He had never been.

  Eyes closed, he slowly released the dark veil he’d shrouded his telepathic side in years ago. Violent rage pounded against the shield. Pain crackled along his temples, deep in the marrow of every bone. He gritted his teeth and focused on the energy within his Tezan souls. The pure, raw power settled around the former Guardian Admiral, the bastard who had killed hundreds of innocent civilians and betrayed the entire Guardian brotherhood. It’d been too long.

  Slade maintained a shield around that part of himself, the telepathic powers, so long he had weakened. The spirits within him roused, strengthened his attempt to reconnect with the ability he’d shunned to protect his fellow warriors and punish the bastard he’d contained. Telepathic bonds punctured his defenses with ease. Slone, then Rylen. The two Guardians stood alongside him, helped carve away the last of the dark tomb he’d sealed the soul within.

  Dark malevolence struck him. Slone and Rylen moved within his mind, struck the spirit.

  Slade?

  Snow. Her tentative voice within his mind startled him a moment. She couldn’t be within the telepathic plane. How had she stretched her awareness to this plane? Had she found her own path back, or was it something else?

  Focus. She senses your pain and battle along the mating bond you and the others are forming with her. She is not within striking range within this plane. She is on the Oracle plane fully.

  Slone’s voice boomed within his mind. Silence ensued a few moments as the last of Slade’s steely grip on the spirit was removed. He stumbled beneath the force of his telepathic powers returning. They pulsated within his veins. His brother and Rylen grappled with the former Admiral, but their grip on him loosened.