“Right. Way too public.”
Allie stared ahead as Liam drove through the dark tunnel. The drive was smooth for a while and then the path turned into little more than a dirt road, dotted with puddles and potholes. The way was bumpy and slow going.
“Is that … lake water gushing down the walls?” Allie’s voice shook and she closed her eyes.
“Yep.” Darius made a loud popping sound on the “P.”
“I’m just going to shut my eyes and you tell me when we’re there, or when I should start swimming.”
“Will do.” Darius gripped her hand tightly. He didn’t like this any better than she did.
“It’s freezing down here,” Allie whispered.
“That’s probably for the best,” Liam said. “The mud’s frozen so we shouldn’t get stuck.”
It took far longer than the ferryboat would have, but they finally drove out of the long tunnel that she was pretty sure flooded quite frequently. They arrived in the underground, but it was part of the underground she’d never seen before. The vaulted ceilings were just like the main hall she passed through every day, but this was a different hall, much smaller … and deeper. It was cold when she stepped out of the car. She could see her breath.
“What is this place?” Allie asked.
“The crypt,” Darius said.
“Fitting name,” she murmured as she followed him across the intricate stone floor, covered in tile mosaics. Huge archways led to different rooms and a stone staircase rose above them. Allie headed for it, assuming it led to the common room above.
“Not yet, little one. We have business to attend to first.” Liam guided her toward an arched opening in the wall.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Darius asked.
She wanted to tell him no, that she could handle this on her own. That she didn’t want to drag him into her mess, but she nodded and took his offered hand. There would be few secrets between them after tonight.
~~~
CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE
“Seriously, what is this place?” Allie asked as Liam led her into a dark room. It was cold and damp, which meant they were probably at the deepest part of the lake.
“It’s, uh—”
“It’s our totally illegal prison,” Darius said.
“Prison?”
“Not exactly,” Gregg said.
Allie turned to see him standing in front of a door with bars in the window.
“Looks like a prison,” she muttered.
“How are you, Allie?”
“Glad to see you.” She rushed across the room but stopped herself. She remembered the fear she’d seen on his face when she did what she did.
“I’m so proud of you, Allie.” Gregg pulled her into his arms without hesitation. “You saved us.”
“Is … is everyone okay? Aidan?”
“Aidan is fine, thanks to you. And you were right—they all needed to be there. I should have listened to you.”
“Ming?” Her lip trembled at the thought of what she had caused.
“Aye, we lost Ming and her parents too. They tried to avenge her death and were no match against Livia’s people. The family is a wreck. Imogen and Lucien were taken. We don’t know yet if they were executed. She has such a rare gift, I believe they will be safe. At least for the time being, and we may be able to work out a trade. Dean was also taken, along with three of my lieutenants.” Gregg’s voice was weary and full of sorrow for the family they lost.
“Gen?” Allie’s eyes filled with tears.
“You saved her life. You did good, sweetheart. We’ve managed to come through this well enough.”
“And Erin?” Darius asked.
“She is still with us. Thanks to Allie.”
“Greyson? George? Naomi?” Allie asked.
“All fine.
“How is Jin? Chloe?”
“In shock. This won’t be easy for them. We’ve never dealt with this before. It will take time.”
“How did you beat us back?” Darius asked.
“Helicopter. We had to move quickly,” Gregg said.
“Why are we here?” Allie asked, gazing around.
“We have a few … guests. We have no other choice but to keep them here until we decide what to do with them.”
“Allie?” The voice sent a shock right through her. She turned to find a familiar face on the other side of a prison cell.
“Quinn?” She rushed over to him, reaching for the bars. “Why is he in a cell?”
“It’s not safe for us to be with the family yet,” Quinn said miserably. “I won’t trust myself until I’m in full control of my power again.”
“He asked us to put them here,” Gregg explained.
“It’s a long story, Allie. But I’m glad to see you.” Quinn reached through the bars to clasp her hands.
“I’m so sorry, Quinn. It should have been me.” For the last eight months, she’d wanted to apologize for what happened. His face was haggard and drawn. He looked so much older now.
“I’m so glad it wasn’t you. It was better this way.” He gestured over his shoulder to a petite girl sitting quietly on the bed in the corner of the cell. She sat with her knees against her chest, a look of shock and relief on her face.
Allie wanted to hug Quinn, to ask him about his friend, but there was something in his eyes. He wasn’t quite himself yet and might not be for a long time.
“Just … don’t judge her too harshly, Allie. She’s a heinous bitch, but she’s had a hard life. She’s never really had a choice.”
“Who?”
“Livia,” Gregg said. “She’s here. We couldn’t risk letting her escape this time.”
“Take me to her, please?”
“Are you sure?” Gregg asked her.
“Yes.” It was time they had a talk.
“I suppose you want Liam with you?”
“Yes.” She reached for Liam’s hand, leaving Darius behind with Quinn.
“She’s in a pissy mood, as you can probably imagine. And she’s not thrilled with you.”
“I bet not.” Allie heaved a huge sigh as she followed Gregg into another room where the cell bars practically hummed with magnetic energy.
“Oh good, you brought the brat.”
Allie cringed at the sight of the tall woman, pacing her cell like a caged panther. She looked the same as she had two summers ago, when Allie caught a glimpse of her leaving their house in New Zealand.
“Do you know why you’re looking for me?” Allie asked. She was proud her voice didn’t shake.
“Of course. But I won’t be telling any of you that.” Livia eyed Allie up and down, scouring her face like a woman starved for answers.
“Not the reason your boss wants me. Do you know why you are so intrigued by me? Why time and again you come looking for me?”
“What do you know?” Livia paced to stand as close to the bars as she dared.
“You’re my sister.” Through all of the thousands of visions she’d had in the last few days, Allie was only able to put the pieces together when she saw Livia again. Not until she stood face to face with her. But she got it now. Livia had their father’s coloring and height, and she had their mother’s eyes and temperament. But circumstances had made her the hard, jaded woman who stood before her now.
“Not possible.”
“Of course … Alivia,” Gregg whispered. “I haven’t thought of her in more than a century.” He stared at Livia, putting the pieces together. “Do you remember when you were taken?” he asked. “You were so young. I can’t imagine you could remember much of your natural mother and father.”
“I was adopted. I’m no natural born.”
Allie could see it in her sister’s eyes—she wanted to know everything, to fill in the gaps in her memory. The part of her life that didn’t make any sense. Allie knew what that was like.
“You remember a woman with hair like mine, don’t you? You said it the moment you laid eyes on me
in that warehouse last year when I was the one behind bars. I remember her too, just vaguely.”
“The necklace? Let me see it,” Livia demanded.
Allie tugged the chain from under her coat and held it in the light.
Livia did the same, pulling a long chain tucked under her jacket. The pendants were nearly identical. The serpentine figure around Livia’s necklace was more clearly an ouroboros with ruby red eyes.
“It makes no difference. I was raised by the man I call father. That is all that matters.” Livia turned her back to them. She was a strong, proud woman. She wouldn’t accept this easily.
“I don’t know you. I don’t know who you work for. I don’t know anything about you, but you’re my sister,” Allie took a step forward.
“She isn’t worth the effort, little one.” Liam stood beside her.
“She’s my sister.” Allie looked up at her brother. His face was hard as stone.
“You saw what she did to Ming and Jin?” he said.
“She broke them somehow, but I don’t understand. I can’t fathom how Ming could really be dead.”
“She broke their Complement bond. And to make it even more unnecessarily tragic, she murdered Ming Lao in front of their daughter.”
“To be fair, I was aiming for the other one. It’s usually easier for the woman to survive without her Complement, especially when she has natural children. I was trying to be nice,” Livia said.
The rage surged within her again, itching to be released, but Allie kept a tight rein. She was more in control now. She wouldn’t lose it again.
“Little sister,” Livia sneered. “What a joke. I’ll get out of this hellhole of yours and, so help me, I will take you with me. I’ll break you just like I did your buddy Quinn. I’ll wear your gifts like a cloak and then I’ll hand you over to my father. He’s been looking for you for thousands of years.”
“That’s enough for tonight,” Gregg said.
“What will you do with her?” Allie asked as she turned to leave, ignoring Livia’s vitriol.
“She will be treated kindly, but we can’t let her go. Not yet.”
“I-I’ll come see you again,” Allie said.
Livia scared her to death, but Allie wanted to know her. If she could be redeemed … if she could be the woman Allie only vaguely remembered from the visions she had during her Awakening, then she wanted to give her that chance. It was what their parents would want.
“Don’t bother. Go live your little charmed life and forget about me.”
Allie whirled back toward her sister, marching right up to the bars. “I don’t know anything about what you’ve been through, Livia. But you don’t know shit about me and what I’ve been through either. You and I can be enemies, or we can learn to work together, filling in the gaps for each other. There’s a lot I could tell you about our parents. It’s up to you which way this will go. You can bend or you can break, but something tells me you’re too strong and too smart to break. I know I am.”
~~~
Allie followed Gregg from the cell, leaving Liam behind to watch over Livia, Quinn and his friend … and the other one. Allie could sense him in another cell, deep within the confines of the underground, even deeper than where they were now. She could feel the pulse of his Immortality all around her. The closer she was to him, the stronger she sensed it. I wonder if I can give it back? In her rage, her judgment led her to protect Aidan. But she wasn’t sure anyone deserved what she'd done. Allie shuddered. She couldn’t even fathom how she was capable of doing something so monstrous.
“It seems we need to have a chat before you can go rest,” Gregg said as Darius joined them and they made their way up the steep stone staircase. “This bond you share has no doubt left you both completely baffled.”
“You could say that. Da, what is this?” Darius asked.
“It is a very ancient bond. And Lord knows I never would have expected it from you two. Few will ever know what it means to have what you have. Fortunately, I spent nearly all my life sharing such a bond with a very important woman.” Gregg led them into his office. Allie knew what he was getting at. That woman was her mother.
“Allie, if you want to truly understand this bond, there should be no secrets between you two. Do you have anything you need to tell Darius before we continue?” He gestured for them to take a seat on the sofa.
Allie turned to face Darius. “I think he means he shared this kind of bond with my mother,” Allie whispered.
Gregg nodded.
“Lily?” Darius frowned.
“Carson and Lily are the only mother and father I have ever known, but my biological parents were Kassandre and Ashar. I just found out last year.”
“So … you’re a natural born. And your parents were pretty … impressive.” Darius nodded as if that were the end of it.
“Livia is my natural-born sister,” Allie added. “Kassandre—our mother—was the daughter of Alísun, the last Queen of Indriell.” She felt it when his heart skipped a beat—hers mimicking his.
“The prophecy?” Darius managed not to choke on the word.
“It’s about me.”
“It’s about all of you,” Gregg added. “Remember, the prophecy says, ‘He—or she as it turns out—will surround herself with her equals.’ Not her equal, which is obviously Aidan, but her equals. Plural.”
“Sorry I seem to have dragged you into this.” Allie hung her head. She loved Darius and the last thing she ever wanted was to force him into a role he didn’t want.
“Are you kidding? This is awesome.” Darius flashed her a grin. “Pleased to meet you, Your Highness.”
“Knock it off, Dare.” She punched his shoulder with a quick jab.
“We’re getting off-subject,” Gregg said. “Kassandre was my Syntrophos.”
“Syntrophos? I’ve never heard that term before,” Darius said.
“It’s not common knowledge. Those who have it tend to keep it to themselves.”
“What does it mean?” Allie asked.
“In the Greek translation, Syntrophos means foster sibling, as in the old way when a child would foster with another family to learn a trade or become a warrior or knight. Kassandre was my Syntrophos and Ashar's Complement. She was the glue that held us all together. She was our anchor. Ashar and I were like brothers and she was … everything. I was her left hand in battle and he was her right. She was my comrade-in-arms. She was my best friend and the love of Ashar’s life. Together, the three of us were one. When they died … a piece of me went with them.”
“But it’s nothing like a Complement bond, right?” Darius asked. “No weird ménage relationship that I really do not want to hear about happening between my parents and Allie’s. Please tell me you all weren’t, like, romantically involved?”
“Ew, Darius? Did you have to go there? My brain never went there. What's wrong with you?” Allie glared at him.
“What? I’m a little worried. I’m crazy about you, but at the same time, I don’t really see you that way … but I also wouldn’t say a little somethin’ somethin’ might never happen between us once you’re older.”
“It’s a complicated relationship, son.” Gregg laughed. “It will not make much sense to anyone outside of your relationship. But I can assure you our Syntrophos bond was never anything weird or kinky or inappropriate. So let’s let that be the end of such discussion, please.”
“This sounds so complicated.” Allie sighed. She couldn't deal with complicated.
“Aye, it is. But when Naeemah and I finally bonded, she gave us the balance we desperately needed. Before then, it was not always easy. Jealousy plagued us for years, but our bond kept us close and we dealt with it.”
“Like walking a tightrope,” Allie said.
“Your mother always said the same thing.” Gregg chuckled.
“So this is something that has always been?” Darius asked.
“The Syntrophos bond began with the earliest Queens of Indriell. The queen’s council w
as made up of the Syntrophos who were the heads of their noble houses. They acted as her council, but they were also her army, despite their small numbers. They were that powerful. Some say they were the direct descendants of the original Immortals. Some say they are mere legend—that when Zeus separated their souls, he broke these few into thirds and not halves. Some believe the Syntrophos only arise when the world is in need of them. The stories are just stories, but I am living proof the bond is real.”
Allie squirmed in her seat. She loved Darius, but this was intense. And after everything that passed between her and Aidan before all of this began, she wasn’t sure how she would be able to handle this—loving them both so fiercely. It seemed like a doomed situation and she refused to come between the brothers.
“After the Great War, the Syntrophos who survived the executions were precious few,” Gregg continued. “Those who lived disappeared, but their bloodlines have carried on. Even mortals have legends about them. In the fourth century B.C.E., mortal historians called them the Sacred Band of Thebes, an army of one hundred and fifty ‘lovers.’”
“Lovers?” Allie asked.
“Aye, but perhaps the more correct term would be an army of ‘beloved.’ The army fought in teams of three, the strongest at the center with the left and right fighting alongside them, but always with the purpose of protecting their center. There were many women who led as the anchor. Mortal historians like to make men responsible for all the great strides in history, but women have always been more capable than mortal men have ever wanted to admit. The Sacred Band of Thebes was invincible and they were successful because they each cared deeply for those who fought at their sides. That was the first time in mortal history where the Syntrophos was most plainly evident.”
Allie wasn't sure if she was in the right mental state for a history lesson. But Gregg's voice was filled with such passion she clung to his every word, hoping he would say something that would help her understand the warring emotions she had for both Aidan and Darius.
“Plato even spoke of it at his symposium.” Gregg cleared his throat as he continued.
“—If there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of lovers and their beloved, they would be the very best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonor, and emulating one another in honor; and when fighting at each other’s side, although a mere handful, they would overcome the world.”
Emerge: The Judgment: (Book 2) Page 27
