Tenacity (Rise of the Iliri Book 5)

by Auryn Hadley

  "Shit," Ryek laughed. "You could buy Syhar for what's there. That's almost eight kilos. Those things are heavy as shit."

  "And now four of it's yours," Sal told him. "Just remember, they don't cut like ceramic. They'll drag."

  "Fuck, Sal. Why me?" His eyes were locked on the weapons.

  "You like them, you're damned good, and I think they'll make you better. You still need to get sheaths made. They're longer than most of what we use."

  "Congrats, man." Tyr slapped his back. "I found a nice little Iliran place that does leather work. C'mon and I'll show you. Sal, can I borrow your kid?"

  "Which one?"

  "Either, or both, actually. My Iliran sucks. Rhyx drives a better bargain."

  "Just don't let her bite anyone?" Zep begged.

  Tyr chuckled. "Not more than once, right?"

  Ryek reached over and set his hand next to Sal's on the table. When she looked up, he glanced down respectfully. "Thank you," he said, clearly meaning it.

  "You're welcome." Sal placed her hand on his. "Go get the sheaths. We leave in two days."

  They nodded and left, Ryek holding the knives tight in his fist.

  "You just gave away four kilos of steel?" Celso asked.

  Sal nodded. "It's worth twice as much in that man's hands. Sparred with him once when he had mine. I had to work for it. He's linked now, and he's got steel, so he'll be as good as Cyno."

  Blaz grinned at her. "But not as good as you?"

  "I dunno. Give him a week to learn them and we'll see."

  "So what's with the hand?" Rais asked. "There's a lot going on here that we simply don't understand, Sal."

  Blaz answered for her. "Iliri have some issues with touch. Strange things happen when you touch them, so anyone with a brain asks first." He looked at Sal from the corner of his eye.

  How's he smell? Zep asked.

  Same as always, babe, she assured him. He's intrigued by me, but not really attracted to me. You don't need to worry.

  Zep nodded, grabbing her hand to kiss it. I hated it when you were pretending to be his girl. Not sure if you ever knew that.

  She giggled at him, nodding. Yeah. I knew. We all did.

  "So, Sal?" Lorenz asked, his tone no longer light. "Are you coming back with us?"

  "Yeah." She was well aware that each face was trying to hide desperation. "I've got friends there, too. We didn't walk away because we wanted to. We walked away because Parliament gave us no other option." She stood. "Speaking of that, Jase is coming back. I need to talk with him about organizing it."

  She patted Zep on the shoulder then headed for the stairs to their room, knowing Jase was thinking of a bath and wanting to be there when he returned. She heard Blaz excuse himself behind her. When he caught up on the first landing, she wasn't surprised.

  "Hey?" he asked as he grabbed her shoulder.

  She leaned against the wall, turning to face him. "Been a long time, Blaz," she said.

  He nodded. "Yeah. Things still good with you and LT?"

  "Yeah. I know it's confusing to humans, but yes, things are very good. He's just handling a few things in the lower district for me right now. Zep's on guard duty."

  "Looks like that's a lot more than just guarding between you two."

  "It is. A whole lot more." She sighed and pushed her hair back. "Ahnor, Dernor, Taunor. That's how iliri rank our mates. Jase - Cyno - is Ahnor, Blaec is Dernor, and Zep is Taunor."

  Blaz glanced away, a wry smile on his lips. "So you're fucking a human. Sounds like it's good to be iliri."

  "It is," she agreed, amused.

  "But, why Zep?"

  "Why do you care?" she asked back, tilting her head slightly as she flicked her ears forward.

  Her eyes watched every nuance of his face. His body and his scent were telling her different stories. If Ran Sturmgren could learn to control his scent, maybe Blaz had as well. He met her eyes easily, like the human he was, but a few small lines played at the corner of his eyes.

  "Just wanted to make sure those bites in Prin weren't a waste of time." He shrugged. "And that you don't take the things my guys say the wrong way."

  She lifted her chin, feeling her ears turn back as she refused to let him get out of answering vaguely. "There's been a lot of things they say that don't quite line up with what you do."

  "Like what?"

  "You don't do favors for anyone outside the 112th. You aren't known to be especially friendly to outsiders at all, so it's not just favors. You have a thing for my kind, and Lorenz went out of his way to let me know that. What game are you playing, Blaz?"

  "Sal," he said, stepping closer, "it's not like that."

  "The last time we talked, you told me you thought it could be."

  "Yeah," he admitted. "Could is the word, there. Look. I was pretty fucked up a year ago, and you helped me through it. I just owe you one." He huffed a single laugh and glanced away. "I assume you don't just go around making out with humans on a regular basis."

  "Well," Sal teased, "Zep?"

  Blaz shrugged, defeated. "Point made. I also wanted to make sure you knew. That shit you do? When you touched me?" He rested his hand on her shoulder and looked at her intently. "It does work. Not just at the time. I didn't want to say anything in front of them, ya know? But I thought you should know."

  Sal reached up and touched Blaz's cheek, curious, wanting to see the memory. Over a year ago, the man had been a wreck, mourning the death of his lover and superior officer, while Sal had been trying to hide her relationship with Blaec from the CFC. Blaz had played her lover in public to prevent Blaec from being court-martialed. To give the relationship credibility, she'd given him lover's bites, seducing his mind as she did it, to mitigate the pain.

  With her hand on his cheek, she closed her eyes and sifted through the thoughts that hammered at her. Blaz had been even more of a mess than she'd known, suicidal with his grief. Helping her had been his only reason for living. When she'd made him feel desire again, it had opened up so much more and been the first step out of his depression. For weeks he'd dreamed of her, wanting the feeling of something, until he'd realized that it was the feeling, not her, that he was seeking. She caught a glimpse of him with some woman, but the man was suddenly wrenched from her grasp.

  "Do not touch her," Zep growled, spinning Blaz to face him, a long ceramic blade pointed at his chest.

  "Zep," Sal gasped, her mind spinning as she recovered from being wrenched away so quickly.

  Blaz glared at the large man holding him and tapped his own knife against Zep's ribs. "I won't go down alone," Blaz warned, "and I'm not trying to take your girl."

  Jase seemed to appear from nowhere. His own dagger gently touched Blaz's neck. "Yeh, ya would. Now put away the weapons."

  "All of you," Sal demanded. "I mean it." The two humans glared at each other, unwilling to move. She snarled and grabbed the knife from Blaz's hand, whispering, "Now."

  Zep's hand released his blade, and it fell to the ground, but Jase sucked in a breath, taking a half step back. His body did not give in to Sal's mental command. Somehow, he still held his blade. When he glanced at Sal, the corner of his lip twitched upward, making her eyes widen in surprise. She'd intended for them both to drop their weapons. Anyone in a link with her should be under her control, yet Jase's hand refused to release.

  The iliri assassin looked at Zep, then put his blade away. "It's ok, big brother. There's na there but history."

  "I'm sorry, Sal," Zep muttered, stepping back.

  Blaz looked between them, confused. "Ok, first, I'm not dumb enough to touch your girl. Whoever's girl she is." He pointed at the knife on the ground, "And that's why. I just wanted to thank her for something personal!"

  "Zep?" Sal asked, feeling his emotions battering her.

  "We're good," he grumbled, snagging his weapon from the floor and putting it away.

  "No, you're not." She gestured for him to come closer. "Here, baby, just look." She grabbed his hand, pulling him to her, a
nd passed the memory of their talk, embracing the emotions of it. There's nothing to be jealous of, she assured him.

  "Ya good?" Jase asked Blaz.

  Blaz just shrugged, holding up his hands. "Man, every time I think I'm getting used to you all, you pull shit like this. Seriously. What the fuck?"

  "Ya would na understand," Jase said.

  "Try me."

  Jase nodded at the pair a few steps away. "Ya make her happy. Zep and I can feel it. He knows he's different from Sal and I, and he worries he's too different. Feeling another human make her happy makes him worried." Jase tapped his chest, "In here, man. The three of us are together in here in a way ya can na understand. That does na mean we're always together in our heads."

  "And LT?"

  Jase shook his head. "Nah, just us three. Think of it like we mixed our souls up when we kept the dumb fuck from dying."

  Zep chuckled, hearing what Jase said. "One way to put it, bro."

  "Closest," Jase said. "I do na know how to explain it otherwise."

  "It's called cessivi," Sal told her friend. "It means we're always open to each other. I know where they are, we all know what the other feels, and we know who is feeling it. They're always with me. They probably have a pretty good idea of what you just shared with me, too."

  "No," Zep admitted. "I felt your surprise, and that the touch of his skin isn't like the others. It doesn't bother you."

  "And Zep did na like it," Jase added.

  Blaz lifted his hands and backed to the wall, leaning against it casually. "Zep," he said, looking up at the dark man. "I'll swear something to ya. Sal and I will never happen. I owe her a lot, but I have no interest in those teeth fucking me up again. I have scars from it."

  "So does he." Jase tilted his head to Zep.

  "I don't want anymore," Blaz countered. "We good, man? I just wanted to thank her for saving my life, in her own way."

  "Yeah," Zep said, looking at Sal proudly. "She does that. We're good, Blaz. She showed me."

  "She loves you, man," Blaz told him. "I saw it when you walked in with her. We all did."

  Zep smiled and nodded. "Yeah, she kinda does. Still don't know why, but she does."

  Chapter 15

  The White Stone was busy that night. Sal sat in a corner booth, sipping at a tall glass of absinthe, leaning against Blaec as they chatted with the men of the 112th. The door opened, and all eyes turned to it. Risk and Tilso stepped inside, then paused. Shaden followed, her eyes wide, but both men put an arm around her and made their way across the room, shielding her from the crowd.

  We're over here, Sal sent, and they changed direction. "Move over," she told Blaec. "Give Shade the corner."

  Aleks, one of the Conglomerate elites, asked quietly, "She have a run in with Terric?"

  "Yeah," Blaec said. "For years."

  "Gotcha." He turned to the man next to him and whispered something softly. That man nodded and whispered to the man on his other side.

  "Thanks," Blaec told them.

  "Been seeing it in Escea, too. We'll keep our distance."

  The group shifted, putting Shade in the corner, Sal on one side, Risk on the other. Shade sighed in relief. Sal pushed the drink at her as Tilso kissed his lover then left with a devious grin on his face.

  "Try it." Sal pointed at the green fluid.

  Shade carefully sniffed at the glass and took a careful sip. "I dunno," she said looking at it. "I think I like the mead better."

  "Then mead it is," Risk said, gesturing for the staff.

  "You ok with the Blades, yet?" Sal asked her softly.

  "Yeah. You're right, they aren't like," Shade glanced across the table, "the other men."

  "The 112th are good, too. They're friends from the Conglomerate. You won't be alone with them. They won't let it happen."

  "Thanks, Sal." Shade sighed. "I'm trying really hard."

  "I know. We're here for you, and we all understand. You sure you want to stay with us?"

  She nodded. "I spent all day with him, you know? I like him. That, and I can help. You saw what I did this morning!"

  "Oh yeah," Sal agreed. "I'd love to have you with us, but I'm not about to conscript you. It's your choice."

  Shade giggled. "That's what everyone says about everything around here."

  Sal shrugged. "It's kinda true."

  "You want me to link, though, right?"

  Sal nodded. "I want you to. I can't make you a Black Blade until you do."

  "Why not?"

  "Hard to relay orders. Hard to share. It just makes you a closer part of our family."

  Shade nodded, thinking about that. "Will they always be in my head?"

  "Not really. Think of it like them standing outside a door. You can open it and they'll be there, but you can close it and have privacy, too."

  "Ok. Arctic said you do a thing where you all share more, sometimes." She looked up at Sal with her large eyes, trying to be brave.

  "Yep. It's a meld. They can't hide anything from you. It's like being cessivi for a moment."

  "Does it hurt?"

  Sal shook her head. "In the meld, you can feel their pain and their wounds, but you know it's theirs and not yours. They're good men, Shade. Every one of them."

  "I'm just embarrassed," she admitted. "It's that more than fear. I mean, I'm not a soldier."

  "Doesn't matter." Blaec leaned around Sal to see the girl. "Tilso isn't either, but he's with us. So are the pups."

  "Can I turn it off if I don't like it?"

  Sal paused, thinking. "Kinda. You can't turn it off, not really. We can only drop you from the link. It's kinda like..." Sal tried to think of a good example. "It's like putting you in a house out in the country. The rest of us are sharing rooms on the same hall here, and while you still have a door, there's no one on the other side."

  Shade smiled and nodded, understanding. "So, can you do it?"

  "No," Blaec said, his eyes on Sal.

  "Yes," Sal told her. "I can."

  "No," Blaec insisted. "Let Arctic."

  "Why?" Shade asked him.

  "It's not her skill, not really. Let Roo," he told Sal.

  "I love you, Blaec, but you have to stop worrying." Sal gave him a pointed look. "I can link her as well as Arctic now."

  He refused to look away. "I love you too, sweetness, but you've challenged yourself more than any Kaisae in history. Each time you push the boundaries, something else comes up. Don't rush it."

  "Time won't wait for me to learn, Blaec. Terric isn't going to give me a holiday."

  He groaned. "You're right," he said still looking directly into her eyes.

  Sal glanced down and squeezed his hand. "I can do it, Shade."

  "Now?" Shade asked.

  "Whenever you're ready. I just need to touch you and have you cooperate."

  Shade held out her hand to Sal. "I'm ready, Kaisae."

  The men across the table watched intently, intrigued by the idea of seeing someone added to a link. A few leaned over to get a better view, but none leaned closer. Sal held the girl's hand gently and stared into her eyes.

  "This is going to feel strange," she said. "You'll feel something in your head. It's just me. Don't fight me, ok?"

  Shade nodded, breathing slightly faster. Sal slipped into her mind, shocked at how different it was than any she'd seen before. She gently felt for the switch Arctic had shown her and found not only it but other unique structures.

  Sal unclogged the entrance to Shade's mind, opening it for their thoughts to enter and hers to pass through, while she also reached for a tether to Arctic's mind. Linking Shade in, she warned him, then felt him toss her the line. Sal carefully attached it into Shade's consciousness, securing it deeply into the recesses of her brain. When she released her hold, Sal asked, Can you hear me? privately to the girl.

  "Yeah," Shade whispered in awe.

  Sal nodded and relaxed. "Well, I know why you're talent isn't anything like we've seen before. Your mind isn't like either a human's or
an iliri's."

  "So what am I?" Shade asked.

  "You're Shaden. That's all that matters. Now let me show you how this works."

  Sal quietly explained to her about the private and public channels, demonstrating almost everything silently. Before she took her public, she warned the girl exactly what the others would experience. When she asked them all to introduce themselves, Shade didn't flinch. She smiled, instead.

  You all feel so nice, Shade told them.

  We try, Arctic said. These are good people, Shade. I swear.

  And tomorrow, we'll ink you in, Risk teased. I hear silver goes well with red.

  Shade laughed at that, patting Risks arm. "I promise I won't fry you, ok?"

  "Deal," he agreed.

  They spent the next few hours drinking and dancing. Zep pulled Sal to the dance floor, first, but Jase cut in. Blaec soon demanded his turn. The common room was crowded with both locals and Anglians, most of them male. While the Blades were enjoying themselves, a Syharan citizen pushed toward the table, obviously intoxicated.

  "Hey, pretty one? Dance with me?" he slurred, holding out his hand to Shade.

  She shrank back into her chair, her eyes wide, shaking her head.

  "Come on," the man said, leaning closer. "It's just a dance."

  "Back off," Celso, from the 112th, warned him.

  "Shut it, human."

  The elite stood and pushed the man away. "Human or not, you don't mess with the Blades. Now back off, got it?"

  "Fuck," the drunk muttered. "Just wanted to dance."

  "Not with the Kaisae's sister you don't. Trust me. She's not dancing tonight."

  "Fucking humans," the man grumbled, wandering away.

  "Thanks," Shade said softly.

  "Anytime," he assured her. "Celso, by the way. I already heard you're Shade. We may be in blue, but we got your back."

  "Why?"

  He shrugged. "We owe the Blades a few times over. LT helped us out, Razor served with us for a bit, and of course Sal. It always comes back to Sal, doesn't it?"

  She nodded. "It's because she's a Kaisae. So why aren't you Anglian?"

  Celso let out a long sigh. "It's just not that easy. I've got parents, a beautiful wife, and the cutest little girl you've ever seen. The rest of them are the same. Our parents have siblings and parents of their own, plus everything we've worked our whole lives for. Moving just isn't easy for us."