Tenacity (Rise of the Iliri Book 5)

by Auryn Hadley

  The male twitched his tail, nearly wagging like a canine, then touched Rais's mind. I can help.

  "Ok?"

  Pig laughed, but it sounded more relieved than amused. "He's a linker. He's also without a pack." He looked to the female on his other side, nodded, then back. "Rais, he's yours for as long as you want him. Rragri will not mind."

  "Yeah..." He caught Pig's eye, then nodded. "I'll do everything I can. Fuck politics. Just stay safe over here."

  Pig nodded, his shoulders finally relaxing. "Just save her. She's the only thing that can stop this war, and I owe Blaec that much. We'll work out the details later, but I'm trusting you, Rais."

  "I'll make sure you don't regret it." Then, for the first time, he reached out for his unit with his mind. 112th! We need to move. The Kaisae needs us.

  Chapter 28

  "Makiel Geirr," Sal growled, lunging at the end of her chain.

  "Thought you said you'd win?" he taunted, soldiers clustered around him, tending to his wounds.

  Sal lifted her lips in a rabid smile and pulled harder. Behind her, the bolt shifted again, slowly working its way free even as the collar cut into her throat. "I swore to my Dernor that I would avenge him. You are what you always wanted now: a human. You can't even sense my thoughts. I took it all. I crippled you," she growled. "You killed my lover! That's my mate, and he's dead! Dead! You killed him, and I will make you pay for that. I will make all of Terric pay for that!" She paused, closing her eyes.

  "Oh fuck," Narnx breathed, backing away. "Not me, Sal, please not me."

  From behind the Emperor, a single Terran soldier rushed forward, his knife in his hand. The guards stopped him - one with a sword to the chest - but another came to take his place. Over and over, loyal soldiers attacked. Alone, they were no match, but Narnx understood.

  When they killed the fourth, it stopped, or seemed to, until a cry rose up on the far side of the camp. She'd changed her tactics. No longer was she trying to kill the most heavily guarded man. Now, she just wanted destruction. On the ground before him, Narnx watched the delicate girl's lip curl in a silent snarl.

  "Get the Emperor out of here!" Vitus ordered, and men scrambled to obey.

  A terrified soldier rushed across the edge of her circle, looking for a quick way out of the carnage. Instinctually, she pounced. Leaping at him like a beast, she grabbed his arm, spinning him farther into the reach of her chain. The man stumbled, and she was on him again, her teeth tearing into his chest, fabric ripping as she sought both revenge and the food she had been denied for days.

  "Get her off him!" Vitus yelled. "Don't let her get the swords."

  The Black Widows drew their blades and tried to rush in, but Sal was ready. The first man swung, but her arm blocked it, the blade hitting bone. She roared in pain but never slowed, reaching up to break his neck before darting to the next man. She slapped her hand against his face before he could duck, then hit the end of her chain, but it was too late for him.

  With a thought, the soldier turned on his unit, protecting the Kaisae as she walked back to her meal. Sal yanked open the dead man's shirt, exposing his flesh, and sank her teeth into his soft belly. She ripped at the human, tearing great hunks away and gulping them back. After days without being fed, her frenzy needed fuel, but the human meat would dilute her maast.

  "I said kill them," she snarled at the soldier before shoving her face back into her meal.

  "Kensa," The Captain said. "Drop the weapon man."

  Kensa said nothing. He lunged forward, attacking with every tactic he'd learned as an elite soldier, slicing one man across the face and cutting deep into the leg of another before Narnx impaled him.

  "I'm sorry, my friend," Narnx muttered, easing Kensa's body to the ground.

  With his death, Sal sank into the mud, closing her eyes to concentrate on healing her arm. As an iliri, her instincts compelled her to repair herself even as she longed to die. When it was whole, she looked back to Blaec, his body just out of her reach.

  "Anglia will win this," she swore.

  "Give me the swords, Sal," Narnx called to her.

  She looked up at him and let her ears droop. "Would you kill me now?" she asked softly.

  He shook his head. "I can't."

  "Kill me, and you can have the swords," she said. "I'm no more use to you, and he's dead."

  "I know." Narnx stepped closer, well aware that he was in her range but moving slowly to the dead Terran's body. "I can't change that."

  "Me either." Sal shifted slightly, making the soldiers flinch. "I tried. I couldn't make him sleep and hold him to life, and there's no one here to repair him." She pressed her hands against her skull. "It hurts."

  "I know."

  "You don't!" she snarled, lunging at him.

  Narnx backed up a step. "I do. I felt when my amma died, Sal."

  She smacked at her head with the heel of her hand. "He's not there anymore! It's just pain and nothing. He's gone! He's gone and he's not going to come back."

  "Give me the sword Sal."

  She shook her head. "I have nothing left. You already took the things that matter to us. I'll never be able to pass his sword to his daughter. I won't be able to give his knots to his brother." She gasped again, her eyes blinking but dry. "I'll never feel his hands against me again. I will never feel his love for me."

  "Will you trade?" Narnx asked. "His knots for the swords?"

  Sal nodded, but barely. "Most of my puppets are dead already. There's only seven left."

  "How many sleepers, Sal?" he asked, moving to Blaec's body to kneel beside it.

  She shook her head. "I won't tell you that. If I die, they're released."

  "I can't kill you."

  She watched him remove any items of relevance from the corpse. Narnx patted at Blaec's pockets and paused, shoving his hand into one. He pulled out a dark resin chain, a large pendant hanging from it - and Sal wailed.

  "Be careful," Themis whispered.

  Narnx sighed. "Have you learned nothing about her while she's been here? She responds in kind. Give her compassion, and she returns it. Give her pain, and she gets vengeance." He turned back to Sal. "Tell me about the necklace?"

  She shook her head. "It was our secret. I didn't know he'd kept it."

  He nodded and walked back to her, gently lifting her hand and placing the items against her palm. "It matters. I'm taking the swords, Sal."

  She nodded and looked up at him. "I never needed them, Narnx. I can hang myself from this chain. I can kill humans with a touch. I never needed the swords, and I never wanted them. I wish I hadn't fed, but," she closed her eyes, breathing deeply, "my body is fighting me. What will you do with him?"

  "Nothing," Vitus said while Narnx collected the weapons.

  Sal nodded. "Tola e ayati," she breathed. "Aussah."

  "What did she say?" he demanded.

  Narnx shrugged, walking back to his unit. "I dunno. Never learned it."

  "Leave me," Sal ordered. "The moons will rise soon."

  Vitus laughed. "You think you're in control?"

  Sal's head snapped around to look at him. Her white eyes cut through them all before her ears locked back and she growled. "Human, I am a Kaisae. I'm always in charge."

  "Dream on," Vitus grumbled.

  "Nieur," she snapped, and Themis pulled a dagger, laying it gently against the Captain's ribs. Sal smiled cruelly. "I have no need of dreams. Beware the sleepers."

  "Let him go, and we'll let you grieve," Narnx said.

  Sal lifted her hands and gestured around her. "What do you think I'm doing?" she asked. "I am not a human you damned crossbred. I can't cry. I don't feel it like you do. I only know about human grief because of my Taunor." She sucked in a quick breath, and whispered, "I mean Dernor."

  Narnx nodded. "I'm sorry. We'll still leave you alone."

  Sal nodded and gestured, allowing the man to have control of his body back. Themis gasped, dropping the weapon and looked around, confused.

  "T
hat's twice," he complained as Narnx walked over. "How the fuck do we stop that?"

  Narnx shook his head. "Kill her or release her. And if you kill her, another will simply take her place."

  "What are you saying?" Vitus asked.

  Narnx shrugged. "It's how the iliri work. The alpha bitch grows in strength. The larger her pack, the stronger she becomes. If she's removed, another will simply replace her."

  "But we couldn't find any more purebreds. I mean, if the Emperor knew about them, wouldn't he have already sent us out to take care of that?"

  Narnx lifted his chin to meet the man's eyes. "Doesn't matter. If there's no Kaisae, another will do. That's why the Emperor can perform miracles. Let her grieve."

  Ignoring them, Sal slowly crawled forward to the end of her chain, reaching her arm toward Blaec's body. She strained as far as she could, cries of anguish ripped from her throat as she struggled to reach her lover's body. Defeated, she lay there, the resin collar cutting into her neck, Blaec's knots and her necklace clenched tight against her body. She gasped for air, begging the pain to end.

  "I can't touch him," she wailed softly.

  "If she wants to die, why doesn't she just take control of me and force me to kill her?" Themis asked as they left.

  Narnx shrugged, seeing a single Terran soldier sitting in the shadows watching Sal. The man would be invisible to most humans, but his iliri eyes saw him easily. Whoever he was, he watched the Kaisae grieve, making no move to either taunt her nor release her, so Narnx ignored him.

  "I don't think she can. I don't think the ability works like that," he told Themis, trying to place the soldier's face.

  "Then how does it work?"

  Narnx shrugged and turned his attention back to his unit mate. "She's the first Kaisae I've ever seen. It's not exactly something you forget."

  Themis slapped his shoulder, oblivious to the man hiding in the shadows. "You sound half in love with the crazy bitch. Sounds like she has a spot open in her harem."

  Narnx sighed and shoved his hair back. "You don't understand."

  "Try me."

  "She smells like hope." Narnx started to walk, dragging Themis with him.

  "And?"

  "See." He tilted his head to the side, his eyes flicking back to the crates. "Told you that you wouldn't understand."

  "What the fuck does hope smell like?" Themis demanded.

  "Forget it. Your human senses are too subtle."

  "Yeah, so you're half in love with her." Themis grinned. "This mean you're going to defect soon? You know we'll kill you if you fight for the other side."

  "I'm not defecting." Narnx refused to slow his feet. "My sire is the Emperor of Terric, or did you miss that? He already promised her to me."

  "You mean she wasn't making that up?"

  "Nah." Narnx shook his head slowly. "Iliri don't lie well. It's not a habit most learn and their ears give them away. Everything she's said was true. She evaded a few things, but she didn't lie."

  "How can you tell?" Themis was honestly curious. With so few iliri in Terric, their abilities were mostly myths and legends.

  Narnx tapped his nose. "The body releases stress hormones when someone lies. It smells like rat poison soaked in stale urine. Kinda hard to miss. She just smells like hope. Always." He chuckled, suddenly realizing something. "I bet, if you check the private that the Emperor ordered to touch her, you'll find he's perfectly ok."

  "Why do you say that?" Themis asked.

  Narnx sighed, frustrated at how dense the man was being. "Because he didn't hate her. He thought of his wife when he touched her, and his love for his children. She wouldn't be able to hurt him. Not until he did something to her or one of her pack."

  "You make her sound like the good guy in all of this."

  "Isn't she?" Narnx asked. "Of all the people in this war, she's the only one that's honest."

  "Doesn't make her right," Themis pointed out.

  "Doesn't make her wrong, either."

  His words triggered a memory, and he knew where he'd last seen the face of the man in the shadows. The only problem was that the guy had been wearing blue back then and standing across the line. Narnx fought to keep his face still, but his mind was whirling. Their army had been infiltrated and only Sal's arrival had given the spies a reason to expose themselves, but this could be his chance.

  It took nearly an hour before Narnx could find a good excuse to slip away. Walking calmly through the muddy tracks in camp, he circled around the prisoners, moving more silently than humans knew he could. He was approaching the center of the camp from the back side, his eyes searching the depths of every shadow. The soldier was still there and still refused to interfere.

  Narnx knelt at the base of a tree, downwind, their scents filling his mind. Sal called to him in a way that was hard to describe, like a promise that only he could fulfill, but the Conglomerate soldier smelled like a human. The sugar of his body nearly overrode his unique flavor, but his face brought back too many memories.

  The Black Widow Company had come up against Star Fall a few times. Well, they'd fought most of the Conglomerate elite units. This man, though, had made sure he was remembered. Narnx bore a scar across his ribs from their last encounter, the man's dagger as quick as an iliri's. Now, Enik Kolton sat perfectly still, his eyes locked on the Kaisae.

  Sal, however, didn't move. She lay with one arm reaching for Blaec's body, the collar digging deep into the skin of her neck. Her breath came short and rough, rasping over the resin, but she refused to stop trying. Her grief was instinctual, and anyone foolish enough to get close to her would likely pay with their life. She cried in the only way she could, gasping for air as she whimpered. She made no effort to hide her pain, knowing no reason to be ashamed of her love for her Dernor. Instead, the sight brought nothing but sadness.

  "I failed you again," Kolton whispered softly, pulling Narnx's eyes to him. The Conglomerate soldier sighed and shifted to be more comfortable, aware that this would be a long vigil. "I don't know if I should even try to help you anymore, babe. Seems I just keep making a mess of it."

  Those words were all Narnx needed to hear. He smiled and drifted into the shadows, taking a long and winding path back to his tent. Kolton would do. He felt loyalty to Sal, and he had the skills to support her. Now, Narnx just needed to make sure she had enough energy to show the human what their kind could do.

  Kolton probably had no idea what it would be like to travel with a Kaisae, Narnx thought. In the state she was in, the human might not make it all the way back to the Conglomerate, but the man wasn't important. The only thing that mattered was freeing the last Kaisae. If Sal lived, so would the iliri.

  If Sal lived, Narnx could still dream of a life as a free man. He hoped her word would be enough. He was the bastard son of the Emperor of Terric and he would be playing the part of a loyal Terran soldier for months if not years more. By the time he'd be able to flee, who knew if Anglia would even exist, let alone Arhhawen.

  North Wind. The haven of the iliri. Sal had told enough people that rumors had reached even the Terran army. It sounded large and cold. In Anglia they still lived in communal housing, finding it more effective to heat a single structure than multiple small ones. It was also the perfect situation for a large pack to live happily.

  Ducking into his tent, he prepared for sleep quickly, peeling off the damp and muddy uniform. He crawled into bed, pulling blankets around his shoulders and imagined what it would be like to sleep on a padded mattress and wake to a view of the mountains. Narnx forced his eyes closed and dared to hope for the future of their kind.

  He'd even find a mate of his own. A lovely, pale-skinned girl with blue eyes who smelled like horses. A smile slipped to his lips as Narnx rolled over, trying to find a more comfortable position. She'd be jealous but understand his devotion to the Kaisae. She'd be strong but not a soldier. Most of all, she'd love him as much as Sal loved Blaec. He couldn't even imagine that feeling, but he longed for it. Even in death, Sal
loved Blaec more than anyone had ever cared for him - except his own amma. Since he was a child, Narnx had been nothing but a burden to those around him.

  Now, it was finally time to make them all pay for that. He was iliri and he was better than the humans. There might be more of them, but he was stronger, smarter, and had abilities they never knew existed.

  The tingle of his iliran skill called to him, taunting his mind as he fell into that place somewhere between wakefulness and dreaming. Images of pale stone walls and brilliant green cloth covering a massive bed appeared behind his lids. The woman of his dreams stood there, staring out a window at a sky that was just too blue to be possible. She heard him stir and turned, exposing a large, round stomach. A feeling of warmth flooded him.

  "Can you see how much longer?" she asked.

  "No," he told her, smiling even in his vision. "He will come when he's ready."

  She laughed, her voice like music in his ears. "I hope he doesn't make me miss the New Year celebration. Have you picked a name yet?"

  "Yeah," Narnx told her, gesturing for the woman of his dreams to come back to bed. "Blaec. The Kaisae has always hoped one of her ilus would name a boy for him, and I think your son would be perfect."

  "Then Blaec it is." She rubbed her stomach, smiling gently. "May he never know war but lead just as well."

  Narnx gasped and pulled himself from the vision. He struggled to remember all the details, but the name Blaec hung in his mind. As he breathed, the memory came back, filled with the warm embrace of love. With a sigh, he settled his head against the pillow again, but this time when he closed his eyes, he found nothing more than sleep.

  Chapter 29

  The next morning, Sal was still laying as close to Blaec as she could reach. Evidently, she'd fallen asleep at some point in the night. After the carnage of the day before, the Terrans were scared to enter the center of camp. Those who did moved as silently as possible. They didn't understand her abilities, and none of them wanted to be her next victim.

  But the Emperor was not feeling generous. He stormed into the area with a dozen guards surrounding him.