Yeah. Like figuring out how to deal with a rebellion warrior who’d turned over a new leaf as a love interest would be any simpler.
“Humph.” Galena strode down the long guest hall, the thick maroon rug muffling each step. For the life of her, she couldn’t decide what to do. First Reese had ignored her at the meet point. Then he’d covered for her falling asleep beside him. She’d never figure out the look he’d given her before accepting Eryx’s offer. Was it interest? Or was he trying to tell her to keep her mouth shut about their night together?
Well, yeah. She couldn’t blame him being cautious on that score. Eryx might have been decent, but the two of them weren’t going to be best friends anytime soon. Ludan had seemed sort of human in his detached killer kind of way. But Ramsay? Total jerk. Nowhere near the forgive and forget stage.
Galena rounded the corner, knocked on Brenna’s door, and pushed it wide. Lexi was right. Her brothers’ opinions shouldn’t factor into her decisions. It wasn’t like Reese had done anything—
She pulled up short, one hand shooting out to the rough stone wall for support. Spring sunshine poured through the open window, every detail in its proper place. Except for one.
Brenna was gone.
Chapter 15
Eryx stormed the council hall steps two at a time, Ludan and Ramsay at his side. He motioned Reese up from behind them and paused inside the vestibule.
Reese stopped in front of him, clad in the same leather pants and cotton shirt combo he’d worn the day before, though the getup looked a whole lot better now thanks to Orla. Under normal circumstances the outfit would’ve stood out, but with Eryx, Ludan, and Ramsay in warrior gear it wasn’t as bad. No better way to make it clear warfare lay ahead than a visual.
“When we get to the front, fall out beside Ludan and hang close to the East wall,” Eryx said to Reese. “They’ll assume you’re here in a military capacity and I’d rather not tip my hand before I’m ready.” He paused long enough to let his instructions settle. “You good?”
Reese nodded. “I am.” Not exactly a convincing response. More like a man resigned to a visit with a guillotine. Though in a way, he was. By the end of the day he’d have so much nasty social stigma glommed onto him he’d probably wish for death.
Outside, the council bells gonged, and a crush of ellan streamed toward the main hall, their voices punctuated with animated gestures.
Ludan glared at them over one shoulder, arms crossed. “You sure got their panties in a wad.”
“Two unexpected summons in less than two weeks?” Ramsay smiled despite Reese being so close. “Hell, yeah, they’re in a tail spin. Word in the ranks is they’re worried the prophecy is somehow gonna upend their jobs.”
Eryx kept his silence. The light-hearted banter was well and good, but he couldn’t afford to lose focus. Delivery was key in what he planned. One misstep and he’d dig up more political pitfalls.
When only a few straggling council members remained, he stepped from the shadows and angled toward the main hall entrance. “Remember what I said. The message needs to be clear. No holds barred as it relates to Maxis.”
Ludan sounded almost cheerful. “That mean I get to have a little fun?”
Twisted humor for sure, but Eryx could use a little levity about now. “If you can scare ‘em with a look, have at it. Everything else stays on lockdown.”
They stepped into the cavernous room.
Ludan shrugged. “Better than what I normally get.”
“Sick bastard,” Ramsay said.
Ludan grinned. “Hell, yeah.”
Their boot heels struck the concrete in heavy, rhythmic strides. By the time they reached the steps to the dais, the crowd’s rumbled conversation silenced.
As ordered, Reese made for the side wall.
Ludan and Ramsay faced the council, feet shoulder width and arms at their sides, their tension evident. Two predators prepped to pounce.
Eryx climbed the steps to his platinum throne, Lexi’s empty one beside it. Sunlight highlighted both from the domed windowed above. Fuck he wished she was here. If nothing more than to balance him. But her place was with Ian. With the injuries he’d sustained, he’d need all the support he could get, assuming he ever woke up.
To histus with sitting. He faced his council and nursed his anger toward Maxis. So damned many atrocities visited on undeserving people. Two dead women, and seven others too skittish to talk or do more than huddle in whatever corner they found, Ian, Brenna, Reese. His mate.
The weight of every gaze pressed heavy on him. Vendors from the street outside shouted and children laughed, all of it muffled by tall glass windows. “There have been rumors of increased actions with the Lomos Rebellion. I’m here today to confirm the Rebellion has indeed resurfaced.”
Whispers rippled down the cavernous room, council members leaning into each other, mouths covered. Nirana forbid they actually hold their snarky comments until a more appropriate time.
“Up until last night, certain security matters required I keep my silence. Now that I’ve secured those in danger and procured my evidence, it’s time you learn the details.” He paused, waiting for everyone’s attention. “All of them.”
From his height on the dais, Eryx zeroed in on Angus in the back row, his wild gray hair making his presence easy to single out. “You each know our malress was one of our lost. What I have kept from you is her Myren heritage was not assured before I brought her to Eden.”
Grumbles and whispers filled the room.
“Silence.” An eerie stillness settled in the wake of his outburst. “I’d planned to research her history first. In fact, I’d scanned her memories without her consent for clues, and intended to have my sister scan for any Myren markers to confirm her ancestry. Before I could, we were attacked by Maxis Steysis.”
The grumbling ignited once more, and this time he gave them free reign.
Angus bellowed from the back of the room. “So you broke the tenets.”
“You called that one right.” Ramsay’s telepathic thought brushed through Eryx’s mind.
“Bitterness is pretty predictable.” With a little luck, the rest of his dominos would fall in the right order as well.
“I did what was necessary to protect a woman I suspected was Myren,” Eryx said. “Maxis Steysis attacked us without provocation and in plain sight of humans. Through his actions, our race was exposed. My duty, my right, as malran, is to see to the safety of all within our race, even those I have not yet confirmed as one of our own.”
Those who’d twisted to witness Angus’ accusations slowly faced the front.
“Alexis was taken to a secluded section of our realm and, at her agreement, participated freely in the awakening ritual, confirming my suspicions as to her race. Had I brought this matter before you, I risked alerting Maxis of my search and giving him means to flee.” Eryx paused long enough to make eye contact with those most influential. “Shortly after my mating, Maxis solidified his treasonous actions and kidnapped a human male, an honored friend of our malress. We’ve now retrieved the male and found eight human women he captured from Evad as well, all in abhorrent health.”
A younger male ellan situated midway in the assembly stood, his face flushed. “I move we charge Maxis Steysis with treason against our most sacred mandates, both in revealing our race, and in interfering with human destiny.”
“Then our malran is guilty too.” Angus stood as quickly as his aged body would allow. “If you charge Maxis, you must charge Eryx as well.”
“His charge is to protect us,” the man answered. “I see no wrong in his actions.”
“You might want to hear the rest.” All attention snapped to Eryx, his words silencing the murmuring crowd. “I, too, have interfered in human destiny, though I believe my actions were warranted.”
He prowled down from the dais. “The human male and one of the females were in dire condition when they were found, wounds inflicted by Maxis an
d his lackeys. On the basis of historic precedence, I healed both humans.”
“What basis?” Angus spat his words with enough venom to sear the air. “You expect all to be held accountable to the tenets, but you’re to be spared the consequences? You think—”
Angus flew through the air and slammed against the rear wall, his torso snapping against the stone a mere second before his head did the same.
Eryx stood, calm with his hands behind his back. “I can hold you there for days and not break a sweat, Angus. I hold this throne, as my family has since the beginning of our race, for two reasons. Power, and the honor with which I yield it.”
Angus’ shaky breaths reverberated through the cavernous room.
Every ellan ignored the old man, eyes riveted to Eryx. “In my grandfather’s reign, a rebellion fighter fled to Evad and slit a human’s throat in an attempt to divert his pursuers. My grandfather ordered his healing, stating the intercession corrected a wrong inflected by one of our own. The council reviewed the action and approved it. This case is no different.”
He loosened his mental hold on Angus, and the old man collapsed to the floor in an ungraceful heap.
“Now you know the facts,” Eryx said. “All of them. I stand by my decisions and the integrity with which they were made. Had it not been for Maxis and the rebellion’s actions none of them would have been necessary.”
“What became of the human healed by your grandfather’s men?” This from a woman in the front row, her question more sincere than argumentative.
“The human never knew how he came to be healed as it occurred when he was unconscious.”
“And the impact of the healing?”
Eryx tried to make eye contact with whoever asked the question, but couldn’t find them in the crowd. “There are no records of the human beyond the healing, though I intend to research it.”
The same ellan who’d motioned for the charge against Maxis stood. “The captured humans are still in Eden, my Malran?”
Eryx nodded.
“How do you propose they be dealt with? If their treatment was as you say, modifying their memories is no longer an option.”
And that was the kicker. The wrinkle he’d been unable to iron out no matter how he’d angled the situation, save one. “I propose these humans be given the choice to remain and live in Eden for the rest of their days, abiding by Myren law. If they agree, they can remain here, safe and alive.”
Angus’ voice shook. “And if they don’t?”
“Then the council will have to decide if they live or die. If they choose death, then I will be the one to carry out the sentence.”
* * * *
From his place along the side wall, Reese shifted his weight. Not enough to call attention to himself, but enough to shake the tension gripping his spine. Man, the malran had balls. No doubt about it. Playing chicken with your own skin was one thing, but stepping up and saying you’d take an innocent’s life if someone else said it had to happen?
Yeah, kind of made his tiny, upcoming confession look like a cozy, fireside fantasy. If the spiritu was right and courageous acts held more influence, then Eryx had just put a few extra weights on the light side of the scale. Reese wasn’t entirely sure how anything he could say would make that kind of difference.
Eryx eased onto his throne, arms relaxed against the gleaming platinum armrests. “The humans’ fate is in the council’s hands. As to sanctions against me for my actions, you’ll have to do what you think is right. However, as malran, I have the right to take my own measures.” He motioned the council page from his place on the front row. “Dunstan, make note. Maxis Steysis is hereby formally charged with treason against the throne and the Myren race.”
Dunstan scribbled in his overlarge tome, his long ruby-colored tunic wavering with each broad pen stroke.
“Ramsay.”
Ramsay snapped to attention at Eryx’s command.
“Effective immediately Maxis Steysis is wanted by me and this council. Should he resist arrest, any and all force, including death, is acceptable in bringing him to justice. Further, any individual suspected of affiliation with the Lomos Rebellion will be apprehended and brought forward for trial with this council.”
Ramsay jerked a nod and resumed his original stance facing the assembly.
Another ellan stood, his hands gripped nervously at his belly. “So you believe there to be a greater threat beyond Maxis? That the rebellion is truly active?”
“It’s beyond belief,” Eryx said. “I have proof Maxis is intent on not only promoting Lomos Rebellion ideals, but plans further transgressions against the human race.”
“My Malran.” An elder ellan situated in a box along the rear wall stood at her ivory balcony. “Perhaps it would be wise to share your evidence with the council. While your judgment and information may not be in question, as your advisors and representatives of the people, we have a right to know what challenges our race faces.”
Gaze locked on the ellan, Eryx nodded. “You’re up.”
Eryx’s summons right-hooked through Reese’s head. He’d expected and braced for it, but hearing it rattled everything from head to toe.
Council members ducked close to each other and their whispers rippled across the room.
Reese’s knees shook, thighs tensed and prepped to run. Sweat broke out along his spine and pressure circled his throat. He’d been in this same situation before, felt the same cloying response at his swearing in, and look what he’d done.
No one looked his way. Not Eryx. Not Ludan or Ramsay, not another word spoken aloud or via link.
Because the choice was his. His heart kicked at the realization and adrenaline buzzed beneath his skin. Clio believed in him, and Galena claimed to as well. Surely he could follow his mother’s example and live with honor.
He stepped forward and the room spun. “The evidence is mine.”
The chatter among the council settled. Dunstan’s quill scratched the journal parchment.
Odd, the only person he could bear to watch as his gruff and grated admission slipped free was Ramsay. “I’ve shared Maxis’ plans with the malran and confirmed them with access to my memories. I offer those to the council as well.”
“And who, exactly, are you?” The question came from the old man Eryx had slammed against the wall.
“My name is Reese Theron.” He chanced a glance at the crowd, faces blurry beneath his hazy vision. He could do this, get it out and be done with it. Be free and live a good life. A right life.
The image of Galena, lying beside him, peaceful in sleep, blasted to the forefront of his mind, and a root of resolution wrapped around his heart. “I know Maxis’ plans because he’s my brother.”
Gasps and shouts filled the hall.
An ellan stood and spoke.
Another right behind him.
Then Eryx.
The voices ricocheted without context. The white noise in his head and the thrum of his pulse buzzed too loud to make sense of their meaning. Someone gripped his shoulder, and Reese shook himself into focus.
Eryx stood beside him, Ludan and Ramsay at his left. The ellan filtered out of the room, half of them already gone, the rest in line to exit.
“You did good,” Eryx said.
“What happened?” Praise the Great One, he sounded vulnerable. Kinda wimpy, really, spotlighting how he’d strolled off to la-la land at the absolute worst time.
Eryx glanced at Ramsay and Ludan, and jerked his head toward the grand entrance. “Give me a few. And put a tail on Angus. That son of a bitch is on my last nerve, and I’ve got a good idea he’s hand-holding Maxis.”
Ramsay nodded, but his stare was on Reese. For once, the contact didn’t seem based in anger, but whatever his once-friend was thinking, Reese couldn’t discern it.
“What you did took courage,” Eryx said after they’d walked away. “I know the last thing you wanted was to make that info public knowledge, but you
probably saved a lot of lives.”
Reese swallowed, bile sloshing in his gut. If Eryx knew what had finally gotten his lips moving, he wouldn’t be so quick to offer praise.
“The pardon is yours, but one wrong move negates your clean slate. We clear?”
Reese cleared his throat, even a simple answer difficult to formulate. “Yeah. We’re clear.”
“Good. Then let’s clear something else. This fresh start? I think step one is you clearing out of the castle.”
If he’d felt upside down and disconnected before, it was nuked now. “I’m sorry?”
“You. The castle. Fresh start. I think space is a good thing for everyone involved. Too much history and hot tempers with you and Ramsay in fighting distance. Frankly, I don’t need that shit right now.”
And it got him a long damned way from Galena. Yeah, if he were in Eryx’s shoes, he’d be shuffling the traitor out the back door too.
“I’m assuming you’ll stay at your homestead?” Eryx said.
Reese stared out the two-story arched window on his left. The gold flecks from the brick-laid thoroughfare winked in early afternoon sunlight, and the rainbow-laced sky stretched without a single cloud to the horizon. “To start.”
“Got anything you need sent there?”
Translation: No, you’re not gonna say good-bye to her either.
“Nothing I need.” At least not that he’d admit. He faced Eryx and straightened to attention. He could whine like a damned dog when he made it home, but for now he needed to keep his back up. “If I think of something, I’ll go through you.”
A nod, a handshake, and that was it. Eryx, Ludan, and Ramsay were gone, and he was as free as the day he was born. No commitments, and no threats or hidden shame hanging over his head. So, why in histus did he feel like the world had just gone to shit?
Chapter 16
Healing Eden Page 14
