Velvet heat clamped down on his shaft and Galena’s haggard wail rent through the room. He came with her, long, jerking spasms he felt to his toes. In that moment, they were one. Two halves joined, male and female bound by heart and soul. His existence without her meant nothing.
The rhythmic press of their bodies eased. The kiss of water-cooled air fanned their slick flesh, raising gooseflesh in its wake. He cupped her beautiful face and grazed each perfect angle with his lips. Resting on his elbows, he pushed a stray lock of hair from her brow. “I love you.”
Shocking blue eyes opened to meet his, so filled with passion his heart buckled. “My fireann, my love.”
He had a mate, a baineann of his own who loved him without any secrets between them. He cradled her tight and rolled them to their sides. Their clamoring pulses warred beneath sweat-slick skin. For the first time in his life he felt centered. Complete in a way he never knew existed. For her he’d endure any pain, or kill any being that came between them.
Chapter 23
Faint light flickered against Maxis’ closed eyelids, plucking him from a deep and peaceful sleep. He stretched, luxuriating in the rasp of cool, well-worn sheets on his bare skin as he blinked his eyes into focus. Two candles burned on the nightstand, barely illuminating Uther’s lackluster décor and scenting the bedroom with tallow.
Throwing off the covers, he sat up and hobbled to the window, his muscles stiff from lack of use, but blessedly pain free. How long had he been out? Hours? Days? He pushed the heavy drapes aside.
The Underlands’ black and barren soil stretched as far as the nearly darkened skies allowed him to see, with only a tiny hint of blue staining the horizon. Feeling for the sun’s position with his mind, he let the curtain fall back in place. Barely past sunset, though it still didn’t answer how many days had passed.
His clothes sat folded on a trunk at the foot of the bed. He snatched his loose cotton shirt from the top and tugged it over his head. A clean, generic scent he didn’t recognize lingered on the fabric. He must’ve been out a long time if Uther had stooped to acting as laundress.
He pulled on his wool pants and reached for his boots. The room spun and he caught himself with a heavy hand against the trunk just before his kneecap smacked the wood floors.
Sitting on the trunk, he waited for his vision to still, fighting to calm his panting breaths. Maybe he’d had fewer days on the mend than he thought. He shoved on his boots and stood, locking his knees. From the looks of things, the only way he’d get answers was if he got up and took them for himself.
The door groaned opened and the scent of wood smoke filtered past the threshold. Gold and orange firelight danced against whitewashed walls, and the crack and roar of flames filled the silence.
Footsteps sounded from beyond the front door. A light tread.
The knob turned and Serena shuffled through the opening, her head ducked in a distracted pose. He’d never seen her in the casual tunics and leggings the newer generation favored, but the colorful blue fabric certainly fit her curves. The dirt and wrinkles down her front were another matter.
Something angry and downright proprietary punched him in the gut. “Where have you been?”
Serena’s head shot up and her hand pressed against her heart. She sputtered and shut the door, scrutinizing him head to toe. “Handling details. How do you feel?”
“Like Uther must have graduated past shitty field medic.”
The door re-opened as his words trailed off.
Uther strode past Serena and wiped his hands on an already filthy rag, not so much as a hint of surprise at seeing Maxis on his feet. He tossed the rag on the counter that separated the living area from the kitchen and fell into a worn, oversized tan chair. “Love to claim the promotion, but your mate’s the one responsible.”
The level of filth on Uther’s attire topped Serena’s my several degrees, his ivory shirt coated in four or five layers of dirt and his face coated in sweat.
Maxis stared at Serena. “Explain.”
Serena’s lips pursed and twitched on one side. “I went home for news, got it, and was about to leave when I decided to bring a little help with me.”
Maxis studied Uther. No help there, not so much as a flicker of attention. He pegged Serena with a raised eyebrow.
“My nanny,” she said. “Nanny turned housekeeper, I should say. She healed all but the worst of our ailments growing up, so I decided to bring her here.”
“You exposed her to me? To us?”
“Would you rather I let you die?” Serena glided to the fireplace and sat on the side ledge. “Besides, we handled it.” She clenched the rock ledge hard enough her knuckles turned white. Whatever she meant by handling it, it didn’t seem to sit well.
“You handled it.” Maxis shuttled his attention between the two of them, but neither met his gaze. “How exactly?”
Uther lifted his head, fatigue marking the edges of his eyes. “Dead healers make for fewer confessions.” Uther glared at Serena. “They also result in tedious labor.”
“She deserved a pyre,” Serena said, shaking with passion. “Servant or not, she cared for me better than my own mother. Burying her would have been an insult to her gifts.”
“You cared for her.” Maxis crept forward, slow, so as not to miss the play of emotion on her face.
Serena studied the fire, her gaze distant.
“You sacrificed her to heal your mate.” Maxis halted before her and steered her chin to face him. No one had ever put him first, no one since his grandmother all those years ago. “Worried I wouldn’t make it?”
Serena jerked her chin from his grip and sidled out from between him and the ledge. She paced toward the kitchen and crossed her arms. “I couldn’t exactly let you die. My fate is tied to you. If you die, I’m left holding the bag.”
She gripped the raised countertop, the dirty rag Uther had tossed aside wadded in a disgusting heap in the middle of the sand colored stone slab. “You’ve been officially charged with treason. Anyone found aiding and abetting you will be charged as well.”
He wasn’t buying it. She could have let him die and been free of all but his faded mark. Why go to the trouble if she didn’t care? Though he could understand her trepidation in admitting it after the way her father had treated her. She’d be a fool to trust Maxis blindly, but he could bring her around. Eventually. “What else did you learn?”
Uther shifted in his chair and the cushions groaned. “Eryx came clean with the ellan. Spilled every violation of the tenets he’s performed and either cited precedence for the action to explain it, or pointed the cause back at you. In a nutshell, he’s clear unless the council balks, which they won’t.”
That wily son of a bitch. Never in a million years did he think Eryx would confess, though he probably should have. The man had too much conscience for his own good.
Maxis gripped his hands behind his back and circled his thumbs. “Then we’ve got two choices. Either we find a way to discredit what he’s done with the council, or stir bigger problems and distract from the rebellion by divulging our race to the humans.”
Uther’s deadpan response came lightning fast. “Going public’s a shit storm. Panicked humans can do a lot to hurt a handful of powerful men. We’re not ready for that, not in manpower or skills. Not yet.”
“Discrediting Eryx would take years.” Serena leaned one hip on a barstool. “The older ellan might want to upend his influence, but the newer generation adore him, not to mention we’d need some nasty secrets we don’t have. I’m beginning to wonder if he’s even capable of secrets.”
Maxis smiled to himself. How alike he and Serena were, both in action and in thought, whether she realized it or not.
“There is another option.” Uther stood and the wood floors groaned. His boot heels thumped against the planks as he headed toward the kitchen.
The fire warmed Maxis’ clasped hands at his back. “I’m listening.”
Uther leaned over the sink and splashed his face with water, running a hand along the back of his neck not the least bit hurried. He dried his face with a nearby towel before he faced them. “Maxis needs to die.”
Maxis’ laugh rattled the rafters. “You’ll forgive me if I’m not on board with your plan.”
Serena stared open mouthed at Uther.
“I said Maxis needs to die. I didn’t say you had to die.” Uther set the towel aside and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. “If Maxis Steysis dies, he can’t be tried for treason and the rebellion falls off the radar. We lay low for a bit, use the time to make our connections as planned in Evad, and keep building the army.”
Arguments queued on Maxis’ tongue, but he held them back, replaying Uther’s words in his head. “You expect the public to accept word of my demise on good faith?”
“No, I expect you to die quite publicly.”
Maxis looked to Serena. She seemed as lost as he was.
Uther straightened and lowered his arms. “Throw a strike at me.” Whatever idea his strategos had must have been a solid one, because he didn’t seem the least bit concerned Maxis might actually fire as requested.
Intriguing. Maxis whipped his hand forward and cast a slim volt at Uther.
Uther stood steady, unaffected without so much as a flinch. His shirt was charred and a black circular pattern marred his shoulder, but he stood upright. Burnt cloth and the sharp tang of electricity overpowered the wood smoke.
“Impressive.” Maxis ambled forward. “No wonder you weren’t worried your fellow warriors would strike back.”
“It’s only handy if I’m paying attention, and I can’t keep it up indefinitely,” Uther answered, a little cocky, but wise enough to hold it in check.
“A nice trick for you. Not especially convenient for my demise.”
“Unless I project the shield onto you.”
No wonder Uther had protected his secrets so well. “You can do that?” Maxis said.
Uther nodded.
Falon had been right. Uther was proving not only to be a better match, but offering up prime opportunity to unseat the malran at the same time.
Were those his thoughts? Or Falon’s? All his life he’d thought the voice in his head was his own. Now he wondered if it hadn’t all been the dark spiritu. Falon might have screwed Maxis royally with the altercation with Reese, but this opportunity was hard to pass up. “We’ll go with the idea, but we’ll up the ante in the process and see if we can’t discredit our esteemed malran along the way.”
Serena stood and raised her chin, defiant. “Your death doesn’t exactly cover absolving me of our association.”
Maxis prowled closer, lifted her hand, and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Not to fear, my dear. I plan to ensure my beloved baineann is well and truly cared for.”
Chapter 24
Eryx sat on his throne and watched the ellan filter toward their assigned seats. Considering the vote they were about to render, they seemed a tad too jovial. Too detached from the futures they were charged with determining.
Seated in the more demure version of his chair beside him, Lexi leaned in at a conspiratorial angle. “You need to bring Ludan down a notch. He’s wound pretty damned tight.”
“He’s always wound tight.” He checked anyway, trusting Lexi’s instincts as he would few others.
Positioned to the right of Eryx’s throne, Ludan stood as he always did, arms crossed and glaring belligerently.
“Looks pretty status quo to me,” he said, reclining into his chair.
Lexi didn’t hide her perusal this time. “That’s because you’re not looking like I am.”
“You’re feeling, not looking.” Eryx covered her fist on the armrest with his own. “And technically, that’s bad manners. Let him deal with his business and save yourself the heartache. Shut the filters down.”
Lexi glared at him. “You toss the bad manners rule when it suits you. I’m not wrong on these feelings and you know it.” Her expression smoothed and a superior grin slid into place as she faced the settling ellan. “Sure nailed it with Reese and Galena, didn’t I?”
He squeezed her hand and thrust his shoulders back a notch. Praise the Great One, he’d been blessed with Lexi. Fire, confidence, and street smarts all rolled into one. “You’re going to rub that in for a while, I take it?”
Her grin grew, even if she didn’t deign to give him the full force of it. “You got that right.”
“Sorry I’m late.” Galena hustled up beside Lexi, and Jagger stepped aside to make room.
Lexi craned her head up toward Galena. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Eryx angled to better see Galena’s mating mark, the goddess Artemis perched at the tip of a crescent moon with her gown billowing out behind her. She held her bow taut, arrow notched and ready to fire toward the heavens, shrewd eyes narrowed in concentration.
Facing the crowd, Eryx relaxed into his chair. His new briyo might worry the hell out of him, but Reese had laid a damned fine claim on his sister. “Couldn’t have too hot of a mating night if you’re up and out of bed at noon.”
Galena held her arm out to better show Lexi what he’d already studied. “I seem to remember a man who left his new mate warm in her bed at daybreak only a few weeks ago.” Her saucy comment came out breathless, not at all the proper voice he’d grown accustomed to hearing.
Eryx was torn between slapping Reese on the back and congratulating him, and wringing his neck. “Point taken.”
“You should be home.” Lexi squeezed Galena’s hand. “At least one of us should get a honeymoon.”
Galena shook her head and patted Lexi’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t miss standing beside Brenna for this, and Reese insisted he wanted to seal the deal on our new home.” She scanned the crowd. “Where are Brenna and Ian anyway?”
“New home?” Lexi perked up.
The council page, Dunstan, strode to the foot of the dais. “All are in place, my malran.”
“Shit.” Lexi shifted her thoughts to both Eryx and Galena, the smooth transition more fitting of a two hundred-year-old Myren than one barely two weeks past her awakening. “Orla and Graylin are with Brenna and Ian in the antechamber. What’s with the new home?”
“Lexi.” Eryx loved her vibrant nature, but right now he couldn’t afford to misstep with the council. “Remember what I said about sampling emotions being impolite?”
Lexi tilted her head in silent question.
“For now, I don’t care about polite,” he answered. “I’m scanning as well, but if you sense anything that feels off, tell me.”
A wicked smile curled her lips. She pulled her hand out from under his and trailed her index finger along his forearm. “Going rogue, huh? That’s kinda sexy.”
His belly tightened and his cock stirred with more interest than he could handle given the current circumstance. “Focus, hellcat, and I’ll give you all the rogue you want when we get home.”
A determined air lengthened her spine.
Eryx nodded at Dunstan. “Call the session to order.”
Dunstan spun toward the ellan and his voice echoed down the cavernous hall, thick with the formality Eryx hated. When the pomp and circumstance subsided, Eryx stood and Lexi rose beside him. The air seemed cooler than normal, only Lexi’s warmth keeping the sensation at bay.
“As promised,” he said, “two of the humans kidnapped by Maxis Steysis have been brought to council today to share their memories and confirm the claims made by myself and Reese Theron. In exchange for the interference in their destiny, their testimony against the traitor, and their vow to uphold and abide by all Myren laws, I have offered asylum in Eden for the rest of their lives pending approval of the council.”
He paused long enough to scan the many rows and let his attention rest on some of the more difficult members. “Heed this. The injuries endured by these humans are such I will not abide any belligerent acts or u
nkind words. Both have suffered enough at the hands of one of our own.” For the last he focused on Angus. “I’ll kill any woman or man who causes them further grief.”
Heads dipped for quiet whispers and rumbles filtered through the room.
Eryx reached out to Graylin. “We’re ready. Keep Orla at Brenna’s side.”
Footsteps sounded from the foyer and Ian, Graylin, Orla, and Brenna stepped into view.
Galena and Lexi moved as one down the dais steps, Lexi positioning herself between Brenna and Ian, Galena at Brenna’s free side.
Eryx lifted his chin, pride for his family’s unspoken support of those wronged a heady rush. They’d not just made their point, but added a few exclamation points and waved a red cape in the process.
Eryx stalked toward them, singling out Ian first. “You understand your sanctuary in Eden is contingent on abiding by Myren law in all things?”
Ian jerked a rough nod and shifted to more firmly plant his feet, keeping his eyes off the crowd. “I do.”
“And you offer your memories freely?”
Another curt nod.
Eryx waved the waiting ellan forward, a man he’d personally chosen for his bipartisan and freethinking politics.
With a perfunctory approach, the ellan offered his hand, eyes passively aimed at Ian’s chest.
Ian stared at the hand, and clasped it with a firm grip.
Ten seconds passed. Twenty. Thirty.
The ellan jerked, then jerked again. He released Ian and stepped away. “The accusations are confirmed. Maxis Steysis was the one responsible for bringing this person to Eden and inflicting…gruesome wounds in an attempt to harm more humans.” He paused, swallowing in what looked to be a painful act. “It is my recommendation to the council this human be offered refuge in Eden as requested by the malran.” With that he shuffled out of the hall, his flushed face shiny with sweat.
Praise the Great One, if Ian’s torture had this much impact, he couldn’t imagine how the female he’d selected would hold up with Brenna.
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