by Nina Bruhns
Alarmed, he’d tried to rouse her, but Seth, who’d been lying on the bed next to her with fists clenched, staring fixedly at a point on the ceiling, had ground out, “Let her sleep. She’ll be fine.”
Shahin had rolled off her and sat up, taking in Seth’s rigid posture. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Seth slowly unfurled his fists and his muscles, and drew in a deep breath. “No. I’m just having a hard time not taking more from her. Her blood is sweet.”
Shahin looked with concern from him to Gemma. “By the gods, Seth, how much did you take?”
“Not much.” Seth let out the breath unsteadily. “Not nearly enough. But I want to wait for Josslyn. I need to bind her to me and this is the best way.”
Shahin was torn, glad the vampire hadn’t taken advantage of Gemma, but also concerned that Khepesh’s leader was growing weaker for every day he went without a full feeding. “I will find the woman before the next moonrise,” Shahin vowed, “even if I must bespell Gemma to learn her sister’s whereabouts.”
“Go gently with her,” Seth warned. “Your powers were greatly increased during our sharing and you cannot know the new strength of your magic until it is tested. I advise you to proceed with caution.”
Shahin stared at his friend in astonishment. Yet another unexpected thing. “My powers were increased? How?”
Seth eased himself upright and raked his fingers through his hair. “It’s part of the exchange. I gain some of your knowledge, you gain some of my power.” He glanced over at him. “For obvious reasons, that information is a tightly guarded secret. I’d appreciate if you kept it that way.”
“Of course,” Shahin said, still shocked. After a pause he asked, “Is that why you haven’t shared magic in so many centuries?”
Seth had then given him a half smile. “You always were the most intelligent man on the council. I hope I shall now have advantage of some of that keen intelligence.”
Shahin had smiled back at the man he’d served for three-hundred years. “You always have, my lord.”
Now, hours later, he glanced over at the woman who’d brought him to this new place of honor among the leaders of Khepesh. As if sensing his regard, Gemma made a contented noise and slid her arm over his midriff, nudging him into a kind of different memory.
She had been amazing last night.
Seth had slipped out of bed just before she woke up for the first time after the blood sacrifice. When she’d opened her eyes, they’d sought first Shahin, who was still sitting on the bed, then looked for Seth. But instead, they had gone big and round when she’d caught sight of the bloodstained bed linens. Her hand flew to her neck and came away sticky red.
“Am I—Did he—”
“You’re fine,” Shahin assured her. “It looks much worse than it was. Would you like to clean up?”
She nodded, and they indulged in his luxurious two-headed shower. Afterward, he dried her, then carefully bandaged her twin wounds. But not before they’d explored the lingering physical power of the bite marks. He wondered how long the erotic effect would last.
As they nestled down under fresh, clean sheets, he cocked his head at her, curious. “How do you feel?”
Her tongue swiped over her lip and her gaze dipped to his nude body. “Like I just had a three-day-long orgasm…and could go for another three. Years.”
With a lascivious smile, he crawled over her on all fours. “I believe that could be arranged.”
They made love again. And again. And again. He lost count of the number of times. Apparently one of the heightened powers he’d acquired from the exchange of magic was the vampire’s inexhaustible sexual prowess. And it was better than it had ever been before.
Gemma had been pleased. Endlessly.
Watching her now as she slept, he wondered if she’d been bonded to him through the ritual. Earlier, he’d wanted it to happen; but now, outside the heat of the moment, he wasn’t sure it would be such a good thing after all. He wanted Gemma’s adoration, yes. And her love and her unfailing loyalty. But he wanted it honestly. Because of her true feelings for him. Not as the result of a spell—or a curse, depending on one’s perspective on the matter.
Well, it was too late now. What would be was already written. There was no changing one’s fate.
“Shahin?” she murmured, her eyelids fluttering open.
“Yes, kalila?”
Her lips curved as she snuggled closer to his body. She gazed up at him with soft, trusting eyes and whispered, “I love you.”
His heart stilled. And an odd little ache began in it. He gave her forehead a lingering kiss and said, “I’m very glad.”
I’m very glad.
Wow. Okay, so maybe that was just about the response Gemma had expected of Shahin.
But definitely not the one she’d wanted to hear.
Honestly? If the man didn’t have feelings for her after the last two nights, she figured it was never going to happen. She herself had fallen completely, utterly and irrevocably in love with the recalcitrant sheikh. Probably at first sight. The past two days and nights had only intensified her feelings.
Damn.
She stifled a sigh. She would not be upset.
After all, she’d have all eternity to work on him.
The thought cheered her.
Somewhat.
“Gemma,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Will you tell us now where your sister is?”
The cheer froze in her chest. Hurt spiraled through her.
Had all this been staged—the banquet, the bite, the fabulous sex—just to get her to tell them what they wanted to know?
Of course it had. Seth-Aziz had made no secret of his intentions with this ritual—to get to Josslyn. Shahin’s reasons were murkier. Okay, make that simpler. Great sex was a perfectly normal goal in itself, for a man. He’d said so himself. Plus he was just doing his job—again, to get Joss. He’d also told her that.
Little did he realize that she had already decided to find her sister and tell her everything.
“I honestly don’t know where she is,” she told Shahin, quietly resigned to her unrequited feelings. “But yes, I’ll help you.”
For a second, he didn’t move. Then he shifted onto his side and slid his body up to hers. “You will?”
She nodded. “You were right. It’s her life. Josslyn should make her own decision.”
He gazed over at her happily. “That’s good.” But his smile faded. “What is it, Gemma?”
She blinked. Realized her thoughts must be showing. She forced a smile to her lips. “Nothing. Why?”
“You look almost…sad.”
“No. Just tired.” She reached out and brushed her fingers over his chest. He was still nude and so handsome that it made her heart ache. Or perhaps that was something else… “We haven’t gotten much sleep the past couple of days,” she added when he still looked doubtful.
His breath soughed over her, warm and easy, as his smile returned. “Sleep, then, kalila. I’ll be here when you wake, and we can go find Josslyn together.”
He kissed her, and she turned to her side, giving him her back. She was afraid if she faced him she wouldn’t be able to keep the bleakness from her eyes. He scooted close and spooned her body with his. It felt so good, so right, to be with him like this, their naked, sated bodies sharing a peaceful slumber.
So good it almost made her forget that it wasn’t real. That Shahin’s warmth and the magic of his love were all part of a beautiful illusion. Just a brief desert fantasy.
Shahin couldn’t sleep.
He didn’t know what to do about Gemma. She’d said she loved him. Out of the blue. What further proof did he need that the bonding had, indeed, taken place?
He felt sick. He’d had no right to do this to her, to take her choice away.
He waited until her body relaxed and her breathing was even, then he slipped out of bed, got dressed and grabbed his scimitar. As he made his way through t
he corridors of Khepesh to the armory on the other side of the palace, he could still smell the scent of her on his skin. He could almost feel the curve of her body nestled against his.
Sekhmet’s blood, he missed her already.
When he got to the armory, he called to one of the guards lounging in the great practice hall to come cross swords with him. He badly needed to bash someone.
Most of his men had been at the banquet and seen him with Gemma. The bare chest display. The kiss. The possessive scowl on his face whenever another man approached.
“Has the lady kicked you from her bed already, my lord?” one of them quipped from across the hall.
“On the contrary,” Shahin shot back. “She sleeps from exhaustion!”
The men laughed and gathered to watch as he and his opponent chose their weapons and took their stances. At a signal from his second-in-command, they raised their swords and lunged. In one stroke, Shahin had disarmed the other man and felled him to the floor with a crash. Surprise rippled through the onlookers. And him as well. Shahin was good, better than any other warrior in the land, but it usually took more than a single blow, even for him, to win a match.
“My lord,” his lieutenant exclaimed into the somewhat stunned silence, “whatever this new woman has done to you tonight, you must share her secret!”
Shahin stared down at the sword in his hands. He cleared his throat. “No secret. It must be the adrenaline that still flows from our bedplay.”
His men snorted in amusement, but didn’t question the explanation, though in his mind, Shahin did. Was this what Seth meant about increased powers?
“Be sure to tell us when you’ve tired of her, my lord,” called another above the bawdy comments. “So we may all avail ourselves of her warrior magic!”
Shahin sent the man a stony look. “Another man may have her when I am dead.”
A wave of raised eyebrows went through the men. But before any dared respond, a messenger came running into the armory. “Sheikh Shahin!” he shouted. “The war! It’s starting, my lord! A troop of Haru-Re’s men have breached the borderlands and are riding hard for Khepesh!”
Chapter 20
“Gem.”
A woman’s hushed voice drew Gemma out of a deep, drugging sleep. It sounded wonderfully familiar.
“Gemma!” This time it was accompanied by a gentle shake. “Wake up!”
She pried her eyelids open. And couldn’t believe her eyes. “Gillian!” She rocketed upright and instantly regretted it. Her head spun so badly that she fell back to the bed again. “What— How— Oh, my God, is it really you?” She rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
Gillian reached out and took her hands. “Yes, it’s really me. But we must talk quickly.”
Gemma frowned as the image of her sister flickered. The solid feel of her hands did the same, suddenly gone, then back again, as though some cosmic matter-antimatter toggle switch had been thrown. She shook her head to clear it, certain it was her own brain misfiring. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“I’m really here,” Gillian said in a rush, “but you’re dreaming me, through a magic spell. An ancient one that Haru-Re found and is using against Khepesh. You have to warn Seth-Aziz.”
Gemma sucked down another breath and took a second shot at sitting up. This time her head didn’t spin like a top, thank God. She needed all her faculties to figure out what the hell Gillian was talking about. “Slow down, Jelly Bean. “I don’t understand.”
Gillian pulled a small parchment scroll from her pocket and placed it in Gemma’s hand. “Give this to Nephtys. It’s a copy of the spell. I’m using it now, but only with Rhys’s help. It takes a lot of power and I don’t know how long he can keep it up.”
Gemma nodded and set the scroll aside, along with the shock that her sister was using magic. “My God, Gillian, are you all right? Shahin told me you and Rhys are—” She stopped abruptly, unwilling to repeat the harsh accusation. “That you’ve joined Haru-Re at Petru. Is that true?”
Gillian started to shake her head. “It’s complic—” Suddenly, she stopped and glanced around, taking in the room. Her gaze stalled on the rumpled sheets and dented pillows, then the masculine accoutrements and the captain of the guard’s distinctive emblems. Her eyes widened. “Wait. Where are you, Gemma?” she asked, aghast. “Is this Shahin’s bed?”
“Come back to Khepesh,” Gemma urged, ignoring her sister’s dismayed question. “Seth-Aziz forgives you and Rhys for running away. He’s—he’s now convinced that Joss is the one meant to be his consort.”
Gillian’s jaw dropped. “And you’re okay with tha—” All at once her sister spotted the bandage on Gemma’s neck and gasped. “Oh, my freaking lord, Gemma! You didn’t!”
Gemma blinked, reached up to touch the bandage on her neck, and battled back a wave of erotic sensation. She volleyed her little sister’s words back at her. “It’s complicated, Jelly Bean. But please, you’ve got to come back to Khepesh. They’re talking about war with Haru-Re, and I couldn’t bear if anything—”
“I can’t, Gem,” Gillian interrupted, and grabbed Gemma’s hands, her eyes growing serious. Again her image flickered for a few suspenseful seconds. Then she said, “I can’t leave Mom and Dad.”
A wall of shock hit Gemma, knocking her back as though she’d been shot. “Mom and Dad?”
Seth was right. Her mother was a captive of Haru-Re in Petru!
But…
“Dad?” Gemma asked, her eyes welling with tears. “Dad is alive? He’s there, too?”
Gillian nodded as her eyes filled. “He’s good. He’s living here as one of Ray’s immortals. He’d figured out what happened to Mom and wanted to be with her. That’s why he left us. She’s…not herself.”
Tears trickled down Gemma’s cheeks as she realized what her sister was saying. She’d occasionally seen the silent, unobtrusive servants called shabti. The ones Shahin had told her had been robbed of their will and personality when they’d gotten too close to learning the secrets of Set-Sutekh’s tomb-palace, but had for whatever reason refused to become an initiate. They seemed healthy and serene and were well treated—at least here in Khepesh. But the thought of their endless, vacant lives had broken Gemma’s heart.
And now her own mother—Oh, God.
Gillian’s arms came around her and they held each other tight and let their bittersweet tears fall; tears of sadness for their mother’s fate, and tears of joy that their father still lived.
“Find Josslyn and come to Petru,” Gillian begged through her sniffles. She pulled away a little and gave Gemma a pleading look. “We can all be together here. Bring Shahin if you can’t live without him. He can be a spy for Khepesh, like Rhys.”
A warring riot of feelings surged through Gemma. How could she betray Khepesh? She’d only been here for a day, but already it felt like home. And what about Seth and Nephtys? It would feel like stabbing them in the back. And as for Shahin… He would never, ever consent to defect to Petru. Not in a billion years.
But how could she not go and be reunited? They were her parents! Her family!
“Oh, Gillian, I—”
But suddenly, Gillian was gone. Vanished. Cold emptiness filled Gemma’s arms in place of the warm comfort of her sister’s hug.
“Gillian!” Gemma called out in dismay. She jumped up from the bed and twirled around in a circle, searching desperately around the room. But there was no sign of her. “No!”
It was nearly sunrise.
Shahin and his men found the troop of enemy warriors ten miles inside Khepesh’s borders. They were riding like wildfire, dozens of them, pouring over the desert sands like a cloud of yellow locusts. Their golden armor flashed in the bleeding light of dawn, the hides of their camels ceremonially gilded with the distinctive signs and glyphs of their god, Re-Horakhti, God of the Sun and Lord of the Horizon.
Shahin let out an oath. By Sekhmet’s claw, there were a lot of them. His own troop was only ten warriors, the men who’d been
in the armory, minus his lieutenant who’d stayed to rouse the rest of the guard to action.
This could get ugly.
No, this would get ugly. There was no way they would win against such odds.
Time for the ultimate sacrifice.
He grimly gave a signal to his runner to fly back to Khepesh with orders for his lieutenant to lock down the palace and go to full battle stations. When he and his men fell, he didn’t want Haru-Re getting past the gates.
Their sacrifice would not be in vain.
“Switch mounts!” he ordered the troop. As one, their ghost camels morphed into huge black war stallions, pawing the air and snorting with excitement. The beasts could smell the coming battle.
Shahin could, too. The smell that permeated the desert air was sharp and tingly in his nostrils, a heady blend of power and ancient magic. The heat of it slithered along his arms like the rub of snakeskin.
He frowned, narrowing his eyes. He’d never been able to smell magic before. Sense it? Yes. But this was a discernible tang being carried on the breeze. Another of Seth’s vampyric gifts?
Or a new, sinister spell cast by Haru-Re?
He would soon find out.
He drew his scimitar. “Praise be to God!” he shouted, raising his weapon above his head. “We fight!”
“For the glory of Set-Sutekh!” the men shouted back, drawing steel.
At the last second, an image of Gemma filled Shahin’s mind. What a shame that he must die on the very day realized he loved her and wanted her for all time.
Still, he’d been lucky to have won her love at all—this woman who’d given herself to him so fully and freely. These past two precious days with Gemma had been worth more than ten times ten-thousand days without her.
With a heart filled with the strength gained of the knowledge of love, he gave the order.
“To the death!”
His men let out an answering yell. The massive horses reared.
