Dark Queen’s Knight

by I. T. Lucas

  Mey winced. “Was there a way to find out about the rods?”

  “Of course. With a couple more days of reconnaissance, using humans to check the apartments would have prevented this clusterfuck. But Kian was in a rush. He didn’t want to give the Doomers the chance to snatch even one girl.”

  “I can understand that.”

  Yamanu shook his head. “That’s why Turner is better at this. The guy is pure logic. Emotions don’t factor into his plans.”

  “Why wasn’t he consulted then?”

  “Pride would be my guess. Since Turner joined the clan, he’s taken over that part of Kian’s job, and it must have rankled. Besides, Turner still runs his private operation, and he needs time for that. Still, Kian enlisted his help at the last moment, and Turner sent a human team to investigate, but it was done in a rush. They checked only the basics.”

  “What is Turner’s private business?”

  “High-risk rescues. If you have a loved one who’s been kidnapped for ransom, Turner is the one to turn to for help.”

  38

  Mey

  Mey’s interest was piqued. “Can he help me find Jin?”

  “He’s the one who told Kian about what’s really going on in that Quiet Zone, but that’s the kind of information anyone can find out with an internet search. I’m sure he can dig up more for us. And if she is there, and we need to get her out, I wouldn’t trust anyone else to plan the mission.”

  Having the clan and a specialist like Turner helping her was great, but Mey had to wonder about the costs, and who was going to cover them. She certainly didn’t have that kind of money, and neither did her parents. Her father was a retired history professor, and her mom was a pediatric nurse who was still working part-time. Perhaps she could borrow it?

  Or, she could play the ostrich and not ask. No one had mentioned money, so maybe they were going to do it pro bono? After all, the clan was doing a lot of humanitarian work, battling traffickers and rehabilitating the girls they’d rescued.

  Except, she knew that they were doing it for her because she was Yamanu’s girlfriend, or rather future mate. If that was ever going to happen.

  He’d said he’d make up his mind after the raid, and she’d been hoping that the battle rush and the ensuing sexual hunger would tip the scales in her favor. What she hadn’t taken into account was that Yamanu’s part in the mission didn’t require him to fight, and that it had exhausted him.

  Normally, she wouldn’t have had a problem with that, but time was running out.

  “You’re talking as if we have all the time in the world to find Jin, and if she needs rescuing, plan for it and do it. But we have ten days.”

  A pained look flitted through Yamanu’s eyes. “Jin’s rescue has nothing to do with your transition, and it’s not urgent. It’s not like her life is in danger.”

  Mey shook her head. “Is the clan still going to do that once I’m gone? If I don’t transition, you are going to erase my memories and send me back to New York. I will have to find Jin on my own.”

  Reaching across the table, he took her hand and clasped it between his. “Let’s not succumb to pessimism. You are going to transition, and the clan is going to do everything to help your sister, provided she needs help. It’s possible that she’s where she wants to be.”

  Letting out an exasperated breath, Mey let her shoulders slump. “You might be right. The way she sounded in that echo I’ve heard, she knew what she was doing. But she is still a kid. She might have gotten in over her head.”

  Yamanu smiled. “She is less than two years younger than you.”

  “I know. Still, she’s my kid sister, and I feel responsible for her.”

  “Naturally. But don’t worry. We are going to find out where she is and whether she needs rescuing.”

  “Thank you. I still don’t understand why you are doing this for me. It seems that I’m more trouble than I’m worth.”

  He frowned. “How can you say that?”

  She pulled her hand out of his clasp and crossed her arms over her chest. “Because of me, you are faced with a difficult decision. I know that Dormants are important to the clan and all that, but they are not as important as keeping everyone safe, which you believe is entirely dependent on you.”

  “Not entirely, but to a large extent.” He sighed. “And tonight was a perfect example of that. If I hadn’t been there to shroud the area, the multiple gunshots would have caused massive panic, the police would have shown up, and I have no doubt that a large number of Doomers would have escaped.” He rubbed his jaw. “I hope none have, but it was such a mess that it’s possible, and that would be disastrous.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the whole idea was to make it look like the government arrested these Doomers on suspicion of either terrorism or selling drugs and human trafficking. That’s the way we staged it to look. If there were any eyewitnesses, they would have reported that a SWAT team entered the building and took out suspects. Naturally, I would have added to that, planting memories to support the illusion. But if even one of them managed to escape, he will inform his superior that it was us. Their leader might retaliate by sending a much larger force to hunt us down.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have done it. The risks outweighed the benefits.”

  He looked into her eyes. “Not everything is two plus two equals four. Sometimes it’s five and sometimes it's three. Life is not a math equation or even a probability field. Sometimes you need to go with what you know is right. In hindsight, the consequences might not be worth it, but going in, you always think that you will prevail.”

  Mey wondered if Yamanu was aware of the irony. If he applied the same logic to himself, his decision should have been made days ago. Except, she wasn’t sure that it would have been the one she hoped for.

  “I can’t argue with your life experience, so I’ll take your word for it. But if you believe in what you’ve just said, why are you having such a hard time deciding?” Her voice wavering just a little, she continued. “What does your gut tell you?”

  As he looked at her with those sad eyes of his, Mey didn’t dare inhale.

  What was he going to tell her? That he’d already decided and that the safety of his clan must come before his own happiness?

  She should have waited until tomorrow to ask that, and not do it right after he’d come back from a mission that had required his shrouding abilities.

  He sighed. “My gut tells me that I’ve done enough, and that after centuries of sacrifice, it’s okay for me to be selfish and do what’s right for me. But my conscience is slapping me around for daring to think like that. I know that I promised you an answer after the raid, but I need a little more time.”

  Mey wondered if another gallon of ice cream could erase the taste of disappointment smothered with a hefty topping of helplessness.

  She couldn’t even get mad at Yamanu because she understood all too well what he was going through. He was right, it wasn’t as easy as two plus two.

  She nodded. “Take as long you need. I won’t pester you about it anymore. I’m putting my faith in fate.”

  The last comment had been tinged with sarcasm, but Yamanu hadn’t picked up on that.

  “Thank you.” He pushed up to his feet. “I’m going for a walk to try to clear my head.”

  39

  Yamanu

  As Yamanu stepped out the door, he vowed not to come back without making a decision.

  The sun was rising, and people would be waking up in a couple of hours. Until then, though, the trails would be deserted, providing the peaceful atmosphere necessary for contemplation. Except, he'd had days to decide and couldn’t, so how was he going to do that in a couple of hours?

  Stringing Mey along and leaving her in a perpetual state of anxiety wasn’t fair to her. None of this was her fault, and yet she blamed herself for putting him in this situation. And that wasn’t fair either.

  He couldn’t keep straddling the fence and hope for some d
ivine intervention to provide him with the wisdom to decide. Apparently, the Fates wanted him to do that on his own and take responsibility for his actions. They were not going to make it easy for him, and perhaps they were right.

  To fully appreciate what he had, he needed to grab it by the horns and proclaim ownership. He either kept owning the martyr scepter, in which case he would need to come out and admit to Mey and everyone else why he was abstaining. Then he would need to apologize to Mey for leading her on and let her choose someone else. It was going to kill him, but that was what martyrs did.

  They sacrificed, and they suffered.

  Or he should grab the crown of a mated man, put it on his head, and pass the martyr scepter to someone else.

  Hey, that was a thought.

  If he could harness the sexual energy and channel it into his shrouding and thralling ability, another male should be able to do that as well.

  Right. As if anyone else would be willing to give up sex and the chance of a fated mate to keep the clan safe.

  Except, if it was possible for someone else to do it, Yamanu shouldn’t feel bad about tossing that burden into the middle of the village square and announcing that a volunteer was needed to pick it up.

  And if there were none, so be it.

  But what if the one who picked it up was already sacrificing a lot? If Arwel volunteered, or Kian. Yamanu’s conscience wouldn’t be happy with that. Or Kian.

  Damn. There should be more selfless males around, but he couldn’t think of anyone who would step up and haul that burden onto his shoulders.

  Thinking back to his conversation with Mey, he wondered whether any of the females could do that as well, but he discarded the idea. As lustful as immortal females were, their sexual energy wasn’t as powerful as that of the males. Nature, or the scientist responsible for their genetic makeup, made the males much more predatory.

  And if he needed proof of that, there was Ruth.

  Others might have not noticed, but Yamanu had paid attention. Before she’d gotten the job managing Nathalie’s café and later meeting Nick, Ruth had been a recluse. Yamanu couldn’t be a hundred percent sure, but he suspected that after giving birth to her daughter, Ruth had been celibate until she and Nick had mated. And yet she hadn’t gained any superpowers in exchange for her abstinence.

  Not before meeting Nick, and not during their courtship.

  Everyone had been waiting for them to seal the deal, but like a couple of virgins, they had taken their time. Three months was an awfully long time for immortals to dance around intimacy.

  And that was exactly what he was doing now in regards to making up his damn mind. He was letting it wander aimlessly instead of deciding one way or the other.

  So, here were his options.

  The idea to take a break from celibacy and then go back to it was not going to work. Even with shitloads of potion, he wouldn’t be able to abstain as long as Mey was around.

  He wanted her too much.

  Which meant that all of Mey’s creative ideas of how to induce her transition without him breaking his vow were a waste of her brainpower. Well, maybe not. He should tell Merlin and Bridget about them in case they could help someone else in the future.

  Not that he could see any of the males summoning aggression to fight a woman. They could barely do that to fight scrawny Roni. The kid had had to come up with the creative idea to spur Kian’s anger by reciting slam poetry.

  Damn, he was doing it again. Letting his mind wander in any direction just to avoid making a decision.

  It was quite simple.

  Mey or the clan.

  He couldn’t have both.

  40

  Annani

  As was her custom while residing in the village, Annani woke up when the sun came up. Her pale skin and sensitive eyes could not tolerate the midday light, but the soft glow of early morning hours, especially when the sky was overcast, was her favorite time of day. Dusk and dawn were when she ventured outside and sat on the lounger in the modestly sized garden of her temporary abode.

  Soon she would be going home, and except for her short excursions to nearby towns, there would be no more natural sunlight for her.

  She was going to miss it, and she was going to miss the Friday night dinners with the family and the afternoon teas with other invited guests.

  Should she stay?

  This time around, she and Kian had been careful not to step on each other’s toes. He did not inquire about her whereabouts too often, and she tried to be as mindful and as careful about her safety as was reasonable when venturing outside the village.

  Still, when Alena got back, they were going home. Perhaps she would come to visit more often, though. But before Annani visited the village again, she had to pay Sari a visit. Fates forbid Sari would think that her mother was showing favoritism to Kian and Amanda.

  No matter how old her children were, as a mother, she had to be mindful of things like that.

  “Here is your coffee, Clan Mother.” Ogidu put the tray on the side table and bowed. “Would you care for anything else? Perhaps a shawl? It is a bit chilly outside.”

  “Thank you. That is very thoughtful of you.”

  “I shall be right back, Clan Mother.” He bowed and turned on his heel.

  Picking up the cup, she brought it to her lips and took a long sip. It was perfectly done. Not too hot and not too cold. Ogidu had perfected the art of making coffee.

  Pulling her feet up under her gown, she leaned back on the lounger. The sweet sound of a bird chirping its mating song had Annani look up. Over the fence, she spotted the little guy among the tree branches swaying in the gentle breeze, but as she lowered her eyes, she saw the top of someone’s head bobbing as he walked by.

  Well, not just anyone. Given the height, it could be only Dalhu or Yamanu, but Dalhu’s hair was coarse and wavy, while Yamanu’s was sleek and straight.

  What was he doing up so early?

  Perhaps he had not gone to sleep yet?

  The Guardians had returned from their mission not too long ago. Kian had told her that everything had gone well, but seeing Yamanu striding along the path instead of sleeping raised her suspicions. She had not seen him doing that any of the other mornings.

  Perhaps Kian had not told her the entire story.

  Swinging her legs over the side of the lounger, Annani slipped her feet into her shoes and got up.

  “Here is your shawl, Clan Mother.” Ogidu handed it to her.

  “Thank you.” She shrugged it over her shoulders. “I am going out for a walk.”

  “I shall walk with you.” He bowed.

  “There is no need. I have spotted a Guardian outside, and I want to join him.”

  Ogidu bowed again. “Then I shall accompany you until we catch up to him.”

  “Very well.”

  She could not fault her butler for his programming. After all, it was exactly what she had instructed him and his brothers to do.

  Serve and protect, like the motto of the police department.

  Annani smiled. She had invented it first.

  “Master Yamanu!” Ogidu called out after the Guardian. “The Clan Mother wishes to join you on your morning stroll.”

  Yamanu stopped and turned around, then walked back and bowed to her. “Good morning, Clan Mother.”

  “Good morning to you too.” She turned to Ogidu. “Thank you. You may leave now.”

  “Yes, Clan Mother.” He bowed but waited until she threaded her arm through Yamanu’s and started walking before pivoting on his heel and turning back.

  Perhaps she should change this old programming. It was a remnant from times when it had been considered impolite for a servant to turn his back on his master or mistress.

  Beside her, Yamanu felt tense, probably uncomfortable with her show of familiarity.

  “Does it bother you that I have my arm through yours?” Annani asked.

  “It doesn’t bother me. I’m honored, Clan Mother.”

 
; “You seem tense. Did something go wrong tonight? Kian said that except for a few minor injuries, everyone came back in one piece and that none of the Doomers have been killed either. I have a feeling that he was sugarcoating it for my benefit.”

  She knew she was putting Yamanu in an awkward position, but she needed to know the truth. Not just the positive outcomes, but all of them.

  “Everything Kian said was true. None of the injuries were severe, but there were more of them than he expected, and they were more painful. The Doomers used special bullets that explode after penetrating the flesh. It has taken Bridget and Julian a long time to dig out all of the pieces.”

  “Do you think they knew you were coming?”

  He nodded. “They didn’t know when it would happen, but they had taken precautions. Very basic ones, but nevertheless effective. Aside from the bullets, they had the doors reinforced with a simple iron rod bolted across the opening. This one simple trick cost us the surprise.”

  Annani frowned. “I hope Lokan did not warn his adopted brother. I would be very disappointed if he had.”

  “Do you think he is playing both sides?”

  As unpleasant as the thought was, it had crossed her mind. “I hope not. I would rather assume that Losham was cautious. Lokan’s questions about the move might have made him suspicious.”

  Yamanu groaned softly. “I hope that this mission hasn’t cost us a valuable informant. It would be a shame to lose Lokan as a source.”

  Annani shivered, but not from the cold. “Do you think he is in danger?”

  “I don’t know. But maybe it would be wise to apprehend Losham just in case he suspects Lokan’s involvement.”

  Annani nodded. “I will speak with Kian.” She looked up at Yamanu’s handsome face. “Is this why you are strolling out here instead of sleeping in your bed? Are you worried?”