by Rosalie Redd
After taking a couple of wrong turns, Melissa arrived at her destination. The room was empty. She should’ve known better than to trust anything that came out of Mauree’s mouth.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in the warm air. The room smelled of rock and earth, and she let the comforting odor wash over her. Rubbing her hand across her midriff, she sensed the life growing within her. In the past, she would’ve run away. She couldn’t do that anymore. This was her home now, and she had a child who needed her.
A soft scraping of shoes against stone brought Melissa out of her reverie. Mauree slid out from behind a half-hidden wall at the back of the room. Melissa’s heartbeat pounded against her rib cage.
“What are you doing here?”
Mauree strutted over, her hands flexing and fisting as she approached. Her smile, meant to be comforting, was anything but. “I knew you’d come. You had to find out, didn’t you?”
Melissa backed up, keeping Mauree in front of her at all times. She evaluated Mauree’s Stiyaha height and muscular build. Could she take her on? Maybe—maybe not.
“What do you want?”
“We’re going on a trip, just you and I.” Mauree closed the gap between them. “I’ve already summoned Rin. He should be here any minute.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Mauree grabbed Melissa’s arm and shoved her to the ground. Using the momentum to her advantage, Melissa held on, dragging Mauree with her. The Stiyaha female crashed to the hard stone floor. A whoosh of air exploded from her lungs.
Melissa clambered to her feet.
Mauree howled and scrambled to face Melissa.
“Not such an easy mark, am I?” Melissa goaded.
“We’ll see about that.”
Mauree flashed a look at Rin’s workbench. Chisels, hammers, and a myriad of other rock hounding tools lay scattered across the stone surface. An odd grin curved at the corner of her mouth. Melissa sucked in a breath, and trepidation formed in the pit of her stomach.
Mauree and Melissa raced to the workbench. Mauree grabbed a pickaxe from the pile of tools. A brush of wind blew against Melissa’s face in the axe’s wake.
Mauree stood in front of the table, blocking Melissa’s ability to snag her own weapon.
Melissa took several steps back, her focused attention never leaving Mauree. A jolt of anger sparked within her. This bitch has gone too far. A shimmer of energy tingled in her fingers. Her chest constricted as hope welled within her.
“Are you scared yet?” Mauree taunted.
Melissa scoffed. “Of you?”
She narrowed her gaze on her rival and pulled on her energy. Nothing. She blinked and tried again. Still nothing. Her gut tightened. She wanted to scream, but she held her frustration in check.
Mauree advanced toward her, the pick’s point glinting in the light.
The porte stanen was a short distance away. Melissa eased closer, still focused on her enemy. She ran her hand over the lip of the rock. Her fingers grazed the smooth texture of a sunstone. She clenched the crystal in her palm, the heavy weight spurning her anger. She launched the stone at Mauree.
The stone whizzed through the air and bounced off Mauree’s cheek. The crystal shattered against the rough wall, exploding into tiny shards. A thin line of blood oozed from the wound.
The Keep rumbled, and the ground shook.
“That wasn’t smart,” Mauree said.
Running footsteps echoed down the corridor. Melissa looked toward the sound. She realized her mistake one-second too late. Agony exploded in the back of her skull as her vision faded into nothingness.
Pain, fast and fierce, throbbed in her head. A jumble of words penetrated her brain, but she couldn’t make them out. She moaned. A warm, sweaty arm pulled against her waist.
“—none of your concern. Open a portal for me, now.” Mauree’s voice broke through the fog in Melissa’s mind.
“No, this isn’t right, don’t do this.” A male’s low voice echoed around in her head.
His was a voice Melissa recognized, but couldn’t quite place. As she parted her eyelids, a bright light pierced her eyes. Rin stood several feet away, his hands outstretched, palms up.
Mauree positioned the point of the pickaxe under Melissa’s throat. The end pressed hard against her windpipe.
“Open the portal near the Gossum’s asylum, little male, or I shall kill her and the babe she carries.” Mauree’s grip around her throat tightened, and the tip penetrated her skin.
Melissa flinched. A trickle of blood ran down her neck.
“She’s awake. Good.” Mauree’s crushing embrace made breathing difficult, and Melissa almost passed out again from the lack of oxygen.
Rin backed up, his rump hitting the edge of the porte stanen. “Why are ya doing this, Mauree?”
“You have to ask? You were there.” Spittle flew from her lips, the wetness landing on Melissa’s arms. “Noeh humiliated me in front of everyone. Open the portal, now!”
His forehead wrinkled, and his gaze searched Melissa’s eyes. His brow creased, and he turned his attention to Mauree. “You won’t get away with it.”
Melissa tried to speak, to tell Rin not to open the gateway, but Mauree’s grip was too tight. It was an effort to get enough air just to stay conscious.
Rin approached the porte stanen. Rolling his shoulders, he brought his fingers over the concentric rings of deep orange sunstones. He moved his hands, his movement fluid, swirling in the air. Nothing happened. He paused. A frown crossed his face.
“Don’t stop, you idiot. I will kill her,” Mauree huffed.
Rin examined the crystals lining the interior walls, their circular pattern broken by the missing crystal, the one Melissa had thrown at Mauree. “Well, wouldn’t ’cha know. There’s a stone missing, I can’t open a portal.”
“Don’t lie to me, Rin. I’ve known you for centuries. You have a spare, use it.” Mauree pulled Melissa closer to the gateway.
Rin sighed, and his shoulders slumped. His downturned mouth and pleading eyes were like a punch to Melissa’s stomach. He pulled a spare stone from the pouch hidden underneath the lip of the rim and placed the crystal in the empty spot. As he moved his hands over the stones once again, the gems brightened. A mist formed.
“Faster, faster!” Mauree said.
Rin ignored her, his face pulled into a veil of concentration.
The mist coalesced in the middle of the room. The scent of pine and fresh rain filtered in through the opening. Clouds covered the sky, the darkness near complete without the moon or the stars. Silhouettes of pine trees and brush became visible in the dark night, along with the faint outline of the asylum.
Mauree released the axe, easing the pressure at Melissa’s throat. Relief flooded through her veins. The solace didn’t last long, though. Mauree snagged Melissa by the arm and dragged her through the opening.
Chapter Forty-One
The door creaked in protest as Noeh entered the Hall of Scriptures. Dust motes launched into the air, breathed to life by a gust of wind. A musty smell filled his lungs.
He coughed.
The sunstones’ weak glow cast shadows over the furniture. Long abandoned chairs littered the room, some with their skeleton legs upended as if in death throes. A few tables remained, covered in inches of grime. Two small sets of footprints left tracks in the grit over the woven rugs. Someone had been here, not long ago.
Where should he begin?
As the sunstones warmed, the glow brightened, and the long hallway became visible. Row after row of books lined the shelves. As he walked among the stacks, memories returned of his mother reading to him when he was a child. Sadness pulled on his heart making his chest ache.
The knowledge of his ancestors weighed down upon him. He’d neglected this room for too long. The scriptures should be read, not left to collect dust. He made a mental note to assign the care of this room to Tanen, his council leader.
He stopped and pulled a book off the shel
f. As he caressed the spine, the soft leather warmed him. There were thousands of books in here. How would he find the right one?
A burst of adrenaline whipped through him, fueled by his fear. He cracked the book open and studied the worn pages. His hands shook. He struggled to catch his breath. The words jumbled together, and the tome fell from his hands.
The books blurred together as he opened one after another. The sound of his own breathing jolted him to a stop. The books formed a pile, some with their pages wide-open, others with their spines broken and torn.
Dust filled his nose. Violent sneezes wracked his body. His eyes watered, and he wasn’t sure how much came from the filth or how much came from his frustration. He launched a book at the wall, where the ancient tome crashed to the floor.
He sat down at a nearby table. A book someone left open long ago brushed against his elbows. His head in his hands, he rubbed his face. Only a few days left before he had to select his queen, time was running out.
The stillness in the room grew loud in his ears, and an image of Melissa filled his mind. The corner of her eyes creased as she laughed. Her smile taunted him, begged for his kiss. He tried to swallow, but his throat constricted.
He shook his fist at the ceiling. “Do you enjoy making your children suffer? Melissa has such faith in you, but me—” His voice cracked. A low growl escaped his lips.
Smack. Somewhere nearby, a book hit the floor. The sound carried across the room. Noeh followed the source of the disturbance and rounded a corner. A large tome lay in the middle of the floor. He bent down to pick up the book, and his heartbeat increased.
The yellowed pages were crisp to his touch. His body tingled all over. The sheets fluttered before him, and the cool air brushed against his face. They stopped, open on a page near the back of the text. With great care, he read the ancient scripture.
The king shall bond to his Lemurian queen
She shall complement his strengths and rule by his side
Neither will bow to the other, yet both will sacrifice for each other
Bonding bands will dictate the level of commitment
As the king and queen rejoice, so do their kind
He read the lines again, and then a third time. Sweat fell from his brow and landed on the paper. He wiped the dampness away and brought the book to his chest. There was no mention of a Stiyaha queen, only a Lemurian queen.
The sunstones shining down from the ceiling looked like stars. He smiled as relief flooded his body. His faith marking pulsed under his eye. He didn’t need to touch the mark to know the line had thickened.
“Thank you,” he whispered. His shoes pounded on the stone floor as he went in search of the one female who’d crawled under his skin, in all the right ways.
*****
Alora stood next to the window and placed her hand on the smooth wooden sill. The treehouse swayed in the breeze. She closed her eyes, enjoying the smell of the fresh rain. In the distance, the rising sun’s purple rays graced the sky.
A knot of anxiety formed in her stomach. She let the feeling boil so she could use the energy in the upcoming argument. Veromé wasn’t happy with her, nor did she expect him to be.
Crash.
Alora turned in time to see a vase filled with Coletta flowers fly through the air. The pot shattered on the wooden floor, shards of glass and water cascading across the boards. Veromé’s fists were still on the table, where he’d vented his frustration. At her glance, his eyes narrowed.
“I can’t believe what you’ve done. You pushed that book off the shelf. What were you thinking?”
Her ire built in response, but she needed to calm him, smooth things over. So, she bit her bottom lip in the way that drove him mad.
“They needed help, so I helped them.”
“You risk the council’s ire. They will do more than sanction you if they find out.”
“They won’t find out.” She turned once again to look out the window.
He approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her body molded to his, and she leaned into him.
“Promise me you won’t do this again.”
“I promise.” Her words were soft and conciliatory.
“I don’t believe you.” He blew on her neck just below her ear. “But I can’t resist your charms.”
She shivered at the sensation, and a ripple of desire raced to her core.
The fine hair on his arms tingled her fingers as she rubbed her hands over his skin. She arched her bottom into his already firm shaft. He inhaled, the sound loud in the quiet room. At his response, she purred.
Raising her arms, she reached behind him and tousled his hair. He groaned. Moving his hands up her waist, he captured her breasts in his palms. His shaft jerked, and she laughed at his reaction.
“What I would do to have time to make love to you again,” he said.
She turned around and stared into his eyes. He was hers now, his anger long forgotten. She rubbed her hands down his chest to his firm abs. Giving him her best smile, she loosened the string on his pants. As she slipped her hand beneath the soft material, her fingers circled his fine hairs. He growled and tightened his grip on her arms.
She trailed her fingers down his cock and scraped the plump end with her nail. His erection jerked and beaded with need. He pulled her in for a bruising kiss. Just as she wanted this moment to never end, the familiar tug started in her stomach. She stilled, and he let her go.
The first rays of the sun broke over the horizon. He looked out the window and cursed. “Alora, this isn’t over. You can’t use sex to get your way.”
As she disappeared to go to her dark place, she knew she could, and would again.
Chapter Forty-Two
Noeh ran down the corridor, eager to reach Melissa and ask her to become his queen. His heart expanded at his joy, but in the back of his mind, he still had misgivings about the bonding. As much as he wanted Melissa as his mate, his fear that he’d lose her echoed to his core.
Jax rounded a corner and headed straight for him, his feet moving at a fast clip. “Your Majesty! I’ve been looking for you—Melissa, she’s gone, she’s gone!”
Dread wrapped around his limbs, slowing him down. “Explain yourself.”
“I came to bring her some victuals from the evening repast, I did, I did, but I found the door broken.”
Indeed, as he approached his bedchamber and the adjoining room, evidence of a scuffle appeared in the shattered wood and scuff marks that marred the floor. His muscles tensed, his senses on high alert.
Diiiinnng. Diiiinnng. The bells rang loud throughout the corridor. Noeh stopped in his tracks. He turned and peered down the hallway in the direction of the Portal Navigation Center. Someone had left the Keep.
A chill in the corridor caused the hair on his arms to stand on end. Something wasn’t right. Melissa. Somehow, he knew she was involved, and he couldn’t deny his intuition. “Inform Rin that I’m on my way.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Jax placed his hand on a sunstone lining the corridor walls to send the message.
Noeh bolted toward the Portal Navigation Center, a cold draft of fear driving him forward. Where was she? What happened? His mind raced with possibilities, none of them good. Perspiration beaded his brow, flowing into his eyes, but he didn’t stop to wipe the sweat away.
As Noeh neared the Portal Navigation Center, Rin peered out the doorway. The small male waved him on, then disappeared back into the room.
Noeh pulled to a stop, heavy breaths billowing out his lungs. “What happened?”
“Your Majesty, I made a terrible mistake. Please forgive me.” Rin’s shoulders slumped as he hunched down in front of his king. He seemed broken, his head resting on his knee.
“Rin, stand up and explain.”
He stood and met Noeh’s look. His lip trembled. “It’s Mauree. She took Melissa. I tried to stop her, but I couldn’t.” His voice wavered. “She threatened the babe. I failed ya. I’m so sorry, Your
Majesty.”
A thin film of sweat broke out on Noeh’s back. He seized Rin’s shoulder. “Slow down. Tell me the details.”
“Mauree called me. I sensed her vibrations through the sunstones. When I arrived, Melissa was unconscious. Mauree held a pickaxe against Melissa’s throat.” Rin’s body trembled. “Mauree threatened to kill Melissa and the baby if I didn’t open a portal. I didn’t know what else to do, so I opened one.” Rin choked back a sob.
Protect! Noeh’s inner beast bellowed. Mauree wouldn’t go this far, would she? The truth stared him in the eyes, and his face reddened. “You did what you needed to, my friend. Tell me where you transported them.”
“The asylum. She told me to open a gateway to the asylum.”
“Prepare the portal for the same location. I’ll call for warriors. We leave as soon as they arrive.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you.” Rin bowed and headed for his workbench.
Noeh touched one of the sunstones lining the walls of the room. He sent out a mental image of the Portal Navigation Center to several of his warriors. Return blips rippled up his arm. They were on their way.
Noeh grabbed the hilt of his sword, and his ring tapped against the metal. The sound echoed in the room, but his mind focused on what lay ahead.
Melissa. Our son. Protect! The need to do so overwhelmed him, and his body shook. Rage as he’d never known coursed through his veins. He’d eviscerate anyone who tried to harm them and watch their entrails spew from their body.
A vision of Melissa crossed his mind. A coy smile played on her lips as she held a small bundle in her arms—his son. His heart ached at the thought of losing them. I will get you back, little kitten, and when I do, I’m never letting you go.
Footsteps trampled down the corridor. Saar and six warriors arrived. Saar glanced around, assessing the situation. His attention turned to Noeh. “What happened?”
“Mauree betrayed me. She took Melissa and left the Keep.”
Saar gasped. Shocked groans from the other warriors followed suit.
