“He has his own section of the fortress.” Lokni drew up beside her and waggled his eyebrows as if that was supposed to impress her somehow.
“But not his own entrance.”
Lokni frowned. “There are other ways in, but this is the fastest method to announce his return to his family without having to talk to them.”
He spoke as if she should know this already. If they hosted an Arkavian 101 tutorial, she missed it. With Lokni’s statement and Thane’s memories, she had zero desire to meet Thane’s fucked up family.
Lokni shrugged and scanned the crowd. His shoulders slumped after he made a complete circuit with his violet gaze. Interesting.
They drew to a stop in a small courtyard near the outer edge of the fortress. Swords clanked and the air smelled of coal, metal and leather. And sweaty men. A whole lot of sweaty men. Said men put down their weapons and walked over to meet them.
“Welcome back.” A large man with a long scar running down his entire face and into his thick, black beard approached Thane’s horse.
Hmm… Lokni had a similar scar, but it was smaller. Different cheek, thickness and angle, too. The old wounds didn’t appear to be some badge of honour or weird Arkavian hazing ritual.
“Any problems?” Scarface asked.
“None.” Thane slid off his horse and clasped the man’s forearm.
He neglected to mention the sacrifice circle, Bruno’s betrayal or the ambush attack. If those counted as nothing, what the hell did he consider something?
“And here?” Thane asked.
“Boring as a nun’s nancy.”
What the hell was a nancy?
Lokni snorted. “A nancy is never boring. You’re not doing it right.”
Oh. A nancy must be a… She tried to swallow her laughter and ended up coughing.
Scarface scowled and turned to her. His eyes widened.
She pursed her lips and returned his stare unflinching. The conversations in the courtyard also died down as everyone slowly turned to see what Scarface glowered at, including Thane.
“We have a new recruit,” Thane said.
“So I see.” He looked unimpressed. Instead, he appeared as though he had a compelling need to fell a tree and hack it into tiny pieces for firewood and kindling.
“She needs a room,” Thane said.
“Barracks?”
Thane glanced at the burly man. “House.”
Yup. Everyone stared at her now. Great. Something significant had happened and she had no idea what it was or what it meant. Was she overanalyzing? Maybe their wary glances had more to do with her presence alone than the exchange between Thane and his man. A gentle wind filled with the scents of baked goods and cooked meat slipped over her shoulders. Taya’s mouth watered.
“Taya, this is Bertrand.” Thane nodded at Scarface. “My steward.”
Her eyebrows rose. This man looked more like a human battle-axe than the caretaker for Thane’s domestic needs.
She nodded in greeting. A finger wave was probably not a good idea right now.
Bertrand grunted and scanned the group again. “Where’s the cocksucker?”
“Bruno couldn’t follow orders.”
Bertrand chuckled. “Julian’s going to be pissed.”
Soka leapt from his horse. “Then he needs to send better spies.”
Yup. A whole lot more going on than she knew. No wonder Thane didn’t have a problem skewering one of his men. Bruno wasn’t his.
I didn’t kill him for you.
Taya shivered.
The team dismounted and the weight of their attention fell on her again. She was the only one remaining on a horse. She swung her leg over the saddle and slipped from Sugar’s back. Her inner thighs trembled with a deep ache and her legs threatened to collapse. She gave the horse a pat on the neck. Dirt billowed from her coat. Sugar turned her massive head and bumped her muzzle against Taya’s arm.
“More pats later. Promise,” she whispered. It wasn’t Sugar’s fault she wouldn’t walk properly for days. Weeks. Maybe fucking years. God, this hurt. How did the men do it? Did they have any nerve endings left down there?
“Thane!” a man bellowed.
Lokni leaned in. “Here we go.”
Taya peered around the horse. Her hand froze on Sugar’s sleek chest. A man resembling Thane’s identical twin stomped down stone steps to enter the small courtyard. His lips curled into a cruel sneer and his steel gaze flashed. Thane’s brother. She recognized him from the memories. Three thug-looking barbarians trailed behind Julian like sluggish shadows with muscles.
“Don’t make eye contact,” Lokni whispered.
She turned and glared.
He shrugged and jerked his chin toward the scene unfolding in the courtyard. Guess this was the Arkavian equivalent of daytime television drama. They just needed popcorn.
“Where’s Bruno?” the man demanded.
“Thank you for the warm welcome home, Julian. I’m fine. Thank you for asking.” Though Thane spoke with nice enough words, his voice contained ice.
“Cut the bullshit. Where’s Bruno?”
“He met an unfortunate end while neutralizing the supply chain marauders.”
Julian snarled.
The men in the courtyard shifted. Hands drifted to sword hilts. Julian’s guards stepped forward. Thane’s smile grew cold and vicious. “He fought valiantly against the evil earthen scum and died a hero’s death.”
Julian vibrated. His cheeks flushed red. He took a deep breath and looked away from his brother.
Uh-oh. Too late. Before she could duck behind Sugar, Julian’s glare landed on her. “Who’s this?”
Thane ignored her as if she was some peasant he passed on the street and had as little interest in her as he did the lint in his pocket.
Okay, then.
She straightened and stepped from the safety of the horses to face Thane’s cruel brother. Her legs wobbled. She gripped Sugar’s bridle for support.
“This is Taya,” Thane said.
Julian’s mouth turned down. “House?”
Thane faced off with his brother, staring him down. “Undetermined.”
“Don’t you have enough women skulking about your team?”
“Oh, come now, cuzzie, I don’t skulk.” A lithe woman with straight, platinum hair cropped to her shoulders and a honeyed voice sauntered down the stairs and walked over to the men. She stepped up onto a wooden bench and slung her arm around Thane’s shoulder.
Lokni sucked in a breath.
Honestly, until he started mouth breathing, she’d forgotten he stood behind her.
“Why is she here?” Julian seethed.
“You’re as privy to Adrianna’s motivations as I am, brother, but our cousin is always welcome here.”
“Not her.” Julian snapped his arm out and jutted a pointed finger at Taya’s face. “That one.”
“She’s a part of my team.”
Julian’s brows shot up. He looked so much like Thane, yet completely different at the same time. “Father will want to meet her.”
Oh goody.
“Undoubtedly.”
Julian finally turned to his brother again. “You would do well not to antagonize him.”
Thane’s false smile disappeared. Apparently, their terrible act of civility was over. “My existence antagonizes him. What do you want, Julian? You don’t usually grace me with your presence to welcome me home.”
Julian straightened and brushed non-existent dirt of his shirt. “Father wants a full report.”
“I already sent a report ahead of our arrival.” He obviously left out Taya’s presence.
“Yes. He wants to know more about Earth’s energy and the possibility of bringing in more earthen slaves.” Julian turned to leave. “I suggest bringing the girl.”
Girl? Who the hell was he calling a girl?
“Did he request to see her?” Thane asked.
“How could he if he doesn’t know of her existence yet?” Julian’s v
oice dripped with sarcasm.
“Then I’ll attend our father once I’ve cleaned up. Alone.”
Power snapped around Julian, dark and ugly. Gnarled streaks of black and gray wound around him like barbed wire. As quickly as they appeared, the powerful bands dissipated, leaving Julian visibly more relaxed. He flung a non-committal gloved hand in the air, half-wave, half-salute, and walked away. His three goons trailed close behind him.
Taya repressed a shudder. Her muscles tensed and her feet itched to run away. What the hell was wrong with that guy? Taya had no idea, but this was not the place to show how much Julian’s quick display of potent power scared the crap out of her.
Had Thane mentioned cleaning up? She couldn’t wait to pull on clean clothes instead of stepping into pants roughened by tears and grime. Or soak her legs in a hot bath for days. Bathing would be a nice distraction from the unease broiling in her gut. She turned to Thane once his brother was out of earshot.
A soft smile tugged at Thane’s lips. He was apparently unaffected by his brothers magical temper tantrum.
“It’s about time you brought in some actual muscle.” Adrianna punched Thane in the shoulder.
Taya winced. The other woman’s form was terrible.
Adrianna brought her hand back and shook it, glaring at her cousin.
He shrugged.
Adrianna hopped off the bench and beamed at Taya. “When you’re done with these dumb lugs, find me and I’ll give you a proper Jericho welcome.”
“Um...”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you.” The woman winked at her and bounced up the stairs after Julian, most likely to make more mischief. Thane’s cousin reminded Taya of a playful cat following an unraveling ball of yarn. The question was what sort of destruction would she inflict when it came time to pounce?
“I should be fine?” she repeated Thane’s earlier assurance.
“Absolutely.” Thane turned to Bertrand. “Get her a room, give her a tour, and drill her on the schedule. I expect everyone at training tonight.”
Lokni and Soka groaned in unison. Her inner thighs wailed in protest.
Bertrand nodded, his dark gaze flicking to her, his expression unreadable.
“She’s not to be harmed,” Thane added.
Axel stepped up beside Taya. “She’s one of the team, Thane. We’ll look after her.”
Lokni and Soka grunted in agreement, but the rest of the men either looked unsure, wary, or completely unconvinced.
Only time would tell whether they’d end up friends or foes.
Chapter Seventeen
Wax on, Wax Off
January, five months After Arkavia (AA)
Three weeks had passed since her arrival at the House of Jericho. Training sessions proved brutal and confirmed how much weaker and less trained she was at pretty much everything compared to the battle-hardened warriors. Instead of earning their derision, though, her consistent failure and persistence seemed to earn her a little respect.
Adrianna had become as close to being a friend as possible in a world where Taya was essentially a slave masquerading as a soldier and hiding her filthy earthen origins. Thane’s cousin was hilarious, but more hilarious was Lokni’s blatant and unrequited infatuation with the lively noblewoman. Too bad Adrianna wasn’t a fighter. Training would have been more interesting with her here in the training room.
“Grapple day!” Thane announced as he walked into the large room. He appeared unaffected by the early hour and cool morning air. For once he wore no armour, and the black shirt and loose fitting pants did little to hide the solid muscle beneath.
They stood in a room probably intended as a ballroom for the second son of Jericho to hold court. Natural light streamed through large stained-glass windows. Sweat, metal, and citrus clung to the air instead of perfumed powder like the grand hall, though, because Thane had converted the large space to a medieval-style gym.
The men groaned at his proclamation.
Taya’s perked up a little despite the early hour and lack of caffeine. Finally, a day without swords, daggers or knives. Although she yearned to wield the lightning blades of Raiden, Thane had forbidden their use in practice. The heavier, dull practice swords she used in their place swung awkwardly and made her arm muscles scream.
Today, though… Today she would show off a little of her training.
Lokni swatted her butt as he passed. “I’ll spar with you first. How would you like that, baby?”
She rolled her eyes at the giant. He couldn’t help himself with the flirting. She’d seen him interact with the women around the castle. From barely legal to hobbling with a cane, Lokni laid on the charm with everyone except Adrianna. He became a blithering mess around her.
She followed Lokni to a free space and squared off.
Among various martial arts, her father raised her to fight in a style more gritty than Kung Fu. It was a style all its own and something he referred to as their “house style.” She couldn’t use half the moves in tournaments or when she trained with world-level MMA fighters. But even the times she wore protective gear and fought all out with her father, nothing prepared her for the reality of fighting a grown man intent on killing her.
At least that’s what it seemed like Lokni tried to do.
“What’s the matter? Didn’t get any last night?” She panted.
“I get plenty.”
“Just not the right one.”
He growled.
She scrambled out of his hold, spun and thrust her leg back. Her foot made contact. Lokni wheezed and doubled over. He swatted at her, like a pesky fly. She ducked, stepped to the side and leapt onto his broad back. With her legs wrapped around his waist, she squeezed out whatever breath he had left in his lungs. She snaked her arm under his neck and locked it with her other arm in a classic figure four.
Rear naked-choke. She pulled into his body, panting in his ear. “How do you like that, baby?”
Lokni flung his weight back. They sailed through the air.
Taya curled her body into his, protecting her head and neck, but she took the brunt of the impact and his weight. Her back slammed against the hard ground. Her breath escaped. Her sore muscles protested and her lungs screamed for air.
Not today! She kept the clamp on and arched her back to apply more pressure to his neck. God, he was heavy. Her arms shook.
Lokni gurgled and tapped her shoulder.
She released him and remained on the ground, panting, while Lokni scrambled to his feet. He turned to her, cheeks still flushed.
“Vicious beast.” He walked off to find another partner.
Too winded from the fall to make some sort of jab, she remained on the ground to recuperate.
“Impressive,” Thane said.
She twisted on the floor to find the warrior standing behind her, arms crossed.
“Lokni is one of our best grapplers.”
One of? Interesting. Who were the rest? She had a hunch the men she first met with Thane—Axel, Lokni and Soka—were the best on his team. He’d taken his elite crew to travel to Earth. Because of her? Or something else? Surely an earthen pest didn’t require that much display of force.
She got to her feet, hoping she appeared confident and not slow because of a hurt back.
“There’s not much use for grappling in a dance with swords,” she said.
Thane smiled. “You’re right. The fight doesn’t often last long enough to go to the ground when sharp edges are involved, but it’s still a valuable skill and you need to hone these skills more than the others.” And become the best. His unspoken words hung in the cool air.
“Stop talking and let me hone.” That sounded wrong.
Thane grinned, his expression turning predatory.
Her survival instincts shrieked and the small hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Uh-oh.
He went from amiable instructor to deadly Arkavian warrior without armour standing a foot away as if he simply flicked a light switch. And he
didn’t even know what that was. For all of Arkavia’s power and realm conquering, they lived a medieval existence in a lot of ways.
“You need a partner to…hone,” he said.
Yeah…she’d hoped the reference wouldn’t translate to Arkavian. Apparently, the evolution of language from the two realms was freakishly similar. It hurt her brain trying to figure out how that was possible.
She stretched side to side. Her back cracked. “Let me guess. You’re the best?”
His smile answered her question.
Lovely. This was going to hurt.
So far, Thane’s tactics involved tackling her to the ground and smothering her with the weight of his giant body until she gassed out and left herself vulnerable to a submission. And fuck, it was working.
Normally, she excelled at wrestling and won high school and university championships. Taya found the down to earth grit and honesty of the sport a nice offset to the more traditional martial arts.
Usually.
Today, she found it exhausting and discouraging. It reminded her of when she started training in jujitsu, another humbling experience. She didn’t want to be humbled. She wanted to kick ass.
She needed to change her approach and focus on her take-down defence and alter this fight to her advantage. Easier said than done when a freight train barrelled toward her at a speed faster than she could dodge.
Thane caught her again and they flew to the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles together to prevent him from shifting to a full mount position. She raised her arms to protect her neck. His hot breath fanned her neck and his pine scent surrounded her.
“Thane!” Julian called out from across the room.
Thane grabbed her arms and pinned them to the floor. His chest rose with each heavy breath and a light sheen of sweat broke out across his forehead. He looked as fresh as a daisy compared to her.
“Thane!” Julian bellowed, clearly wanting an immediate answer.
Thane peered down at her. His face unbearably close, the striking silver accents of his stormy gray gaze mesmerized her. As if someone snapped their fingers, she was now intensely aware of their intimate position. His hard body pressed her into the floor.
The Night House Page 10
