by Raven Dark
“I’ll go get Beast before we pack up,” Reaper said.
Everyone said their goodbyes and shook hands, and then the Brothers of Brimstone departed.
With only the Legion’s men in the room now, Hawk pulled me to my feet and took my hand. “Let’s go out to the garden so we can have that talk, Kitten.”
“Yes, Master.”
I pushed aside the bolt of anxiety at the thought of telling him about Serena and the dream. It had to be done. Maker, give me strength.
Chapter 18
Confessions
Hawk led me across the room to a set of double doors at the back of the room. The guards opened the doors, and we stepped out into a large marble ball room. Floor to ceiling glass windows lined one wall, with a set of doors that opened out to one of Lord Falnar’s massive gardens.
Hawk and I strolled out into the cool night air. Apprehension at the conversation ahead made my stomach clench. The pleasant scent of gardenias, roses, and lilac, combined with the warmth of Hawk’s hand in mine, helped sooth my anxiety as he led me down the stone steps and along a garden path. Moonlight provided the only illumination out here, giving the whole garden a romantic air.
I opened my mouth several times, but nothing came out.
His hand tightened in mine. “What’s going on, Kitten? You know you can tell me anything, don’t you?”
I drew a deep breath. How would he react to all of this?
“Ever since we arrived, strange things have been happening, and I think most of it is connected to the Violets here. Especially Serena.”
“How so?”
“Well, first, you remember the connection I can feel with other Violets? The way I can…”
“You sense their minds.”
I nodded. “The connection is more…intense with Serena and the other women in the harem, different.’
When he waited for me to elaborate, I started by telling him about what had happened with Serena and the sisters in her chambers yesterday. How the women had suddenly froze in place, standing like dolls.
“And then they just…reanimated and went on with what they’d been doing, as if nothing had happened,” I finished with a shudder.
Hawk raised a brow, looking like he was absorbing my words. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Yes.” I went on to explain what had happened with the birth, starting with the way I’d felt Adeline’s labor pains and taking her mind into my garden, then ending with making her baby turn.
“I heard about that.” His tone was filled with wonder. “Doc told me what you did with the baby. That’s…remarkable.”
Discomfort squirmed in my belly until I saw that his expression was still stoic as ever.
“What else?”
I drew a deep breath. “Master, Serena is, well. She’s having the same dream. The same one I have. About the faceless man.”
Hawk stopped in his tracks. Just for an instant, but he stopped. When he started walking again, his steps were slower. “Did she tell you anything about him? Does she know who he is?”
His voice was completely level, putting me at ease.
“I asked her. She told me she couldn’t talk about it.”
“Did she seem afraid of him? Or afraid of talking about him?”
“Yes. Well, maybe. She seemed afraid of talking about it, but it’s more than that. It’s like these dreams happen to her so often that she’s used to them now.”
He said nothing, leading me further down the garden path. What was he thinking?
To fill the silence more than anything else, I said, “I didn’t tell you about the incident in Serena’s chambers before, because Pretty Boy thought the women might have been playing pranks on me.”
Hawk pressed his lips together. “Maybe on its own, I would agree. But not when I hear it along with everything else you’ve said. This is all very strange.”
“I know, Master. What does it mean? Why is this happening?”
I hated that my voice sounded so shaken.
He said nothing for so long that desolation began to bubble up.
We’d come to one of those beautiful, white gazebos like the one Doc and I had found Adeline sitting in the other day. Hawk walked me inside, seeming deep in thought. Small wall sconces on the walls flickered with candlelight. Red roses wound around the white pillars, and the sweet scent of honeysuckle filled the air.
“Master?” I prompted, hoping I sounded more casual than I felt.
Hawk led me over to a bench against the wall of the gazebo, closed my hands in his, and sat us down on the cushioned seat.
“First of all, this is a lot for anyone to deal with. Honestly, I don’t know what it means. But if you and Serena are having a shared dream, then I can see now that your nightmares aren’t just a manifestation of the mind. There’s a lot more to this.”
My heart slowed at his understanding. It felt good to know I wasn’t the only one who saw something ominous in this whole situation.
His thumbs stroked the backs of my hands. “I’d like to take this to my tai dan. He might be able to shed some light on what’s happening. My master seems to understand these kinds of things in ways that others don’t. We can’t visit him now, obviously, but I can send a letter to his guild his tonight.”
“Oh, Maker. Your master? That would be wonderful. Do you really think he may be able to tell us something?”
“I hope so. If anyone can tell you anything, it’ll be him.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“In the meantime, until we hear from him, we’ll keep meditating, keep analyzing your dreams. When you have them, I want you to tell me everything you can—”
“Oh! Master, wait.” I ran my hands through my hair in my agitation. “I almost forgot. There’s one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Last night, when I woke from the dream I was having in your room, my…” I felt the blood drain from my face at the memory but forced myself to finish when I saw his look of concern. “Master, in the nightmare, I was in my garden again. He was there.”
“The man with no face?”
“Yes. But right before I woke up, the garden. It…” I licked my lips. “It exploded.”
He frowned. “It was burning again?”
“No. I mean, it exploded. It was like it became a room, and the whole thing blew up. Like he made it blow up.”
When I finished, again, Hawk said nothing for several beats. He let out a big breath, then stood up slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Fear made my stomach knot. “Please tell me what you’re thinking, Master. Light, I’m tired of these nightmares.” I closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears that threatened. “They are getting worse,” I whispered, opening my eyes again.
Hawk turned and carefully and lowered himself onto his knee in front of me. He set his hands on my knees. When he spoke, his tone was low and soft.
“Okay. I’ll be honest with you. That doesn’t sound good.” I swallowed, and he took the back of my nape with his palm, leaning in close. “Setora, I don’t want you to be afraid. We will figure this out. I am taking this seriously, and I’m going to find the answers. Aside from the dreams, you’ve been under an enormous amount of stress. That’s why I want us to get back to the Grotto.”
“Because it’s safer.”
“Yes.” He squeezed my nape. “And I will take all of this to my tai dan in a letter. Until we hear from him, we’re going to stop those dreams.”
“How?”
“I’ll have Doc give you something to block them. I don’t want you having any dreams at all until we hear back from Master Leif.” He kissed my forehead.
Hearing how well he was taking all of this, knowing there was hope of getting answers, made me feel as if a huge weight had been lifted off of my chest. I fell a little more in love with him right then.
“You’ve been through so much,” he added tenderly. “Saketh. Emmy being kidnapped. You almost died. And just yesterday we thought you we
re pregnant. Any other woman would have gone insane by now.”
Pregnant. I still had no idea how he felt about that, but for some reason, I couldn’t make myself ask.
Hawk pushed my hair back and searched my eyes intently. “Something else is bothering you, Kitten. What is it?”
I bit my lip and decided on the direct approach. “What would you do if I was having your baby?”
Hawk returned to my side on the bench and twined his fingers in mine.
“Setora, last night, you were in so much pain, we thought we were going to lose you. Again. I don’t know what any of us would have done if that had happened.” He looked away. “This trip. None of us thought it would cost us so much.”
He met my eyes again. “Look, the thought of being a father scares the fuck out of me. You know what kind of a father I had. I’d make a terrible father.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he put his fingertips gently to my lips.
“Hold on, let me finish. Part of me would be terrified of turning out like him. But I also know things would be different because of you. You would be the perfect mother for my son.”
Every muscle in me coiled with longing at his words, need humming along my skin. Not trusting myself to speak, I swallowed and let him continue.
Hawk slid his arms around me, drawing me so close I felt the heat of his breath on my lips.
“The thought of you having my child makes me hard as hell. But even if you never give any of us children, you are ours. Nothing else matters.”
My heart melted, his words reaching all the way to my soul. With or without children, he accepted life with me and all that entailed. What had I done to deserve him?
I rested my hands on his chest. “If I were to have your child, how would that work with your being Yantu?”
His lips quirked. “A lot of people think Yantu can’t have children, but the rules aren’t so cut and dry. If I were living in the temples, my order would not allow it. Children are not permitted beyond the temples walls, unless they’re old enough to practice. But I’m not living within the order, so having a child changes nothing.”
“Master, you always find ways to surprise me.”
He tipped my chin up and brushed my lips with his, a kiss so gentle I wouldn’t have thought it possible of my deadly pirate warrior. I melted, and my arms slid around him. His tongue delved inside, exploring, teasing, until my senses reeled.
When he lifted his head, his eyes were amber pools of fire. He plucked a rose from the wall above the bench and held it up between us. I took it and inhaled the sweet, rich scent.
He took the rose and slipped it into the side of my hair, then cupped my face in his hands and rested his forehead against mine. “We need to head back, but before we do, I want you to understand something. None of what’s happening with you will change anything. I—the Four—will take care of you. You’re never getting rid of us. Do you understand?”
The devotion in his words made my heart soar as if it had wings. I couldn’t think of anything to say, nothing seemed adequate. I cupped his face in return. “I understand, Master.”
As we walked back to the castle hand in hand, a sense of rightness washed over me, pure, rare joy that felt as if nothing could snuff it out.
The things I could do, the nightmares with the faceless man, the way my blood changed, and now my Four accepting the fact I wasn’t pregnant, that they cared for me no matter what... It seemed nothing could scare off my beloved pirates in leather. I truly did belong to them, and nothing in this world would ever change that.
Chapter 19
Suspect
By the time Hawk and I had returned to the smoking room, the atmosphere was completely different. The lights were lowered a little more, the men were talking and laughing animatedly, and the air was thick with the smell of smoke and whisky.
Lord Falnar was asleep in his large chair snoring softly. Serena must have left while Hawk and I were gone, because I didn’t see her there now.
With only the Legion men and Lord Falnar now in the room, I’d have thought the conversation would have wound down, especially with Lord Falnar apparently passed out drunk. But if anything, the talk between the men was more boisterous, laugher and the clinking of glasses filling the air.
Diamond and Emmy were still there, and when I saw what they were doing, I had to bite back a laugh. The two of them were giving each of Doc’s knees a lap dance. He grinned from ear to ear, clearly enjoying every second.
“Hey, Petal,” Steel called over to me. His voice was gloriously husky from drink. “Make me a Muddy Sour, will you?”
“Yeah, because he’s too lazy to do it himself,” Pretty Boy said between laughs.
“No, it’s because if I stand up, I’ll fall on my face.”
I shook my head at them. What would I do with those two? Any of the tension I might have been feeling from earlier was wiped away.
Hawk nodded to the bar. “I’ll talk to Doc in a little while about giving you something to keep those dreams away while you sleep. Looks like he’s a bit occupied right now.” He nodded over to the happy trio.
“Yes, Master.” I laughed and squeezed his hand in silent thanks and headed to the bar while Hawk joined the men.
At the bar, I opened the cupboard above me and found an assortment of goblets and glasses. I found the appropriate snifter for the Muddy Sour, a squat, bowled glass with a short stem. I was about to get the canister to mix the concoction in but stopped, staring at the glass.
It was a gorgeous emerald green and smooth to the touch. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. I lifted the snifter by the stem, letting the light from a wall sconce play off the green sides. The glass was lightly frosted, and as I turned the snifter this way and that, I could see little sparks of gold color woven through it.
I froze.
Wait. I’ve seen this before.
Then it came to me. In the Grotto, when I’d seen the crates that should have been filled with gems. Only, the gems had been replaced with chunks of glass.
Glass exactly like this.
I nearly dropped the snifter. My thoughts raced. It took effort not to look across the room at Lord Falnar, my heart rate picking up a notch.
“Kitten?” Hawk’s voice behind me.
I jumped.
“What are you doing, Kitten?”
Setting the glass down, I tried to school my features and calm my pounding heart.
“I’ll tell you in a moment, Master, but could you hand me the canister over there?” I kept my voice low. Lord Falnar had looked passed out, but he’d stopped snoring. There was no way of knowing for sure that he wasn’t awake.
“….Oookay,” he drew out slowly. He reached over and handed me the tall metallic canister.
Without looking at him, I grabbed several bottles for the ingredients to make the drink, still keeping my voice quiet. “Master, this glass. The green one in front of me. Hold it up to the light and tell me what you see.”
Hawk rested his hand on my shoulder. “Kitten, you’re shaking. Just tell me what’s wrong.”
‘Master, please. Just look.”
He sighed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hawk pick up the glass, turning it over in his hand. “It’s a beautiful glass.” He sounded almost bored. “But I don’t see anything… Oh shit.”
He set the snifter down much too slowly, as if he were moving through thick, unseen sludge. “Damn it.” His voice was a soft growl.
I shook the mixed drink in the canister more forcefully than necessary. “Yes, I know, Master,” I hissed. “So what are we going to do?”
He let out a slow breath. “We’re going to act normal. Go give Steel his drink. We have to tell the others, but I’ll let Sheriff know. It’ll be okay, go.”
I poured the mixture into the snifter, and keeping my face a mask of calm, I walked over to Steel and held the drink out to him.
Steel’s brow furrowed as he caught my eye. Then his gaze flicked to something behind me. From
across the room, I thought I heard Sheriff’s voice rumble softly. A chair behind me creaked—Sheriff getting up, I thought.
Steel stood up. “Come on, Petal. Let’s get out of here,” he growled with an extra bite of lust in his voice. He handed the drink to Pretty Boy, who exchanged a look with Sheriff and then stood as well.
Steel hefted me effortlessly over his shoulder, catching me by surprise.
I watched Pretty Boy sniff the drink. He curled his lip in disgust and set it down on a table. Then he followed us across the room.
“Come on girls,” Doc said, already on his feet and putting his arms around Diamond and Emmy. “We’re gonna take this party upstairs.” His eyes gleamed.
Lifting my head, I saw Sheriff set his own drink down.
“Let’s not disturb his Lordship.” The General gave a convincing playful smile before he started toward the doors to the room after the rest of us.
Hawk went to the table where Pretty Boy had left the drink. He picked it up, then followed behind Sheriff. T-Man brought up the rear.
Once we were all in Pretty Boy’s room and the doors were closed, Steel set me on my feet.
Somehow, the room had ended up as messy as Pretty Boy’s room was back at the Grotto, with clothes strewn about and the bed rumpled. Steel’s doing, I figured, since he was usually the messier one.
I heard Diamond and Emmy asking what was going on, sounding confused, and Doc shushing them. I glanced around at the men in time to see Hawk dump the contents of the snifter in the fireplace. The few embers there went out with a hiss.
“All right, Hawk. Explain.” Sheriff stood by the doors, his arms crossed. “What are we all doing here?”
Hawk handed Sheriff the snifter.
Sheriff gave the glass a confused look. “And this is?”
“Tell him, Kitten.”
“I was making Steel a drink, and then I noticed…” I dropped my arms, hoping I was wrong. Speaking ill of a man of Lord Falnar’s repute would have gotten me a whipping if I was anywhere else. “I noticed the snifter your holding in your hand looks like the glass I saw in the crates at the Grotto, Master. The ones that replaced your gems.”
