“Yes, but it’s a rare occurrence.”
“Is it usually so cryptic?”
Ezra chuckled. “For the Eye, yes. All will be revealed in time. I’m simply its voice. As I searched for you, I received a vision of this garden. You and I sat in this very spot in front of this tree, and I had this very book in my hand.” He held the book out to Segreti, but Segreti placed his hands over Ezra’s.
“Would you read it to me?” Segreti was certain his gruff baritone would not do the prose justice. Ezra’s voice, on the other hand, was lyrical.
Ezra’s face lit up, his smile wide as he nodded. “I would love to.” He opened the book while Segreti attempted to get comfortable—attempted being the key word. Perhaps if he closed his eye, he might settle.
“Segreti?”
“Hm?”
“You needn’t keep your discomfort to yourself.”
Segreti opened his eye and frowned down at Ezra. “How did you know?”
“I’m a healer,” Ezra reminded him. He patted the grass beside him. “Lie down. Put your head on my lap.”
Segreti cleared his throat and averted his gaze, afraid his face might be as red as it felt. Goddess above, shyness! At his advanced years. “Where will you put your book?”
Ezra chuckled. “I have already moved it.”
Segreti turned his face, his brows shooting up at the sight of the floating book. Well now, wasn’t that something? With a nod, Segreti lay on the grass, his head against the softness of Ezra’s lap. The relief was instant. Ezra smiled down at him, and Segreti returned the gesture.
“Close your eye.”
“I fear your voice and your lap may put me to sleep.” He realized what it sounded like, and his eye flew open. “Not that you put me to sleep,” he quickly corrected. “I would never be wearied by you, ever. I was referring to how comfortable I am in your presence, and I, um…”
Ezra laughed softly. “General, I know what you meant, and it pleases me to hear it.”
“It does?”
“Yes. The fact you would feel such comfort in my presence that you’d allow yourself to fall into a state of vulnerability speaks volumes of your trust in me.”
Segreti hadn’t considered that. “You’re right.” He’d never allow himself to sleep in the presence of someone he didn’t trust. Being alert and distrustful had been ingrained in him from centuries upon centuries of being out in the battlefield.
“Now, close your eye.”
Segreti did as asked, his entire body growing heavy against the soft ground. A contented sigh escaped him, and he rubbed his cheek against Ezra’s leg, basking in the warmth and heavenly scent of flowers and herbs that followed Ezra.
Ezra’s palm came to rest on his brow. “Rest, my fierce General. There are no more wars to fight, no battles to concern yourself with. Only peace and the promise of a good sleep.” Just as he said the words, a gasp escaped Ezra.
Segreti’s eyes flew open, his gaze landing on the golden Soldati Eye floating above him, a pulsing glow emanating from it. Before he could speak or move, an echoed voice entered his mind and he jerked.
“Sleep.”
Everything went black.
Chapter Six
An agonized cry startled Ezra, and he turned to find himself in a dark, filthy chamber, its stone walls splattered with a murky substance. The rancid smell of sweat and other bodily fluids threatened to choke him, and he reeled back. He ran into something hard and spun, a gasp escaping him at the sight of the battered creature covered in gaping wounds and festering lesions. Dark hair matted with blood hung over the face, concealing his identity. He was wide and built strong, his powerful body looking as if it had been bathed in blood. A low groan left the man’s lips, sending a shiver through Ezra.
It can’t be. Ezra drew closer and gently parted one side of the hair.
“Please… kill me.”
The plea had Ezra snatching his hand away as if burned. His heart splintered, and tears filled his eyes.
Segreti…
How…? Ezra scanned the chamber around him and realized he was in a cell. Could it be? He had heard tales of Segreti’s capture. How he’d been tortured and barely escaped with his life. Ezra turned to Segreti and clamped his hands over his mouth to stifle the sob threatening to break free.
What have they done to you?
Ezra held his palm up, and the light in Segreti’s soul showed itself to him. It was a beautiful blue, steady and honorable, but it was fading, the desire to depart their world growing with every heartbeat. Segreti would never surrender his life willingly to an enemy. What would cause his soul such agony as to wish its own demise?
“Have you learned your lesson yet?”
Ezra’s blood turned to ice, his worst fears come to light. Segreti had not been captured and tortured at the hands of an enemy, but at the hands of his own king.
Pavoni’s face twisted in rage as he mercilessly beat Segreti, saliva flying from his jowls as he snarled and spat his displeasure.
“You dare defy me?” Pavoni roared, placing his blade to Segreti’s back and slicing into his skin. “I gave you orders. You are mine to command. You’re nothing but a rabid beast. The only reason I don’t kill you is because of your men and the power you seem to wield over them, but you forget this is my army, not yours! If I command a village burned to the ground with everyone in it, then you do as I blasted command! I don’t care if it was infested with cubs. It would teach them to cower before me!” Pavoni tossed the bloodied knife to the floor. He wiped sweat from his brow as he paced. “Did you think I wouldn’t discover your treason? That I don’t have Orso soldiers loyal to me? The moment you transported those filthy villagers to another realm, my faithful servant informed me of your treason.”
A shadow loomed in the cell, another Orso, his soul a murky brown tinged with red. Evil filled his soul, one akin to Pavoni. Ezra couldn’t see his face but felt his perverse joy at Segreti’s pain. He’d helped Pavoni slice at Segreti’s skin, reveled in his assault.
“Please stop,” Ezra begged. How much more could Segreti take? He’d been burned, stabbed, cut, beaten, and whipped.
Pavoni stopped in front of Segreti and grabbed hold of his chin, forcing his head up. Segreti was barely conscious.
“Look at me,” Pavoni demanded.
Segreti forced his eye open, the fiery amber Ezra had come to admire barely visible.
“You will not forget this day,” Pavoni promised. He pulled at the pins holding Segreti’s shackled wrists, and Segreti fell onto his knees before Pavoni. With a curl of his lips, Pavoni unfastened the belt of his tunic.
“No.” Ezra shook his head. He pushed at Pavoni, but nothing happened.
Pavoni reached under his tunic and unfastened his trousers.
“Stop. Please.” Ezra took a step back, the light inside him threatening to burst free. He couldn’t let Pavoni do this. Pavoni dropped his trousers and grabbed a fistful of Segreti’s hair.
“Perhaps this will remind you that you are nothing but my whore.”
“No!” A roar tore from Ezra’s throat, and the Soldati light within his soul flared, exploding out of him, plunging everything into white light. He couldn’t allow Pavoni to further hurt Segreti. Ezra harnessed his powers and called on the Soldati Eye. Death was too good for Pavoni. He wished to see wrath? Ezra would show him wrath. And send him to the very pits of hell where he belonged.
A horrific cry startled Segreti from his slumber, and he scrambled to his feet, a sharp pain piercing his heart, as if someone had driven a knife through it. The earth trembled beneath his feet, and he took a quick step back, a gasp escaping him at the sight of his sweet Ezra.
“Ezra? Love?” Segreti inched closer and carefully placed a hand on his arm, then hissed when the touch burned his skin. What the bloody hell happened? Another wave of pain, fear, and nausea rolled through Segreti. Terror washed over him, and he shifted into his bear form, releasing a ferocious roar to alert the Soldati king and his counci
l. Shifting back into his human form, he was relieved when he spotted Khalon and the others speeding toward him in their tiger forms.
“Khalon!”
Khalon arrived with the prince and their council in tow, along with several Soldati warriors. They quickly shifted into human form.
“What the hell is happening?” Riley asked.
Ezra stood by the tree where Segreti had been asleep only moments ago. He was exceptionally still, his eyes completely white and his arms at his sides, fingers splayed. His face was ashen, but it was his expression of terror that would haunt Segreti for the rest of his immortal life. Whatever was happening, Segreti could feel it, or at least partially, which made no sense. They weren’t mated.
Khalon turned to Segreti. “What happened prior to this?”
“Ezra sat with his back to the tree. I lay on the grass, my head on his lap, dozing as he read to me. Next thing I know, I hear him gasp and open my eyes to find the Soldati Eye hovering over me, glowing. I heard a voice in my head say ‘sleep’ before everything went dark. Then I was startled awake by Ezra’s scream and a sharp pain to my heart. I quickly got up, and he stood. I tried to get his attention, but it’s as if he can’t hear me, and when I tried to touch him, it burned.”
Khalon cursed under his breath. “Did he touch you? Before any of this happened, did he touch you?”
Segreti frowned. “Before I fell asleep, I felt his palm on my brow.”
“Blasted hell.”
“What is it?” Segreti asked, concerned.
“He’s having a vision, but not of the future, of the past, something the Eye needed him to see. I fear it did not take Ezra’s possible reaction into consideration. Ezra is a healer, as you know, but there are times when he’s not in control of his gifts.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Ezra touched you, his soul found a source of great pain, and it triggered a vision. The power of the Eye flows through him. Its knowledge is infinite, and as it’s connected to Ezra’s soul—a soul whose purpose is to heal—it’s drawn to great suffering. It’s taken his mind to the source of your pain. Unfortunately, his gifts can’t distinguish between pain of the body and pain of the mind. Ezra can’t heal wounds to the mind, only to the body. When an attempt to heal the mind through a vision occurs, the Eye quickly pulls Ezra back.”
“So why isn’t it pulling him back now?” Riley asked.
Khalon shook his head sadly. “Because Ezra isn’t allowing it. He’s called on the power of the Eye, determined to stop whatever he’s witnessing, keeping him stuck in that vision.” Khalon’s eyes filled with concern and heartache as he turned back to Segreti. “He cares for you, my old friend. Whatever pain he’s found inside of you, it’s taken hold of his heart and won’t release him.”
“No.” Segreti shook his head, the horror of what he knew his sweet Ezra was witnessing making him feel sick to his stomach. He blinked back his tears and grabbed Khalon’s arms. “You must do something. We must wake him from that nightmare.”
“I don’t know how,” Khalon admitted. “This has never happened before. Ezra is nothing but steadfast and rational. He doesn’t make connections of the heart easily.”
“Um, guys,” Riley said, taking a step back. “Something’s happening, and I don’t think it’s good.”
They turned their attention back to Ezra. The pain in his beautiful face had been replaced with anger. He lifted off the ground, arms held out at his sides as a gust of wind swept through the trees. It quickly turned into a squall, the howling like agonized wailing.
“Ezra,” Khalon shouted over the wind. “Ezra, listen to my voice!”
Ezra placed his arms over his chest in a cross, and Rayner grabbed Segreti. “Everyone, get down!”
Before they could do as Rayner ordered, Ezra threw his arms out, and the blast knocked them all off their feet. Trees were torn from the ground and fell onto their sides. Black clouds swallowed the sun, pitching them into darkness, as if the sun had set. The boom of vicious thunder resounded in the sky, and lightning struck down from the heavens.
“Perhaps Riley can reach him,” Toka shouted over the blustering wind. “He is Sauger.”
Riley shook his head. “I don’t think I’m the voice he’s waiting to hear.” He met Segreti’s gaze. “He’s trying to stop your suffering, Segreti. You’re the one he needs right now.”
Segreti nodded. He forced himself to his feet—no easy task when the wind kept trying to tear his limbs from his body. All this… for him? Segreti pushed forward, one foot in front of the other until he was almost close enough to touch Ezra.
“Ezra,” Segreti called out. “Love, listen to my voice.”
Ezra tilted his head in Segreti’s direction.
“I’m here. Please, come back to me.”
“He is causing you great suffering,” Ezra replied, his voice echoing as if several voices were speaking along with his. Was it the Eye speaking through him?
“He’s dead, remember? He can’t hurt me anymore.”
Ezra threw his head back, an agonized wail echoing through the gardens. Damnation, what had he done now?
“Ezra?” Segreti hoped Ezra, or the Eye, or both, were listening.
“He must pay for what he’s done, even if it means going to the veil beyond. That vile creature belongs in the farthest depths of hell, his soul to be ripped apart by demons for all eternity!”
“No!”
Ezra lowered his head, his eyes glowing a bluish white. “Do you not wish for retribution?”
Segreti placed his palms together, pleading. “I wish for you to stay here with me and help heal me with your soft touch and tender smile. Let’s fill our hearts and our lives with warmth and love. That is what I wish.”
Slowly, Ezra descended, until his boots were once again on the ground. Segreti dared to take a step closer. He placed his hand to Ezra’s cheek.
“You once told me not to damn my beautiful soul for a beast so undeserving of me. I’ve taken your words to heart, and now ask the same of you. That foul creature has taken so much from us. Let’s not allow him to take our future.”
The wind stopped, the trees set themselves to rights, and the sun once again shone in the brilliant blue sky. Ezra closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they had returned to their former beauty. Tears quickly filled them, and Segreti caught Ezra before he crumpled to the ground. Ezra buried his face against Segreti’s chest, his body wracked with shivers and quiet sobs, and Segreti lifted him into his arms. Riley appeared before them and silently motioned for Segreti to follow.
Ignoring the concerned looks of the castle’s court, Segreti accompanied Riley into the royal wing of the castle to a vast bedchamber he knew immediately to be Ezra’s by its rich blue hues and walls lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling.
“My chair,” Ezra mumbled against Segreti’s neck.
Riley pointed over to the fireplace and the large wingback chair with plush pillows that sat before it.
“I’ll be close by if you need me,” Riley said softly before leaving the room and closing the doors behind him.
Segreti prepared to place Ezra in his chair, but Ezra tightened his arms around Segreti’s neck, his voice almost a whisper when he spoke.
“Please don’t leave me.”
“Whatever you wish, love.” Segreti took a seat on the chair, grateful for its enormous size. It was soft, warm, and wonderfully comfortable. He imagined Ezra spent a great deal of time in it as he read one of his many books. Segreti put his feet up on the large footstool so he was better situated, and Ezra curled up against him. He held Ezra tight and laid his cheek against Ezra’s soft hair, running his hand in soothing circles over his back.
For hours they remained huddled together, and a sense of peace washed over Segreti. He’d never felt so at ease. This was what he’d always secretly dreamed of—to curl up in front of the fire with a kind mate who looked upon him with affection, someone he could share his life with. He didn’t know how
long this would last. Ezra might wake up and decide Segreti was far more trouble than he was worth. He might never forgive Segreti for what he’d witnessed. Segreti’s heart squeezed in his chest. He would have given anything to spare Ezra the vileness.
For now, he would bask in this moment. He inhaled Ezra’s sweet scent and let himself drift in and out of sleep, with Ezra’s soft body cradled in his arms. Together they dozed, huddled in each other’s warmth. At one point, Segreti stirred to find moonlight filtering in through the balcony doors, a cozy fire flickering in the hearth causing dancing shadows across the room.
Segreti had started to doze off again when Ezra’s quiet voice met his ear. He almost hadn’t heard him with how soft he murmured the words.
“I have never wished harm upon anyone, no matter how wicked, but him…” Ezra sniffed. When he next spoke, his voice was low and full of disdain. “Had I known what he’d done when he’d stepped foot in this castle, I would have torn his throat out with my own jaws.”
“There is no need for you to shed blood on my account, my Ezra. That foul beast is where he belongs.” Segreti kissed the top of Ezra’s head before releasing a heavy sigh. “I wish you’d never seen such repulsiveness. What you must think of me.”
“Of you?” Ezra pulled back, his frown deep.
“Knowing I… What I allowed him to do.” A tear managed to escape, and Segreti swiftly wiped it away. “I should’ve chosen death. It would’ve been more honorable, but I was a coward.”
The anger that filled Ezra’s gaze surprised Segreti. “There was no ‘allow’ in the horrors forced upon you. Pavoni stole your right to choose. The only coward in that cell was that repulsive beast.”
“I would’ve spared you, and you wouldn’t have seen me degrade myself in such a fashion. How can you bear to look at me?”
Ezra cupped Segreti’s face and gently lifted it to meet his gaze. The heartbreak in Ezra’s eyes took Segreti’s breath away. “Do you know what I see when I look at you?”
The Soldati General (Soldati Hearts Book 3) Page 7
