by Brenda Trim
Maurelle’s heart shattered just then. How much of her memories would it take? Would she even recall how she felt about Ryker? She couldn’t bear losing him. She opened her mouth to say they could beat the council then closed it.
There was no beating the council at their own game. These were powerful Fae with more skills than she could ever dream of learning. “You’re right. I don’t want to forget him, or how much I love him.”
“I wish I could tell you it wouldn’t happen, but it’s likely we won’t recall anything. I won’t be one of his Guard anymore,” Brokk whispered.
“We will get through this however we can,” she promised him. “We will have a new beginning with him. It’s not going to be an ending.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Brokk told her. “Let’s say it together.”
Nodding she stretched her hand to him as much as her battered body would allow. “On the count of three. One, two, three,” she said then together they murmured, “damnatio memoriae.”
As soon as the words were out of their mouths Maurelle’s mind went dark for several seconds. What the hell was that? Where was she? Her attempt to sit up was cut short by her moan.
“Are you okay, Maurelle?” Glancing over, she saw Brokk lying on a stone bench. He was cut and bleeding and had more bruises than a peach. What happened to him?
The image of him kissing one of her breasts popped into her mind, distracting her from the issue at hand. Had she really had sex with him? “I’m…no I hurt all over. Why are we here?”
“I have no idea. Why would we be in a cell after being tortured? That’s not part of the academy curriculum is it?”
She shook her head in response and had to close her eyes when the pounding increased. “Ummm. Torture would be absurd. None of our parents would put up with that.”
Why were they there? She wracked her aching brain for the answers. Everything was fuzzy. Probably from having her skull bashed in. That never turned out well for anyone.
There were Fae with cloaks and animal masks, but what did they want? She recalled potions that made her skin boil. Glancing to the side, she saw confirmation the memories were accurate. The puss-filled blisters on her shoulder were proof enough of that.
“Did they ask us about the Fae king?”
Brokk’s voice seemed too loud in the quite chamber. This was the true definition of hell. She prayed for her dad or sisters to come rescue them as she considered his question.
“Yeah. I remember being asked who the king was over and over. It’s why they’re hurting us.”
“There is no king. The last one and his heir were killed when I was a baby. Why would they torture us over something like that?”
“I don’t know Brokk. What do you think they will do to us when we can’t give them the answer?”
“We’re going to rip it from your minds,” came the caustic reply.
Maurelle couldn’t manage to sit up, so she watched the group of masked Fae hover from the doorway across from their cells. This was not going to turn out well for them and they didn’t have the information these people wanted.
“Please,” Brokk begged. “There is no king.”
“Save it, and your energy. This potion isn’t going to be pleasant for either of you.”
Tears started streaming from her eyes increasing her pain and her chest ached. As she tried to lift her hand to wipe away her tears, she noted that disappointment sat like a stone in her gut. She wished she could tell her dad and sisters she loved them one last time. At least she would be with her mom soon.
Chapter 17
“Ryker. It’s so good to see you,” Shiloh greeted and gave him a hug and kiss. Daine and Sol were looking around the brothel with wide eyes. Yeah, being in an establishment that openly displayed nudity and sex was shocking. “What brings you here?”
Soft music played in the background. A chuckle left him when he noticed Daine and Sol gaped at the couches filled with naked Fae. Ryker’s attention caught on pink hair on a female at the long bar across the way. His heart cracked when he noticed it wasn’t Maurelle like he’d hoped. He knew before really looking, but he’d hoped.
Couples were in all manner of undress on the couches. He still thought the velvet green, purple and red sofas fit Sinful Delights perfectly. So did the leaves papered on the walls.
“Oh Gods,” Daine whispered.
“None are as beautiful as Maurelle,” Sol muttered as he took in the slender females with various colored wings.
“Sorry, Auntie. My friends are riveted by these non-existent breasts all around them.”
“No, we aren’t. We know what real boobs look like. These are fake imitations,” Daine declared with a shake of his head.
Several of her workers flew down from the landing above, but his aunt waved them away. No doubt she realized that he was committed to Maurelle. “You’ve got that right. Can we talk in private?” He directed the last part to Shiloh.
“Sure. Let’s go to my office,” she replied easily. “Do any of you want something to drink?”
“An ale sounds great if you have any,” Sol replied.
“Same,” Ryker and Daine added.
Shiloh lifted her hand and a scantily clad female hurried to her side. “Bring three ales and a glass of sine to my office, please.”
“Yes, ma’am. Right away.” The female lifted into the air instead of walking to the bar. Ryker wasn’t used to flying as many places since starting at the academy.
There was a force field over the school that fried his wings when he tried to escape the collectors before officially starting the program, and that experience left him wary of using them much. With the way his education had been going he was certain the staff would lower the field just to teach them a lesson. Then they couldn’t use their wings for anything.
Shiloh lead the way down the hall and to her office. Stepping into the familiar setting brought a smile to Ryker’s lips. From the moment he’d met Shiloh she had helped him and that was before she knew they were related.
Daine walked around touching the mosaic glass lamp shade and the fringe pillows on the maroon couch. It wasn’t like an office in most businesses. There was a desk with a bookshelf behind it, but the rest looked like the waiting room.
His aunt lifted her hand and drew a rune in the air. Gold light flashed and the pressure increased in the room, making his ears pop. “What was that?”
“It’s a silence spell,” she explained. “So, we can talk freely. Now where’s your friend, Maurelle? Has something happened?”
Emotion clogged Ryker’s throat, making it difficult to talk past the tears threatening to fall. He wasn’t an emotional male, but the thought of his mate being injured or worse took him to him knees.
“She’s been taken along with one of my friends, Brokk.”
Shiloh gasped and her hand flew to cover her mouth. “What? By whom?”
“The council used some kind of orb to search for me. Thanks to a spell from Shineah they weren’t able to discover who I really am, but they took Brokk and Maurelle.”
“Apparently they carried traces of Ryker’s mantle and it triggered the seeking orb,” Sol added.
“I am so sorry, love,” his aunt said. When she looked at him this time there were tears gathering in her eyes.
“What are you trying to say? They aren’t lost to me. I need your help finding them.”
The door opened and the waitress carried a tray with their drinks. Sol approached her and grabbed the wine and handed it to Ryker’s Aunt. Then distributing the ale to the other males, he returned to his seat with his own. Once they were alone again, Shiloh took a sip of her wine before setting the glass down on her desk.
“You don’t understand the danger the council represents. You cannot go up against them. You will die if you do.”
“So what? I’m supposed to give up on my mate and one of my Guard?” He snapped.
“Mate?” Sol and Daine blurted
Shiloh’s mouth turn
ed down and she cocked her head, ignoring his friends. “You’ve got a Guard now? Have you been using your mantle lately, as well?”
“I haven’t told her I want to mate yet,” he told them. “I am waiting until it’s safer for her. And, yes. My closest friends are my Guard. I had to have someone watching my back. Making them official was an accident, but not something I regret,” he explained.
Why the fuck was he telling her anything? She might be his aunt, but he was questioning how much more he wanted to get to know her. No one he called family would ever encourage him to leave others to die for him. Especially not his mate and friend.
“Have you used your mantle?”
“I’ve healed the lands from dark magic to save the dragons from going extinct and the students from becoming wraiths. I will not sit by safe in my dorm while my people die. They’ve already been there for several days. I have to help them.”
“That explains why there has been a rash of activity. Doing so left a signature on Maurelle and your friend that brought them to the council’s attention. It was one of the worst things you could have done. I don’t blame you for taking action. It needed to be done. Unfortunately, they are paying the price.”
“What kind of price? Are they alive?” He hated how his voice wavered with his questions.
“I cannot tell you that with any certainty. When your parents were killed, I believed it was the leader of the council that had done so. He was the only one powerful enough to pull it off. But, he was killed a few days later by humans and the rest of the council made an agreement with them, so I doubt it was him.”
Ryker took a gulp of his beer, needing the alcohol to numb him. “What exactly did the council agree to?”
“Fae were being gunned down in droves. Blood drenched the land, and no one was safe. It came as no surprise when the council announced a cease fire. We were all relieved until we realized what they’d given up in order to get the killing to stop.”
“I’m guessing that’s when our kind were forced from Dornwich and Furness and into the Edge,” Sol interjected.
“Correct. We lost our homes and very nearly our connection to the elements. The humans had the upper hand with us reeling from the loss of our King and Queen. They took full advantage and by the time anyone had recovered any sense of their power it was too late.”
“They could have fought back then,” Ryker insisted.
“We were a mess. No one listened to the council long enough to get organized. It was just impossible to overthrow their army with every Fae acting for himself. There’s a reason we rely so heavily on the mantle you carry. It unites us and gives us direction.”
“So, you just gave up?”
“Not exactly. Many went to the council begging them to do anything to unite our people. With enough in charge casting spells we could have managed to get Dornwich back if not both cities, but the requests were denied. People that spoke out against our situation started disappearing,” Shiloh explained as she paced in front of her desk.
“That’s when the rebellion was established. We were small but grew quickly. Irate members snuck into the council building never to return. Others sought any information they could about the new members so we could put pressure on them to cave into our demands. They too ended up dead.”
“I’m seeing the pattern,” Daine blurted. “Has anyone managed to accomplish anything without dying?”
“Ryker is the first. I believe the council is behind the poisoning of the lands. They’re working with the humans who want more land. The academy sits on the best piece of land in the realm. Rumor is that someone wants to tear down the school and build a home there.”
“No fucking way. I will not allow that to happen,” Ryker insisted.
“You are the only one that will be able to stop this. But in order to do that you must survive, and that means you cannot go looking for your friends.”
“I’ve told you I will not leave them to die for me. I need Maurelle and Brokk. I cannot and will not do this without them. Will you tell me the location of the council building?”
“I have no idea where the council has been moved. They used to be next to the castle, but that is now a human police station, or something. You’re all I have left of my sister. Please, don’t do this. All of Mag Mell needs you. I know you love them, but are their lives worth the entire Fae people and realm?”
Ryker wanted to rant and rail at his aunt and tell her yes, their lives were worth every cost. The words wouldn’t leave his mouth. How could he take this risk? If he was caught all would be lost for his kind. And, Maurelle and Brokk would die anyway.
He sank into the couch and put his head in his hands. “I can’t just leave them. How do I rescue them and save the realm?”
“If there was a way, I would be right by your side helping,” Shiloh promised and sat next to him to wrap her arm around his shoulders. Ryker drank the rest of his beer as his mind churned through another source to find out their location. He was going to find a way to rescue Brokk and Maurelle. There was no other option. He couldn’t be King without them both by his side.
Chapter 18
“Gods, I am so glad to be back here,” Maurelle announced as she and Brokk walked through the door to the main building. “Although I’m not sure how I am going to make it up the stairs to my room.”
“Tell me about it. I still hurt all over, and I don’t think my leg has healed entirely.” Maurelle recalled the way the bone poked through the skin of Brokk’s upper thigh. The past several days were one long blur of pain.
They’d been forced to drink what tasted and burned like acid. It had made Maurelle’s entire body shake, rattle and roll. After writhing all over the torture chamber large hands grabbed her and strapped her to the table they’d had Brokk on before.
A metal disc was placed on her forehead and held there while she fought the restraints. She passed out at some point. She had no idea how long she’d been out of it, but she heard the masked people talking about how she and Brokk knew nothing about the return of the king.
They hadn’t listened the countless times she said that before and worried the abuse would continue. Gentle hands unclasped her and lifted her from the table. She was carried in someone’s arms like a baby. Her hand brushed an object on the bookshelves, and she was bombarded by countless memories.
Too exhausted to focus, she didn’t realize they’d returned her to the cell until cold cement hit her back. The pain was all-consuming as she watched as Brokk was placed in his cell. They were left there to recover for the next few days with their only visitors bringing food and water and removing their waste.
She smelled like a sewer at the moment, and yet she wasn’t embarrassed to be leaning all her stank on Brokk. They’d grown closer over the days. It was hard not to after all they’d been through together. And, having to go to the bathroom in a bucket while in a cell with no walls or privacy, she was left with little room to hide.
“Brokk? Maurelle?”
She spun around and noticed Sol standing in the opening to the cafeteria. His eyes were bloodshot with deep purple bags under them. He looked like hell and sounded worse. She hurried as fast as she could move to his side.
“Sol. Are you okay?”
“Am I okay? Where the hell have the two of you been? We have been going out of our minds.” She wondered why they’d be worried about her. Brokk she understood. Her mind flashed on the five of them having sex and she was certain her cheeks were bright red with her embarrassment.
“I…uh…it’s a long story,” she replied.
Brokk was at her side then and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Let’s talk about it back in the room. Then we can get Maurelle back to her room.”
Sol nodded and reached out to embrace her. “It’s so good to have you back,” he whispered in her ear. “I didn’t think any of us would make it if we didn’t find you.”
She squeezed him back, and guessed the sex meant more to them. In her mind it was a bit of
fun and distraction from the monotony of their studies. Brokk let her go and headed to the stairs when she and Sol parted.
“What’s been going on here? It seems different somehow,” Brokk voiced as they started climbing the stairs.
“Yeah. I just can’t put my finger on what’s different,” she agreed.
“A lot has happened. We will catch you guys up when we get to the room,” Sol said as he helped her ascend the stairs.
“That sounds ominous,” Brokk snarked. She noticed he was using the handrail on the wall to help him get up the stairs. His leg was still healing. She had no idea how he wasn’t in more pain. Just a few days ago the bone was poking out of the skin for Gods’ sake.
Sol chuckled darkly. “Isn’t everything lately?”
Brokk went right to their room and opened the door. Maurelle was a few steps behind with Sol when she heard Ryker and Daine’s voices.
“Brokk. How the fuck?” Daine blurted while Ryker called out, “Where’s Maurelle?”
Strong arms wrapped around her and picked her up before she even entered the room. Glancing up, she met Ryker’s green eyes. He looked worse than Sol had. “Are you really here?”
What the heck was going on? The way Ryker was looking at her was as if he’d been torn apart by her absence and cared for her deeply. Just because they were intimate didn’t mean that they loved each other.
“I’m here. I see you’re really trying to live up to your charming side,” she teased. “Seriously though, you can put me down.”
“Not yet. What happened to you guys? How are you here?” Ryker demanded as he sat down on the couch with her in his lap.
She looked to Brokk and shifted uncomfortably. She was freaking sitting on Ryker’s lap. I guess he was worried when I didn’t show up in classes. “We were guests of the council for a few days.”
Ryker cocked his head and looked at her with a furrowed brow. Brokk sighed and sank into a chair. “For some reason the council is convinced a new king surfaced and their orb picked up his power on us. They questioned us quite violently and wouldn’t believe us until they ripped shit from our heads.”
