Chapter 5 Areana
AREANA
Navuh's reassurance eased some of Areana's fear, but not all of it. He was going to be furious with her, but now she at least had a glimmer of hope that he would forgive her deception.
He was watching her with such trust, such absolute faith that nothing she could say would change his love for her, and she prayed to the merciful Fates that he was right.
"It started with Tula," she said. "She's pregnant."
Navuh's expression didn't change, but she saw something flicker in his eyes, a confirmation of a suspicion instead of the surprise she'd expected.
He must have guessed what Tula's moods had been about.
Areana had hoped that his lack of interest in the harem ladies would shield Tula from his assessing eyes, but she should have known that not much escaped her mate.
Well, except for the deception that she'd been running for over two years. If he'd been aware of her communications with Annani and had said nothing, she would have to reassess everything she'd believed about her mate.
"Tony's child," Navuh offered, probably as a way to encourage her on.
"Yes." Areana smoothed her hand over her gown. "Tula was terrified, and rightfully so. She didn't want her son to be taken away from her or her daughter doomed to life as a human. "
Navuh's forehead furrowed, not in confusion, but in anger.
"All the harem ladies knew they were expected to produce sons for me.
In exchange, they were provided with whatever they wished for and lived in luxury, pampered and spoiled.
Nothing in this life is free, and Tula has always been the ungrateful sort.
If she weren't dear to you, I would have gotten rid of her a long time ago. "
Areana cringed, imagining what Navuh had meant by getting rid of Tula. But then she hadn't expected any other response from him.
"Acknowledging the expectations and actually facing them is not the same thing.
It was hard on me, and it was hard on the other ladies who had children.
Tula watched all of us suffer immensely when our babies were taken away from us, and she watched the girls age and die as humans.
She couldn't go through this and actually contemplated ending her own life. "
Navuh was silent for a moment. "She came to you. And you tried to console her, but she wanted to jump off the cliff anyway, and you fell trying to save her. So far, everything makes sense. The two things that don't make sense to me are your miraculous survival and the clan's role in everything."
Areana's pulse quickened. This was where the story became dangerous.
"Before I tell you about that, I need to go a little further back." She forced herself to hold his gaze. "Weeks before Tula told me about the pregnancy, I noticed that Elias and Tamira were acting suspiciously."
"In what way?"
"Whispered conversations that stopped the moment anyone approached. Darting looks when they were checking to see that no one was watching them. They were planning something, and they were being very careful to hide it."
Navuh's jaw tightened. "The shaman. I should have known he would be trouble."
"At first, I didn't know what to think. I watched them for days, trying to figure out what they were plotting. I was afraid that they were planning to assassinate you."
Surprise flickered in his eyes. "Were they?"
She shook her head. "They were just trying to find a way to escape the island, but I didn't know that.
Then I caught Tamira, Elias, Tula, and Tony in our quarters with the door to your tunnel open.
I stopped them from going in, telling them that they would trigger the alarm and get caught immediately.
They confessed their wish to escape using your secret submarine. "
She saw the flash of anger in his eyes, which he quickly suppressed. "How did they know about the submarine?" he asked.
"Elias had seen it in one of the visions you asked him to summon."
For a long moment, Navuh said nothing. When he spoke, his voice was tight with controlled fury. "I should have known that he could see more than what I wanted to show him. It was my mistake. What exactly did he see?"
"He saw you and me running through the tunnel to the submarine.
He and Tony went to investigate when the power was out on the entire island and found it.
They came back to plan the escape of all four of them.
They thought they would be able to get into the craft using prints of your fingers that they collected from glasses you used, but they didn't know about the code needed to actually activate the submarine.
The code you didn't write anywhere and kept memorized in your head. "
A smile lifted Navuh's lips. "They were lucky you stopped them. If they had tried to turn on the engine without the code, they would have had a nasty surprise."
Areana's hand flew to her chest. "I didn't know that. What would have happened to them?"
"Better that you do not know. So, what did they do after you caught them?"
Areana's heart was pounding so hard she was certain he could hear it. This was the moment she had dreaded. The confession that could shatter everything between them.
"Tula collapsed in despair, and I couldn't bear to see her so despondent, so I told her that there was another way."
"What other way?"
"To ask my sister for help." She forced the words out before her courage could fail her.
The silence that followed was thunderous.
Navuh stared at her, and she watched understanding dawn in his eyes—understanding, and the first flickers of realization of betrayal.
"Annani?" His voice was deadly quiet. "You asked Annani to send help?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"It started over two years ago." The confession poured out of her now, a dam finally breaking. "Do you remember when Gorchenco brought his girlfriend to the island? Caroline?"
Navuh's brow furrowed. "The blonde. He staged that ridiculous fight with her so she would stay in the harem. I thought it was a foolish game, but I humored his request because he always served me well."
"It was more than a game." Areana's voice steadied as she spoke. "Caroline is an immortal from Annani's clan, and she was sent to infiltrate the harem."
The look on Navuh's face would have terrified anyone else. His eyes blazed with fury, his jaw clenched so tight she could see the muscles jumping beneath his skin.
"Gorchenco betrayed me."
"He was probably extorted. You know how it works. You’ve used the same methods yourself countless times. Anyway, she didn't come to cause you any harm. She came to find me."
"How did she know you were in the harem? I kept that information more secure than the code to my submarine."
Areana smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek.
"I know you were trying to protect me, but you overdid it.
Anyway, Lokan was the one who prompted the investigation.
I don't want to get into the entire story, so I'll tell you an abbreviated version of it.
Lokan remembered me and wanted to find a way into the harem to find me.
His plan was to abduct a mother and daughter who could communicate telepathically, have one of them inserted in the harem, find me, and communicate her findings to the other one.
He was caught by the clan because these women were part of it, and he was put in a dungeon, where he met Carol.
They fell in love, and she volunteered to help him find me. "
"Lokan," Navuh spat. "So, his betrayal started a long time ago."
Areana sighed. "He and Carol are truelove mates. His loyalties became split, but he never told Annani's clan anything that could have harmed you personally."
"Only because he didn't know any such thing. If he had, he would have told them."
"I don't think so. You didn't give him or Kalugal any reason to love you, but they are still your flesh and blood, and they are too honorable to commit patricide."
"Kalugal? Is he part of this as well?"
Areana nodded. "He was invited to join Annani's people, but he had nothing to do with Carol and her infiltration of the island. That was just Lokan."
"And you just welcomed this spy into your confidence? Trusted her with our secrets?"
"I was cautious. But when she told me that Lokan had been searching for me, that he wanted to know me—" Areana's voice cracked. "I missed my son. To know that he remembered me and was searching for me was incredible."
"Did she offer to help you escape?"
"She did." Areana smiled. "But I told her that I could never leave you.
I chose to stay. She offered to take Tula, but Tula didn't want to leave me and chose to stay as well.
Do you understand now why I had to help Tula when she was desperate to do what was offered to her, and she declined because of me? "
Something eased in his expression, and she knew she'd hit a nerve. He'd believed that she had stayed with him because she had no other choice, but that wasn't true. She loved him, and now he had irrefutable proof of that.
"I understand," he said. "Did Carol somehow smuggle a communication device into the harem?"
"Not on her person, but the clan sent a tiny drone that was not detected by the island's defenses, and it dropped the communication device on the harem grounds. Tula and I collected it, and Carol showed me how to use it. Through it, I've been speaking with Annani once a week for over two years."
"Two years." The words came out in a hiss even though he was too weak to elongate his fangs. "You've been talking to my enemy for two years, and I never knew."
"She's not your enemy. She's my sister."
"She has spent five millennia trying to destroy everything I've built!"
"She has spent five millennia trying to protect her people from yours!" The words burst out before Areana could stop them. She immediately regretted her tone, but she couldn't take them back because they were true.
Navuh stared at her, and she couldn't read what he was thinking.