Chapter 16
Candara froze as she heard a voice beside her. At first, it was a quiet whisper that was barely audible.
Then it became louder as she focused on the accented voice she knew so well.
Masakage.
It wasn’t like him to reach out to her like this. They normally conversed through mirrors and even then, rarely.
“Where are you, brother?” She waved her hand over her scrying mirror so that they could speak.
She gasped at the sight of her immaculate Masakage, filthy and bleeding. “What happened?”
There was a locked, metal gag around his mouth that kept him from speaking. He jerked his head to the left.
On the wall next to him, he’d used her native alphabet to write the location in his own blood.
Clever boy. Even so, it infuriated her that he’d been put in this position.
How dare they!
“On my way. Hold tight.”
And with that, she sealed the door to her shop and gathered a quick travel pack as fast as she could.
Masakage needed her, and she would never disappoint him or Xaydin. They were the only family she had, and she was loyal to both of them.
No one would tear down her brothers!
“Hit him again. Harder!”
Both Ronan and Rob turned to stare at her with horrified expressions.
That only made Gisela angrier. “Oh, for the gods’ sakes.” She grabbed a stick from the floor of the stable where they’d secured Garyn in his human form so that they could torture him.
When she went to hit him, Ronan caught the stick and gave her a stunned scowl. “Princess Bloodlust, he’s had enough. Anymore and we’ll kill him.”
“Fine with me.” She held her hand out. “Let me have my stick.”
Scratching at the tip of his nose, Ronan turned back toward Garyn and refused to give her the stick. “If I were you, I think I’d answer everything she wants to know. Not sure how long we can hold her back. She’s pretty spry.”
“And terribly pissed off,” Rob added. “She scares even me.”
Ronan nodded in agreement.
Garyn tried again to fight against the ropes that held him. They’d both learned that trolls were better at knot tying than Marauders, and that said a lot, given that all Marauders were sailors and pirates.
“I’ve told you everything.”
“Where’s Masakage?” Gisela growled.
“If I tell you, you’ll kill me.”
She shoved at him. “If you don’t tell me, I can guarantee that outcome. The only hope you have is if you help us find him.”
“Then you better summon an ataswere and make a contract because that’s the only way I’ll trust any of you.”
She reached up and pressed her thumbnail into the corner of his eye socket. “Did you know that you can pop your eye out? It’s quite painful and you can still see with only one eye.” She pressed harder.
He screamed. “Stop her!”
Ronan crossed his arms over his chest. “Honestly, I’d rather she gouge out your eye than one of ours. ’Cause no offense, that looks really painful.” He turned his back to them. “I can’t watch. I saw a soldier lose an eye in battle. It’s disgusting.”
Rob nodded. “Been made to poke out a few. You never quite forget that pop.” He shivered in obvious revulsion.
Gisela pursed her lips. “Really? I find it rather satisfying. Not the feel so much as the sound. It’s rather like uncorking a bottle.”
Garyn screamed even more.
You are terrible. Ronan smirked.
Of course she was. Xaydin was wounded and his brother was missing. She was more than willing to pluck off as many body parts as she needed to get the information that would help them.
“Why did you take the contract from the ataswere?” She pressed harder against his eye.
He refused to answer.
She went deeper with her fingernail. “Any second we’ll have that satisfying pop.”
“Stop!” he screamed. “I’ll tell you.”
She let up but kept some pressure there. Just to remind him that she didn’t mind doing this to him. “Start talking.”
“Your mother sent me in case you needed me.”
Those words caught her off guard. “You lie. My mother would never have done that.” She applied more pressure.
“Stop! Stop! She didn’t send me to watch over you…”
No kidding. That would require a level of care her mother didn’t possess. “Then why are you here?”
“To finish it,” he screamed.
Ronan cursed as he pulled her away from Garyn. “Don’t you see? He’s here to kill the ataswere.”
That made no sense. “What?”
“Your mother wants everyone to think that she’s a victim. It’s how she’s always been. If she sends you out to protect an ataswere who ends up dead…”
Gisela winced at an explanation that made way too much sense. I knew it was bullshit. The moment her mother had told her to protect the ataswere, it’d sounded wrong.
Now she knew why.
Her mother wasn’t about protecting anyone other than herself. This was to cover her ass when she went after Dash. Or to force the High King to do something so she could fight back without consequences.
That bitch!
She was so tired of being lied to. She doubted if her mother had ever once told her the truth.
About anything. For all she knew, her father was a lie, too.
And she was done with it. The temptation to kill the assassin was almost beyond her abilities to resist. There was only one thing that kept him alive.
“Where’s Masakage?” she demanded.
He shook his head slowly. “I’m not stupid. I know the only thing keeping me alive is the fact that you know if you kill me, you’ll never see him again.”
Damn him for being right.
“Not telling us will just cost you body parts.” She went for his eye again.
Screaming, he tried to pull away. “Wait! We can figure this out. We don’t need to be violent.”
“I’d rather cause you pain.”
This time, Ronan caught her. “Maybe he’s right and we ought to work something out.”
“Rather not. He hurt Xaydin and kidnapped Masakage. I vote we torture him just on principle.”
“My bloodthirsty princess…what am I to do with you?”
Gasping, she turned to look behind her to find Xaydin leaning heavily against the door of the stable.
Without thinking, she ran to him and threw herself into his arms.
He grunted hard, then smiled as he enveloped her in a warm hug.
She pulled back so that she could look up into those startled eyes that stared down at her.
He quirked an amused grin. “I’m assuming you didn’t think I’d live.”
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again. I was terrified.” She growled at him. “If you weren’t hurt, I’d beat you.”
He smoothed the worry from her brow. “Always remember… I’m hard to kill.”
And she’d never been more grateful for anything in her life. Except for the fact that she did notice something. “You still look…” She didn’t want to say bad, not just because it was rude. But because he could never look terrible.
“Piqued?”
She smiled. “I’ll go with that.” But to be honest, he looked as if he needed to be back in bed.
He wrapped his arms around her again, and she took a moment to savor the sound of his fierce heartbeat under her cheek. That and the warmth of his embrace that went much deeper than a physical touch. She felt safe. Something she’d never known before.
I am his.
Those three words should terrify her more than anything, and yet she reveled in them. It felt wonderful to be part of something more than herself. To know she had someone at her back. Someone she could depend on.
Don’t be stupid. You know better.
Maybe, but he’d given her no reason to doubt him. No reason to think he was anything other than a bold lover who’d be there for her.
“You’ve got quite the woman there, cuz. Not many women are willing to gouge out an eyeball for you.”
Xaydin laughed. “I’m sure she’d do even worse.” He released her so that he could approach the shifter. “You…”
Garyn actually wet himself at Xaydin’s approach.
Xaydin grimaced in distaste. “You should be afraid. I tend to take it personally when someone slides a blade between my ribs while they’re pretending to be my brother.”
“I—”
“If you’re about to say you meant no harm, you might want to rethink those words. They will move me into a homicidal rage that I’m rather sure you won’t survive.”
“And they’ll make me…” Ronan paused as he swept a gaze over Xaydin’s massive, intimidating form. “Well, I would say homicidal too, but let’s face it, as massive as I am, I pale in comparison to the troll. Suffice it to say, I shall be quite put out.”
He was right. Had he been alone, Ronan was intimidating. But when standing next to Xaydin, he reminded her of a little boy in his father’s armor.
Adorable. Nowhere near as fierce. And she admired the fact that he not only realized it, but that he had fun with it.
Xaydin let out a slow breath. “So how do we use this bastard to find my brother?”
“Which brother did you lose now?”
Gisela gasped at the familiar voice that came from behind them.
As did Xaydin.
Masakage stood in the doorway where Xaydin had been, along with Candara who had a frown on her face as she surveyed their small group.
“He doesn’t look as dead now, does he?” she asked.
“Not even a little.” Masakage jerked his chin toward their prisoner. “That one, however, looks a little worse for the wear. I hope you beat the hell out of him for me.”
Rob snorted. “His woman more than the rest of us.”
Masakage arched one brow. “Well, I’ve missed a lot.”
Xaydin wrinkled his nose at the condition Masakage was in. “Including a bath.”
He laughed, then groaned. “Looks like we both owe your captive an ass beating.” Masakage turned his attention to Rob.
“Be careful. He wasn’t working alone. There’s another shifter around who helped him capture me from Mardyth’s kingdom.
He goes by the name Diflyn. I’ve seen him as a merman, human and troll. I have no idea what his main form is.”
Ronan let out a feral sound. “Open up. Let me see under everyone’s tongues.”
Rob stepped back. “I beg your pardon.”
“You’ll beg more than that if you’re a shifter. Open wide and let me look.”
With one more fierce scowl, Rob obliged.
“You’re clear.” He went to Xaydin who arched a brow at him. “And we’ll clear you on principle.”
Masakage snorted before he opened his mouth and lifted his tongue.