Chapter Eight #2
She stood up and unzipped the dress, letting it drop to her hips, held her hand out, and dropped the enormous tee over her head before undoing the bra and letting the dress fall to the floor. She stepped out of it and shook it straight, draping it over a nearby chair. The bra landed on top of it.
She stretched and twisted, yawning.
“Water on the bedside table. We won’t bother you tonight. Get some rest, Emhara.”
She nodded and went back to bed. “Okey dokey.”
He chuckled and nodded, leaving the room and closing the door. She was out before the lock engaged.
Echel walked to the kitchen and smiled. “She’s dressed to sleep and out again.”
Marshall and Ark were sitting at the table, and Duran was giving them the up-to-date information and showing all the filings.
Marshall looked at him. “She’s good on the stand?”
“This is her deposition. No flinching, no crying, just facts.”
“She’s cold when interviewed?”
“Calm. She’s like a lot of long-term abuse victims. Locked down.” Duran nodded.
Marshall read over the deposition and went grey. “Oh, damn. Well, I think she and Ruby will get along. They both know how to put the blame where it lies.”
Duran nodded. “And from what I recall, they both know how to pursue creativity to get their balance again. At least Emhara doesn’t skate or mess with chocolate.”
Marshall smiled. “Trust me. You will be appreciative of it if it is chocolate.”
Samsor brought coffee to the table. “Nope. She’s an artist. Do you want to see the portrait she did of her father?”
Marshall shrugged. “Sure.”
Duran and Echel smiled proudly, and then Samsor returned and showed the image.
Marshall and Ark rocked back and flinched. “Good lord. How is there no record of that in town?”
Duran went to put it down carefully. “There is. His name is Carlos. His son is Mateo, who apparently looks similar to his father. She sees through glamours; she sees the beasts. She has clear sight.”
“But Carlos is her father...” Ark said. “Why wasn’t she with him?”
Samsor said, “Apparently, Carlos and his wife had an open marriage, and Em entered through that opening. There were no other children, so I am guessing he smartened up at that point.”
Ark said, “So, that is where the trusts came from. And where the breach of fiduciary duty came from. Right.”
Echel said softly, “If it seems at any point that the justice system will not manage to rectify this, Carlos will take care of it, and it will be untraceable.”
Marshall nodded. “That’s fair. Did he say as much?”
“Nope.”
Marshall grinned. “Good. So, you are waiting on a hearing?”
“No, Judge Mayhew agreed that the preponderance of evidence was enough for charges. The DA agrees, and the result of our small hearing today was enough to get a day on the calendar for the criminal charges.” Duran smiled. “Next week.”
Ark frowned. “Do you have all the documents?”
“Yup. Echel and Samsor did their due diligence, and we have more than their defense is comfortable with.”
Ark asked, “Are they making noise?”
“Oh, yeah. They are begging for meetings. They want to make a deal, but I am not the one for them to talk to anymore.”
Marshall nodded. “I understand. I just had to deal with people suing Ruby after the fact.”
Duran nodded. “So, which one of you is willing to take on four alphas and an omega?”
Ark smiled. “I think it would be fine to bat them around a little. You three have done all the hard work. I just have to make them pay in both courts.”
Echel asked, “Duran, does she know that that pack house is hers?”
“Not that she has mentioned, but it has been quite the whirlwind since we met her in hospital.”
Marshall nodded. “Understandable. What does contact with her feel like?”
Samsor smiled. “Like holding the wind. She feels slow and steady, but there is a hurricane waiting.”
Ark smiled. “That’s fun.”
“Yup. We are just hoping that her self-control holds when the power kicks in.”
Marshall blinked. “It hasn’t?”
“No. Apparently, mages need to learn how to use their skills, and they don’t wake until they are safe and able to focus.
No panic reactions, and having heard about the chaos mage and seen the beauty mage and knowledge mage, I can see why.
The magic takes over every cell, and the power doesn’t stop flowing.
They are also completely fixated on the beings around them. They are for the earth-born.”
Samsor smiled. “We think she made a friend.”
Marshall asked, “Who?”
Duran grinned. “Myrtle. Teyval and Denith both texted me thanks and are trying to come up with a way to ask for a playdate. Myrtle ate a normal meal without gagging or getting flustered. They were so happy but had to downplay it. Once Emhara has gotten into her art again, she is going to paint a mural in their baby room.”
Marshall chuckled. “I will send Ruby over here as well. She needs more friends. I think they can connect on the art front.”
Echel spoke softly. “I believe they can.”
Samsor said, “For someone who has been through what she has, she makes friends easily. She certainly won us over in a few moments.”
Marshall sighed. “Have you talked to Avor or Achilles yet?”
Together they said, “No.”
“Our king might not want three of our precious deltas binding to a beta.”
Duran and the others looked at him and said as one, “Tough.”
Ark laughed. “I have never considered what kind of drive deltas have.”
Samsor shrugged. “Mainly, it is protection. Not the alpha protection. Not physical protection. Holistic protection. It isn’t difficult for us; we don’t have to figure it out, and we aren’t guided by instinct to soothe.
This is simply what we are, and we can’t be anything else.
We will be here when she needs us, and we will be here when she doesn’t. That simple.”
Duran and Echel nodded. Duran said, “That sums it up. If she is art, we are not, but we love the way she sees the world. She sees us.”
They nodded together. Echel smiled. They all had a different specialty in Em’s mind. Samsor was comfort, Duran was romance, and Echel was protection. He could feel the vibration of her body change when her needs changed.
Emhara’s energy pattern was starting to shift from blue to white to pink when she touched them, and Echel watched it closely.
The crimson of pain was fading, and that was a good thing.
Right now, her grey of exhaustion was changing into a pale blue of rest. He could see her through the walls, and he suspected she knew it.
They discussed the strategy to gain an admission of guilt and did not talk about her father’s connections and what the ramifications of them being out on the street again would mean.
They discussed what the details of the open court would reveal so that targets were selected based on their actions, and Echel saw the small glowing spider that scuttled out of the room and made its way across the yard.