Chapter 31 Areana
AREANA
Areana stood at the balcony doors of her apartment in the harem and looked out to the indoor garden below. The overhead lighting simulating dawn was one of the many luxuries Navuh had engineered for her comfort in their underground sanctuary.
His idea of expressing his love for her was to make her cage so comfortable and beautiful that she would never want to leave, and in a way, he'd succeeded.
There was nowhere else she wanted to live, but she would have loved to visit other places, see their sons, hug her grandson, her sister, and meet her nieces and nephew.
But life wasn't fair, and no one got all they wished for.
Areana was luckier than most, and she was grateful to the Fates for what she had.
They had spared her life while most of the gods had perished and had given her an imperfect truelove mate who was nonetheless perfect for her.
Their relationship was a constant struggle of finding balance between her love for Navuh and the things she had to do to shield others from him. So far, she'd walked that tightrope without falling, and she prayed to the Fates to help her keep it that way.
"You're awake early," Navuh's voice rumbled from behind her, still thick with sleep. "Come back to bed."
Affixing a smile to her face, she turned around and did as he asked, sliding under the covers beside him.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back against the solid warmth of his body. "Bad dreams?"
"No dreams at all," Areana said, which was true. She'd barely slept because her mind had kept spinning with plans, contingencies, and consequences.
It was Saturday, and she'd promised Annani to consider calling her today if she dared, but did she?
"Then why are you restless?" Navuh pressed a kiss to her shoulder, his lips warm against her skin. "Something's troubling you."
The truelove mate bond was both a blessing and a curse. It allowed them to sense each other's emotions, to feel the subtle shifts in mood and energy that words might hide. Right now, it meant Navuh could detect her agitation no matter how carefully she tried to conceal it.
Thankfully, the bond didn't open a channel to her thoughts, and Navuh still couldn't compel her to tell him the truth.
"I'm not restless. I'm just making plans," she said.
"We are learning so much about rebinding books, and the more we learn, the more materials and tools we realize we need.
I keep making mental notes and trying to figure out how long it will all take.
I have a feeling that by the time we are done with the last book, we will have to start working again on the first. There is no end to it. "
Navuh rolled onto his side to face her, propping himself up on one elbow. "There is a simple solution, you know. We could digitize everything and get rid of the library."
She gasped in genuine horror. "That's sacrilegious. Some of those manuscripts and scrolls are priceless. We brought them with us from one location to another throughout the millennia."
He smiled. "I was just teasing. I know how important those books are to you."
"They're pieces of history. Knowledge that could be lost forever if we don't preserve it properly.
" Areana reached up to trace the line of his jaw, the gesture automatic after their years together.
"I know it might not seem important to you, but it matters to me and the other ladies. It has become our lifelong project."
"Anything that matters to you, matters to me." Navuh caught her hand, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to her palm. The tender gesture made guilt twist in her chest. "What can I do to help?" he asked.
"Just be patient, my love. It's delicate work, and it takes time, and sometimes it gets frustrating. You know how it is."
"Oh, I do. Believe me." He turned onto his back. "Elias thinks that I should terminate the enhancement project."
Areana's heart started beating faster. "I think he's right. You are playing with fire."
He chuckled. "Playing is not the right word, but I know what you mean. I'm considering it. I'll give Petrov two weeks to show me progress. If he can't, I'll terminate the original test subjects and start from scratch."
He was talking about killing those soldiers, but for once, Areana didn't mourn the loss of life. It was unfortunate that those males had been turned into monsters, but if there was no way to undo what had been done to them, everyone on the island would be safer with them gone.
"Perhaps you could find a small, deserted island and drop them off there instead of killing them."
He turned to look at her, amusement dancing in his eyes. "You are merciful to a fault, my love, but sometimes mercy leads to evil. What do you think they will do on a deserted island? Live in peace and harmony?"
"Why not?"
He chuckled. "Because that's not in their nature. They will kill each other or find a way to get off the island and go on a killing rampage somewhere else."
"Why? Is that the result of the drugs?"
He shook his head. "That's what they know, what they were taught to do. Asserting their dominance by brute force is what brings them pleasure."
Navuh pressed another tender kiss to her temple and got out of bed, glorious in his nakedness. Even after millennia together, Areana still found him beautiful—the lean strength of his body, the confidence in his movements, the raw power contained in his frame.
She loved him. Fates help her; she loved him with everything she had, even knowing what he was, what he'd done, what he was capable of doing.
After Navuh disappeared into the bathroom, Areana lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, trying to organize her thoughts.
Should she call Annani today? Get the information about the rescue plan so she and Tula could start preparing.
The problem was that Navuh's weekend schedule was unpredictable. During the week, he had meetings and obligations that kept him away from the harem for most of the day, so she felt more confident about contacting Annani during those days.
On weekends, Navuh tried to spend more time with her, often surprising her with impromptu visits during the day. If he decided to come check on her while she was on the cliff, making the call...
The risk was too high.
He'd almost caught her one time, and she'd felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest from fright.
Better to wait until Wednesday, which was the pattern she'd established. It was the day Navuh expected her to want some private time outdoors. It was the day she'd conditioned him to see as her meditation and reflection time.
Wednesday was safer.
The wait was going to be torture.
The soft knock on the door announced her maid delivering breakfast, and Areana let her in and motioned to the bistro table on the balcony.
After Navuh had gotten dressed in a pair of black trousers and a fitted black shirt, she led him to the balcony where the maid had set the table for them.
He pulled out a chair for her.
"Thank you," she said.
"It is I who should thank you for arranging this lovely morning meal on the balcony for us."
"I only directed the maid."
"As you should." He reached for her hand and lifted it to his lips for a kiss. "You are a goddess, Areana. Preparing food for me is not your job."
She sighed. "Sometimes I wish it were. It would mean a simpler life." She waved her hand at the courtyard and the surrounding balconies. "This is all lovely, but it takes so much to maintain it. Imagine you could be a scholar, or an artist, someone who never needs to be cruel."
He pinned her with his dark stare. "When I was very young, I had such dreams, but I soon realized that scholars and artists and everyone else were at the mercy of their leaders.
Strong, capable leaders protected their people.
Weak leaders allowed them to get slaughtered.
I decided a long time ago that I would never be at the mercy of another.
I would be the strong leader protecting his people and slaughtering those who would harm them. "
Areana wondered if he truly believed that. Perhaps once upon a time, this was what had motivated Navuh, but it had become something much bigger since. Either that or Navuh thought that to protect those dear to him, he needed to rule the entire globe.
"You're the center of my world, Areana." He kissed her hand again. "Everything I do, everything I build—is for you. To give you the life you deserve and to keep you safe."
It seemed that Navuh truly believed that he was keeping her safe by maintaining an iron grip on the island, by controlling everyone and everything within his domain. He believed his cruelty was necessary for her protection, his ruthlessness the answer to a dangerous world.
And in some ways, he wasn't entirely wrong. In a world full of predators, she was glad to have the most fearsome of them all as her mate.
"I know," Areana said softly. "And I'm grateful. Even when I don't say it enough, I'm grateful for everything you do for me."
Navuh stood and came around the table, pulling her up and into his arms. The embrace was warm and secure, and Areana let herself lean into it despite the guilt churning in her stomach.
"I have meetings this morning," Navuh murmured against her hair. "I'm slowly delegating more tasks to Losham, but I don't trust him to handle everything on his own yet."
Losham was Navuh's eldest adopted son and the one he relied on the most.
"I thought you trusted Losham implicitly."
Navuh laughed. "I don't trust anyone implicitly. You should know that about me by now." He leaned to kiss her cheek. "I should be done by early afternoon so we can have a late lunch together."
"That sounds lovely," she said. "I'm looking forward to it."
She watched him open the secret door to the tunnel, and a few moments later heard it closing.
If she were brave, she could head out to the cliff right now when she knew for sure that Navuh would be busy, but she wasn't brave.
Wednesday was only four days away. She could wait four more days.