Chapter 39
Talear
The Ebony Fortress
“I’m going to strangle you with my bare hands.” Odin snarled as Reyne dragged him up the stairs, pausing in front of a large metal door blocking access to the chamber of the white sand. “How could you do it. How could you turn her over to him?”
Reyne secured the chain to a hook protruding from the wall and dismissed the two guards who dogged his heels, saying, “Leave us. I can handle this.”
They exchanged confused looks, then turned and left. Once they were gone, Reyne leaned against the wall opposite Odin. He wiped a bead of blood from his cheek with a shaky hand.
“You will have more than a minor cut by the time I’m finished with you,” Odin promised with a fierce sneer.
Reyne knew he should be on his knees begging Odin for help—begging for trust he didn’t deserve. But his thoughts could not move past Kendra’s words. Tell him who your father is. Odin was his partner.
Questions consumed his mind. Were Kendra’s words random, or had she spoken the truth?
Had Mordrick confided in her, perhaps sharing secrets about his father’s past?
The possibility that his own father might have been involved with the rebels gnawed at him.
"Kendra spoke to me just as we left. She said you knew my father. "
Odin snorted and fought his restraints. “Your father? I highly doubt it. Now throw me in the chamber and be done with it. Your presence is sickening."
“Kendra said he was your partner.”
“Partner?” Odin’s voice faltered as he ceased resisting. He stared, eyes wide and fixed on Reyne’s face, searching for something.
A tense silence consumed the corridor.
“No, it can't be.” Odin paled and his jaw dropped open as he backed into the wall and gripped the chains so tight his knuckles lost color. “Fuck. Fuck Fuck. How did I miss it?”
Reyne held his breath, daring to hope that Kendra spoke the truth. The possibility hung in the air, creating a sense of anticipation he struggled to contain. His voice trembled. “Miss what?”
Odin regarded him quietly, his expression shifting from confusion to absolute certainty. “You are the spitting image of Dante. I must have been fucking blind not to see it before.”
Dante. Hearing his father’s name unleashed a flood of emotions that threatened to bring him to his knees. He pressed against the wall for needed support. “You really knew my father?”
Odin continued to stare at Reyne, his gaze softening. “Yes.”
“Did you know my mother as well?”
“Yes, of course I knew Marlena. I knew them both,” Odin admitted.
“Dante was my first partner. We were barely men back then. Mere boys, really. I knew he kept secrets, but it never occurred to me that he shared blood with Uther, or Mordrick for that matter. Dante was my best friend. He should have confided in me.”
Reyne’s world tilted.
What little he knew of his parents came from Mordrick, and it wasn’t much. What stories he had been told all ended with the rebellion being responsible for their deaths. Had it all been an elaborate lie? A manipulation?
His thoughts drifted to the past—to his time with the rebellion—to the orders he had followed, and the actions he had promised to take. Bile climbed his throat, forcing his voice into a hoarse whisper. “Dante was Mordrick’s older brother.”
“Fuck, Reyne. I knew Dante had a young son. After they died, I searched for you, ready to take you under my wing as they both would have wanted. But I could find no trace of you. It was as if you had just disappeared.”
“I grew up believing my parents were attacked and killed by rebels.”
Odin shook his head in rapid denial. “No, that’s not true. Mordrick lied to you. Your parents died during a raid against Mordrick. Something about that raid never felt right. I always suspected it was a planned ambush. Just like…” Odin’s gaze settled on Reyne’s with lingering rage and accusation.
“Just like that last raid,” Reyne supplied while he plucked a ring of keys off the wall.
“I grew up despising the rebels. Until I met Reece, then you. But I swear, I had no prior knowledge of what Mordrick had planned that last day. In fact, I had planned to confess everything afterwards and throw myself at your mercy, even knowing it might be a death sentence.”
“Is that why you let me go? Why you let me escape to that prison barge?”
Reyne unlocked one shackle and pressed the keys into Odin’s palm.
He squeezed his watering eyes shut for a beat, then glanced to the ceiling while he gathered his emotions.
“I was helpless when Reece died. I was helpless during that ambush that killed so many I considered friends. I could not bring you to Mordrick knowing I would have another death on my conscience.”
Odin unlocked the collar and shackles, letting them fall to the floor with a clatter of iron against stone. “Is that why you are freeing me now?” He rubbed his wrists before he grabbed Reyne by the neck and slammed him against the wall. “So you can sleep at night?”
Pain exploded in his skull as his head rammed stone. “Actually, no. This has nothing to do with the past. It's about the future. I need your help freeing Kendra.”
Odin’s grip on his throat loosened slightly. “Why should I believe you?”
Reyne’s voice trembled with emotion as he spoke.
“Because somehow that red-haired spitfire invaded my heart and breathed life back into an organ I thought died with the rebellion, that’s why.
And I cannot envision a world where I would want to live without her by my side.
” His admission lingered in silence, echoing with the depth of his feelings and vulnerability.
Their gazes locked.
Silence hung in the air.
“I’ll help you, for Kendra's sake,” Odin finally said after several tense beats. “Not yours. And just to be clear, Dante’s son or not, I still plan to beat you to a bloody pulp for putting Kendra's life in danger in the first place.” He released Reyne with a rough thrust.
“Fair enough,” Reyne sputtered and rubbed the knot forming on the back of his head. “I won’t even fight back.”
“Tell me. Do you have a plan?” Odin questioned.
Reyne could tell by Odin’s slight frown that he still had doubts about trusting him. Not that he blamed him. “I’m going to challenge Mordrick to a sword fight. His pride will demand he accept.”
"Can you defeat him? I haven't seen him fight, but his swordsmanship is reputed to be unmatched."
“Probably not.” Reyne’s honest admittance lacked humor. Mordrick’s skill with a longsword was superior to his. He could not deny it. "But I will have help. Tia is going to destroy the shield matrix. If we time it right, he'll be distracted enough to make a mistake I can exploit."
"You've been in contact with Tia?" Odin’s brows lifted.
“Yes. Garrett gave me the code to Armathea. It took some convincing, but Tia eventually told me about the weapon that would destroy the shield. It’s ready.”
Odin rubbed the grey scruff on his jaw. “Good. I need that shield down before I can implement the second part of my plan.”
“Second part?”
“Once I've freed my friends, I’m going to blow the water gates and return the water to the people.”
Reyne grinned, remembering the rebellion and all their clandestine missions. “I’m assuming you came prepared?”
Odin rolled his eyes. “Of course. I stashed my gear near your private entrance.”
“Let’s get to it then.” Reyne proceeded towards the servants’ stairs, where they were less likely to be seen. They moved through the narrow passageways until they reached the lower levels. The dim light from the torches flickered in the damp corridor, creating shadows on the stone walls.
Once they approached the hidden alcove where Odin had concealed his backpack, Reyne grabbed a torch from the wall sconce to peer over Odin’s shoulder as he revealed his gear. There were several pistols and almost a dozen palm-sized detonators with flashing lights.
"Impressive," Reyne remarked, eyeing the arsenal. “Do you think that's enough detonators?”
Odin smirked as he held one up, letting the flickering light illuminate the round device. “These are Dracarian. Trust me. Ten is more than enough to blow both sets of gates.”
Reyne was impressed.
Metal glinted in the torchlight as a heavy silver armband ended up in his hands. “I think you will need this more than I will,” said Odin.
Reyne slid the armband up his arm and adjusted it, hating its coldness against his skin, yet appreciating the safety it offered. Odin was right. He needed its protection for the challenge to come.
Mordrick would exploit any weakness.
Odin shrugged into the backpack. "Let's move."
Reyne took the lead, navigating through the labyrinth of tunnels. The air grew heavier with the scent of damp earth. The sound of trickling water echoed in the passageway.
They came to a large, iron-bound door. Reyne pressed his ear against it, listening before motioning Odin to follow. The door creaked open, revealing the expansive caves where the water gates loomed like silent sentinels.
Working in unison, the detonators were placed methodically, one by one, each click and beep a step closer to their goal.
After Odin activated the last detonator, he faced Reyne.
“Dante once told me that his son would bring the rain. Your father would be proud of you right now. Hell, I’m proud of you, despite wanting to wring your neck. ”
A sudden lump formed in his throat. Reyne swallowed his emotions. Odin had no idea how much those words affected him, fueling his determination to rescue his woman and rectify his mistakes.
Reyne pulled the pins, releasing his crimson mantle, then helped secure it to Odin’s shoulders. “Fourth floor. Prison guards are not intelligent. They will take one look at you in this uniform and open the doors without question. Garrett and Quinn are in the fifth cell on the right.”
Odin retrieved his communicator and pinged Armathea. “Tia, are you there? I’m here with Reyne. What is the status of the weapon?”
“I’m here. The weapon is ready. Once I fire, the shield will take approximately five minutes to fully degrade.”
Odin glanced at Reyne. “How long do you need?”
Reyne shrugged. “Twenty minutes?”
“Twenty minutes on my mark,” Odin said to Tia.
They synchronized their communicators. “Ready?”
Reyne nodded.
“Go.”
They headed in different directions, Odin towards the prison level and Reyne towards the throne room. He made a brief stop at his chamber to retrieve his longsword.
As he approached the grand doors of the throne room, Reyne paused for one final moment, inhaling deeply. Your father would be proud of you right now. Hell, I’m proud of you. Had he ever heard those words before? Never. Reyne decided he would be worthy of those words or die trying.
And he had no intention of dying.
At least not today.
He glanced at his communicator. Ten minutes until chaos.
With a sweeping pull, he unsheathed his sharpened sword, letting the scabbard fall to the floor with a clank and entered the throne room.