Chapter 18
Bressen
Back at Tide’s End half an hour later, I sat across from the man I considered a brother and suppressed a smile at the defiance in his face. Part of me was furious with him. The other part was…amused.
We’d returned from the camp in Derridan, and I’d immediately called Samhail into my study to speak. The tension in his body and every line of his face told me he was ready for a fight.
One of the reasons he and I were friends was because he was the only person in the world who’d never been afraid of me and likely never would be. I’d always respected him for that. I appreciated it.
I’d already had a reputation as a dangerously powerful perimortal when I’d first arrived at the training camp for my father’s army just over a century ago. Even my father’s generals had stepped aside when I passed, and every soldier in the place had given me a wide berth.
Every soldier but one. Samhail had stepped right in front of me on the first day and simply stood there.
Truth be told, I’d gotten used to everyone moving out of my way, and I hadn’t known what to do when the seven-foot giant with long white hair suddenly blocked my path.
Despite the strength of my powers – or perhaps because of it – I didn’t use them often. Back then, they frightened me sometimes. I was hesitant to use them unless needed, and making the mountain of muscle in front of me move didn’t qualify as ‘needed.’ Not yet anyway.
So we’d both stood there staring at each other as the minutes ticked by, neither me nor Samhail willing to be the first to step aside.
We’d drawn quite a crowd by the end of the second minute, everyone waiting for the fight they were sure was coming.
We both knew what happened next would determine our standing in the camp moving forward.
I’d heard about Samhail before coming to the camp, and I spent the entire time we stood there hoping the meeting didn’t turn physical because I was sure he’d beat me to a pulp.
I knew he was a gargoyle, and I’d heard they had hot tempers and quick fists.
It took me a while to learn that only the latter applied to Samhail.
Ten minutes later, my father came to see why his entire camp had ground to a halt, and he’d broken up the standoff.
Being feared might seem desirable, but I’d found it a lonely existence.
When Samhail had refused to move that day, I’d gotten my first taste of what it was like to be on the other side of that fear, and something in me was jarred loose.
Samhail and I hadn’t become friends immediately after that, or even weeks after, but it had nevertheless been our first step.
Now he sat across from me looking just as resolute as he had that day a century ago in the training camp, and I needed to understand why.
“I’ll admit she’s pretty,” I said, “but is she worth a cell in Revenmyer?”
Samhail rolled his eyes. “We both know you’re not sending me to Revenmyer, so why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you.”
I’d had bigger chairs made for my study since Samhail was often the one who sat there, but the chair he occupied now still looked small beneath his massive frame. He sat with his knees apart and his arms crossed, looking not the least bit intimidated by my threats of prison.
I raised a brow. “What’s bothering me is that the person I trusted most to find and bring back the woman who was hired to kill me and my wife, instead went on the run and has been hiding from me for days.”
His expression faltered briefly before his mask of defiance returned.
“I told you,” he said, “I saw an opportunity and I took it.”
“Right. You and the assassin were going to hunt down Sandrian, and you didn’t tell me because you wanted me to have deniability.”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit.”
Samhail scowled at me.
“Did you fuck her?” I asked, and the way his lips pursed together gave me my answer. I’d already known, but it was confirmation.
“What does it matter?” he asked.
I raised a brow. “It matters because I think you need to examine the real reason you went on the run with this woman.”
He shook his head. “It’s not what you think,” he said. “I only fucked her for the first time just before I sent you that message about where we were. It was battle lust. Neither of us could help it.”
I frowned. “Let me get this straight. You were alone with the woman for several days, and the two of you did nothing until this afternoon?”
He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “I didn’t fuck her until this afternoon,” he repeated, and I saw what he wouldn’t admit.
“But the two of you did other things before today,” I confirmed.
“It’s complicated,” he said. “She tried to kill me at least twice while we were traveling, but then she also saved my life. I honestly don’t understand it all myself.”
“So then help me understand why you agreed to this deal with her, because this makes no sense right now.”
He sighed heavily. “It seemed like a viable option at the time. I caught up to her early the morning she escaped. She tried to fight me, but I managed to get a caronium cuff on her. She was terrified of going to Revenmyer, so she offered to give up Sandrian in exchange for me not hauling her back here to you. You didn’t know where Sandrian was, and she had a reasonable plan for drawing him out.
You just wanted her head, and I didn’t think you’d give her a chance if we pitched the plan to you, so I made a judgement call. ”
“So you didn’t tell me the plan for the sake of deniability, or because you were protecting her?” I pressed.
He sighed again. “Both.”
I leaned back. “I see.” I wasn’t sure what to do with that admission.
“What happens to Talyn after tomorrow?” he asked.
I’d grudgingly agreed to let the assassin draw Sandrian and Magdalene out as she and Samhail had originally planned, but there were some complications.
I shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet whether to send her to Revenmyer or just kill her outright.”
Samhail sat forward in his chair. “You’re still thinking of sending her to Revenmyer?” he asked incredulously.
“Or killing her,” I reminded him.
He waved a hand and sat back again. “You’re not a murderer.”
“But she is. Or have you forgotten that?” I asked. “She’s an assassin. She was sent to kill me and Cyra. That’s easily punishable by death.”
Samhail slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair, and I heard the wood splinter under the blow.
“Gods damn it, Bressen!” he said. “She’s a powerful perimortal with a valuable set of skills, and she’s on our side now. You’d be a fool to pass that up, and I’ve never known you to be a fool.”
“I’d be a fool to trust her as easily as you seem to,” I countered, my ire rising. “Is your cock so desperate to be between her legs that you’re willing to risk my life and Cyra’s for this woman?”
To my shock, Samhail surged out of his chair and slammed his hands on my desk.
It groaned ominously under his weight. His eyes were nearly black as he stared me down, and I had a sudden flashback to the day we’d first met a century ago when he’d planted himself in front of me, stubborn and immovable.
“There are some things about me you can question,” Samhail said, his voice deadly cold, “but never question my commitment to protecting you and Cyra. If I had any doubts about Talyn, I’d have broken her neck myself already.
She’s not what you think she is, and I don’t appreciate you accusing me of thinking with my cock.
My desire to fuck her – and yes, I do want to fuck her again – doesn’t supersede my pledge to you and Cyra. ”
Our eyes locked, and I was sure we were both right back there in the training camp in that moment, staring each other down as the seconds bounced between us, wondering which of us would step aside first.
“I’ve never had cause to question your judgement before now,” I said. “I hope that remains true after all this.”
“It’s not Talyn you should worry about,” Samhail said as he sat back down. “It’s Aidan. Doesn’t he seem like he’s been acting strange to you? I swear he killed that man on purpose today.”
We’d found only one conscious survivor from the slaughter Samhail and Talyn had wreaked on the camp, the captain of the regiment who’d chosen to hide inside a cabinet in his tent rather than fight. It was a smart, if cowardly choice on his part.
I’d tried to question the man to ascertain the location of Sandrian and Magdalene’s base, but as I’d expected, Aidan – really Morland – had tried to silence him before I could get anything out of him.
Morland had instigated an altercation that allowed him to grab a dagger from Talyn and plunge it into the man’s chest before he could reveal anything.
Luckily, I’d already slipped into the captain’s mind and determined he didn’t know where Sandrian and Magdalene were.
I’d pretended to interrogate him only to see what Morland would do, how far he’d go.
It hadn’t been my plan to actually get the man killed, but Morland had acted before we could stop him.
I sighed. “He did kill the man on purpose,” I told Samhail. “He wanted to stop him from revealing Sandrian’s location to us.”
Samhail’s brows shot up. “What? Why?”
“Because he’s not Aidan. Or, at least, he’s not only Aidan,” I said.
This was the part of the discussion I’d dreaded most.
“Morland is still alive, and he’s in Aidan’s body,” I said deciding bluntness was the best approach.
Samhail stared at me.
“While you were away,” I went on, “Jasper came to us with concerns about Aidan’s behavior. I happened to be meeting with Aidan and the High Council at the time, and I broke into his mind.”
I paused, remembering the horror of what I’d discovered.
“I found Morland there,” I said. “Aidan was still inside, but he’d been pushed into a dark corner, and Morland had taken over. Morland wasn’t able to destroy Aidan’s consciousness, but he’d suppressed it somehow.”
Samhail closed his eyes. “Fuck. We’ll never be rid of that piece of shit, will we. How the fuck did he get into Aidan?”