Chapter 30
Despite the happy note on which my meeting with my father ended, I still found myself restless.
While Iannis and the others discussed the various treaties they had negotiated over the past weeks, I went outdoors, wandering between the guest pavilions as I tried to sort my thoughts.
Yes, my father had acknowledged me, but I couldn’t quite ignore the sting of rejection from my half-siblings.
Anger simmered in my heart as I remembered the way Malik had snubbed me at the testing ceremony.
That the little snot had tried to kill me really rubbed me the wrong way.
And Isana’s subterfuge was hardly any better.
I’m so glad we’re going home soon, I thought, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.
The extravagant coronation ceremony had come and gone, and there were only a few days of celebration left before we could depart.
The sooner I could put some distance between myself and my half-siblings, the better.
My feet ended up carrying me to a shell fountain that emptied out into yet another koi pond.
The sound of water trickling, and the scents of blossoming flowers from the trees, teased me out of my angry mood.
I sat down at the edge of the pond, then rolled up the legs of my pants and slipped off my shoes so I could dip my toes in the cool water.
A golden-red fish popped its head out of the water, and I giggled a little as it nibbled at my toe with its rubbery lips.
I shouldn’t let Malik and Isana get me down, I told myself.
What happened, happened, and I would just have to trust that Haman would deal with them and their vicious grandfather.
I would be back in the Federation in a matter of weeks, safe from Lord Ragir’s machinations and hateful ways, and far too busy with my apprenticeship and other duties to spare the ar’Rhea family another thought.
Until such a time that my father felt it safe to reach out to me again, I would put the whole bunch of them out of my mind.
I’d coped without them well enough for almost a quarter of a century, and I would continue to do so.
My right hand began to grow very warm, and it took me a moment to remember the ring that Haman had given me.
I glanced down to see that the emerald was glowing, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight on end.
Acting on instinct, I jumped high in the air, just in time to avoid a blast of magic from Malik as he sprang out from behind a large statue.
“Filthy half-breed!” he shouted, his tanned cheeks pink with rage. He said something else, but the sound of the fountain shattering beneath the force of his blast drowned out his words. I threw up a shield to avoid the debris, curling my lip as Malik hastily dodged a piece of flying shrapnel.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I shouted, hurling a fireball at him.
He deflected it easily, sending it careening back at me, and I was forced to absorb the magic before it hit one of the trees around us and caused a fire.
I winced—Malik was very strong for his age.
“Didn’t your father tell you to leave me alone?
” Fury rose in me, quick and deadly, at Malik’s unreasonable and unceasing enmity.
What the hell had I done to deserve this?
Wasn’t he the one with the name, the pedigree, the wealth and inheritance?
How dare he act as if he was the one who’d been wronged!
“As if I could!” Malik swept out his hand, shouting an incantation, and sent a wave of red magic rushing toward me.
I threw up another shield, but I couldn’t deflect the attack completely, and the wave slammed me into one of the trees.
I let out a strangled cry as one of my ribs cracked, and I dug my claws into the bark to keep myself upright.
The rib would heal in short order—I was far from down and out.
“Father is not in his right mind, giving such a priceless heirloom to a dirty shifter like you,” Malik spat, stalking toward me. Magic glowed at his fingertips, and a chill went down my spine at the cold hatred in his green eyes. “It is my duty to protect the ar’Rhea name.”
“By murdering me? How very honorable,” I sneered. “It’s a wonder I’m not impressed by your noble rank.”
“If I must kill you in order to get that ring back,” he hissed, his eyes gleaming with relish, “then I shall do so gladly. A by-blow like you has no right to it!” The color in his cheeks and the fervor in his gaze told me that he was in no mood to listen—nothing I could say would make an impression while he was high on anger and self-righteousness.
“You can try,” I challenged, flinging a chakram at his neck.
He deflected the blade easily, but the distraction cost him, and before he knew it, I was high up in the air above him.
His eyes widened as I blasted him with ice magic from above, where his shield did not protect him, and he barely managed to get out of the way.
Ice crackled across the earth, sending chills through my body as my bare feet touched the ground again, and I had to be careful not to slip as I rushed him again.
To my surprise, he flung a small throwing knife at me, and the blade sliced through my left sleeve and upper arm before I could dodge.
Blood trickled down my arm, and I hissed at the faint scent of magic mingling with my blood.
Was this another blade he’d spelled, so that my wound wouldn’t close?
“Enough,” I roared, grabbing him by the throat.
His eyes bulged, both in fear and surprise—he’d obviously expected his knife wound to slow me more than it had.
I trembled with rage as I hefted him above me—clearly, this bastard had underestimated me as a filthy half-breed.
Fury eroded my control, and I slammed him into the dirt.
His head knocked against the ground, and had it been hard-packed rather than muddy, that would have been the end of him. But no—he deserved to suffer first.
“You miserable excuse for a mage!” I reared back, then kicked him in the balls for good measure.
He shrieked in pain, and I only felt a twinge of guilt beneath my vicious delight.
“You can take your ignorant opinion of me and shove it up your ass!” I kicked him again, this time in the ribs, as I grabbed another chakram to put an end to his useless existence.
He’d made it clear that this world wasn’t big enough for the two of us, and I would make damn sure that I wasn’t the one to go.
Stay your hand, a cool voice echoed in my head, and I froze before I could deliver the killing blow. Do not let hatred guide you.
I hesitated, reluctant to let go of my anger.
Was this the moment, the decision, that Resinah had warned me about when I’d last visited her temple?
Some of the red haze cleared from my vision, and I blinked down at my half-brother.
He was bloodied up now, his long-lashed eyes closed.
Had I knocked him unconscious? His elegant clothes were splattered with mud and drops of blood that seeped from the wound on my arm.
Much as I hated to acknowledge it, Malik was also a descendant of Resinah.
As full of bigotry as he was, he was still young.
He might still amount to something in his miserable, haughty existence, if I spared him.
Or if not Malik himself, then his children or grandchildren.
And Haman would be devastated if I massacred his son, regardless of the provocation.
Shaking, I sucked in a deep breath, then dispelled my anger with it as best I could.
“I could beat you into a bloody pulp,” I said to him, “but that won’t make me any better than a scumbag like you.”
His eyes snapped open at that—or at least, the right one did. The left one was swelling shut. “You are no kin of mine,” he growled.
“Why the hell would I claim kinship to a spoiled brat like you?” I scoffed.
“The last thing I want is to be related to the likes of you. I would have killed you with no regrets had Resinah not prevented me just now. You owe the Lady your worthless life, Malik ar’Rhea, and I suggest you grovel on your hands and knees right now and thank her.
I have no idea why she’d take pity on you when you only bring shame to her line, but it’s not my place to question her. ”
He gaped up at me, struggling onto his elbows.
“A shifter like you would know nothing about the Lady.” It was obvious from the incredulity in his voice that the idea that I might have communed with Resinah was inconceivable.
“Or of family honor, for that matter. You are just animals that pretend to be human every now and then. I can’t understand why Father—”
The rest of his words were cut off with a burble as I pressed my boot against his throat. “Enough, asshole,” I growled. “Don’t you know when to quit? I swear it’s like you want me to gut you.”
Keeping just enough pressure on his throat to silence him without killing him, I reached out to Iannis via mindspeak. “You around? I’ve found my would-be assassin, and I could use a hand.”
“What?” His voice was sharp with alarm. “Where? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Mostly,” I amended as the scent of my own blood grew thicker. “I’ve already subdued him, out here in one of the gardens. Come find us, quickly.” I didn’t need to give him directions—he’d find us with the serapha charm.
Iannis arrived in no time, and from his windblown hair and the slight flush to his cheeks, I gathered he’d used his Tua super speed.
His violet eyes sparked with rage as he caught sight of my bloody arm.
I’d ripped the sleeve and fashioned a tourniquet out of it, but the fabric was already soaked with blood.
“This murderous little punk had another one of those magic knives,” I explained, feeling a little unsteady now. The cut wasn’t very big, but since it wasn’t healing, I was losing more blood than I should.
Iannis let out a curse in his native tongue, and, if looks could kill, Malik would be dead on the spot.
Indeed, the kid looked like he was about to crap his pants, his face going bone white at the look in Iannis’s eyes.
I tried not to sulk at that—Malik hadn’t reacted half as strongly when I’d been about to kill him.
Guess I had to work on my intimidation tactics.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Iannis snapped at him.
He jabbed a finger at Malik and growled the Words to the immobilization spell.
Malik went rigid, his eyes burning with rage though he could no longer move.
Even so, I didn’t take my eyes off him while Iannis gently unwrapped the tourniquet from around my arm.
“You should have done some healing on this yourself,” he admonished me as he pressed a hand against the wound.
“I couldn’t afford to take my attention off Malik,” I admitted as Iannis closed his eyes. Pain zinged through my arm as his magic accelerated the healing, but it passed quickly. In seconds, the wound was healed. “And besides, I knew you’d come,” I added with a crooked smile.
“Always,” he said, his voice softening for just an instant before he pulled away. His fury came back in full force as he turned back to Malik “Your half-brother has a penchant for poisoned knives, unusual for a mage. I’m surprised you let him live, a ghrá.”
“I nearly didn’t,” I confessed.
Iannis paused. “Why not?”
I considered telling him about Resinah, then shrugged. “Just didn’t seem right.” I wasn’t sure whether Resinah had plans for Malik, or if she’d just been trying to prevent me from doing something I’d regret later, so I decided it was better not to say anything.
Iannis’s mouth quirked. “Your control is improving then.” He gestured brusquely toward Malik, undoing the spell. “On your feet, boyo.”
Malik stumbled to his feet, an arm wrapped around his abdomen. Hatred gleamed in his good eye, stronger than the pain that was obviously radiating from his ribs. With the way I’d kicked them, they must be badly bruised, if not broken.
“I do not understand,” he rasped, “why a powerful, noble-born mage such as yourself would ally yourself to a filthy shifter, Lord Iannis. Why would you seek to make her your wife? It is madness to mix the races like that!”
“Be silent,” Iannis growled. The air around him began to spark and sizzle, as it did during those rare occasions when his temper boiled over.
“That grandfather of yours has filled your brain with his bigotry, but in the wider world, such notions are petty and futile. Be grateful that your life was spared. After what you just said, I am beginning to doubt you will hold onto it for long.”
“My grandfather will hear of this—” Malik blustered, but Iannis cut him off with a slice of his hand.
“I don’t care about the sob story you tell your grandfather, so long as you also tell him that if he ever goes after Sunaya again, I will have his head.
Now swear on the Lady Resinah, who must be writhing in embarrassment at how far her family has sunk, that you will not harm my fiancée again.
Or I will send your head back to Castalis myself. ”
“I s-swear on the Lady Resinah that I will n-not harm Sunaya Baine again,” Malik ground out, with obvious reluctance.
“Go on.”
“May the Lady strike me dead if I fail in this.”
I looked curiously at Iannis. It sounded like an established formula, but I’d never heard that particular oath before.
“Good. Now get out of my sight.”
“Would you really have sent Malik’s head to Lord Ragir?
I asked, leaning against Iannis’s shoulder as Malik slunk away with his proverbial tail between his legs.
“Wouldn’t that cause an international incident?
” It would grieve my father too, I thought to myself.
And though I’d only just met Haman, I didn’t want that.
“I don’t care what it would cause,” Iannis said, turning me to face him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and drew me close. “You’re mine, Sunaya, to cherish and protect. I would sooner the world burn than allow anyone to take you from me.”
He kissed me fiercely then, his fingers digging into my hips as he held me tight against him.
And as I kissed him back, I clung tight to that promise, which was as secure as the strong arms wrapped around me.
The world might not always be a safe place, but I could trust in Iannis, and that was enough for me.