Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
Leda
After I woke in an empty bed, I took my time dressing and getting myself ready for the day. I was actually grateful that Bokkan wasn’t in bed when I woke up because I couldn’t control my wince when I turned over.
My entire body was sore. Not just from the sex, but from my wild run through the woods and my fight with Talus. Thinking of the daemon who took me reminded me of the daemoness who was actually behind my kidnapping.
Bokkan and I hadn’t discussed it last night. We’d been too… distracted by other things.
I was feeling less stiff and achy by the time I made my way downstairs. When I got there, Masu and Commander Guldan were waiting in the kitchen. Bokkan was nowhere to be seen.
I walked straight to the imp and hugged her. Even sitting at the kitchen table, she was nearly as tall as I was. She smelled like green herbs and wood smoke, and her arms were strong as they wrapped around my waist.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I murmured to her.
“I feel the same for you.”
I released her and looked at Guldan. “Commander.”
He nodded to me. “Lady Leda.”
“Where is Bokkan?” I asked.
“He had some business to attend to this morning.” His expression never wavered, but I knew he lied as soon as he spoke.
Bokkan had yet to spend a morning apart from me after the first. He would not have left the bedchamber without me unless it was important. Especially after the way he made love to me yesterday.
“When will he be back?” I asked.
“Later today.”
Another lie.
“Let me get you some szite and something to eat,” Masu said, pushing her chair away from the table.
“No, Masu. Please don’t trouble yourself. I can get my own—”
She waved off my words. “I am perfectly fine. Between the antidote the healer gave me yesterday and her magic, I feel better than I have in months. I will make you some eggs and get you something to drink. Sit down. You still look exhausted.”
With a sigh, I did as she said. I was tired and could certainly use some food and Penumbra’s version of coffee.
As Masu bustled around the kitchen, pouring me a cup of szite and chopping herbs and cheese to put in the eggs, I crossed my arms on the tabletop and stared at Guldan.
“So, what is Bokkan really doing today? He’s not going after Venna for yesterday, is he? Because he needs time to plan his attack if he is.”
The commander studied me, his face giving nothing away. “He is not attacking Venna’s estate today. If he were, I would be with him.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
He nodded.
Another thought occurred to me then. “He won’t get in trouble if he does, will he? Because she came and grabbed me first, and I’m his mate.” I paused when that phrase gave me a secret thrill rather than a surge of fear.
Did I want to belong to Bokkan? Truly?
“No, he will not get into trouble if he retaliates for her actions. Female or not, she kidnapped you, the female he is courting. The female he wants to mate. It is not taken lightly in Penumbra. A daemon can be put to death for it.”
I flinched at his statement. “I’m not sure I want her put to death unless there is no other choice, but she should have to deal with the consequences of her actions. Like being locked up in a dungeon for a good long while so she has time to think about what she’s done.”
Guldan studied me with curious eyes. “You think that is preferable to death?”
“No, I think it’s worse because not only will she be stuck in prison, she’ll be forced to watch the world pass her by. And, when she is released, she will have to live with the embarrassment of everyone knowing what she did and that she wasn’t even able to abduct a single human properly.”
A sly smile took over Guldan’s face. It made him almost… handsome.
“That is almost fiendish,” he finally said. “Because to be taken down so thoroughly by a human would be considered extremely weak. Though I do think you have already humiliated her well by beating her in a challenge with almost no trouble.”
“I guess that’s true,” I agreed, sitting back when Masu set a plate of eggs, toast, and assorted fruit in front of me.
“Thanks, Masu,” I said.
She brought a cup of szite over as well. “It is my pleasure.”
I smiled up at her as I picked up my fork and began eating. Once I started, I realized that I was ravenous and ate like a starving woman until the food was gone. It was only when I was done that I realized Guldan had watched me take every bite.
“You seem to be feeling much better this morning,” he commented.
“I am.”
“That is good. The general has asked me to take you into town in a short time. While he would prefer to do so himself, his business is keeping him from it.”
My inner alarm buzzed again. Louder this time. Guldan was lying straight to my face.
I glanced over at Masu. “Can you excuse us a moment, please?”
She smiled pleasantly and disappeared through the kitchen door into the hall.
I had no doubt she was lingering nearby, hoping to hear every word.
Honestly, I didn’t mind. She’d be able to give me good advice if she knew what was going on.
There was still so much about this place that I didn’t understand.
When she disappeared from view completely, I glared at Guldan. “Why are you lying to me, Commander?”
His reply was immediate. “I am not lying.”
I couldn’t help the scoff that escaped me. “I may not be able to smell your emotions the way Bokkan does, but I understand people well enough to know when I’m being lied to. What’s going on?”
The commander took a deep breath, his eyes dropping to his fisted hands.
They pressed down into the surface of the table as he studied them.
Finally, he met my gaze again. “The general has asked me to escort you to the Shadow Forest. He sent word to the witch that lives there that you need passage back into the human realm.”
I stared at him in shock. “What?”
The food I’d just eaten rolled in my stomach, threatening to come right back up. Then, the betrayal hit. After everything he’d said to me yesterday, Bokkan was still sending me home.
Anger fired my blood, and I shoved my chair back to get to my feet. “Where is he?” I asked.
Guldan shook his head. “I cannot tell you, Lady Leda.”
No wonder he was speaking to me with so much respect today. He was probably gleeful that he was going to be rid of me!
I slammed my fist down on the table, causing the empty dishes to jump. There was an ominous splintering sound. I stared down at the wooden tabletop with wide eyes. There was a small crack in one of the rough planks that made up the tabletop.
The commander was right. Penumbra was changing me. I was strong but these planks were an inch thick. I shouldn’t be able to crack one with the small hit I’d just given the table.
“I am not going anywhere until I’ve spoken to Bokkan,” I stated, my teeth clenched with anger and hurt.
Not only was I going to speak to the daemon, but I was going to kick him in the balls for hurting me like this. He told me last night that he didn’t want to send me home and less than eight hours later, he changed his mind? It wasn’t right. Not at all.
“You will go if I have to tie you up with a rope and drag you behind my horse.”
There was the arrogant commander I’d met the first day I arrived in Penumbra.
My fingers reached down for the blade I’d strapped to my thigh. Talus’s blade. It had been in the bedchamber with my clothes this morning, so I’d tied it on as usual. The punch knife I’d used on the daemon was also in the bedchamber, so I’d tucked it back into my bra as I had before.
Guldan lifted his hands. “I would prefer we solve this without violence.”
“How do you suggest we do that? Because I can promise you that I will stab you with this knife if you come anywhere near me.” My index finger slid down the hilt to the cross guard.
He released a beleaguered sigh. “I am tired of arguing with stubborn creatures today. What will I have to do to get you to go to the Shadow Forest with me?”
“Let me speak to Bokkan.”
“That is not possible.”
The firm tone in his voice told me that it was the truth, so I tried a different tactic.
“Okay, then why are you taking me to the witch and not Bokkan?”
“Because he is unable.”
“Why is he unable?” I pushed.
A low grumble escaped the commander. I crossed my arms over my chest, ignoring the annoyed look on his face.
Sensing, correctly, that I was settling in for a fight, he sighed again. “He is quite literally unable to take you. If he remained with you, his instincts would not allow him to lose sight of you, much less send you back to the human realm.”
“His mating instincts?” I asked. I wanted to be sure I understood correctly.
Guldan nodded. “Yes. But it is his wish that you leave today, so I will be the one to take you.”
“He told me last night that he didn’t want me to leave. What changed in eight hours?” I asked.
“I am not a mind reader,” the daemon retorted.
I scowled at him. “Maybe not, but you know him better than anyone else. Why do you think he is sending me back?”
He studied me in silence until I was ready to scream. Finally, he asked, “Why do you care about his reasons?”
Because I don’t want to leave!
The thought exploded into my brain, nearly taking me to the floor with the volume of it. I didn’t want to leave Bokkan behind. For the first time in my life, I felt as though someone saw me. Someone understood me.
Someone wanted me just the way I was.
Not only did Bokkan care for me in spite of my flaws, but it also seemed that he wanted me because of them.
He looked at me as though I were the center of his universe.
His obsession.
His reason for existing.
With all the men I dated, even the few who claimed they loved me and wanted to spend their lives with me, none of them had ever looked at me like Bokkan did.
Maybe it wasn’t healthy. Maybe it was reckless. Stupid even. But I couldn’t walk away from him. I wasn’t sure if I could call it love, but I felt something for him. A deep connection that I knew, down in my bones, could become part of my very soul.
Guldan seemed to sense my thoughts because he asked, “Would you care that it is hurting him to send you away?”
Silently, I nodded.
“Would you care enough to stay?”
I hesitated for a brief moment. Was I truly considering giving up my life in the human realm? For a monster I’d met a week ago?
“I would,” I said. “But I have family in the human realm. I’m not sure I could go the rest of my life without seeing them. Without letting them know I’m okay.”
It was true. My parents deserved to know I was safe and happy. They didn’t deserve to live another twenty or thirty years, wondering what had happened to me.
The daemon nodded as though my words made perfect sense to him. “And if I could assure you that you would be able to see them again… safely?”
“Then, yes, I would want to stay.”
His shoulders slumped, and it took me a moment to realize that he was relieved. When his black eyes met mine again, he smiled. The curve of his lips was small, but it was enough to take me aback. It was the first time I’d seen the daemon commander smile.
“If that is the case,” he said. “Then, I will take you to the general right now.”
He walked across the kitchen to the pantry and went inside. I stared after him, completely confused.
A few seconds later, he stuck his head out the door. “You will need to follow me, Lady Leda,” he stated.
Cautious, I walked over to the pantry. I’d only been inside twice because Masu ran me out of here every time I tried to come in, claiming that it was her space.
Guldan waited inside, his hand resting on a shelf at the back of the room. He reached over and pushed in on one of the planks that made up the wall. There was a loud click, and the shelf in his hand moved backward, revealing a dark passageway with a set of steps descending.
“What is that?” I asked, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.
“The entrance into the root cellar.”
“And why are we going down there?” Once again, my fingers skimmed the handle of the dagger.
“Because that is where General Bokkan is.”
Confused and more than a little nervous, I gestured for Guldan to go down first. “I’ll follow after you.”
I wasn’t sure I completely trusted him, but I was out of options for now. A small smirk tugged at his mouth, but the daemon gave me his back and began walking down the steps leading into the cellar.
Swallowing hard, I followed him into the darkness.