11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter 11
House Azaes Territory, Egypt
“T hat was a first for you,” Talik said as he walked toward Dante.
The lazy gait was a blatant misdirection from how lethal he was. Both Atlantean and human media devoured the playboy persona Talik cultivated. It suited Dante. Talik often took the attention off him.
“You told Sypha to ask the pilot to pretend there was turbulence. Did you get the answers you needed?” Talik clarified. His tone held a hint of disapproval. “Genius, if not highly manipulative, considering Dr. Sinha’s background.”
Dante ignored Talik.
The high sun beat down on them; the sticky heat was unbearable. The surrounding air was thick and still. A timely reminder of why he rarely visited Egypt. The landing strip was hidden from prying eyes, surrounded by inhospitable sand dunes. Specks of sand clung to his skin; with a grimace, he dusted off the offending grains. He would be removing them from his clothes for weeks. Dante had spent too many years of his childhood exploring this wasteland with his father to pretend to be tolerant of it. There were few things he openly claimed to dislike, but he despised sand.
“Not entirely.”
Rieka was not telling him the whole truth. A small unfamiliar knot was in the pit of his stomach. He was closer to finding the tomb than ever before, now that Rieka had agreed to work with him.
Talik chuckled as he took off his jacket. Sweat beaded on his temple. “Lost your touch?”
“Unlikely. I have four days,” Dante answered. “She has seen the image before.”
Talik stilled next to him as he raised an eyebrow and emitted a low whistle. “Is she the clue you have been looking for? Sypha makes more sense now.”
This time it was Dante who waited for further clarification.
“Nothing that is of interest yet.” Talik smiled, changing the subject. “Welcome home?”
Dante snorted. “Should I say the same thing to you?”
“Unlike you, I renounced my home.” A dark look passed over Talik’s features before a self-deprecating smile replaced it. “Humans are far more fragile than we are.”
He couldn’t shake the sense of urgency building up within him. The emotion had slowly taken hold of him, and over the last three decades, it had gotten worse. Money was not an issue. Time was. It would be five hundred years before he would get another chance to visit the vault. Time was the one commodity he couldn’t buy, no matter how much he aspired to. The council was determined to enforce the antiquated rule that the vault only be opened every five hundred years. And nothing he offered, including money and power, had changed their minds.
Talik surveyed the area. “Did you watch Kade’s report?”
“Yes.”
The report had been short and to the point, and disturbing. Dante had watched it twice to ensure that he had missed nothing. Or hallucinated what he had seen. Serpopard. The pixelated, somewhat grainy image of a large cat the size of a sabertooth tiger with a snakelike neck and tongue was hard to miss. The animal’s predatory orange gaze had looked straight into the camera, as if it knew it was being recorded. That was impossible, but Dante was cognizant of the intelligence of the animal and their hunting abilities. The video had been taken in one of the abandoned subway tunnels within New York City, in a place far away from the natural cave homes of the vicious monsters.
“For a species that supposedly became extinct more than eleven thousand years ago, they appear to be very lifelike and alive,” Talik whispered, careful of prying tech that may have been placed in position prior to their arrival. “Your sister hasn’t been conducting any new experiments, has she?”
“Aldora isn’t that type of scientist,” Dante answered. Not that he was in close contact with his twin, but she reluctantly kept him aware of what she was working on. The life of an heir was not without some inherent danger, even from within their own House.
“The footage only captured one of them,” Talik mused as he casually continued to sweep the area for any hint of life. “Its mate is somewhere in the tunnel.”
Dante grimaced; the beating hot sun added to his annoyance. He loathed deserts. “Kade will track it.”
And destroy it. Only select Atlanteans were aware of the existence of the monsters, and he was determined to keep it that way. Mass hysteria was only useful when he could shape it to his advantage.
“I’m going to greet the welcoming committee. If I get stabbed, I’m blaming you.” Talik walked toward the center of the temporary landing strip. The scent of amber and rosewood reached him before he heard the creak of the stairs.
“This is not the welcome I was expecting.” Rieka tugged the black trucker cap over her eyes. She moved close enough to brush against him. “We are in the middle of nowhere.”
Dante no longer tried to ignore the tendril of attraction surrounding Rieka. He didn’t think she was aware of it. A fire burned within Rieka just beneath the surface. It was only a small whisper of a kindling, but it had the potential to become a wildfire.
Rieka wore only a dark sleeveless T-shirt, having discarded her jacket at some point. The colors of her tattoos were a bright contrast to the muted color of her wardrobe. Large pink, red, and purple lilies covered her entire left arm. He fought the sudden urge to trace his fingers along the tattooed lines and see if Rieka’s skin was as soft and inviting as it looked. “What were you expecting?”
Rieka shrugged as a thin film of perspiration coated her. The black V-neck tee clung to her. “I don’t know. Guards. Dancing troupes. Something over the top. The House isn’t exactly renowned for its subtle gestures.”
Dante bit back a smile. Rieka was right. House Azaes’s reputation for extravagant events was well known. A tradition Anhur followed, despite his quieter nature. “Cleopatra’s entrance into Rome?”
“The Elizabeth Taylor version,” Rieka clarified with an exaggerated hand wave. “Didn’t take you as someone who watched human movies.”
“As Talik mentioned, not everything in the media is true.”
“Especially when you leak your own information,” Rieka added. She stepped closer to Dante and smiled. Small laugh lines appeared around her eyes.
A hint of vulnerability crossed her features, as if she was about to confess a deep, dark secret. She glanced back at the plane as a small shiver rocked her body. “It’s been fifteen years, and I can still smell the fuel and burning hair. If I close my eyes, I’m back on the flight.” Rieka sighed, her gaze glassy. “It was the first time I was glad I hadn’t inherited the Atlantean heightened senses. I was lucky. My mom wasn’t.” Rieka’s voice trailed off, but it couldn’t hide the tangible pain of the memories.
“Rieka…”
“Don’t you just love deserts?” Rieka switched topics. “The endless beauty and the possibility of finding a tomb anywhere—it’s breathtaking.”
It was a desolate wasteland. But he did not want to break the illusion of the desert for Rieka. Once it was broken, it was near impossible to get it back. It was one of the few things he envied about humans. They rarely lived long enough to forget the luster of life. Instead, he let Rieka’s exuberance, with a bittersweet hint of melancholy, wrap around him. The sensation was both unfamiliar and uncomfortable.
The ground shook as the sound of fighter jets drowned the rest of the world out. In the distance, dust particles exploded, showering the sand dunes.
Their escorts.
Dante had spent decades learning to move within the region—how to use the light and shadow to hide in plain sight and ambush the enemy. The same techniques the escorts were using. The fighter jets were an ostentatious show of power and resources. He glanced at Rieka. She looked enthralled.
“Stay close by.”
Rieka stiffened at the order. She glared at him, the red of her eyes the only visible color, the hint of vulnerability gone. It had been a very long time since someone had tried to stare him down into submission.
“I thought you were invited to the Jimourt?”
“I am,” Dante said. “While the House is aware of your attendance, I prefer you not to become a weakness that can be exploited.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be allies?” Rieka shifted as she fanned herself, her gaze never leaving the rising dust cloud.
“They will exploit any weakness, as I would,” Dante admitted. The Jimourt may be neutral, but it didn’t stop the Houses and their spymasters from gathering information about each other. He had planted enough spies over the years to know they had done the same to him.
“Is that more an indictment of your behavior than theirs?”
“Alliances are not permanent; they shift like the dunes surrounding us,” Dante said. He stood inches away from Rieka, careful not to touch her, but even this close he could feel her body warmth radiating from her. The jets had been a distraction. It allowed the vehicles to gain momentum and move without worrying about the slight echo of their engines. Any sound that was not natural was a glaring beacon in the desert’s stillness. He pointed to their front. “Look to the east.”
Rieka shook her head. “What am I looking for??”
“The House places their scouts on overwatch. They have been waiting hidden by the dunes since we entered their airspace.” It was protocol. Until the escorts confirmed their identity as invited guests, they would be treated as potential hostile contacts. “What can you see?”
“Sand. And more sand. I did not win the Atlantean lottery in genetics,” Rieka said with resignation. “Despite the eye color, I am human.”
“Close your eyes.”
Rieka looked at him as if he had grown two heads.
“Not all Atlanteans have the same level of heightened senses. There are ways to train them to enhance them to be above what a standard human is capable of. Turn and face the dunes,” Dante said.
Rieka flexed her hands in what he assumed was annoyance at her having to listen to his direction. But he could be exceptionally patient when it suited him. He dragged his focus away from Rieka. Dante surveyed the area, searching for any sign of life. Near the horizon, between the dunes that towered like skyscrapers over the barren landscape, small clouds of dust burst into nothingness as the cloaked vehicles maneuvered, using the light and the sand to their advantage.
This close to them, the engines were impossible to disguise now, at least with his hearing. It was a dull roar that was growing increasingly louder.
“My eyes are closed.”
Dante moved a fraction closer. Adrenaline and anticipation. Another scent lingered beneath it. The scent of arousal was subtle but unmistakable. He did not need his heightened senses to know that Rieka desired him. It was an angle he could exploit if he needed.
“Focus on your breathing. Slow it down until all you can hear is the beating of your heart,” Dante said, keeping his voice low. “You need to reach a meditative state.”
Rieka snorted. “You sure you want to do this in a potentially hostile environment? It would be really inconvenient if they attacked my host.”
Underneath the flippant attitude she used as armor was an edge of turmoil that surrounded her. One that he’d watched play out with other hybrids who had been caught between the two worlds and yet never truly belonged to either. “Are you worried we will be attacked or that you may realize that you are more Atlantean than you think?”
Rieka pivoted to turn to glare at him, her eyes blazing with fury, reminding him of flames.
“Incoming.” Talik’s low voice carried over the space between them.
Without a word, Rieka turned to face the dunes. “Where are they coming from?” Rieka asked as she shifted into a defensive stance, her arms loose against her sides. “I can hear a humming sound; it seems out of place here.”
Rieka could handle herself. The sliver of admiration that rose through him was unexpected. Dante counted three patrol vehicles, one from the east and the other two were from the north and west. To the south lay the House’s lands. The shield protecting them would keep all intruders outside their fortress. “They are here. They will be cloaked, but you can see the disturbance by the locations of the dust clouds.”
“Uh, huh.” She glanced at him. “Just to be clear, your definition of a non-hostile environment is very different from mine.”
The air shimmered for a moment before the desert-colored patrol vehicle took shape.
Rieka stiffened. The movement was subtle and almost undetectable, if he hadn’t been paying close attention to her. If he wasn’t so attuned to Rieka, he would have missed it.
Two guards stepped out. They appeared unarmed. The second vehicle stopped next to Talik, narrowly missing him.
The escorts wore the same uniforms as his personnel. A concession the Atlanteans made with the humans. All Atlantean security and military had the same uniform. The only distinguishing marker was their epaulet, a sliver of color on their shoulders to denote their House. These guards were yellow. The front door opened, and a black-clad figure stalked out of the vehicle. The hood obscured their features. Each movement was graceful, but he remembered it well. She reminded him of how liquid silver moved through water, with the grace and swiftness of a trained dancer.
It had been over a century since their last encounter, but some alliances were forged deeper than blood. “Khalida.”
The Atlantean stopped just out of his reach as she lowered her hood before she shook her head. Silver-blonde hair cascaded halfway down her back, a stark contrast against her golden-brown skin. To most Atlanteans, beauty was a weapon they wielded freely. Khalida was no exception. Kohl lined almond-shaped wolflike yellow eyes that watched him frostily as she casually touched the hilt of her sword.
“Cousin.” There was no hint of warmth in Khalida’s voice. “Dr. Sinha.”
“Our escort for the duration of our stay.”
“You are late,” Khalida said. She half-turned to Talik as disdain flashed across her face before she returned her attention to Dante and Rieka. “Anhur is expecting you.”
Khalida slowly looked at Rieka. Her yellow eyes gleamed with the hunger of a predator that was trying to pretend it was harmless. “Dr. Sinha, welcome to House Azaes.”
R ieka tried to focus on their destination, as the sand dunes rushed past them, but the cramped car was overwhelming. They had been driving for what seemed like hours, but everything looked the same, as if they had been going around in circles. Talik and Sypha had gone with the other vehicle. It was just her and Dante in the quiet. It was surprisingly comfortable to sit there in the silence. She snuck a glance at Dante. He appeared unfazed, his attention focused on the tablet he held. This may be another day in the office for him, but Rieka wasn’t so sure what she had been expecting when she had agreed to the contract. Access to the statue had been her only concern, the actual logistics behind getting to the Jimourt and her interactions with the Houses had been glossed over in her mind. Now she was dealing with it.
“Rieka,” He sounded like it hadn’t been the first time he had said her name. “We should arrive in twenty minutes. The Arx will soon appear over the horizon.”
She squinted, but all she could see was sand. Not the thirty-foot-high walls she knew it was surrounded with. “Where?”
Dante leaned closer as he pointed to a speck in the distance.
He wasn’t touching her, but she could feel his warmth surrounding her, and she stupidly wanted more. The butterflies in her belly went into overdrive. She had half-convinced herself it was nausea or her anxiety. But no, it was a visceral reaction to Dante. One that was hard to ignore. Heat snaked through her, and she had a flash of lightheadedness every time he was near. It instantly transported her back to being sixteen again. An attraction to her boss was not part of the plan.
Maybe it was just nerves—it had been a hell of a few weeks for her.
Dante moved back to his seat. “You will have access to the vault in the afternoon.”
Rieka nodded. Dante was turning out to be far more dangerous than she had expected. She should have been impervious to him, but a small part wanted more. His gaze burned into her. The intensity made her want to look away, but she held her ground. A game she refused to lose.
There was only one reason she was there. Dante was a distraction she couldn’t afford. Not when there was so much at stake.
She really had a chance of finding the tomb.