Damian's Oracle (15 page)

He went to the kitchen. The woman stayed with
him. Two wondered if she’d ever come out of his head, or if she had
to stay there, like he stayed in his master’s corner. If she stayed
in his head, his master wouldn’t beat her like he did him.

Stay there, kiri. I’ll take care of you.

“Are you hungry?”

Sofia jerked from her place beside her
window, not sure which voice came from her head and which from the
handsome man before her. She’d watched the arriving guests with a
mixture of fascination and dread. They wore tuxedos and ball gowns
like wealthy celebrities attending an exclusive Hollywood party.
Beautiful women that rivaled Claire and men so handsome, even age
couldn’t diminish their muscular bodies or riveting looks.

“You’re not dressed.”

Damian was in a white shirt and snug tuxedo
pants that outlined long, thick thighs and a tight ass. His body
drew her, and his scent surrounded her when he knelt beside
her.

She wanted to tell him about Claire, but she
was afraid to. He cared for Claire, or at least, he was attracted
to her, and she didn’t know if there was more than what she knew
about them.

He held out his wrist, and she grudgingly
took it, drinking from him while smelling the scents of the feast
being prepared for his guests.

It’s not fair.

The taste of him filled her, calmed her. She
let her head drop back and sighed.

“You should get dressed, Sofia.”

He wiped the corner of her mouth, and she
resisted the urge to nip his finger. His warm lips met hers, and
she opened her eyes, surprised. He kissed her gently, a long, slow
kiss. She savored the sensations of his hot, wet mouth and the buzz
she got feeding from him.

“Come, meet your people.”

She watched him retreat, desire burning
within her. Pierre had brought in a dress and shoe box earlier. She
flipped on the light and opened it. Inside was the most beautiful
gown she’d ever seen in a mysterious shade of dark blue sprinkled
with silver sequins. The dress was thick silk and moved like water
as she pulled it free and held it against her.

It must have cost a fortune!

She picked up the box to toss it on the chair
when something slid out. She opened the slender jewelry box and
gasped. Inside sparkled a diamond choker with an unusually worn,
plain charm of a half-sun, half-moon pierced by an arrow. Diamond
earrings completed the set.

If the dress didn’t break him, the jewelry
did! Sofia lifted the choker carefully, touching the charm.

“What are you, little friend?” she murmured.
It must have been significant to be surrounded by so many
diamonds!

She marveled over the clothing and jewelry
before changing. She pulled her hair into a simple French twist,
the kind she wore to work, and applied her make-up carefully.

Her irises were half silver. Sofia gazed at
her two-toned eyes. They sparkled like the blue dress and diamonds.
She looked herself over, satisfied that she looked good. Not
Claire-good, but good enough.

Pierre greeted her with an approving smile
that buoyed her.

“His colors and his symbol.”

“Is that what this is?” she asked, fingering
the charm.

“It’s old, maybe as old as him. His family’s
coat of arms, if they had those then. Very special. Even he does
not wear it.”

She trailed him down the stairs, eyes on the
guests milling in the courtyard beyond the opened double doors.
Damian and Dustin appeared deep in discussion as she approached.
Both wore tuxedos with matching blue cummerbunds, which amused her
for such starkly different men. Claire, stunning in maroon and
bedecked with diamonds and rubies, looked her over dismissively
before returning her gaze to the men.

“Ikira,” Dustin said, breaking away. His blue
gaze swept over her. “You look lovely.”

She eyed him then looked to Damian, who
stared at her with an intensity she’d last seen aimed at
Claire.

I am so hot.

Sofia almost laughed at herself. She lowered
her gaze at the heated look from the man who drove her crazy every
other minute of her day. She cleared her throat and focused on
Dustin.

“You guys match,” she observed.

“Only because of
my
efforts,” he said
with an edge that warned her not to laugh.

He’s sensitive about that shit, like a
woman,
Damian whispered into her mind. She coughed to cover her
startled laugh. Dustin looked at her then tossed a look over his
shoulder at Damian before directing her away.

“Dick,” he said under his breath. “Come,
Ikira. The guests must be greeted.”

Her cheer faded. He motioned her towards the
entrance to the courtyard.

“Is it really necessary?” she asked.

“It is.”

She felt Damian’s gaze on her as they walked
away. She wanted to warn him about Claire …

Later. After this latest ordeal.

She stood beside Dustin on one side of the
entrance while Damian and Claire assumed the other. Claire was all
over him, in his space, rubbing her breasts against him. Sofia
watched, astonished at the blatant display, and almost didn’t prep
herself for her first encounter.

The first man was in his prime, and his eyes
crinkled in a genuine smile when he clasped hands with Dustin. They
exchanged a greeting in a foreign language that sounded like
Russian before he held out his hand to her. His eyes went to the
symbol at her neck, and one eyebrow shot up. His name …
Sasha.

She saw killing in his future, but only in
defense of his family.

There were ten men and two women she greeted
before she felt the first flash of cold. The man before her was
middle-aged and handsome, but she saw his dealings with Czerno’s
men. He sold out Damian’s men - his own men - for money.
Antoine.

The second traitor came soon after, a man
whose past stunned her. She held his hand longer than she should.
The man looked no older than Damian and was indeed from the same
era.

He and Claire sold out Damian’s brother to
Czerno.
Isac.

If Damian knew the woman trying to crawl back
into his bed had helped murder his brother, her husband …

She couldn’t see him over the crowd. Her
throat tightened in unshed tears of sorrow and anger.

Damian’s world was brutal.
Her
world
was brutal.

“Be strong,
kiri,
” Dustin said without
looking at her.

She swallowed hard and held out her hand to
another woman in red. The last man in line was the final traitor, a
man who’d helped Jilien torture his wife then claimed Czerno’s men
had done it.
Haydaen.

She all but snatched her hand away,
overwhelmed at the images in her head. Dustin escorted the man into
the mansion, and Pierre wrapped an arm around her as she
sagged.

Pierre unloading his shotgun on the man in
executioner’s garb from Czerno’s. It was dark, cold, and the shots
hit the man with lopsided shoulders, dropping him dead to the
ground. An explosion blazed in the distance. A woman was screaming,
another man shouting.

She pushed herself away and leaned against a
wall.

“So much death,” she whispered.

Dustin returned for her. She wiped tears from
her eyes.

“I’m sorry,
kiri
,” he said with rare
warmth. “Remember, we want them to fear you. Don’t let them see you
cry.”

She steeled herself and nodded. She didn’t
want to disappoint him or Damian and couldn’t help but dread the
conversation to come. She tried to think of how she could soften
the pain she’d bring him.

Dustin escorted her into the boisterous
banquet room, and her spirits fell farther. She was seated at the
end of the table opposite Damian while Claire claimed the spot to
his left. The seat of honor was given to Sasha. Dustin sat beside
her. From what little she knew about etiquette, she was occupying
the seat of the lady of the house. A few of the guests cast curious
looks her way, and everyone who looked at her seemed more
interested in the plain charm at her chest than meeting her
gaze.

Caterers served up food she’d kill to eat.
Sofia watched the plates swap out before her as those around her
gorged themselves on gourmet dishes she’d only seen on TV. As each
course came and went, she felt another piece of her die.

What’s done can’t be undone.

She stared at the embroidered tablecloth,
tormented by the scent of food she couldn’t eat and the visions of
death and betrayal that left an acrid taste in her mouth. No one
spoke to her. She wasn’t human. She wasn’t one of
them
. A
freak among freaks. Would she spend eternity like this, doomed to
knowing only the dark secrets of those around her? If Dustin’s
words were true, she’d never be welcomed into the home of any of
Damian’s people, not if they feared the sight of her! Once she told
Damian about the woman whose hand rested intimately on his arm, who
he smiled at with genuine affection …

If not for the dead man in her head, she’d be
alone.

She fled the banquet hall for the library.
Pierre trailed, balancing a plate of food. She stood before the
window, feeling very much like a prisoner in her new world. She
wondered if the dead man in her head, Darian, felt this way when he
cried. She heard Dustin order Pierre out before he approached
her.

“Sofia, I need to ask you something, and I
need you to tell me the truth.”

She hugged herself, waiting.

“Claire.”

His unfinished question lingered in the
silence between them.

“Yes,” she whispered.

He tensed. She looked up at him, sensing both
his anger and his regret. His blue eyes were colder than the sky on
a winter morning in Virginia. She resisted the urge to move away
from him, chilled by the visions of his work as Damian’s
executioner.

“I thought so,” he said at last. His look
softened. “You have to tell him, sweetheart.”

“It’ll kill him.”

“He must know. You don’t carry this burden
alone.”

She nodded, throat tight. With a squeeze of
her arm, he left her.

“Sofi,” Damian’s voice jarred her from her
thoughts.

She wiped her eyes before turning to face
whatever music Damian brought with him. He was accompanied by
Dustin and two other men, one she knew as Sasha, a man who’d struck
her with his devotedness to his family, and Levi, a man who’d been
present in many of his pre-Schism memories.

Damian’s gaze swept over her. He was the lord
and master again, his form and commanding presence filling up the
room. His display of checked power disturbed her.

“Sasha, Levi, this is ikira Sofia.”

“An honor, ikira,” Sasha said with a bow.

“We’ve waited many years for you, ikira,”
Levi said.

“Sasha and Levi are two of my most trusted
advisors. Sasha manages the operations for Dusty out of Miami and
Levi for Jule in Europe,” Damian explained.

“We’ve been through much together,” Levi
added. “I owe D my life.”

“I’m honored to meet you both,” she said.

“Shall we review what you’ve learned?” Damian
asked.

His tone was genuinely questioning, and she
felt grateful that he was giving her the choice to opt out. She met
Dustin’s gaze, sensing he felt the same pain she did.

“I’m ready,” she said with more confidence
than she felt.

They sat around the low table still scattered
with pictures. Pierre remained at the door. She sifted through the
pictures, aware of the intent attention the others paid her. She
found Antoine and drew his picture out. She swallowed hard,
uncomfortable with playing the role of judge and jury.

“Antoine,” she said. “He’s a spy for Czerno.
Czerno pays him well for the locations of the safe houses in Europe
and the names and locations of the Guardians.”

“That we knew,” Sasha said with a firm
nod.

“Haydaen,” she said, drawing out another.
“His wife’s death was by his own hand. He felt you suspected him
and devised a plot with Czerno to torture … “

Her voice caught at the images replaying
through her mind. Damian reached across the table and touched her
face, dismissing them.

“… to torture and blame her death on Jilian.
He sold out his family for money and land in Italy.”

No one spoke. She reached Isac’s picture and
stopped, looking up at Damian.

“Damian … “

“Whatever it is, it’s ok,” he said.

She struggled to control her emotions.

“Isac. He killed your brother.”

She didn’t think anyone heard her choked
words. Silence followed. When she was brave enough, she looked up
at Damian. He had leaned back in his seat, his face a frozen mask.
She met Dustin’s penetrating gaze.

“And Claire.”

“Claire
what
?” Damian growled in a
voice that bordered on inhuman.

“She and Isac.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say what they’d
done. The words were too painful, and by the predatory stillness of
the man across from her, she was terrified of what he’d do if she
said it again. He rose, as if on autopilot, turned, and faced the
window.

“I know you’re jealous, but this is
disgusting,” he said in a low voice so sharp she jumped.

“I’d never do that to you,” she said, unable
to stop the tears she’d been holding back since the start of the
evening. “She’s sleeping with Czerno and feeding him the names of
the new Guardians. She and Isac killed your brother. They plotted
together during the hunting trip you and your brother took the day
before he died. Claire lured him away from his Guardians to the
warm springs by the - ”

“
Enough!
”

He faced her, eyes whirling madly. His
accusation and fury were plain on his flushed face.

“Why do you think she came here? She wants to
find a way to kill you, too!” she forced herself to continue.