Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga) (40 page)

When she felt the big warm hands on her shoulders, strong thumbs digging into the muscles of her neck, Arianna moaned in genuine relief. She knew from the first touch that it was Jace. He stood behind her, leaning into the massage.

“You make such sweet sounds when you know not who these hands belong to,” Jace’s husky voice said in her ear. She sighed blissfully.

“To be honest,” she said, “My neck is so stiff, I didn’t really care whose hands they were.” She turned her face up to him briefly, kissed the underside of his chin. “But I knew it was you.”

“Oh really?” he asked, standing back up and smiling down at her. “How?”

“Reader,” she said quietly. “Remember? I always know when you and Hunter are close by. Like now.”

“Should I be jealous?” Hunter asked, returning just in time to find them in the sweet, intimate moment. Arianna chuckled a bit wearily and shook her head against Jace’s belly, where it had been resting.

“He was just helping work out some of the kinks from a day of sewing,” she said lightly, trying to talk some sense when all she wanted to do was drool. “So which one of you is helping me to the dorm tonight?”

The men gave her puzzled looks, looked at each other in question. Hunter finally shrugged and cocked his head to the side curiously.

“You wish to go there?” he asked, seeming a bit hurt. She hesitated then shook her head. “Then why would you ask such a thing?”

“Well, you guys are so busy… You can’t take care of me all the time.”

“We will take care of you,” Jace assured her, then moved aside as a group of women approached, to leave the hall. Hunter moved to the other side of the table to help gather supplies.

“You will be healed very soon,” Hunter assured her, shoving things toward her so she could pack them in the box. “And then you can join whichever of us you wish, or you’ll be able to pursue your own interests during the day. Perhaps teaching the girls or simply making nice things for our home.”

She packed Hunter’s sewing box neatly and rolled her new chemise and apron dress into a small roll. Jace bent to retrieve several pins that had fallen to the floor, while Hunter finished cleaning off the table. Distracted by their conversation, Ri was just bringing her broken leg down off of the stool she’d had it propped on, when there was a yelp nearby and a blur of motion out of the corner of her eye.

Before Ri could do anything to escape disaster, Alicia had fallen on top of her, flailing arms and legs knocking into her broken ribs. But the bulk of her weight came down squarely on Ri’s leg. Her broken leg. The pain was incredible.

Her cry of agony echoed through the large hall and out into the courtyard, bringing warriors at a run. She heard Amy’s delighted laughter, felt the triumph in the younger woman’s mind, and the dawning horror in Alicia’s. Arianna knew that the younger woman had been pushed into Ri. This had been no accident, but a carefully calculated plan to further injure Ri. As darkness closed in on her, Ri mentally cried out for Hunter with everything she had.

Amy’s retreating laughter was the last thing she heard before gray fog started closing in on her.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jace roared for assistance and was at Ri’s side in an instant, his med kit in hand. Hunter bolted after Amy, who had sprinted away as soon as she’d shoved Alicia off balance. Without question or orders, several teams of men followed him at a run.

“Ri?” Jace said, slapping a vitals strip on her neck and quickly deactivating the splint, which was now only holding her leg at an odd angle.

“God above!” she whimpered, her hand clasping his. He flashed her a smile.

“Sweet Arianna,” he said, kissing her forehead then holding her gaze. “If you’re holding my hand, I can’t take care of your leg.”

She whimpered a laugh but let go of his hand. As soon as she did, he was able to give her a pain injection. Several other men knelt around her, medics who’d instantly responded to Jace’s bellow for assistance.

“She didn’t mean to,” she told Jace, tears leaking down her face.

“Who?” he bit out. “Amy?”

“No, Alicia. She didn’t mean to hurt me. Amy pushed her.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. She flashed him a pained smile.

“Reader,” she quipped, “Remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “That. Just stay still for a few minutes, all right? We’ve got to get you on a stretcher and up to the med center.”

“I don’t like that place,” she muttered, groaning.

Jace fought a laugh. God, he loved her sense of humor. His hands stilling for just a moment, he stared down at her lovely face. She managed a wan smile up at him, the trust in her eyes humbling. Gods of Ishira, he was in love with her already.

Forcing the thought away so he could focus, Jace went to work on her leg. Again.

Hunter cursed when he reached the courtyard and there was no sign of Amy. Not only was there no trace of her, but he couldn’t even sense her. How the hell could she shield, when she wasn’t even a Reader?

“I want the compound searched,” Hunter barked out, knowing without looking that there were a number of warriors awaiting orders from him. “Bring Amy to me. Use whatever force is necessary. She attacked a Commander.”

“Aye, sir.”

Hunter hoped his men managed to put a few bruises on the little bitch. Normally, he wouldn’t dream of harming a woman, but at this point, it was warranted. Turning on his heel, the commander strode back into the hall.

He came to kneel beside Ri as a few medics were securing her into a stretcher. Her leg was elevated, the stretcher forming a cushion and bracing it at the same time. The break looked worse than the first time it had been injured, but she was awake and talking to Jace. The physician’s face showed the rage he was barely holding back. Jace’s eyes were tender on Ri, though, his touch gentle as he spoke quietly with her.

Sure that his little warrior was in good hands for the moment, Hunter’s gaze searched the hall. Alicia was nearby, perched on a chair as another medic tended to her sprained and swollen ankle. There was soft bracing on her wrist and she was already bruising from where she’d scraped herself as she fell.

“What happened?” Hunter asked, glaring at the other girl. She glared right back.

“She was pushed, Hunter,” Arianna said weakly.

Though he knew Jace had already given her a pain-killer, he could feel her fighting the pain, trying to deny it. She was frustrated that she was hurt again for the second time in mere days. She hated being so weak in front of Hunter and Jace. For just a moment, he knelt beside her, taking her hand and sending some of his strength into her. At the same time, he drained a little of the pain away. Her eyes cleared a bit and she smiled thankfully up at him. He nodded in satisfaction then turned once more to Alicia, calmer now that Ri was in less pain.

“Who?” He bit off the word even though he knew damn well who had done this.

“Amy,” Alicia sighed. She looked at Arianna with tears in her eyes. “Ri, I’m so sorry! I tried to stop from falling on you. I really did! Amy was being so playful and nice for the first time since we got here, more like back home… now I know why. She wanted me off guard, so she could do this. I’m so, so sorry!”

“I know,” Arianna sighed, closing her eyes against the agony in her leg. She looked up at Hunter after a moment. “Hunter… I don’t want guards around me all the time, but this has to stop.”

“Aye, it does,” he murmured, stroking her hair back from her face tenderly. He leaned forward and kissed her nose. “I will take care of it. I do not believe that Amy will trouble you after this evening.”

“What are you going to do?” Jace asked, his eyes darting to his brother’s face. They both knew what needed to be done, but Hunter stood and called to Rom, who was standing nearby. He spoke quietly to the young man, who nodded then hurried off.

“Protocol,” Hunter said quietly. Jace’s face paled. “It’s the only alternative, Jace.”

Hunter called for one of his warriors, ordered the man to assemble his team. Rian nodded and hurried to the com to call for his men.

Jace wanted to object. Protocol was an accepted punishment, used as a last resort when someone had committed a crime against one of their peers. Usually, the perpetrator got one chance, and only one. Protocol was normally employed after the first transgression. Amy had been given a little latitude because she was an unknown species and technically under Arianna’s jurisdiction. Ri, however, wasn’t in a position to carry out a punishment. Jace was concerned that this break might need surgical repair, and needed to get her to the med center. He also knew that she needed to be here, to witness sentencing for her woman.

Protocol was something Jace personally abhorred, but as Arianna’s face screwed up into a silent scream of pain, he hardened his heart toward the dangerous young woman who had hurt his chosen mate. This was the second time in less than four days that Amy had attacked Ri, and she could not be allowed to continue her attacks. He would kill the skinny Earth woman himself before permitting another attack on his sweet Arianna.

Hunter sensed his brother’s distraction, knew its cause, and almost smiled at Jace’s dumbfounded realization that he’d already fallen in love with Ri. At that point, Rom hurried into the hall with Bev. Good. He had been smart enough to bring Bev with him, as Ri’s second and to translate, if needed. Bev was enraged, but she presented a calm and professional facade as she helped Hunter question Alicia.

“Ri, we’ll take care of this,” Hunter told her quietly, planting a gentle kiss on her nose before Jace signaled his men to carry her out of the hall. She smiled at him as she was taken away, looking a bit loopy with the pain meds. He sighed and turned just as Alicia started talking about Amy’s plans.

“She’s been talking about showing Hunter and Jace how weak and inadequate Arianna is as a leader. She wants to take over as commander of the humans. I tried to tell her that it doesn’t seem to work like that, but she’s crazy. She’s so sure that she can win Jace and Hunter over, that they’ll make her their mate instead, and then she’ll be in charge. She’s talked about that a lot, but… I never thought that she’’d do something like this.”Alicia turned tortured, red eyes to Hunter, shaking her head. “Ri is so sweet… I hate that Amy used me to get to her!”

Hunter Read the girl and knew that she was speaking the truth. He also found that Alicia had been longing to tell someone of Amy’s escalating anger toward Arianna, but hadn’t felt she could, out of fear of retribution from the vengeful young woman. Now, she was truly sorry that she hadn’t said something, felt responsible for Ri’s new injuries. Bev sat next to Alicia, assuring her that they all knew who was to blame, that Ri wouldn’t hold this against her. When Alicia looked down at her braced wrist, crying, Bev met Hunter’s eyes and nodded.

“Do what you have to, Commander,” she said quietly.

“On your authority?” he asked, arching a brow at her. She smiled and nodded again. Hunter sighed. “You will need to stay long enough to bear witness to the sentencing, as acting leader for the humans.”

“Aye, sir,” she said, throwing him a small salute. He barely bit back a grin. Some of these damn Earth women were too charming by half.

Hunter turned away from Alicia, frustrated that he would have to wait for Amy to get some of his rage out. While he waited, he thought about the girl’s tearful testimony. It disturbed him greatly that someone who had considered herself one of Amy’s closest friends up until this evening was so fearful of physical retaliation. But her fears were completely understandable. He would have to make certain to have security watch out for Alicia for awhile. If Amy was so vindictive against someone she didn’t know, like Arianna, how much angrier would she be toward someone she felt had betrayed her and switched allegiances, as Alicia had done tonight?

Moments later, a team of men entered the hall, joining Rian at Hunter’s side. He nodded to them, but before he could say anything, two other warriors hauled a triumphant and unconcerned Amy in front of Hunter. The amount of satisfaction in her, that her plan had worked so well to bring her to Hunter’s attention, took him aback. His gaze narrowed on her, delving unceremoniously into her mind.

What he found was a dark well of hate and anger and pain that she kept blocked off, even from herself most of the time. No matter how he tried, he could not break through the walls of that pit, find out what had made her so very hurtful. This woman was deeply disturbed and was taking her pain out on others by lashing out.

Not for the first time since the women had arrived, Hunter fervently wished his brother Sean was still alive and with them. Sean had an innate ability to gently peel back those walls, see what was behind them, and either drag the problems out to be dealt with or carefully wall them back up in such a way that they would never bother the patient again. Hunter heartily wished he could do the same, that he knew how to deal with this young woman.

However mentally disturbed she might be, victim of whatever horrible fate had turned her into a monster, her actions were endangering others and as Commander of the colony, he had to put a stop to it. Turning to the newly arrived team, he got right to the point.

“Rian,” he said, the word clipped. “You and your team are trained in Protocol, correct?”