Read i 0e57392105b539eb Online
Authors: Unknown
for his part—however involuntary—in what had happened to Ivy was
palpable, and Kai didn’t have the patience or the sanity to reassure him.
In truth, if it hadn’t been for Sion, they likely wouldn’t have found
Ivy in time to save her. Kai shoved the thought down into the deepest,
darkest corner of his mind. If he allowed himself to go down that path,
to think of what could have happened, he’d shatter.
The morning of Ivy’s abduction, Wyn had stolen Sion’s transponder
and sealed him inside his room with magic. An effective plan, and one
that would have worked had Sion not been in possession of a comm
glass. Flipping the long, standing mirror in his quarters to its
communication mode, the Helios had sent a warning to Tira, who had in
turn barged into Kai’s room and literally kicked him out of bed.
By the time Tira had been alerted to the situation, Ivy had already
disappeared from the citadel, sending Kai into a spectacular rage. Every
guard in the city had been enlisted in the search, but with the torrential
rains reducing visibility, it hadn’t been an easy task.
Employing Sion’s aid, Kai had teleported them into the Valley. He’d
been prepared to burn the entire village to the ground if the Court didn’t
tell him where to find his mate, but the moment they’d landed on the
cobblestone road, Sion had heard Ivy’s screams.
Kai didn’t remember much after that. Rage had consumed him,
reducing him to his most primal state, and he’d have ripped Wyn’s still
beating heart from his chest if Ivy hadn’t stopped him.
Logically, he knew they needed to question the sentry, but allowing
him to live after what he’d done to Ivy had been nearly impossible.
Waiting was excruciating. Too thin and too pale, Ivy looked so
fragile, so breakable, lying in the center of the big bed. For two days, she
slept on her stomach and didn’t move, not even to stretch or roll. Kai had
spent endless hours watching the steady rise and fall of her back, just to
comfort himself that she was still alive, still breathing.
On the second night, Hamlet had escaped his hold and leapt onto the
bed, ducking under the covers before Kai could catch him and snuggled
against Ivy’s neck. He’d intended to grab the beast and toss him out into
the hallway, but when his mate sighed in her sleep and smiled, he’d
decided the piglet could stay.
By the next morning, he’d almost convinced himself that she’d never
awake when she called his name in a reedy voice.
“I’m here, dove.” Kneeling on the floor beside the bed, he took her
thin hand, wrapping it in both of his own. “I’m right here.”
“Water,” she mumbled, blinking lazily to dispel the lingering sleep.
Standing, he eased onto the bed, careful not to hurt her, and helped
Ivy into a sitting position so that her shoulder rested against his chest.
“Just sips,” he encouraged, guiding the goblet of water from the
nightstand into her hands. “Easy, not too much, dove.”
As she drank, he stroked her hair, her arms, and kissed her brow,
touching any part of her he could reach. For the first time since the
moment he’d found out she was missing, he felt like he could breathe
again. The tightness in his chest loosened, and the heaviness of despair
that had coiled around him vanished.
“How do you feel? Are you in pain? Do you need anything?” He took
the goblet she handed him and placed it back on the bedside table. “Tell
me what to do,” he pleaded.
Her quiet laughter warmed him like nothing else could, dispelling
the darkness that had followed him for days. “Actually, I feel pretty
good. A little sore, but nothing like what I expected.” Tilting her head
back, she arched her neck to rub their lips together. “To be honest, I’m
starving. I want a bath, food, and information—not necessarily in that
order.”
Ancestors above, he loved her so much, and it physically pained him
to think that he’d failed her, that he hadn’t been there to protect her when
she’d needed him. It wouldn’t happen again, not ever.
“I’ll start the bathwater.” Sliding out from under her, he threw his
legs over the side of the bed and pushed to his feet. “Don’t move. I’ll be
right back.”
It killed him to leave her alone, even for a second, but he knew she
wouldn’t tolerate his hovering. Ivy never did anything the easy way, but
her strength and determination were just two things on the very long list
of traits he adored about her. Even as she spoke, he could see the
resolution returning to her green eyes. She wanted answers, and she’d
do whatever it took to find them.
While he waited for the basin to fill with warm water, he used his
transponder to call down to the kitchens, requesting they send enough
food to his quarters to feed a small army. They’d all been eager to
comply, or perhaps they just worried for his mental stability. It had been
days since he’d showered or shaved, washed his hair, or changed
clothes. Catching his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he had to admit
he looked more than a little unhinged.
That didn’t stop Ivy from pouncing the second he reentered the
bedroom.
“Tell me what happened.” Her gazed softened, and her lips twitched
at the corners. “Please,” she added to temper the demand. “Where is
Wyn? Has he said anything? Do we know who’s pulling the strings?”
“Ivy, my love, there will be time to discuss all of this when you’re
well. Right now, you need rest and calm.”
“No,” she responded, her voice dangerously cool. “I need to know
why Wyn tried to kill me, and I need to know who sent him to do it.”
“You
need
to stop being so stubborn and give yourself time to
recover.”
“I’m fine.”
“You almost died!” he exploded, the fear and uncertainty from the
past few days finally catching up to him. “Do you understand that?”
“I know, but I didn’t.” She stretched her arm out to the side, her hand
reaching for him. “I’m sorry I worried you, but I’m okay, really.”
Kai went to her because he couldn’t stop himself, but annoyance with
her still bubbled beneath the surface. He’d do anything for her, slay
every demon, but none of it mattered if she refused to take care of herself.
Holding her offered hand, he brought it to his mouth, rubbing his lips
over the knuckles.
“It can wait one more day, Ivy. Please.”
For a moment, he thought she’d argue. In fact, he’d expected it, but
his mate surprised him when she smiled gently and nodded up at him.
“Okay, one more day.”
She’d once called herself a warrior, but Kai knew it was more than
that. Ivy Dalton was a commander, not by title alone, but by her very
nature. Words like honor, courage, loyalty, and duty meant something
to her, and she cared deeply, more profoundly than she’d ever let anyone
know.
Ivy would always be the first one into battle, a leader by example,
and she’d do absolutely anything to protect the people she loved—even
die for them.
Kai just wasn’t willing to let her.
* * * *
of death.”
He’d been saying the same thing for three days, but little else. No
matter what questions they asked him, he remained unwavering in his
conviction that Ivy and her friends would bring about the destruction of
Xenthian. When asked why, however, he became irrationally angry,
unable to provide an answer, not one that made sense anyway.
By the fourth morning of questioning, Kai had to agree with his mate.
Whatever reasons Wyn had for attacking her, they very possibly weren’t
his own. That didn’t stop Kai from wanting to kill him every time he
came within ten feet of the sentry, but it did raise many questions he
couldn’t answer.
“Who sent you to kill Commander Ivy Dalton?” Tira asked, her tone
impressively calm.
“She is a plague, a—”
“Yes,” the captain interrupted, “you’ve said that. Who sent you? Who
told you to remove her?”
“Well, that’s a pleasant way to ask why he tried to gut me like a pig,”
Ivy muttered, watching the interrogation on the vidscreen from the
safety of the library. “I want to talk to him.”
Kai had managed to keep her in bed for nearly an entire day.
Considering her penchant for stubbornness, he considered it a highly
successful endeavor. She did seem to be feeling better, and some color
had returned to her cheeks. More importantly, she’d started eating again.
Even as they spoke, she nibbled on cheese and fruit between questions.
So, after much debate, Kai had finally consented to let her watch the
interrogation. Not on his life would he allow her anywhere near Wyn
Nightstar, though.
“No.”
“I don’t have to be in the room,” she reasoned. “I could talk to him
through the vidscreen.”
“Ivy, do you take pleasure in causing me anxiety and suffering?”
The female rolled her eyes and popped another cube of cheese into
her mouth. “Don’t be so dramatic. I’ll be perfectly safe.”
Kai clenched his fist on the top of his desk and grinded his teeth
together. “That’s what you said last time, and look how that ended.”
“Not my fault,” she countered. “If he hadn’t cheated, I’d have totally
kicked his sorry ass.”
“I’m sure you would have, dove.” He could humor her now that she
was safe and protected, but magic wasn’t cheating. The lack of it was just
a disadvantage, one she couldn’t afford.
A quiet breath huffed from her lips. “Anyway, listen. When we were
in the clearing on the hill, Wyn said something strange. Well, he said a
lot of fruit loop stuff, but this was different.”
Damn, he’d missed her. The sound of her voice, the smell of her hair,
the smile that could light even the deepest of wells—he’d missed it all.
“What did he say?”
“Well, in between all the threats and posturing, he said something
like, ‘Who knows if the Vasili will survive the heartbreak?’ It just doesn’t
fit.”
The answer to the question was a resounding “no,” he wouldn’t have
survived it. “If the elders want to remove me from power, it makes
perfect sense.”
Ivy shook her head, wincing as she squirmed around to sit up
straighter in her chair. “I agree, and that’s the point I’m trying to make.
He’s been going on about what a toxic plague I am, but he’s never once
said a word about you. I don’t think he meant to say that in the clearing.
I don’t think they were actually his words, if that makes any sense.”
Unfortunately, it made a great deal of sense, but it also brought up
many, more pressing concerns. “All Xenons can wield magic, but some
are born with special gifts, much like your abilities. What you’re
speaking of sounds very much like influential magic, but much more
powerful than I’ve ever seen.”
“Okay, so that means what? People with this magic can influence
others, like mind control?”
“Yes and no. In its purest form, the ability can influence moods. For
example, a guard with the gift of influence might use his abilities to calm
an angry prisoner, but the magic doesn’t control one’s thoughts or
actions.”
“Okay, and in its impure form? What happens then?”
“It’s…suggestive,” he answered slowly. “An idea is implanted into
the victim’s mind. If it’s repeated often enough, the person comes to
believe these suggestions or opinions are their own.” If true, it made their
situation far more serious than he’d originally thought. “It’s forbidden.”
“Yeah, well, so is murder.”
“You don’t understand. It’s a dark magic, Ivy, the blackest. For the
influence to be powerful enough to actually control someone else, it
requires a sacrifice.”
Her eyebrows drew together, and she leaned toward him, resting her
elbows on the cushioned arm of the chair. “What kind of sacrifice?”
“Blood.” Not just a prick of the finger or a shallow cut across the
palm, either. The ritual demanded the sacrifice of a life, usually someone
important to the caster. “It requires death.”
“Are the effects permanent?”
“Death is rather permanent, yes.”
Ivy snorted and shook her head. “I meant the influence.”
“If the victim doesn’t have contact with the caster, the magic will
fade, but it takes time, sometimes years, for the person to return to
normal.”
“We have to get a name.” Ivy struggled out of the deep, soft cushions
and stood with her hands rested on her hips. “Do any of the elders have
this influential magic?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but it’s not that simple anymore, dove.”
A spell like what she suggested took time and careful planning. Her
arrival hadn’t been the catalyst. It had simply been a beneficial
distraction, a means of misdirection. Someone had been plotting against
him for some time, right under his nose.
“How is it not simple? We figure out which elder has this suggestive