Rage to Adore (28 page)

Duty

The sounds of battle raging in the distance assaulted the
ears of those who had sought shelter in Phenex’s palace. Tani looked around at
the frightened citizens cowering in the great hall and directed the shedu who
had remained with her, ordering them to ensure the people were kept safe.

After killing Phenex, she had two choices. Her first
instinct had been to follow the sounds of the battle and head to the gate. The
citizens who had cheered her victory had other ideas. They and the remaining
shedu had carried Tani toward the palace, proclaiming her their new overlord.
She couldn’t abandon them. They needed her strength and courage and so she had
gone with the flow. She had faith that her Eunomi kin would prevail and that
Belial would be pushed back. Her main worry was that Jaro might give in to his
self-sacrificing instincts and engage in the battle with little thought for his
own preservation.

Once at the palace, she had little time to dwell on her
fears as chaos had taken over. Panic choked the populace and it took all Tani’s
calm assurance and swift direction to quell the rising tide of hysteria. Having
brought the situation under control, she was just about to issue orders to send
reinforcements to the gate when a group of Eunomi warriors arrived, headed by
Cassi and Antares. Tani was so pleased to see them alive that it was a few
minutes before she realized that they had a woman with them who was in chains.
Morana.

“We have a present for you,” said Antares, pushing Morana
forward. Morana shrugged him off, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes. She
turned to Tani, raising her eyebrows. “Well, look at you,” she said with a
purr, a smile playing on her lips. “I always knew you were destined for great
things.”

“Where is Ziad?” Tani asked, ignoring Morana’s blatant
flirtation. Didn’t she know what kind of trouble she was in? Morana shrugged
and gave a sigh. “I’ve already told them he is safe. What more do you need to
know?”

“We want him back, Morana, and if you know where he is you
need to tell us.”

“Now why would I do that?”

Tani stared at Morana, feeling like she was missing
something. What possible reason could Morana have for not wanting to reveal
Ziad’s whereabouts? Why had she kept him in the first place? Her thoughts were
interrupted by the sound of roars and shouts, the ongoing echoes of battle in
the distance zipping through the air and Tani realized that this was not the
time or the place. Morana’s interrogation could wait until later. She turned to
Cassi and Antares.

“She can wait. What’s the update?”

Antares filled her in on the current status and she was
heartened to hear that at any moment now a large squadron of Eunomi
reinforcements led by Borealis was expected to reach the main gate, having
arrived on Ophiuchus through a starportal to the west of the city, thus
outflanking Belial’s army. “And Phenex?” asked Cassi. “Where is he?”

“Dead. By my hand.”

Cassi raised her eyebrows. “Wow, Tani! Do you know what that
means?”

Tani stared around her at the remaining shedu and citizens,
knowing they were her responsibility now. “I think so,” she said. “The shedu in
the palace have sworn oaths to me. I don’t think they liked Phenex much.”

“Not only that, Tani. It means you own
all
of
Phenex’s property now. Everything he had is yours. You are the new overlord of
Serpens.”

Tani’s gut clenched. When Cassi put it that way! The duty
she already had was now magnified a thousandfold. Duty to The Balance and now
her city and her people. She suddenly felt dizzy with the pressure.

Shaking off her sudden anxiety, Tani turned back to Cassi and
Antares, who were discussing the redeployment of the shedu to pick up
Discordant sympathizers who would be a threat to her safety. Just as she was
about to put forward her views, a loud rumbling sound froze her and everyone in
the great hall in their tracks. They were rendered immobile. The ground beneath
them shook but it was the steady pounding of feet rather than the earth
fracturing that had caused the vibrations. There was a release of pressure and
shouts of fear as the crowd, now able to move, drew back and a contingent of
heavily armed rarog led by a warrior clad in obsidian darkness, stalked into
the great hall. The silver chain he was holding attached to the wrists of a
pale disheveled figure who stumbled behind him, falling on his knees.

Tani heard Cassi suck in a breath. Every Eunomi present
recognized the huge warrior, his black armor unmistakable. He was Rampage, the
dark warrior, senior commander of the Discordant army and many believed second
only to Choronzon himself. What the hell was he doing here and why did he have
Ziad in shackles?

“Cassiopeia.” The warrior’s deep throaty rasp vibrated off
the walls, the one word sounding more like a promise than a threat. Tani felt
Cassi shiver beside her. Seconds passed and Cassi finally stepped toward him,
her stance rigid and unyielding. “What do you want?” He lifted his gloved hand
and pointed. “Her.”

Tani felt Cassi’s shock as they turned toward the object of
his interest. Morana. For a moment Cassi seemed at a loss. Tani was hit with a
jolt of anger as Cassi recovered her equilibrium and demanded something of him.
“You give us Ziad and we will give you her. You will leave here without further
bloodshed and not return. If you do not agree, I will kill her.” Cassi dragged
Morana up from the floor and pressed a knife to her throat, the steely
determination in her voice leaving Tani in no doubt that she meant what she
said.

The dark warrior held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I
want nothing but her,” he said, motioning his rarog guards back and Ziad
forward. “Send her to me. She is mine.”

Tani had no hesitation in pulling Morana from Cassi’s arms
and pushing her toward the dark warrior. She was no longer useful, merely a
means to getting Ziad back. Beside her, Cassi’s body locked tight with tension
and emotions Tani couldn’t quite place. Certainly anger but something else as
well. She knew Cassi hated the Discordants with a passion and it must be killing
her to stand in front of one of their top commanders and do nothing. What
surprised her more was Morana’s seeming reluctance to move. Her eyes were on
Ziad and flashing with anger. There was so much more going on here than Tani
could understand but Ziad looked to be in a bad way. In fact a rarog had picked
him up and was carrying him past Morana. In that split second as the two
prisoners drew level with each other, Tani saw Morana’s head turn toward him,
her eyes softening. The expression was so fleeting that Tani thought she had
perhaps imagined it.

The rarog placed Ziad gently on the floor and immediately
the Eunomi warriors were all over him, checking his pulse and calling for
blood. When Tani looked up, Morana, the dark warrior and the rarog had vanished
as if they never existed. Her eyes met Cassi’s confused ones but then they were
both smiling with relief. Ziad was back.

It was then that Tani realized the sounds of battle had
subsided. A sudden wave of silence washed through the palace and then—cheering,
wild shouting and cries of happiness and the words that spread joy into the
hearts of all Serpens’s citizenry. “Belial is dead!”

Tani reached out for the threads that connected her to Jaro.
They had stretched to the breaking point in the arena but were still there,
frayed and worn. She silently thanked Gaia that he was still alive, her heart
somersaulting in anticipation of seeing him again.

Fury

Tyr led the victorious warriors through the city and down
alleyways that snaked a path toward the overlord’s palace. He wasn’t sure yet
what he would find there. He knew Phenex was dead but not who had defeated him.
The Eunomi would need to deal with the new overlord and he prayed to Gaia and
Chaos both that they would be reasonable. Serpens in his eyes was liberated
now. A foothold on Ophuichus for the Eunomi. He needed it to stay that way.

The citizens had congregated on the streets once news of
Belial’s defeat and Phenex’s death had spread, dancing and laughing for the
first time in a hundred years. News of the arrival of five thousand Eunomi
under Borealis’s command was a source for further joy that spread among the
beleaguered slaves and downtrodden workers. Even the nobles who had been
enriched under Phenex’s reign seemed to be breathing sighs of relief at his
demise. Those who supported the Discordants had already left, apparently swept
up by the dark warrior and his rarog. Tyr was extremely pissed off that he’d
missed him. He owed that bastard a knife to the gut.

Entering the great hall to a hero’s welcome, Tyr and his
warriors found themselves plied with food and drink as well as hugs and kisses.
Tyr shrugged off the numerous women who latched on to him, allowing a kiss on
his cheek but no more. His lips were reserved for only one woman with dark
curls and eyes of liquid gold. The rest of his men didn’t seem to mind and
happily accepted all that they were offered.

Tyr’s eyes found Tani’s where she stood on the dais and he
realized that all were looking to her for commands. She smiled and drew her
sword in greeting. Cassi and Antares were there too, all grinning like idiots,
drunk on euphoria and victory. They had won. They had beaten the Discordants in
a full-on battle for the first time in eight hundred years. This was a major
victory.

Before he could process that thought, silence fell. The
padding of four clawed feet behind him and the stench of dried blood filling
the air. A barghesti was in their midst and the crowd were in awe.

Tyr knew that Jaro had to be hurting but he hadn’t changed
back into his human form in order to heal. His fur was matted and coated with
sweat and blood, his skin shredded with wounds. One ear was particularly ragged
and Tyr wondered momentarily if it would stay that way when Jaro shifted. He watched
Tani’s eyes grow wide as she took in the state of the barghesti next to him and
registered that her expression was more than just shock for his battered state.
Sudden realization that Jaro might mean more to her than just the brother of
her Esseni partner had Tyr frowning with concern. He owed Jaro big time for
what he had done to defend the city and also to save his life—again. But could
he trust him?

Jaro seethed with barely contained fury, his gut twisting in
anger as he realized that Tani was the one who had vanquished Phenex. Vicious
fury sparked through every cell in his body and he didn’t really understand
why. He should be happy that Phenex was dead and she was alive. The problem was
he was angry at her for protecting Phenex when he would have killed him and
then she had killed him herself! He still couldn’t grasp that fact as truth and
he also still didn’t know to what extent she had been involved in Lorcan’s
death. Griman had told him that his mother had been arrested for murder. But
Red had been there. She had probably slept with his brother and even if that
had been meaningless to her—it somehow made it worse than if she had cared for
Lorcan above Jaro. Had she been playing games all the time? He didn’t know what
to believe anymore. He still trusted the Eunomi as little as he trusted the
Discordants.

He felt betrayed. Even though he consciously knew she hadn’t
really
betrayed him. There had been nothing to betray. She had been
Lorcan’s—she had said so. Even so he
felt
betrayed with every fiber of
his being. The thought that she had lied to him like so many women before, his
mother, the young mistress and now her, shredded his already torn flesh. Broken
what was left of his shattered bones. Clawed gouges out of his already bleeding
heart. He couldn’t bear to look at her. Couldn’t bear to give in to the insane
hope that perhaps he was wrong. Because she
had
lied. Had pretended. And
he couldn’t take it. She should have told him the truth whatever the truth was.
He would have understood. Maybe.

But now…he couldn’t trust her. Trust was such a fragile thing
and even though he knew—knew that really she was honest, courageous and
honorable, those moments when he had believed she was with Lorcan and Phenex
ate into his gut. And she had let him believe that. How could he trust her ever?
He would forever be expecting her to turn the other way. Away from him. It was
a chance he couldn’t take.

He realized that Bellor was speaking to her, congratulating
her on her victory. “Tanith, you realize you own all of Phenex’s property now,”
he was saying. “All of Phenex’s slaves.” She appeared shocked by that and then
it hit him straight in the gut. She now owned him. She was his new mistress. He
belonged to Red.

“I’m going to release them,” he heard her say and for a
moment hope flared in his heart.

Then the blonde warrior Cassi spoke quickly but so quietly
that others wouldn’t hear, forgetting that Jaro’s barghesti ears were
incredibly sensitive. “Tani, truthfully now—is Jaro definitely your Esseni
partner?” Tani nodded. “Then you can’t release him. You need to keep him within
your control. If you own him he can never kill you or betray you to the
Discordants. If you want to release the others, so be it—but don’t set Jaro
free.”

Bellor looked uncomfortable at that. “He defended the gate,
killed Belial. Without him we would not have won. He deserves his freedom.”

Cassi shook her head. “Do you trust him implicitly, Tyr? Do
you think he wouldn’t sell Tani out?”

Bellor was quiet for a moment. “He’s saved my life twice
now. I trust that.”

Something settled in Jaro’s heart at that moment as he
realized Tyr believed in him. If only… His ears pricked. Red was speaking.

“Cassi, it’s my decision,” she said, biting her lip
uncertainly. “Give me time to think.”

Jaro snarled. She needed time to think! That showed how
little she trusted him. His body began to shift, fury sparking the
transformation back to a man. He uncurled his body when the shift was done.
Naked and raw, his skin coated with blood and jagged slashes of torn flesh, he
stood before them. The hall was silent as the onlookers stared at his ravaged
body. He only had eyes for her.

Tani’s gaze raked over him and he felt her blanket of care
sweeping a caress across his skin. He wanted no part of it. He shirked it off
and watched her flinch. Good. Let her taste his rejection. Then her eyes
flashed with determination and she stepped forward announcing to the crowd. “I
am Tanith Laska, warrior of the Eunomi. As your new overlord I order that all
bloodoaths be null and void and hereby release all those slaves sworn to
bloodoath by Phenex the slayer, all except that one.” She pointed at Jaro. “He’s
mine. Bring him to my quarters.”

Murmurings of shock rippled through the assembly as both
slaves and aristocracy realized what their new overlord had done. Tani turned
from the crowd, whispering to Tyr who grabbed Jaro by the arm and proceeded to
follow her into the private suite at the back of the hall.

Damn her to Chaos! It was a bittersweet torture. Did she
really hate him that much; trust him so little that she would keep him
enslaved? Jaro raged at fate for allowing her to cross his path. His body
suddenly felt weak and he almost collapsed but Bellor held him up, taking his
weight. “You’ve lost a lot of blood,” he said, concern in his voice.

“So what?” Jaro snarled bitterly. He didn’t need Bellor’s
pity. “I’m just a slave.” He turned to see Tyr shaking his head, black eyes
flashing with respect.

“You’re much more than that, Jaro, and she knows it.” He
nodded toward Tani. “Let her take care of you.”

Jaro couldn’t breathe. That’s just what he didn’t want.