A Destiny Revealed (14 page)

“I've felt your bond, you've already claimed her. She's not
evil, Bron. I would know it,” Isabelle insisted, her voice strong.

“I'm her mate, Isabelle, you’re right, I've bonded with her
and I know that she's not evil.” Bron sighed, running his hands over his head.
“I can't explain how she remains pure despite the corrupted powers, and until
I'm able to, I can't bring her to our safe house for her to claim her place.”

Isabelle lifted her chin, an inner strength lighting her
eyes and filling the room with her power. Her distress was pushed aside by
determination. “I have heard nothing of my daughter from beyond the veil. Are
you certain?” she asked him.

Bron nodded his head forgetting that she was unable to see
the motion. “She has the markings.”

Isabelle nodded, “I felt the change in her soul, and had it
confirmed through my guides, but I didn't know she was Ajo.” She was silent as
she digested the news.

“She doesn't exhibit any of the other signs of the Ajo,”
Bron reassured. “We can't know anything for certain until the oracle sees her.”

“And you're not comfortable bringing an Ajo before the
oracle,” she murmured.

“The oracle was threatened a year ago by a vampire trying to
convert the descendants of the tribe into Ajo to use their power as his own. We
can't afford the risk to the oracle. The Ijoye would rather be safe than
sorry.”

“I’ve spoken to the oracle, why would she not tell me my
daughter is Ajo?”

“To Zahra it's not an issue, the goddess has chosen her and
that's all that matters.”

“She will be good, this oracle. I can feel her strength,”
she told him. “What will you do?”

“I'll try to convince Dalia to give up the corrupted powers.
If I can't, then we'll have to come up with another way for the two of them to
meet.”

Isabelle stood again pacing the small kitchen. “My daughter
is not as tough as she would have people believe, Bron. You must tread
carefully. I don’t want her hurt.”

“I won't allow her to be harmed.” He promised.

“Even if it's by your own carelessness?”
She questioned solemnly.

Bron was at a loss for what to say. “I won't hurt Dalia
purposely, Doña.”

Isabelle nodded, walking to her back door. She held it open.
"See that you don’t.”

Bron left the house with his mind churning. He didn't want
to hurt Dalia, but he was afraid with his duty to the tribe, it would be
inevitable.

“WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG, Lev?” Nala barked.

Her
second shrugged mockingly. She
hissed in annoyance, pacing the study where she'd been spending much of her
time these last few weeks. She paced to the wooden bust occupying one corner of
the room. She ran her hands longingly over the hair and down its face to trace
its proud nose and the arrogant jut of its chin.  The artist had captured
the details of the face in loving accuracy, but no medium could capture the
fire and power that would glow within the eyes. The bust hinted at the power,
its full lips and slashing cheekbones showcasing the confidence its subject
always displayed. Lev’s voice shook Nala from her thoughts.

“She has taken up with one of the oracle’s warriors.”

She turned to him, keeping her face a mask.
Though from the triumphant look in his eye she didn't mask her
anger.
“Who?”

“The one named Bron,” he answered.

Nala turned her back to him before she gave away her relief.
Nala dismissed the warrior from her mind. His closeness to Dalia was of no importance
to her. She remembered him as a temple guard but not one she would worry over…
except, he was supposed to be confined to the temple as part of the warriors’
punishment. Nala’s eyes narrowed in thought. If he was out gallivanting with
Dalia, then who was guarding the temple?

“Was there any activity at the temple?” she asked sharply,
her mind turning over possibilities.

“We still can't find the temple.” Lev answered.

Nala looked up sharply. "Did you follow my
directions?"

“Yes, there was nothing there."

"And their leader?” she questioned. 

“No sign of him. The last person we sent to search for the
temple has disappeared.”

Nala turned to face Lev at his answer.
"Disappeared?"

Lev nodded.
“Disappeared."

Then they were close. She would keep digging. Finding the
temple was necessary to keep the agreement she had in place.  Nala paced
back to the bust. "Is there any luck finding their safe house?"

"We've tried to have the warriors followed, but the
Amanda have interfered," Lev reported.

Nala growled at hearing that. The Amanda helped the Ajo
council govern their behavior. They were a supposed to deter the Ajo from
breaking the treaty, a nuisance, but Nala knew better than to take them on.
“Dalia has been in Puerto Rico for two weeks, have you gone through her home?”

“Yes Nala, surveillance has been put into her apartment.
When she gets home we will know every move she makes."

She ignored the aggravation in his tone, satisfied with the
plan in place. She lifted her hand in a negligent wave and dismissed Lev. She
waited until the door closed quietly behind him before she reached out for the
bust. Her hands shook only slightly as she smoothed its cheek.

"You think to hide from me, Ijoye," she whispered,
tracing the lips of the bust.  "I'll have you soon, and we can be
together as we were meant to be.” She laid a small kiss to the top of the
bust’s head. She traced the nicks in the wood that showed off the cornrows he
used to wear in his hair. At one time the hair reached his back, a mane, like
that of their animal.

She knew that his head was bald now and it angered her. A
warrior only cut his hair in grief or punishment. She hated that he still
mourned for that woman after all these years. She wouldn't allow it any longer.
This time she would have him, and there would be no one to stand in her way.

Chapter 13

"I NEED TO HEAD BACK HOME." Dalia trailed kisses
down Bron’s abdomen. His skin was salty and damp from their earlier swim. They
were stretched out on a secluded beach where Dalia swam when she was
younger.  They’d spent the balmy evening swimming and were now resting on
a blanket they'd commandeered from Bron’s condo.

“When?”
Bron’s body tensed under
her lips.

“Probably tomorrow evening.”
Her
body was tense also as she waited on his response. They’d spent the past two
weeks after the festival getting to know each other. Both of them by unspoken
agreement avoided the subject of her going to see the oracle.

Bron spent that time in what Dalia had to say was an old
fashion courting. He picked her up from her room each night, taking her to
dinner. Dalia shivered as she thought of how they spent the rest of the
evening. Bron was a very attentive lover; he did things to her body she would
never forget.

Her stomach pitched as she thought of leaving. If she didn’t
know any better she would think she was beginning to fall in love with him. She
sat up suddenly as the scary thought tried to take root in her mind.

Bron caught her forearm to keep her from moving any
further.  He pulled her back into his arms. “What’s your rush?" He
nuzzled the spot between her shoulder and neck, scraping his teeth lightly
across the spot that was a little sore from his bite from their earlier
lovemaking.

“There are things I should be doing at home.”
Though with him licking her as he was she had a hard time
remembering what.

“Are you sure you’re not avoiding the oracle?” The stillness
of his body gave away his anxiety.

Dalia thought about the visit she had had from Nala. She was
curious about what the oracle would tell her, but Dalia refused to be used.

          
“I’m not avoiding the oracle. I haven’t made up my mind,” she lied.

His eyes hardened, and he nipped her shoulder harder, his
teeth bearing down on her skin. “I thought we already established that there
would be no lies between us.” he growled.

She shrugged, feeling no guilt for the lie.  His power
flared, moving between them, and for a moment the spot where he bit her
tingled. She shivered at the sensation.

“Why won’t you allow me to take you to the oracle?” he asked
her.

“I thought your brothers didn't trust the Ajo.” No way would
she run into a house full of people that hated her on principle.

Bron sighed. “My brothers can't go against the oracle when
she's speaking for our goddess.”

“Regardless, they would be all up in my face the moment I
got there."

“Really, sweetheart, do you think I would allow something to
happen to you?” he scoffed
.“
How do I know they won’t
try and take my powers when I get there?” It really boiled down to that. Her
power was the only thing that'd kept her alive for so long. She wouldn't give
it up.

 Bron became still, dangerously still. He eyed her as
she stood, and Dalia felt liked a stalked animal.

          
"You're not willing to lose the corrupt powers?"

"Who says they are corrupt? I don’t feel corrupt or
evil."

“That is beside the point, Dalia. I told you the powers were
stolen from our goddess. You would keep what belongs to another, knowing the
dangers?”

Dalia flinched at his words, a picture of a woman and a blue
stone flashed quickly through her mind. The image was accompanied by flashes of
other images one right behind the other like a stop motion movie, each image
too fast to process. Dalia blinked quickly and backed away from Bron and his
words.

“I've stolen nothing,” she protested.

“You wouldn't remember,” Bron insisted.

Oh but she did. The images came faster, making her dizzy.
"I remember being given a stone, a blue stone,” she blurted out. The flash
of images had left her confused and shaken.

“That’s not possible, Dalia,” Bron told her quietly. He was
adamant, which only added to her confusion. "I explained to you how the
Ajo gained their powers."

She shook her head. "You don’t know what I
remember."

“Dalia,” he started. “You will have to give up those
powers.”

Anger made her body tremble. Why didn't he understand? 
"I won’t be helpless again.”

"Dalia, I wouldn't ask this of you if it weren't
important."

"My power is important to me." She would be dead
without them. She would not, could not give them up.

“Dalia, we went up against Maksim. I know he convinced those
he kidnapped to steal for him by holding their loved ones. Whom did he hold
over your head?" He stared, his eyes full of understanding as he waited on
her answer.

Dalia turned her back to him, trying to shove away the
guilt. She ran for the ocean and hit the water just as the tears she held back
leaked from her eyes. She ducked her head under and allowed the waves to toss
her around before gaining control and swimming through.

The pain of being helpless washed through her as she moved
beneath the water. She couldn't go back to what she was before, being helpless
made you a victim and she was no one’s victim. The constant hunger, the
beatings, the torture, all played in her mind as she swam. Bron said he knew
Maksim, but he couldn't know the monster Maksim really was.

She knew.

First hand.

She would never willingly give up the powers that helped her
escape those two years of hell. Surfacing a few minutes later, her eyes scanned
for Bron even as she tried to deny her need for him. He was there, just at the
edge of the water, waiting patiently for her. She realized she loved that about
him, his unending patience. These last couple of weeks she'd pushed and prodded
him trying to keep him from getting too close and still he was patient.

She walked to him, taking care to note the banked anger in
his eyes. Her body warmed in anticipation. His patience didn't mean he allowed
her to walk over him. No, her arrogant lion let no one walk all over him.
Excitement brought a defiant smile to her lips. It was fun arguing with him,
plus the added bonus of making her forget the pain of her time at the hands of
Maksim. Possession showed in his glowing irises as she stopped directly in
front of him.

“You will not do that again, Dalia,” he stated very slowly.

“I've been swimming alone in this water almost my whole
life, Bron.” She pulled her wet hair over her shoulder to wring it out.

His eyes tracked the movement of her hair before they
flickered to her face, spearing her. “I'm not referring to you swimming,
mi
ôkàn
. I'm talking about you hiding from me. I felt your pain when you ran
from me. It beat at me as you deliberately stayed underwater so I would lose
sight of you.” His voice was restrained, but his eyes were flashing in anger.

“It's no business of yours what I choose to hide from you,
Bron.” Dalia stepped around him, shaken from the realization she just reached.

She was already in love with him.

He grabbed her arm in an iron grip, holding her in place.
“You are my business, Dalia. It will go better for everyone if you'd remember
that.”

She scoffed, jerking her arm to test his hold. Though his
fingers were gentle, the hold he had on her arm was strong.

“You mean it will go easier for you.” She tossed at him.
“Newsflash Bron, just because you want something doesn’t mean you’re gonna get
it.”

“Don't test me on this, Dalia.”

Well now, orders. She didn't do well with orders.

She stood on her toes to meet his eyes. “Why? What would you
do about it?”

The changing of his eyes was the only warning she got as he
lifted and carried her across the beach. She felt the bark of a tree biting
into her back a moment later. His body crowded hers and his mouth claimed hers
in a possessive kiss. Dalia wrapped her arms around his neck, hungrily
returning his kiss. Heat flooded her body, her center throbbing in
anticipation. He bit her bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth. Lust drove
her near the edge as Bron ripped the bottom of her swimsuit off in impatience.