Amy's Advantage (10 page)

Suddenly, the front door crashed against the side of the
house, bringing a halt to any questions before they had a chance to be asked.
Shyrana burst out of the door, her long black hair swirling around her
shoulders and falling in waves down her back as she flew down the steps,
passing Amdyn and interrupting the startled scene.

Close on her heels, but stopping at the top of the steps,
came Kirry, Amdyn’s household administrator, wearing an old-fashioned
white-and-red-checked apron. In this world she might be thought of as a live-in
housekeeper, but in his, her position was highly respected, especially in the
Fifth House.

He’d known her nearly all his life and less than half of
hers. She’d chosen to accompany the retrieval team to this world when it was
obvious the mission was going to be a long one. Her presence had been welcomed
and provided a stabilizing and civilizing factor among all the arrogant and
headstrong Kilth heirs.

Turning the full force of her smile on Esraina, Shyrana burst
out excitedly, “You made it!”

Esraina stepped back from Ellen to be welcomed by Shy,
returning a smile that was a little dazed. Shy had that effect on people. Her
deep blue eyes and mesmerizing voice carried the ability to enthrall, and when
she smiled at you, you’d swear the world was made of fucking rainbows and
butterflies. It took awhile to adjust to Shy, and even those who’d known her
all her life still weren’t completely immune.

“I’m Shyrana,” she said, giving Esraina a quick hug. “Wyc’s
sister. Wyc is the one who married your sister Bethany,” she clarified.

Esraina nodded, that slightly dazed look still on her face.

Shy laughed and turned toward Chloe. “And this has to be the
beautiful baby girl I’ve heard so much about!”

Chloe smiled shyly at his cousin, but squeezed herself
tighter against Ellen.

“Guess what?” Shy asked. “Kirry just made some cookies and I
was wondering if you’d like to help me eat them.”

Chloe’s smile broadened and she nodded, her dark-red curls
brushing over Ellen’s chin. Kirry took that introduction as an opportunity to
wave the group inside. “Everyone can help eat the cookies, but
inside
where
the child won’t freeze to death.”

“Like that’s going to happen when everyone’s huddled around
her.” Kayn’s comment came from close over Siriyn’s right shoulder.

So intent on watching the scene unfold before him, he’d not
heard his friend approach. He glanced at Kayn. “Why aren’t you in the middle of
that too?”

Kayn arched a brow at him. “A better question is, why aren’t
you?”

Siriyn turned back to watch the group of women make their
way inside amidst a flurry of animated conversation and more cooing over Chloe,
while Jordyn started up the truck to drive it around to one of the garages
behind the house. The furthest garage had been blown up several weeks ago, but
what Jordyn hadn’t had his soldiers clear away, the new snow had covered,
leaving the landscape looking peaceful once again.

Amdyn brought up the rear of the group heading into the
house and in his final visual sweep of the area, caught both Kayn and Siriyn in
his gaze. He hesitated for a moment, but then without saying anything, followed
the women inside.

“So,” Kayn prodded as the heavy front door closed, “why
aren’t you rushing in to claim your mate and haul her back home?”

Siriyn didn’t have an answer for that. Instead he turned
toward his cousin and asked, “So why are you and Shy still sneaking around?”

Kayn’s ice blue eyes darkened. “It’s complicated,” he stated
coolly.

Siriyn held his glare for a moment, then stuffed his gloved
hands into the pockets of his coat. Turning to look at the closed door his mate
had just disappeared behind, he said, “Yes, it is.”

* * * * *

Amy shrugged out of her coat and handed it to Amdyn, who was
collecting the pile of outerwear coming off both her and her daughter. After
handing Mr. Pink to Chloe, Cirryc told Amy that he’d put the bags of toys,
diaper bag and clothes in the room Kirry had prepared for them and then he
disappeared up a flight of stairs that ran off a hall the entryway led into.
Jordyn had also disappeared in the midst of the general hubbub of their
arrival. Though she really hadn’t expected anything different from him, the
tiny hope of seeing him kept bobbing up and she couldn’t help glancing around.

“Welcome, welcome,” the woman who had ushered them inside
said as she wrapped Amy in a quick, warm hug. “I’m Kirry and anything you need,
you just ask.”

Seeing her close up, Amy realized the woman was quite a bit
older than she had originally thought. Her curly hair had been dyed a purple auburn
with pink tips which seemed an odd juxtaposition against the wrinkles that
lined her open and kind face.

“Ellen tells us that you go by Amy now,” Kirry said.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, it’s wonderful you’ve finally been found. And,” she
said, reaching out to gently smooth Chloe’s hair, which had worked itself into
a riot of tight corkscrews during the ride, “we’re all so excited to meet your
daughter.”

The genuineness of her comments struck deep in Amy’s heart.
Since the explosive scene at the River Walk, where she’d witnessed firsthand
Connyn’s shock and horror at discovering Chloe’s existence, she’d carried with
her a tight, twisting worry about Chloe’s acceptance in her homeworld. It had
been the sole reason she’d run rather than follow through with the plan she,
Aurora and Ellen had laid out to get them all to Ilyria. But at the sincerity
of Kirry’s welcome—not to mention Shyrana’s enthusiastic greeting—that
tightness had begun to unravel.

Once all the coats, gloves, hats and boots had been dispensed
with, the entire group traipsed down the hall and into a spacious, but
welcoming country-style kitchen. The heavenly smell of just-baked cookies drew
them in to the tidy space filled with gleaming wood and dark-red accents.

As Kirry bustled around, setting out several platters of
cookies and brownies, glasses for milk and cups for tea or coffee which was set
to brewing immediately, everyone but Amdyn found a seat around the large
kitchen table dominating the room. He stood with his arms crossed again, leaning
against a counter and watching with some amusement as the four women chatted
easily, got acquainted or reacquainted between bites and laughter.

Amy smiled around her second brownie. It felt so good to be
surrounded by people who made her feel part of a real family. Who
were
her
real family, she mentally corrected herself. Chloe had planted herself on
Ellen’s lap and had a cookie in one hand and Mr. Pink in the other, effectively
covering all three of them in crumbs.

With the coffee and tea distributed, Kirry seated herself at
the table next to Shyrana and pushed the platter of brownies closer to Chloe.
Chloe looked up at Amy, who nodded, and Chloe’s little hand shot out and
snagged the closest one, her eagerness obviously pleasing Kirry.

“Have you heard any more from Aurora?” Amy asked as soon as
there was a break in the
How was the trip
—
do you need anything
questions and answers.

Ellen glanced at Shyrana, who looked up from talking to
Chloe about Mr. Pink while brushing pieces of brownie off the stuffed animal’s
ears. “She was really glad we caught up with you and probably would have come
back to find you herself if I hadn’t been able to reassure her that Jordyn knew
right where you were.”

Amy looked directly at Ellen. “Did you know he had placed a
tracking device in Chloe’s diaper bag?”

“No, but it doesn’t surprise me,” Ellen replied. “The man is
resourceful and has uncanny instincts. He knew something was up even before the
Predators got to the River Walk.”

“He argued with me about leaving you behind in San Antonio,”
Amdyn said. Though stated casually, the distinct low male timbre of his voice
rolled across the kitchen with the authority of a king in his castle.

“I didn’t give him much choice,” Amy said.

Amdyn shrugged. “And I saw no reason for him to stay with
you once you and Chloe were safe. All four of Magdalyne’s daughters had been
found. Two were already in Ilyria and his purpose was here with us to see the
last two safely home. Our mission was complete.” Ellen bristled at the word
mission,
but didn’t say anything.

“But his instincts were right.” He looked pointedly at
Ellen. “They told him what your sister refused to.” His eyes, narrowing
slightly, conveyed much more than his mild tone.

Ellen’s spine stiffened as she straightened in her chair.
“It wasn’t my place to tell or my choice to make.”

Amdyn looked as if he wanted to argue the point, but Kirry
chose that moment to push back from the table. “Well, no one can argue the
outcome. Connyn found his true mate and now Amy and Chloe are back safely with
their family.” She picked up one of the cookie plates that now only contained
crumbs and asked, “Would anyone like more to drink?”

When Amy and Shyrana said yes to more coffee, Amdyn waved
Kirry off and reached for the carafe that was on the countertop close to him.
He took care of the small chore and returned the coffee pot to its warmer.

“Are we too late for cookies?” a voice boomed from the back
door.

Amy turned to find a man who looked remarkably like Amdyn
and Cirryc coming into the kitchen. His hair was cut much shorter than theirs,
but his eyes were the same startling blue set in an undeniably handsome face.
On his heels was another mountain of a man. Jesus. They certainly grew their
men big in Ilyria.

“Amy,” Shyrana said, “I’d like you to meet two more of my
cousins. Kayn, Amdyn and Cirryc’s brother—when they claim each other—and
Siriyn, Heir to the Fifth House.”

At the introduction, Amy’s heart dropped to the soles of her
feet, but she managed a smile in greeting. As they stepped further into the kitchen,
stomping snow off their boots and systematically removing their coats and
gloves, she surreptitiously checked out the man she was supposedly destined
for.

Dark-copper hair and skin that, though it now looked browned
from years outside, had probably been covered in freckles when he was younger.
His eyes were a light golden brown edging on amber and his easy grin as he
snagged the last brownie out from under Kayn’s reaching hand was infectious.

Just a shade taller and broader than Amdyn and Kayn, he moved
with a quick, but controlled energy that reminded her of how she felt when she
first started driving as a teenager. No matter how often she might obey the
speed limit, the excitement and the desire to send the car hurtling down the
highway at its top speed was always there. Regardless of her best intentions
and saner side, many days in her teens found her doing just that.

Siriyn came around to her side of the table and held out his
hand. “I’m pleased to meet you,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said, turning slightly in her chair to take
his offered hand in hers, expecting him to shake it. Instead he held it,
wrapped gently, but firmly in his much larger one.

“So, no longer Esraina,” he stated. His voice was light,
almost bantering as a smile flirted around his lips, but his eyes were sharp
and searching.

“No,” she replied. “Just Amy.”

“Did you have adopted parents who gave you that name?” he
asked as his thumb slid over the back of her hand.

Amy frowned. She’d never wondered where her name came from.

“No,” Ellen answered for her. “The people who found us on
the side of the road heard me call her Aina and when we were transferred into
the care of Child Protective Services, they told them her name was Amy.”

“You were found at the side of a road?” Siriyn’s voice
deepened with the color of barely muted rage and his grip tightened around her
hand. “I didn’t know. That every one of you survived is a miracle.”

“Or destiny,” Ellen said with a small sarcastic smile.

“I was too young to remember any of that. I never would have
known I even had sisters if Ellen hadn’t found me.” She pulled her hand free of
Siriyn’s and twisted around to face Ellen. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to
thank you for that.”

Ellen shook her head. “It’s too early yet for you to thank
me. Let’s see how you feel once you’re back home.”

At her mention of Ilyria as
home
, Amdyn startled,
nearly sloshing coffee over the side of his mug. Ellen glanced at him and then
back to Amy. “It might not be what you are expecting at all.”

“At least there, when I tell them my daughter and I were
attacked by a large ugly mutant with a black forked tongue, people will believe
me instead of locking me up because they think I’m psychotic and a danger to my
own child.”

Amdyn set his coffee cup on the counter and crossed his arms
again, intensity settling on his face. “Are you sure?”

“Am I sure I was attacked or am I sure they thought I was
high, because it’s yes to both. I had to submit to a drug test before I was
released.”

“No, I mean the Predator’s tongue. It was forked?”

“And a sickening color of gray. Almost black. That’s not
something you forget coming out of man’s face when he’s got you pinned against
a wall.”

“Did he give you his name?”

Amy jumped at the question that came from the other side of
the kitchen. Until he’d spoken, no one realized Jordyn had entered the room.
Instantly, she recognized his voice, but the man had come in the door and taken
his place among them as silently as a shadow.

Her breath caught in her chest at the sight of him.
Everything about him looked hard. His body, his expression, his eyes.
Especially his eyes. Lethal intent rolled off him in hostile, heavy waves, and
at their center an anger that was cold, calculating and driving. If it were
directed
at
her rather than
for
her, she’d be terrified. Even so,
fear’s icy finger traced a quicksilver line down her spine on seeing this side
of him.