DarykRogue (30 page)

Curiosity gripped Xandra. “He said he failed to protect your
betrothed and that his guilt for that is enormous.”

Aknada looked up at her, her eyes inscrutable. “When Admiral
Aramus killed my betrothed and took me prisoner, I thought I’d never get off
that ship.”

“Why did Rayder think you were dead if you weren’t?”

“Because a tale circulated that Aramus threw me overboard to
drown. Instead he sold me to Pian.”

“And you’ve been here all this time.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why Rayder wants revenge against Aramus. That’s why
he has spent the last three years trying to undermine his slaving operation.”

Aknada turned away and lifted her own tankard. “I grieve
that he believed I was dead.”

“Yet you let him believe it, and you say you wanted revenge
against Rayder.”

After taking a sip, Aknada returned her gaze to Xandra. “I
don’t wish revenge anymore. I’ve learned so much since I’ve been with Pian
about forgiveness. Perhaps it’s been too long for me to ask for Rayder’s
pardon.”

Xandra’s stomach dropped at a sudden thought. “What did
Aramus do to you?”

Aknada’s expression tightened, confirming terrible darkness
lived in her thoughts. “He raped me before he sold me. The only way he managed
it was by having six men hold me down. They watched it, enjoyed it. Then he let
them take their turns. When they were done, he said I’d always remember him.
That day I lost my… I lost my desire to fight like a Daryk One. All my
strength, all my training, my extraordinary strength, it didn’t save me.” She
shrugged. “What use was it?”

Xandra’s stomach soured, her throat aching with sudden
tears. She told Aknada what had happened to her on the ship and how Rayder had
kept her as safe as possible but that Aramus had tried to snatch her from the
bowels of the ship.

“There was a slave on the ship, Phili. She locked me in the
slave hold to save me from Aramus and the other women down there kept me safe
as well. Rayder wants to free all of them. You should see how well he treats
them.”

Aknada placed her tankard on the table and paced once more.
“I’m sorry you have endured such hardship at Dragonian hands. You’ve heard of
the rogues and Drakus’ minions wanting to steal Magonian women for
procreation?”

“Rayder explained it to me. He abhors it.”

“My brother does love you.” Aknada smiled, her eyes warming.
“He must.”

Hope bloomed in Xandra’s thoughts. The idea that he could
love her filled her with an inexpressible joy. “When I first met him, I thought
he must be a horrible man. But he kept doing things that made me wonder if he
wasn’t a good man wrapped in a disguise. His words were sometimes harsh, but he
never hurt me and always protected me.”

A teasing smile touched Aknada’s mouth. “Rayder is a rascal.
He knows how to charm women. But I think this time with you is different.”

“He said I’m his mate and he can’t be parted from me. I’m
the only woman he can ever be with.”

Aknada’s mouth hardened. “I lost my belief in the so-called
mating when Aramus took me.”

Xandra wondered if she’d allowed her horrible experience
with Taris color her perceptions in some ways. She also had a feeling there was
more to Aknada’s story than Aknada would admit to out loud.

“Perhaps you’ll regain that belief someday,” Xandra said
softly. Her mind veered to another question. “With all that you went through,
why have you stayed with this desert slaver?”

“To avoid making another grave mistake. Staying with a
slaver who has no designs on my body is a relief to me.”

Xandra thought she understood now. She placed her tankard on
the table. “Pian offers you protection and understanding. Aramus destroyed your
trust in men. With Pian you know you’re safe. He’s the lesser of evils.”

Aknada stopped pacing and stared at her. “Very astute.
Though he has bought slaves from Drakus, it’s more to keep them away from
Drakus and Aramus than to enslave people.”

“A good man?”

“Better than most.”

“You’re hiding,” Xandra said with conviction. “You don’t
want anyone to know you are alive.”

Aknada nodded slowly. “Not Aramus.”

Kinship made Xandra want to help Aknada. “I am so sorry
you’ve had to endure so much.”

Aknada settled into the chair by the bed. “Thank you, but it
seems you’ve been through a fair amount yourself. Tell me more.”

Xandra gave more details about her time on the ship, and
Aknada listened without interruption.

When Xandra finished, she wondered if Aknada would help her
return to Rayder. “I cannot stay with Pian and his group. I want to go back to
Rayder.”

“Where is he now?”

“When he left me on the ship, he planned to negotiate
selling Magonian slaves to Felican Castle.”

Aknada visibly paled.

“What is wrong?” Xandra asked.

“The other man I don’t want to see is Marc Gampia of Felican
Castle.”

* * * * *

Rayder’s heartbeat seemed to be pounding out of his chest as
they crossed the remaining jungle between Marc’s compound and the Ithaycan
desert. Soon they would come upon Pian’s caravan of animals known as
alamuts
and the desert people who relied on them.

Alongside Rayder, Marc kept the pace. Rayder understood now
he’d underestimated Marc in more than one way. Granted, he hadn’t spent much
time with his old acquaintance and friend for three years. Devoting himself to
revenge had cut his friendships, devoured his ability to imagine friendship
with anyone again. Even fellow Daryk Ones Eryk Gauth and Dane Charger thought
he was scum, or at least not much above the slimiest life forms that populated
the Tarrian jungle floor. More than once he’d deserved their scorn. Perhaps
wallowing too close to evil had transformed him into the thing he hated most.

Rayder regretted the damage to those friendships but not why
he’d followed a murky path. He didn’t expect to repair his relationships with
Dane and Eryk. Once a betrayer, always a betrayer. No getting around that
solemn and true statement. He closed his eyes and allowed the pain of his
failures to settle inside him. He would make this situation right for the women
back on the ship. Hatred he’d carried inside him for years still boiled for
Aramus, but so did his need for Xandra. Running through the jungle had drained
his energy, and he didn’t care. Getting to Xandra quickly was all that
mattered.

Marc came to a full stop in a small clearing where a dragon
had obviously smashed fronds for a bed. “Wait. We need to eat before we attack.
We’re almost there.”

Rayder had stopped, but he grumbled. “We need to hurry.”

“Think, man.” Marc’s breath sluiced in and out as he caught
his breath. “You need energy. Eat and drink. Then we’ll go on.”

Rayder heard distant sounds, perhaps the slave caravan.
“They’re near. Fuck me, we should have brought Arcos.”

“I don’t think we’ll need him. I understand Pian is
peaceable.”

“Peaceable?”

“They never venture into the jungle. They stay on the
outskirts or deep in the Ithaycan desert. The
alamuts
hate the jungle.”

“I’m surprised dragons don’t eat the
alamuts
.”

“Not bloody tasty, I imagine. I hear their hide is tough and
stringy. If you’re going to run out of food in the Ithaycan desert, you better
hope there’s a tender young
alamut
in the herd.”

Rayder grimaced. “I’d rather eat dragon meat.”

“You have eaten it, haven’t you?”

“Yep.”

Marc shook his head. “But you have also killed dragons.
Something I could never do. Not even one that wants to kill me.”

Rayder didn’t see jealousy or hatred in Marc’s eyes. Only
understanding and matter-of-fact reality. Rayder hated this adventure, his
worry over Xandra’s safety messing with his normally cool ability to fight
without regrets or concerns.

“Damn it,” Rayder said under his breath.

“What is wrong?”

“I’ve fought in the sands, but it’s been a long time.”

“So have I. We’ll press on. We’ll save your mate.”

They sat on some rocks and retrieved food from their packs.

“Do you trust Aramus’ concubine?” Marc asked. “She seemed as
tough as a boot.”

Rayder opened his pack and found the dried meat stored in a
pocket. “Phili is a better person than I gave her credit for. She did not have
to come and tell me what happened to Xandra, but she did.” He chewed the tough
meat, hating the taste but understanding if he planned to fight for his mate
he’d need strength. “And I’m grateful.”

Marc sighed. “I must be mad helping you with this.”

Anger sprouted in Rayder. “You didn’t have to help me. Why
are you?”

“For your sister’s memory. Then I’ll do something I should
have done a long time ago. I’ll help you kill Aramus.”

Rayder pinned the other man with a glare. “He’s mine to
kill.”

“I have your back.”

“Why now? You could have killed him a long time ago. You
know murderers who would do your bidding without question. I figured you didn’t
give a shite.”

“Is that why you went after Aknada’s killer yourself?”

“I asked you to help me. You would not.”

Regret etched Marc’s face, a haunted and sorrowful look that
Rayder doubted the man could fake. “I was mistaken. I should have helped you
then. In my defense, I was not thinking correctly. I was thinking…”

“Yes?”

“Your sister was a bright planet in the sky. More beautiful
than any woman I’ve beheld before or since. I could never replace her.” He
placed a hand on his chest. “When Aramus killed her, I knew I had failed her.
Knew that I was to blame for her death.”

Perhaps what he thought he knew about his sister’s
relationship with Marc did not resemble reality. Rayder finished off the meat
and drank water from a water skin he’d stuffed in the pack. “Why didn’t you
help me before?”

Marc closed his pack. “I regret every day that I waited this
long.”

Rayder’s doubt didn’t budge. “What is different this time?”

Marc licked his lips, his expression restrained, as if he
didn’t want to tell Rayder anything. “Because I did have feelings for Aknada
and I never told her. A hundred times a day I regret not telling her. It’s too
late now to save Aknada, but I can atone for it by honoring her memory and
saving Xandra. Your mate… Have you told her how you feel about her?”

Rayder had never heard a man talk about a woman in such
sensitive terms. Though he understood his fellow Daryk Ones mated for life, he
now understood feelings came into play and not just heightened primal need.

“I haven’t told her,” Rayder said.

“When you get her back, you should. Never let an opportunity
go by. I was obsessed with your sister.”

Rayder couldn’t smile or laugh because his emotions
scattered. He didn’t know yet whether he liked or hated the idea. What did it
matter? Aknada wasn’t here. She couldn’t be hurt by anyone anymore. “Obsessed
how?”

“I wanted her for mine.”

Rayder smirked. “You loved her?”

“I don’t think I understand what love is.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. She was betrothed to Braxis.”

“I remember. I just wanted you to know why I hated Aramus.
Why I’ll help you bring him down now.”

Marc’s eyes held real pain. Rayder stood. He couldn’t blame
Marc, even if he wanted to dismiss the man. Maybe Marc could have some peace of
mind.

“Very well.” Rayder made certain his pack centered firmly on
his back. “Let us go. It’s not much farther now. I can hear the animals.”

Marc shoved to his feet as he finished chewing and slung his
pack over his shoulder. “Those smelly animals. They piss on everything and
bite. But they can make it through the desert on little water.”

Rayder smiled as they headed back into the jungle. “Tell me
something I don’t know. Come on. We will discuss this later. I will decided
then whether to kick your arse or not.”

Marc laughed. “You can try.”

“I’m a Daryk One. You know I can do it.” Rayder pushed into
the heavy foliage in front of him. “Keep your voice low. The caravan is less
than a hundred yards ahead.”

They crouched low behind a thick tangle of bushes laden with
red flowers. Pian’s caravan of more than a hundred people sat unmoving. They’d
made camp.

Marc whispered, “Nightfall comes in two hours. I say we wait
until then.”

Rayder nodded. All of this was suicide. The two of them
couldn’t fight a hundred people at once. But by the god, they could cut a wide
trough. Marc might not be a Daryk One, but Rayder acknowledged Marc could
fight. He’d seen him do it.

“Very well. Let’s rest.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Xandra started as a man entered her tent. Tall, thin, with a
red scarf partially draped over short black hair and narrow features tanned
brown by relentless desert sun. Fiery blue eyes almost as pretty as Aknada’s
stared down at her. A long dark blue tunic ended at his knees but was belted at
the waist with some sort of rope. Matching blue pants were tucked into
knee-high black boots.

At least Aknada was with her, standing in the corner.
Somehow she knew Aknada wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her.

“Do not be alarmed,” the man said as a smile broke over his
face. His voice was deep, melodious and gentle. “I am Pian. I am sorry you are
in this predicament. Aknada has told me much about you.” He tossed at glance at
Aknada and nodded. “She is well respected around our camp. Most in camp would
do anything for her, including me. If she says you are trustworthy, I know it
to be so.”

“Thank you.” Xandra nodded. “I understand you are a kind
man. I think you saved me from Taris Elian.”

Pian nodded, hands on his hips. “I gathered he’s an evil
man. I was happy to buy you.”

Xandra winced. “Does this mean I’m your slave?”

“In a strict sense, yes, but I will not hold you to it. You
are free to go at any time.”