Destiny Redeemed (21 page)

“There
is no reason for you to be frightened. You are Amon’s destined one, and what
Amon cherishes, I cherish,” he said in a low voice as he looked deeply into her
eyes.

“Why
are you leaving? Is it because of me?”

Thea
felt his hand leave her arm, and Gethen stepped back away from her.

“In
one way, yes, it is. For lifetimes, I’ve been Amon’s servant taking care of
him. While I didn’t have a choice as I owed him my life for taking me when no
other creature on Earth would accept me, my life was freely given to him from
that first day. My place in this world was to take care of him. But he no
longer needs me because he has you.”

Sadness
filled Thea’s heart. “But I can’t replace the friendship he has with you.”

“I
am Sidhe. I am not one of your kind. Amon belongs with you without having me to
think of. It’s time I returned to my people, to my kind.”

“You
said Amon was the only one to accept you. What if they won’t take you back?”

Gethen’s
expression grew softer and a real smile formed, brightening his eyes so they
appeared to dance and sparkle. “Much time has passed since I was cast out of my
world, albeit less time for the Sidhe. My penance has been fulfilled for many
years. Amon knew this lifetimes ago.”

Thea
wondered why Amon hadn’t returned Gethen to his world before now. Before she
could voice her question, Gethen answered.

“Don’t
think poorly of Amon for keeping me as his servant. Solitude is a choice few of
us would willingly make.”

Gethen
stepped out of Thea’s way to let her pass. Touched by the knowledge of his love
for the man she cared so much for, she stood on her toes and placed a kiss on
his scarred face.

“Thank
you for this, Gethen.”

As
she moved to walk away, he once again caught her arm and she turned to see not
anger but kindness.

“Take
care of him. Even when he seems to be a man you don’t recognize, don’t forget
who he is.”

Thea
smiled but wondered what this meant. How could she ever not recognize her
destined one?

Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw Amon and Gethen’s warning quickly left her mind.
“Amon!” she said as she put her arms around him. “Where have you been?”

“Thea,
I need to speak to Gethen. Can you excuse us?” He placed a small kiss on her
lips and winked. “Wait for me upstairs, okay?”

Thea
made her way to the stairs and stopped before she reached the top, curious to
know what the two men discussed.

“I’m
concerned about Markku, Gethen.”

“Why?”

“That
bounty hunter knew we were coming here and knew when. The only way he could
know that would be through Markku.”

“Amon,
as much as the man irritates me, I have a hard time believing he would betray
you again.”

“Then
how did the bounty hunter know?”

Neither
man answered the question, and Thea hurried upstairs before she was caught
spying, just as concerned about the man who was their connection to the Soren.

Thea
sat on the bed and looked out the window at the Irish countryside. The lawn
seemed to go on forever, changing shades from pale to deep green as the grass
ran over the rolling hills. The scene looked like one from a postcard she’d
received from a friend who’d visited this beautiful land years before. Outside
the bedroom door, she heard footsteps and waited for Amon’s embrace. A hand
touched her face and instantly she knew it wasn’t Amon’s, but it was too late.
Before she could scream, her mouth was covered and Ryu Jansen had taken her.

When
she focused her eyes moments later, she didn’t need to be told she was far away
from County Cork and the man she loved. Everything that surrounded her felt
foreign.

Ryu’s
hands pressed on her shoulders, holding her still so she couldn’t struggle.
Forced to remain in place, she scanned the room she stood in for any clue of
her whereabouts. The walls around her were plain white and provided no
indication of where she was. The small room was nondescript, a room that could
have been in any building in a thousand locations in the world.

“This
will go a whole lot easier if you stay calm,” Ryu said coldly behind her.

“Where
am I?” she demanded as she craned her neck to face him.

In
front of her the door opened and Thea heard a voice that immediately struck
fear in her heart. She spun her head back to see Kiril Gault standing in the
doorway.

“How
wonderful it is to see you again so soon, Thea,” he purred as his eyes roamed
over her body suggestively.

Around
him, his hulking bodyguards mimicked his actions, their greedy eyes devouring
everything she was.

“Why
have you kidnapped me?”

Ignoring
her, Kiril focused on Ryu. “You can go. I’ll take this from here.”

Kiril
winked knowingly at Thea and grinned. “We’re going to have a wonderful time.
Gentlemen, take her to the room with the other girls.”

Thea
thrashed wildly as Ryu loosened his hold on her and two of Kiril’s men grabbed
her, squeezing her upper arms with their thick fingers.

“Let
go of me! You’re hurting me!”

Each
move she made in a futile attempt to be free led to tighter squeezing on her
arms, bringing tears to her eyes.

“Mr.
Gault, please make them stop!” she cried as tears rolled down her face.

Kiril
waved his hand casually, and the men released her and stepped back. Thea rubbed
her arms where painful bruises began to form and prayed that Amon would be able
to find her before they did even worse to her.

As
the leader of the Soren stepped in front of her, Thea watched his violet eyes
zero in on her face. His piercing gaze made her shrink back, but Ryu stopped
her. Kiril slowly ran the back of his index finger down her jaw line to her
chin and tilted her face up toward his. The feel of his skin on hers made her
shiver, something that seemed to please him immensely.

“Thea,
the more you fight me, the worse this will be. Now be a pet and go with these
men.”

His
touch lingered on her as he spoke, and Thea sensed all too clearly that the
sweetness in his voice was temporary and easily replaced with the viciousness she’d
heard days earlier.

She
saw the men return to her side, but this time she put up no fight. They led her
down a dark hallway to a room far dimmer than the one before. As her eyes
focused, she was horrified to see she was to be held with Kiril Gault’s slaves.
Unable to back away, she froze in place.

Oh
my God! Amon, can you hear me? Kiril has me!

Hands
shoved her into the room, and she stumbled to the floor in front of the three
women who sat chained together. When she looked up, she saw the fear in their
eyes and her instincts as a healer kicked in. Struggling to get to her feet,
she crouched down in front of them.

“It’s
okay. I won’t hurt you. Please don’t be afraid.”

One
of them looked at her with tears in her eyes. “You’re here to replace one of
us!” she cried.

“No!
Don’t be afraid. Please,” Thea said softly.

“Then
why are you here?” another one asked.

“I
don’t know. Do you remember me? I visited here, I think, with my destined one.”

The
women nodded but said nothing.

“He’ll
find me and rescue us.”

The
one who hadn’t spoken snorted in disgust. “You don’t know much about Amon
Kalins, do you?”

Thea
looked at her innocently, but inside she feared the woman was right. Amon was
friends with Kiril Gault, but now she was a prisoner of his, which made no
sense.

“No,
you’re wrong. Amon won’t rest until he finds me. I’m his destined one. He loves
me.”

“Honey,
I don’t care what you Aeveren claim about these destined ones. Amon Kalins is
as vicious as Kiril, even more because of how powerful he is. And he’s close to
Kiril, so how do you explain why you’re here with us?”

Thea
couldn’t explain why one of Amon’s friends had kidnapped her, but she believed
in her destined one. She had to.

*

Amon
looked forward to a few moments of relaxation with Thea and smiled to himself
as he thought about something he’d like to do that would take far longer than
just a few moments. Just the thought of making love to her again lightened his
mood. He looked forward to giving her every one of his homes as gifts to show
her how much he loved her. The thrill he’d seen on her face and the excitement
she’d shown him when they’d arrived at just this one house made him actually
care about the places he owned.

For
a brief moment, he remembered Callia’s thrill when she first saw his Italian
villa and cringed with regret at what he’d done. By the time he reached the
bedroom, he’d pushed those memories out of his mind, though. He was a different
man now—a man with a destined one he adored and who made him better than he
ever could be alone.

“Thea?”
he called as he stood looking into the empty bedroom. No response came, and he
called her name again, in case she’d gone for a shower.

Instinctively,
he knew something was wrong. He raced to the bathroom but found it empty too.
Teleporting downstairs, he quickly found Gethen,

“Have
you seen Thea?” he asked as he attempted to tamp down the fear that was growing
inside him by the second.

Gethen
shook his head. “She isn’t upstairs?”

“No.
You look in here. Search every room. I’ll look outside.”

Amon
looked frantically, but she was nowhere in sight. With every step he took, his
fear mixed with rage. It didn’t take long before he admitted to himself that
the bounty hunter had gotten her. By the time he found Gethen inside the house,
he was nearly blinded by anger.

“The
fucking bounty hunter has her. I swear to God, I’ll kill him and every member
of the Council for this. Where the fuck is Markku?”

“I
don’t know. I called him, but I got his voicemail.”

“I
want him here, now! Markku!”

Amon’s
voice shook the walls and windows. “Markku!”

Almost
as if he’d heard his name across the miles, Markku appeared in the room before
Amon and Gethen, unaware of what awaited him. Before he could ask any
questions, Amon seized him by the throat with one hand and lifted him the almost
nine inches to his eye level, almost crushing his larynx.

“Where
is she?” Amon demanded.

Markku’s
arms grasped at the hand choking his throat as he croaked out the words, “I
don’t know.”

“Amon,”
Gethen cautioned in a forced calm voice, “perhaps he can tell us more if you
put him down.”

Although
he knew his friend was right, he didn’t want to release Markku. He wanted to kill
someone, and the man hanging from his right hand would do until he got a hold
of that bounty hunter or the members of the Council.

Gethen’s
judgment prevailed and Amon dropped Markku to the floor. As he lay there in a
heap, gasping for breath, Amon returned to questioning him.

“The
bounty hunter has taken Thea. Something tells me you had something to do with
it. So start talking or the next time I put my hand around your neck, I’ll
fucking choke the life out of you.”

Markku
cowered on the floor as Amon waited to follow through with his threat. Fear
made him avoid Amon’s eyes, making him look guiltier than ever.

“Amon,
I swear I had nothing to do with it. I swear.”

“Then
how the hell did he know we were coming here and the exact time to arrive?” he shouted.

Markku
had regained the ability to breathe, if not to swallow, and he attempted to
rise to his feet, all the while shielding his face with his hand to protect
from the attack that could come at any moment. Once standing, he wisely stepped
back from Amon and began to speak, his raspy voice barely audible.

“I
did as you ordered and went to find out why the bounty hunter had targeted
Thea. Amon, something big is going down. That guy has been seen at the Soren
headquarters before. What the fuck would a bounty hunter for the Council be
doing with anyone at the Soren? Nobody at my level knew, but that’s not all.
There’s something going on with the Council. My guy at the Directorate told me
they’re using people’s past lifetimes against them.”

Amon
knew all too well how serious a breach of Aeveren ethics this was. In fact, the
inability of any Aeveren, even those on the Council of Nil, to know an
Aeveren’s past lifetimes for any reason other than legal ones was one of the
few rules of their world he’d generally agreed with. 

“Why?”

“I
don’t know about anyone else, but they gave Thea’s record to the bounty hunter.
I’m guessing to help him get to you.”

“He
knows about her past lifetimes?”

“Yeah.
The head of the Council at Nil ordered it. But I’m hearing his actions are
causing a problem with the other members. At least one officially went on
record to protest his giving the bounty hunter Thea’s past lifetimes
information.”

Amon
paced back and forth past Markku as he thought about what he’d said. Pausing in
front of him, he asked, “What the hell is this man’s issue with me? Did I
dishonor his family or something lifetimes ago? It’s got to be something big if
he’s willing to break one of our most solemn laws. Find out from your guy in
the Directorate who he was before he went to the Council.”

“Okay,
I will.”

“And
find out whatever else you can about why a bounty hunter would be visiting the
Soren.”

“Okay,
Amon. Okay.”

After
Markku left, Amon turned to Gethen. “You believe him?”

Gethen
appeared to think about the question for a few seconds. “Yes, I do. But if this
is what’s going on, then it’s possible that Kiril isn’t the friend you thought
he was.”

“Do
you think he’s foolish enough to fuck with me? I’ve availed myself of the
Soren’s services in the few areas I’ve found them useful, but I have no
feelings of loyalty to him or that group that would take precedence over Thea’s
safety.”