Destiny Redeemed (24 page)

“That’s
very nice of you to say. I get my eyes from my mother, but hers are a tiny bit
darker than mine. I’ve noticed as she aged, hers became lighter. I imagine mine
will lighten too. Perhaps yours will too, although I don’t know if the same
applies to violet.”

Thea
realized she was even boring herself, but Kiril seemed enchanted by her words
so she continued with a description of her sister’s and father’s eye colors,
never breaking her stare into his eyes.

When
she finished, he smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever talked so much about eye
color with a woman, particularly one sitting with me in bed as I lay naked next
to her.”

“Actually,
you’ve said very little during this conversation. Now it’s your turn.”

Kiril
licked his lips and smacked them together. “My turn?”

“To
talk.”

He
seemed to consider the idea and then discard it as something distasteful. “I
don’t want to talk.”

Thea
felt her control of the situation slipping away and frantically searched her
mind for another topic of conversation. As her mind raced, Kiril moved his hand
to her leg and rested it on her knee.

“You
don’t have an English accent. Why is that?” she asked as she struggled to keep
her voice steady while his fingers slid back and forth over her skin.

“More
questions? Ok, I’ll play this game but only because I like you. You’re a nice
change from my usual.”

Sure
her ploy was on its way to success, Thea relaxed, but then he added, “And I
want you willing when I put you in Suzanne’s place.”

Forgetting
her plan momentarily, she blurted out, “Why do you hate her so much more than
the other two?”

Thea
feared she’d made a mistake, but Kiril’s response surprised her. In what
sounded like a hurt tone, he said, “I don’t hate Suzanne. She’s my favorite. I
always choose her first.”

“You
abuse her far more than the other two. The bruises you leave on her body don’t
show you prefer her.”

Squeezing
her leg, Kiril looked directly into her eyes. “She’s a fucking human. Am I
supposed to take care of her?”

As
he spoke, he squeezed harder, causing tears to come to her eyes from the pain.

“Is
that how you’ll treat me when she’s gone?” she said through gritted teeth.

Seeing
the tears in her eyes, he released her leg from his grip and almost purred his
answer. “No, pet. You’re Aeveren. I’ll take care of you like you’ve never had
before in any lifetime.”

Looking
down, she ran her hands over her knee to ease the pain. Red spots marked where
his fingers had pressed into her skin.

“Can
you heal yourself in addition to others?”

Nodding,
Thea stilled her hands over her leg to release the last of the pain.

“So
you can’t truly be hurt?”

Snapping
her head right to face him, she dropped all pretense of her plan and said
angrily, “Of course I can be hurt! You just brought tears to my eyes squeezing
my leg!”

Thea
waited in fear for the retribution her words would bring, but none came.
Instead, he merely returned his hand to her leg, pushing her hands out of the
way, and continued stroking as he’d done before.

“I
don’t have an English accent because I’m not English. I’m Albanian. I’ve lived
in London for much of this lifetime after coming here when I was fifteen years
old.”

Stunned
by his quick mood change, Thea was unsure what to say next. She was sure she’d
never been so frightened in her life or in so unstable a situation. Believing
it was just a matter of time before he grew tired of talking to her and simply
forced her to do as he desired, she only hoped Amon would arrive before her
time ran out or that he could someday forgive her.

“What
lifetime are you in, Thea?”

“Forty-fifth,”
she said quietly, confused as to where he was going with this new conversation.

“Do
you know I’m only in my twenty-third? Does that surprise you?”

“No.
Greatness can occur in any lifetime.”

Thea
watched as Kiril moved his hand up her leg to the middle of her thigh. Her time
had run out, and she hadn’t even made it one night.

Looking
at his hand, she couldn’t help but see his erection and shiver. He was excited
even after she’d tried to distract him with mundane conversation. Nothing had
worked. As he stroked the inside of her thigh, she prepared herself for what
she’d feared since arriving. If she didn’t fight, perhaps she’d survive.

Kiril’s
hand continued its movement up her thigh until it reached the seam of her leg.
She watched his eyes travel the path his hand had and waited for his next move.
When he looked up at her and spoke, she was stunned.

“You’re
Aeveren, so I won’t take what you won’t freely give.”

“You’ll
respect our heritage but not my having a destined one?”

Sitting
up, he sat face to face with her and smiled. “It’s just a matter of time before
your destined one is returned to Nil for the rest of his time on Earth. So you
having a destined one isn’t a concern of mine.”

“No!
Destiny wouldn’t do that to me after making me wait so many lifetimes!” she
cried.

“Well,
pet, she’s been a bitch to you then because he’s going. His fate is sealed.”

Thea
turned toward him. “Why are you doing this? Aren’t you friends with Amon?”

Kiril’s
stare slid down her body and when it stopped on her breasts, he reached out to
twirl her hair around his finger. “Amon’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. That
you’re part of the package is just a bonus.”

As
he spoke, he tugged her hair and pulled her closer to him. Thea closed her eyes
and felt his warm breath near her face. Any second now, he would kiss her, and
even if she believed his claim that he wouldn’t force her, she had a feeling
his definition of consensual and willing were quite different from hers.

The
moment his lips touched her she froze in terror. Over and over, she silently
begged Amon to hurry to her as Kiril held her by the back of the head and
slipped his tongue back and forth through her stiff lips. Passionless, she
waited for him to tire of her but nothing seemed to deter him.

In
her ear, he whispered, “Soon you’ll beg me to fuck you, Thea, like you begged
before. When you do, you won’t have to sleep with my slaves. And I don’t think
it will take long after I get rid of Suzanne.”

“Get
rid of her? What are you going to do?” Thea asked as she jumped up off the bed.

Kiril
didn’t bother to answer, his grin showing how obviously he was enjoying her reaction.

“Please
don’t do that to her, Kiril. I beg you.”

“Your
darling has to go. She’s too much trouble,” he said calmly.

“But
you said she was your favorite. Why would you get rid of your favorite?”

“Because
you’re my new favorite. And I don’t need her.”

Thea
stood in tears as Kiril remained unmoved by her sadness. Suzanne was going to
suffer in part because of her, and even if it wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t
stand by as another suffered any more.

Please
forgive me, Amon.

Hanging
her head, she quietly said, “Kiril, please don’t. I’ll do anything you want if
you just spare her.”

Leaning
over, he pressed the button to summon his guards. Then he stood up and grabbed
her by the hair and yanked her head back. Looking down into her eyes, he spoke,
his voice ice cold. “You’ll do whatever I fucking want regardless of what I
choose to do with that cunt. Do you understand me?”

Thea’s
eyes grew wide in terror at the sight of his rage and the vicious sound of his
words. As she stood there, pain radiating from where he pulled her hair, his
men entered the room and waited by the door for instructions.

Never
breaking his cold stare into her eyes, he hissed, “Take this one back to the
others. And bring Suzanne.”

*

Returning
from Jean’s house, Amon knew he’d have to ask Gethen to do him yet another
favor. There was no way he could go to Nil to speak to Naomi Cooper. No, he’d
have to ask his friend to once again make the dangerous trip to Nil and pray
he’d make it out successfully, knowing Gethen’s fate if he didn’t.

He
found him outside and joined him in the garden behind the house. The sun was
just setting and something in the way the former servant looked off into the
distance reminded Amon of the reason they’d returned to Ireland.

“I’m
sorry, my friend. I’d forgotten we came here to take you home.”

Gethen
turned to face him and in the fading light of twilight, Amon saw the loyalty
he’d enjoyed for lifetimes.

“What
did you find out?” he asked, quickly sidestepping the conversation Amon had
begun.

“I
need your help, Gethen. I can’t get to the councilwoman in Nil. Only you can.”

Gethen
nodded slowly. “I know.”

“I’m
sorry I have to ask you to make this trip again. If there was any other way...”

“There
is no other way. I know that as well as you do. Only the Sidhe can travel
between worlds safely.”

As
the sunlight disappeared, the two men talked of the task ahead. Gethen would
have to find Naomi Cooper and convince her to read Amon’s letter explaining the
connection between the head of the Council at Nil and Kiril Gault. If she
believed him, she could be the one person to begin the investigation that would
expose the corruption of the head councilman.

All
the while Amon explained what he needed, Gethen listened and when he’d
finished, asked, “What about Thea?”

Taking
a deep breath, Amon closed his eyes and once more sent a thought of love to
her. He hadn’t sensed that she was in true danger yet and told himself that meant
she must be okay. But a nagging doubt troubled him. He hadn’t known of his
other destined one’s moving on, so what if he simply couldn’t sense danger to
Thea until he returned to the Soren headquarters, when it could be too late?

“I
have to believe she’s all right. She’s smart. And she’s Aeveren. I don’t think
Kiril would harm one of our own. It’s humans he hates.”

Quietly,
Gethen said, “Amon, if that bounty hunter has been anywhere near their
headquarters, Gault is involved in kidnapping her.”

“I
know, but I don’t think he’ll harm her. She’s too valuable to him and not just
as bait to lure me. She’s a healer, and Kiril would see that as an asset to the
Soren. Having a healer in his back pocket is a nice addition to the rest of the
members and their talents.”

“I
hope you’re right.”

“I
know I’m right. I used to be like him, remember? And that’s exactly how I’d
have seen her,” Amon answered, hoping to God he was right.

An
awkward silence rose between them as they both knew Amon’s assessment of
himself was the truth. He had been like Kiril Gault in many ways for lifetimes.

“Gethen,
it’s time we got this going. I’ll write the letter I need you to deliver to her
while you get ready. We don’t have any time to waste. Thea might not be in
physical danger, but she needs to come home.”

When
Amon finished the letter, he returned outside to Gethen. As he handed it to
him, he pressed it into his palm. “Be careful, friend. You know what they’ll do
if they catch you.”

“Have
faith. Remember, we’re in Ireland, the land of my people.”

As
Amon watched, Gethen took a few steps backwards and slowly dissolved into mist.

Chapter Nineteen

Gethen
reappeared in the exact location Amon had told him the councilwoman’s quarters
could be found. Jean’s contact had warned of the sentry who stood guard outside
her rooms and had suggested her private chambers as the perfect place to
rematerialize. The room was dimly lit by only wall sconces, and as he listened
for the sound of voices, he heard nothing. She was alone. Carefully, he began
his search of Naomi Cooper’s quarters.

It
didn’t take him long to find her. In an ante room of her office, she sat alone
reading a book. Gethen stood silently in the doorway and waited, hoping not to
frighten her into sending up the alarm.

Lifting
her head from the book, the councilwoman trained her gaze on him as if she were
deciding if he were real or an apparition. Slowly, she closed her book and
placed it on the table next to her.

“You’re
a long way from home, my Sidhe friend,” she said in a soft voice.

“You
know what I am?”

Nodding,
Naomi Cooper stood and walked toward him. When she’d reached him, she placed
her hand on his and smiled.

“No
matter how long I’m gone from the world outside, I can’t forget your people.
Once, lifetimes ago, a Sidhe rescued me from the clutches of one of my people
and took care of me. Your presence affects me just as his did.”

Gethen
attempted to move his hand from hers, unable to control the emotions she caused
in him, but she refused to release him.

Looking
away, he pleaded, “Please don’t.”

The
councilwoman saw the scar on the side of his face and gently touched it with
her fingertips. “Who did this to you, Sidhe?” she asked as she felt the raised
scar.

Fighting
the emotions welling up inside him, he whispered hoarsely, “One of your
people.”

Her
face grew sad and she dropped her hand. “I’m sorry. Even friends like Aeveren
and Sidhe sometimes wrong each other.”

Looking
back at her, he said seriously, “I deserved this mark. It was I who wronged
her, madam.”

Nodding
her understanding, Naomi Cooper gestured toward a chair near hers to offer him
a seat. When they’d sat down, Gethen remained quiet for a moment and then
removed the letter from his coat.

“What
is your name, Sidhe?”

“I
am called Gethen.”

“Gethen,
please call me Naomi.”