Healing Eden (28 page)

Intriguing. Maxis whipped his hand forward and cast a slim volt at Uther.

Uther stood steady, unaffected without so much as a flinch. His shirt was charred and a black circular pattern marred his shoulder, but he stood upright. Burnt cloth and the sharp tang of electricity overpowered the wood smoke.

“Impressive.” Maxis ambled forward. “No wonder you weren’t worried your fellow warriors would strike back.”

“It’s only handy if I’m paying attention, and I can’t keep it up indefinitely,” Uther answered, a little cocky, but wise enough to hold it in check.

“A nice trick for you. Not especially convenient for my demise.”

“Unless I project the shield onto you.”

No wonder Uther had protected his secrets so well. “You can do that?” Maxis said.

Uther nodded.

Falon had been right. Uther was proving not only to be a better match, but offering up prime opportunity to unseat the malran at the same time.

Were those his thoughts? Or Falon’s? All his life he’d thought the voice in his head was his own. Now he wondered if it hadn’t all been the dark spiritu. Falon might have screwed Maxis royally with the altercation with Reese, but this opportunity was hard to pass up. “We’ll go with the idea, but we’ll up the ante in the process and see if we can’t discredit our esteemed malran along the way.”

Serena stood and raised her chin, defiant. “Your death doesn’t exactly cover absolving me of our association.”

Maxis prowled closer, lifted her hand, and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Not to fear, my dear. I plan to ensure my beloved baineann is well and truly cared for.”

Eryx sat on his throne and watched the ellan filter toward their assigned seats. Considering the vote they were about to render, they seemed a tad too jovial. Too detached from the futures they were charged with determining.

Seated in the more demure version of his chair beside him, Lexi leaned in at a conspiratorial angle.
“You need to bring Ludan down a notch. He’s wound pretty damned tight.”

“He’s always wound tight.”
He checked anyway, trusting Lexi’s instincts as he would few others.

Positioned to the right of Eryx’s throne, Ludan stood as he always did, arms crossed and glaring belligerently.

“Looks pretty status quo to me
,
”
he said, reclining into his chair.

Lexi didn’t hide her perusal this time.
“That’s because you’re not looking like I am.”

“You’re feeling, not looking.”
Eryx covered her fist on the armrest with his own.
“And technically, that’s bad manners. Let him deal with his business and save yourself the heartache. Shut the filters down.”

Lexi glared at him.
“You toss the bad manners rule when it suits you.
I’m not wrong on these feelings and you know it.”
Her expression smoothed and a superior grin slid into place as she faced the settling ellan.
“Sure nailed it with Reese and Galena, didn’t I?”

He squeezed her hand and thrust his shoulders back a notch. Praise the Great One, he’d been blessed with Lexi. Fire, confidence, and street smarts all rolled into one.
“You’re going to rub that in for a while, I take it?”

Her grin grew, even if she didn’t deign to give him the full force of it.
“You got that right.”

“Sorry I’m late.” Galena hustled up beside Lexi, and Jagger stepped aside to make room.

Lexi craned her head up toward Galena. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Eryx angled to better see Galena’s mating mark, the goddess Artemis perched at the tip of a crescent moon with her gown billowing out behind her. She held her bow taut, arrow notched and ready to fire toward the heavens, shrewd eyes narrowed in concentration.

Facing the crowd, Eryx relaxed into his chair. His new briyo might worry the hell out of him, but Reese had laid a damned fine claim on his sister. “Couldn’t have too hot of a mating night if you’re up and out of bed at noon.”

Galena held her arm out to better show Lexi what he’d already studied. “I seem to remember a man who left his new mate warm in her bed at daybreak only a few weeks ago.” Her saucy comment came out breathless, not at all the proper voice he’d grown accustomed to hearing.

Eryx was torn between slapping Reese on the back and congratulating him, and wringing his neck. “Point taken.”

“You should be home.” Lexi squeezed Galena’s hand. “At least one of us should get a honeymoon.”

Galena shook her head and patted Lexi’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t miss standing beside Brenna for this, and Reese insisted he wanted to seal the deal on our new home.” She scanned the crowd. “Where are Brenna and Ian anyway?”

“New home?” Lexi perked up.

The council page, Dunstan, strode to the foot of the dais. “All are in place, my malran.”

“Shit
.
”
Lexi shifted her thoughts to both Eryx and Galena, the smooth transition more fitting of a two hundred-year-old Myren than one barely two weeks past her awakening.
“Orla and Graylin are with Brenna and Ian in the antechamber. What’s with the new home?”

“Lexi.”
Eryx loved her vibrant nature, but right now he couldn’t afford to misstep with the council.
“Remember what I said about sampling emotions being impolite?”

Lexi tilted her head in silent question.

“For now, I don’t care about polite,”
he answered.
“I’m scanning as well, but if you sense anything that feels off, tell me.”

A wicked smile curled her lips. She pulled her hand out from under his and trailed her index finger along his forearm.
“Going rogue, huh?
That’s kinda sexy.”

His belly tightened and his cock stirred with more interest than he could handle given the current circumstance.
“Focus, hellcat, and I’ll give you all the rogue you want when we get home.”

A determined air lengthened her spine.

Eryx nodded at Dunstan. “Call the session to order.”

Dunstan spun toward the ellan and his voice echoed down the cavernous hall, thick with the formality Eryx hated. When the pomp and circumstance subsided, Eryx stood and Lexi rose beside him. The air seemed cooler than normal, only Lexi’s warmth keeping the sensation at bay.

“As promised,” he said, “two of the humans kidnapped by Maxis Steysis have been brought to council today to share their memories and confirm the claims made by myself and Reese Theron. In exchange for the interference in their destiny, their testimony against the traitor, and their vow to uphold and abide by all Myren laws, I have offered asylum in Eden for the rest of their lives pending approval of the council.”

He paused long enough to scan the many rows and let his attention rest on some of the more difficult members. “Heed this. The injuries endured by these humans are such I will not abide any belligerent acts or unkind words. Both have suffered enough at the hands of one of our own.” For the last he focused on Angus. “I’ll kill any woman or man who causes them further grief.”

Heads dipped for quiet whispers and rumbles filtered through the room.

Eryx reached out to Graylin.
“We’re ready. Keep Orla at Brenna’s side.”

Footsteps sounded from the foyer and Ian, Graylin, Orla, and Brenna stepped into view.

Galena and Lexi moved as one down the dais steps, Lexi positioning herself between Brenna and Ian, Galena at Brenna’s free side.

Eryx lifted his chin, pride for his family’s unspoken support of those wronged a heady rush. They’d not just made their point, but added a few exclamation points and waved a red cape in the process.

Eryx stalked toward them, singling out Ian first. “You understand your sanctuary in Eden is contingent on abiding by Myren law in all things?”

Ian jerked a rough nod and shifted to more firmly plant his feet, keeping his eyes off the crowd. “I do.”

“And you offer your memories freely?”

Another curt nod.

Eryx waved the waiting ellan forward, a man he’d personally chosen for his bipartisan and freethinking politics.

With a perfunctory approach, the ellan offered his hand, eyes passively aimed at Ian’s chest.

Ian stared at the hand, and clasped it with a firm grip.

Ten seconds passed. Twenty. Thirty.

The ellan jerked, then jerked again. He released Ian and stepped away. “The accusations are confirmed. Maxis Steysis was the one responsible for bringing this person to Eden and inflicting…gruesome wounds in an attempt to harm more humans.” He paused, swallowing in what looked to be a painful act. “It is my recommendation to the council this human be offered refuge in Eden as requested by the malran.” With that he shuffled out of the hall, his flushed face shiny with sweat.

Praise the Great One, if Ian’s torture had this much impact, he couldn’t imagine how the female he’d selected would hold up with Brenna.

He waved the female ellan forward and stepped close to Brenna, keeping his voice low. “You understand what’s being asked and give your memories freely?”

Lexi and Galena inched closer to Brenna.

“I do,” Brenna said.

Eryx smiled in what he hoped resembled reassurance. “Give her your hand. You won’t feel anything.”

The female ellan held out her hand palm up.

Brenna looked to Lexi then Galena. Straightening, she laid her hand in the ellan’s.

Long, quiet seconds stretched on and on.

The female ellan lowered her head, but kept her hand grasped around Brenna’s. Two tears splattered to the stone floor at the ellan’s feet.

Ludan lurched forward to intercede, but Eryx held him back. Barely.

The ellan clasped Brenna’s hand with both of hers and lifted her head. Tears streaked her face. “I am…” She coughed and shook her head. “I am so very sorry.”

She released her grip and faced the council. “The accusations are confirmed.” She opened her mouth to speak again, closed it and swallowed before continuing. “This woman deserves our refuge and our justice.” She didn’t flee the room as the male had, but her steps were shaky as she found her place among the crowd.

Eryx motioned Graylin toward the exit with a nod. Not one of the ellan lifted their heads as the group exited, the room more hushed than he’d ever heard it.

The antechamber door thudded shut.

“You’ve heard my recommendation and those of your peers. Those who object, speak now.”

Only blessed silence answered.

He opened his mouth, eager to adjourn.

“My malran.” The female ellan stood, her cheeks red and eyes bright with fury. “On behalf of the sufferings endured by the humans and your supporting council, I’d like to know what justice you plan for Maxis Steysis.”

A slow burn spread through Eryx’s torso, the chill he’d felt before long gone. “The only justice befitting of his crimes.” He fisted his hands and let the image of Maxis’ throat beneath them fill his mind. “Death.”

* * * *

Reese sat a weathered wooden crate on the edge of his mother’s bed and double-checked for anything he might have left behind. He’d already committed to letting go of the past. Histus, a part of him had already left it behind, somewhere between Galena coming apart in his arms in the greenhouse, and the moment she’d stood up to Ramsay the next morning. The trick was figuring out what to carry forward. Intangibles were easier. Only the best of memories and those that shaped you. Tangibles? Yeah, that one was tougher.

He opened the doors to his mother’s armoire and rifled through her jewelry. Most of them were inexpensive baubles, pieces she’d bought from vendors in Cush to support local artists. Certainly nothing she’d want her new oanan to have.

He stepped back and started to close the door.

A padded jade box was tucked to one side, so deep in shadows he’d almost missed it.

He pulled the box forward and opened it, the tight hinges squeaking. A cuff sat nestled in black velvet made of matte platinum, a metal forbidden for those not of the royal family.

Praise the Great One she’d been happy the day she found it. They seldom went to Cush, but when they did, they always hit the art vendors. That day they’d browsed the aisles until Reese’s feet throbbed. The image etched on the cuff had too closely resembled his family mark for his mother to pass it up, and she’d bartered with the craftsman until he’d relented, making her swear on her son’s life she’d never tell where she’d bought the piece.

Reese fingered the deep carvings, the onyx background giving the piece a mix of masculine strength and feminine charm.

Galena could wear it.

The thought whacked him hard, curiosity at the coincidence running right behind it. Not once had his mother worn the cuff, insisting it had called to her for reasons she couldn’t explain. Had his mother had her own spiritu? Guiding her in ways as small as this?

He snapped the box shut and sat it in the crate. He’d drive his mind in circles if he went off down that road. He’d missed out on his chance with Maxis. Now his focus needed to be on Galena and giving her the life she deserved.

Shifting to the bookcase, he checked the sun’s position with his mind. Ben and Beth couldn’t be too far out with the paperwork to purchase their new home. Trading his homestead for the cottage was a steal. He’d have given four homesteads to see Galena’s face light up again, and he’d never seen a home more suited to her skills and personality.

His mother’s paperback books from Evad lined the bookcase, everything from classics to romance. Probably not much worth taking there unless Galena had a thing for fiction. He paused at the row of leather-bound journals and traced a sapphire blue spine. All her pain was there. Every second-guess for the actions she’d taken. Every hope and prayer she’d said for Maxis.

He turned for the closet and stopped, looking back. Pulling the stack of journals free, he arranged them in the crate. Paperbacks were one thing, but his mother’s heart and soul were in those words. If he chose to let them go, he’d find a special way to do it. Something more personal than handing them off to unknown strangers.

The closet made for fast work, his mind too detached with thoughts of providing for his royal mate than considering each and every outfit. They’d have a cleaner, safer start letting go of the homestead, but his immediate income would drop to nil. He had more than enough tucked away for a while, but what did a warrior without an army do for a living?