Trusted Bond, page 8
“I’m fine,” I assured her.
She nodded fast, her eyes filling.
I looked at Ivan, saw how pained he looked. He had seen me last night outside, but apparently in the light of day I was giving him heart palpitations. “My reah,” he said, his voice low, subdued. “I really look like crap, huh?” I tried to tease. Sharp inhale of breath as Yuri rose and crossed the room to me. “It’s not your fault,” I said firmly, wanting him to hear me and believe me. He stopped inches away, and I had to tilt my head back to look up into his face. “We both know there was nothing else you could have done.”
Slowly, he sank to his knees in front of me.
“We look like twins.” I smiled just a little, reaching out, touching his face as I stared at the cut lip, bruised eye, and yellow and purple blotches over his jaw and throat.
He swallowed hard, unable to keep from leaning into my palm, lifting his head so my hand ran the length of his cheek. The others needed to touch and be touched by Logan—it was the pull of his power on regular cats—but Yuri, as a sheseru, craved mine. “I’ll kill them all, Jin… I have no choice.”
It was funny how his harsh words did not match the tender motion. “They violated the law.”
My eyes flicked to Logan, and I found him and Mikhail walking toward me. “I don’t want anyone hurt because of me. Tell him.”
“That’s not your choice.”
“Logan, I—”
“No,” he said icily. “Yuri will do as his station demands.”
“Logan—”
“No,” he said flatly as he reached me, grabbing hold of my arm and yanking me close to him. “You do not have a say here, Jin. You were attacked, and I will kill every man that violated the sanctity of my home. You cannot possibly understand the magnitude of the trespass, but I do, Yuri does, Mikhail, Domin… you’re the only one missing it.”
I looked around the room at Markel, Delphine, even Logan’s father, Peter Church, all of them looking at me with the same look of grim resolve. “No.” I was firm. “It’s barbaric. We don’t kill people.”
Yuri rose to his full, towering height beside me. “Your kindness will be mistaken as your semel being weak because he does not punish those who would harm his reah. Do not ask that of Logan or of me.”
“I—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Domin said, interrupting me. “No one’s gonna be punishing anybody until we get to the feast.”
There was a moment of silence as everyone absorbed his words. “What are you talking about?” Logan asked irritably. When I looked back at Domin, I realized suddenly that he was more than just tired or even sad—he was hurt. He looked just as bad as Yuri and me. The left side of his face, which I hadn’t been able to see from my angle in the hall, was covered in marks. His eye would be black and blue, and it was pain I was seeing etched on his face. He was holding himself stiffly, afraid to move too fast, and there was hesitancy in his every step. The man had been wounded.
“Both Abbot George and Ian Lund went to Cairo last night to meet with their semel. They left without gaining Christophe’s permission to leave his land and so have violated the mandate of the sanctuary Avery granted them,” Domin explained, his eyes fluttering for a second when he flexed the muscles in his back. “Christophe is furious.”
“How do you know?” Yuri asked him.
“Because I just came from his home,” he said tiredly, walking over to the kitchen sink. When he reached it, he let out a deep breath, gripping the counter, and after a moment, he let his head fall forward. I turned to my mate. “He didn’t go alone, did he?”
Silence.
“You didn’t let him go see Christophe and Avery alone?”
When I saw the uncertainty on Logan’s face, how his eyes were slowly filling with dread, I felt my heart clench. “Logan?”
“I never… worry,” he said softly, “about him.”
And I understood. None of us ever concerned ourselves with Domin. He was savage and strong and he didn’t walk, he swaggered. I never thought of him as being vulnerable; none of us did. But seeing how he was standing, leaning, holding on, I was scared. “Shit,” Yuri said under his breath, moving to go to him. I put out a restraining hand. “Don’t.”
His eyes were on my face, but not for a moment did he think of disregarding my order.
“He’ll never let you,” I said under my breath. “He’s too proud.”
There was no doubt that I knew what I was talking about. Domin Thorne used to be the semel of his tribe, and now he was Logan’s second. And I knew he liked being a maahes, a prince, more than he like leading his own tribe, but that didn’t make what other people said to him any easier to bear. I knew from firsthand experience that Christophe and his men never missed an opportunity to rub Domin’s nose in the fact that instead of death he had chosen to willingly submit himself and his people to the rule of Logan Church. Even though it was the best decision for everyone, it didn’t stop the slurs and snide comments. I could only imagine what had happened when he had gone to the tribe of Pakhet to demand that they surrender Abbot George and his cohort to him. He would have had to fight for them to take him seriously, and from the looks of him, that was exactly what he’d done.
“Did they attack you?” I asked gently.
“No, I attacked them.”
“Without provocation?”
“There was enough on all sides so that Logan will not be hearing from Christophe on my behalf.”
I cleared my throat. “Did Avery come after you alone?”
“No,” he sighed. “That’s not his way.”
So Domin had been jumped far enough out of Christophe’s presence that he could claim he didn’t know what was going on.
“Domin,” Logan said gently, “tell me how many of them there—”
“Morning,” Koren announced as he barged into the kitchen, throwing open the swinging door. “Has anyone seen—”
“He’s right there,” I said, cutting him off, pointing over at Domin. I didn’t have to be told who he was looking for. He was always looking for Domin.
Whatever was going on between them, the rest of us could really only guess at. No one knew: we assumed we did; some of us hoped we did; others wondered, speculated; but we didn’t know. The truth was between the two of them. I could give voice to my dream, my wish, but even though Crane thought I could influence them, in reality I had no pull over either of them. None of us did, not even Logan.
Koren stopped like he’d suddenly come to the edge of a cliff, and I watched him stare at the long line of the man’s back for a moment before he charged across the room to him. “Don’t,” Domin warned him, turning his head to the left, away, as Koren moved up on his right. “Lemme look at you.”
“I’m fine,” he muttered. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
The accusation was there in the wounded tone and the defeated words. Koren had been running, and Domin wanted, needed someone to stay. It was time. I held my breath.
“I’m where I should be.”
Domin was silent. “Don’t be an ass.” Koren smiled slightly, leaning into Domin, rubbing his chin on the man’s shoulder and then his nose, smiling slightly as Domin shook his head. The emotion there on display eased the vise on my heart. No one could miss the familiarity between the two men.
“Don’t rub your scent all over me,” Domin groused at him.
“Why the hell not?” Koren grumbled back, the grin that the other man couldn’t see absolutely wicked. “I like you smelling like me.”
Domin grunted, but I saw the shiver, the first sign of the thaw. “I want everyone to smell me on you.”
“When did—I….”
I looked back at Logan, arching an eyebrow for him as he grinned sheepishly, rubbing his head. He had been clueless about the whole thing, which showed from his comment. “Where have I been?”
“Oblivious,” I assured my mate, smiling at him.
He lifted his eyebrows, sighing deeply. “Apparently so.”
Looking back at the two men whose relationship I had been losing sleep over, I saw Koren’s eyes drift closed. Domin’s scent was obviously intoxicating as he breathed the other man in. When Domin lifted his hand and buried it in Koren’s hair, leaning him into the crook of his neck, I felt a wave of relief flood over me. Domin drove me crazy. He fought me at every turn, and he was a smartass who took great delight in pointing out my flaws for everyone. And I liked him more with each passing day. Something about Domin brought out all my nurturing tendencies to protect and love. I wanted someone else to get it, get that the man was worth having, keeping, and by Koren’s actions, I felt like maybe, finally, he did. Logan cleared his throat. “Domin, tell me what happened when you went to see Christophe.”
He didn’t turn around, but his voice, when it came, sounded better, stronger. “Christophe told me that Kellen’s panthers ran. Their semel called, and they went. Why Kellen would call for them knowing that both of them, as well as him, have to answer to you for the attack on your reah, Christophe has no idea. Avery didn’t know either. All they did know was that now they too have to challenge Kellen Grant.”
“Because Avery, and so ultimately Christophe, is responsible for both panthers,” Mikhail sighed deeply. “God, what a mess.”
“Why would Kellen call his panthers to him knowing that they should face me?” Logan asked the room in general. “Isn’t it obvious? He doesn’t want them to face your wrath.” Domin sighed, tipping his head to the right as Koren pressed his lips, again, to the side of his neck. “Koren,” Peter Church said suddenly, his voice sharp, shrill. “May I—”
“No.” My voice was louder, deeper, with more than a thread of warning in it. I was aware of the eyes of everyone in the room. Only Domin and Koren weren’t looking at me. “I mean no disrespect, my reah,” Logan and Koren’s father began, “but he—”
“No.” I shook my head before I turned to lock my gaze with his. “To be named mate of the maahes of any tribe is a great honor. But to be named mate of a maahes who serves a semel-re is a gift.”
“But surely—”
“I know firsthand that not all tribes are like mine,” I told him, “like ours. But as the reah of my tribe, I promise you that should your son choose to be the mate of the maahes that it would be a great honor and no cause for anything but joy when that announcement is made.”
The older man searched my eyes, and after long minutes he looked away, unable to hold my gaze. “As you say.”
“You doubt it?” My voice rose because it felt like he was challenging me, and I couldn’t have that from anyone. “No.” He shook his head, looking back at me, his expression softening. “I simply deal with change slower than you, my reah.”
I nodded, allowing him to think he had placated me, my eyes flicking back to Koren, who was smiling at Domin in a way that left no doubt about what was between them. Seeing Domin’s trembling reaction, watching Koren straighten to his full height as Domin’s head sank sideways onto his shoulder, I caught my breath. Logan coughed, and I looked over at him, finding his discomfort over watching his younger brother finally give in to his desire for the man he loved absolutely endearing. “Yes?” Domin asked him, finally turning to face Logan, his arm sliding around Koren’s neck, tugging him close. They were so close in height, the two men, Koren only slightly taller, six-three to Domin’s six-two. It was nice that they could take turns leaning, one strong when the other was weak. “When is Christophe leaving for the feast?”
“He’s leaving tonight; he just had to wait for Evan to get back from visiting his family in Oregon before they left.”
“Of course he had to wait for Evan,” Yuri chimed in, seemingly completely unaffected by Domin and Koren’s display of affection. “No semel wants to be at the feast without his sylvan, someone who knows all the laws. There’s no forgiveness of protocol in front of the semel-aten, Ammon El Masry, or the priest of Chae Rophon and the council of Ennead.”
Logan reached for me, taking my hand, curling his fingers into mine.
“No, there’s not,” Mikhail agreed. “And I heard that the priest, Hamid Shamon, is even harder on breaches of etiquette than his predecessor was.”
“I heard that last year he had a yareah flogged,” Domin said softly.
“A yareah?” Logan asked, clutching my hand. “Why not the semel?”
“The semel did nothing to displease him.”
“But the semel could have taken his mate’s punishment.”
“Only if the priest allows it,” Domin clarified, “and he didn’t.”
“Holy shit.”
“He’s a true priest, Logan; he demands absolute devotion to the law.”
“If that’s true, then why in the world would Kellen take his men there? The priest will insist that he hand them over to me. That’s the law.”
“No,” I corrected him, “the law would be a challenge in the pit in front of the priest, and he’d choose what kind he’d want.”
“Explain that to me,” Logan said, looking down at me, his gold eyes absorbing my face. “A challenge in front of the priest of Chae Rophon and the council of Ennead is not like a normal challenge in the pit. A challenge there could be one of strength but could just as easily be reciting laws or a test of speed or whatever the priest wants to see exhibited. Sometimes he’ll punish or make odd requests, but usually it won’t be something that’ll kill you. He’ll have to explain to the priest in word and deed why he did what he did, but with you he’s dead. With the priest, it could be a lot of things but not normally death.”
“I heard that once the priest made a semel and his yareah have sex right there in the pit in front of him to prove their desire for one another.” Domin sighed, his eyes narrowing in half, the effect of having Koren close to him clearly overwhelming. “That’s profane; the man’s just a voyeur.”
“I’m sure he had his reasons,” I told Logan, “but the point is that if I were Christophe, I’d take my chances with the priest too.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re scary,” I assured him.
“What?”
I glanced at the others for backup.
“It’s true,” Yuri sighed. “I would not want to ever meet you one-on-one in the pit.”
“Me either,” Mikhail agreed.
“Yeah, me either,” Domin told him, “which was why I put it off for so long when I was faced with that decision. I don’t think you realize how frightening you are.”
Logan growled his frustration, and I understood. His choices were being taken from him. “Kellen Grant will hand his men over to me because if he doesn’t it’ll be his head I take.” I shivered.
“It can’t be helped, Jin.”
“They forfeited their lives the second they put their hands on you,” Yuri assured me, his eyes flat, cold, his voice devoid of feeling. “The only end they have is how well they choose to die in the pit.”
My mate nodded. “The moment we get to the feast, I will ask for an… audience… with the priest of… what are you doing?” He chuckled suddenly, looking at me.
“What?” I asked, distracted, smiling back. The way he was looking at me, how soft his eyes were, made my stomach flutter. “Why are you looking around?”
“Don’t you smell that?”
“Smell what?”
How could he miss it? I looked at Yuri. “Can you smell it?”
He shook his head. “What should I be smelling?”
“I only smell Domin,” Koren chimed in. I rolled my eyes.
“What is it?” Mikhail asked me. “What do you smell?”
I had no idea how they were missing it. I could taste the smell, it was so strong. “Really? You don’t smell that?”
“What is it?” Logan asked, reaching out to touch my hair. He couldn’t keep his hands off of me. “Like eucalyptus,” I said slowly, looking around. I knew the scent, but it made no sense in the kitchen, since there were no windows open, and as far as I knew, there were no eucalyptus trees on the entire mountain, much less our property. “I don’t—”
Logan was cut off when there was a slight whistle, and Yuri grunted before he turned to look at me and then sank to his knees, crashing hard to the floor. I went to move, but Peter and Mikhail collapsed around me. Delphine said my name and fell forward onto the table. Markel slumped sideways out of his chair, dropping to the floor. Turning my head, I saw that Koren had collapsed over a prone Domin. Ivan was crumpled beside the table, shattered glass and pooling orange juice around him. I was going to yell for Crane, to warn him, but Logan shoved me behind him, distracting me. Before I got my hands on him, wanting to touch him, he fell back against me, forcing me to my knees so I could guide him in his slow slide down my body to the tile floor. I clutched at him as the kitchen filled with eight men, all looking very normal in T-shirts, jeans, army boots, and—the oddity—Kevlar vests. They were all carrying rifles with scopes, and I noticed the darts then, instead of bullets, as one man loaded them. It was surreal, and I was terrified for myself, but even more so for Logan. “Get out of my house,” I ordered them instead of asking what they were doing there. I hardly cared; I just wanted them gone.
“We have come for you, reah,” one of them told me.
“Did you”—I had to swallow my fear as my eyes flicked down to Logan—“is it poison?”
“It’s a drug that will wear off,” another man promised me. “Fear not, reah, we were not paid to kill the semel.”
“My semel,” I corrected him as the men advanced on me. I put a hand over Logan’s heart, which I could feel beating strong and steady. It comforted me. “We’re here for you,” he said as he lifted his hand, leveling the gun at me. Trapped under Logan’s massive frame, I could barely move. Any attempt at escape would be futile. “Why?”
“Laurent Bruyere wants to see you.”
I caught my breath at the mention of the man’s name, a ghost from my past. The sting was only momentary; I felt a wave of heat an instant before my vision blurred and then went black.
