Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4) (6 page)

BOOK: Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4)
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“Yes, in the east wing. There’s also
one for the war god.”

“With your permission I’d like to open
it.”

“It belongs to the cult, that has long
been the agreement with my clan. However, I do not think anyone has been inside
in a couple of decades at least. I have no idea what kind of condition it’s
in.” He glanced at Kaal. “It may not be safe.”

“An excellent reason for us to inspect
it then,” she said lightly, turning to Eva and then Anna Leigh. “Would you
ladies like to join me?”

Next to her, Xan was very still. She
squeezed his hand.
“Is there a reason I
shouldn’t? Does it imply commitment or allegiance to the cult?”

“No,”
he said, squeezing back.
“It’s just…a
reminder.”

“Of
what?”
                        

His answer was short and curt, didn’t
invite more questions.
“My mother and
sister.”

She heard the pain and loss he tried
to hide. Wanted to comfort him but didn’t know how.

“That
you want to is enough,”
he whispered in her mind.

But she knew the truth. It wasn’t
enough. The bond they shared demanded she do more. Not with an audience,
however. With a reluctance that surprised her, she let his hand go and nodded
at Siana and Eva.

“Let’s go have a look,” she said.

As she turned to leave, Xan questioned
Barak. “Where are Xiri and Mikail?”

She froze. Feeling the barely
restrained fury in his mind, she told the other women to go on without her. “I’ll
see it later,” she said softly.

When they left she slipped her hand
back into Xan’s. She couldn’t leave him alone when he confronted his cousin. He
wouldn’t leave her to face Zola’s censure on her own.

“Xiri is in one of the guest
apartments. She rarely ventures out. Mikail is in the dungeon. I forgot you had
one here. Came in handy,” Barak said.

If the situation weren’t so dire Anna
Leigh was certain Barak might have joked about it.

“Xiri’s protector?”

“Waiting for you.”

“We’ll see them first.”

Barak nodded then waved over his
shoulder. A warrior pushed through the waiting crowd. She guessed he was about her
daughter’s age. He looked severe but she thought she saw a hint of relief in
his eyes. He saluted by thumping his closed fist over his heart.

“My lord. It is good to see you home.”

He nodded. “Goran. This is my
der’lan
, Anna Leigh.”

The gaze that met hers was curious,
but he asked no questions. “Welcome to the stronghold, my lady.”

“Thank you.”

“Take us to Xiri,” Xan ordered.

Goran nodded sharply and led the way
inside. They entered an enormous space. She was reluctant to call it a lobby
but foyer was a gross understatement. It was almost as austere inside as out. The
floors were stone and several halls branched in various directions. A massive
curved staircase was in the middle of the space. She counted three stories.
Colorful, but obviously old tapestries covered much of the blank wall space on
the ground floor. There were warriors everywhere she looked. She recognized the
Bana markings on the majority. They entered a wide hallway near the entrance on
the right, and in another few feet got on an elevator. They exited on the third
floor and turned left.

“Protector?”
Anna Leigh asked.
“Wouldn’t that make him
one of Mikail’s men?”

She didn’t sense any deceit in Goran,
knew Britt had vetted him, but she hadn’t looked in his mind herself. Xan shook
his head.

“Mikail
didn’t care who protected her. He gave the task of finding someone to me. I
would like to know how he survived the attack when she was kidnapped, however.”

“Why
aren’t you asking?”

“I
want to see them together.”

She heard disapproval in his mental
tone, but she couldn’t discern the source or get a chance to ask before they
stopped in front of a door. After a brisk knock Goran entered. She and Xan
followed. A young woman walked in from a balcony to greet them. She looked
fragile and exhausted, the circles under her eyes almost as dark as her long
black hair. Smiling, she stepped forward.

“Xan.”

He hugged her. “How are you, princess?”
he asked softly.

Anna Leigh was stunned. She’d never
seen him so gentle. It was obvious the woman was important to him.

“We
cherish our females,”
he whispered into her mind.
“What her brother did is unforgiveable.”

She felt the depth of his rage and
guilt and determination. The fury at Mikail. The guilt because he’d left Xiri
at the mercy of someone else. Determination to keep her--and the rest of the
weaker members of the clan--safe. There was also a surprising tenderness in the
way he held his young cousin. It was an unexpected facet of his personality and
she found herself more drawn to him that ever.

“Remember
that when I make you angry.”
His voice slid into
her mind, teasing and sexy.

He released Xiri and led her to one of
the two sofas facing each other in the middle of the room. Goran moved to sit
next to her, while Xan and Anna Leigh sat opposite them.

“Tell me what happened,” Xan ordered
the warrior, no gentleness left now that he was focused on someone else.

“I went on a supply run with two of
the other warriors.”

“Why weren’t they being delivered?”
Xan interrupted.

“It was for replacement parts. We
didn’t have time to wait for someone to bring them to us,” Xiri answered.

Her hand covered Goran’s clenched fist
and the warrior relaxed a little. Anna Leigh watched them closely. They were
obviously close but she didn’t sense the
der’lan
bond. Surprising given the way Goran looked at her, the way he subtly shifted
as if preparing for an attack against her. She felt Xan’s disapproval.

“Why would you go on the supply run
and leave your
der’lan
to the care of
others?” he asked softly. Dangerously.

Xiri gasped. Paled and tried to put
some distance between herself and Goran. He just moved with her. Anna Leigh
glanced at Xan to see him watching them with the narrowed eyes of a hunting
predator. Xiri lifted her chin.

“I don’t want a mate, Xan. You can’t
force me to take one.”

Silently, Anna Leigh applauded the
girl’s stubbornness. She got the feeling Xiri was going to need it.

“We’ll get back to that,” Xan said in
a tone that screamed dominance and command. Xiri flinched and Goran grew even tenser.
“What happened after he left? Was Mikail there?”

Xiri nodded. “He had a platoon of
warriors with him. They attacked from every side. Took me and the other
scientists hostage and stole our prototypes.”

“One of was destroyed in the Green
Zone,” Goran commented.

Xan nodded. “We saw the vid.”

One of the cloaking devices Xiri’s
team had developed had been used to hide a vehicle the rebels used in the
attack against Zola and Parker. Zola had turned one of its missiles back and
blew it up.

“Mikail brought you here?”

“Yes. He wanted our research and
schematics.” Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “We destroyed it all when the
alarm sounded. It’s not recoverable and we refused to cooperate.”

She paused, her expression turning sad
and fearful. Goran put his arm around her shoulders, tugged her close. Anna
Leigh was surprised the younger woman didn’t protest. Sighing, Xiri leaned into
the embrace. Anna Leigh wondered if she and Xan would ever be that comfortable
together. He chuckled in her mind. Moved his hand to squeeze the nape of her
neck. The bond between them pulsed with amusement and heat and…contentment? She
wasn’t sure.

“What happened when you returned from
the supply run?” Xan asked Goran, who looked back with self-recrimination.

“They shot us down, knocked us out
while we were dazed, and brought us here to join the rest of the hostages.”

“You were confined?”

Goran nodded. Xan didn’t seem
suspicious so why did she feel the need to enter his mind to see the truth for
herself? Xan squeezed her hand.

“He
is no traitor. I’d trust him with my life. Hell, even after this I trust him
with Xiri’s.”

It was a gentle reminder that she was
letting the paranoia of her old life bleed into this one. She didn’t need to
see shadows everywhere here.

“What will you do with Mikail?” Xiri
asked in a small, scared voice.

“You know the penalty for his crimes.”

So did Anna Leigh. Death. But though Xan
may grant the other rebels in the dungeons a quick death, she suspected
Mikail’s would be slow and ugly. Eyes downcast, Xiri nodded. Anna Leigh felt
bad for her, but she kept quiet since she didn’t disagree with Xan’s plan to
execute him. They talked a few more minutes then left to see Mikail.

The dungeon did not live up to its
name. It was an underground prison, yes, but it wasn’t dark, dank, or dirty. It
was also eerily quiet. They were met by several guards and escorted down one
long corridor that dead ended in another. From there they walked by several
cells before stopping in front of one near the end.

Mikail Bana had his back to them. He
stood shirtless in bare feet, sneering when he turned and met Xan’s gaze. He
had a few fading bruises but otherwise looked fine. Anna Leigh realized Barak
had left him alone for Xan to deal with however he saw fit.

“Finally got what you wanted, huh,
Xan?” He held his hands out expansively as if presenting a gift. “The Bana clan
is yours.”

“And I’ll care for it better than you
have.”

“By bending to the Traces and Torfas,”
he said derisively.

“By acting with honor,” Xan countered.

If Mikail had a comment about that he kept
it to himself. “So how am I to die?”

“With zero attention.”

“I have the right to a public trial.”

Xan shook his head. “If there was any
doubt of your guilt, maybe. However, there is no doubt.”

Mikail’s disdain was palpable. His
contempt clear on his face and the taunt easy to see in his eyes. And Xan…though
he didn’t show it, he was enraged. When he motioned the guard to open the cell,
Anna Leigh almost stepped forward to stop him. He motioned everyone else to
back off and then he punched his cousin. It became clear in the next few
seconds that though Mikail might have been a clan chief by birth, he was
absolutely the wrong choice. Xan laid him out with the third punch and the
idiot was smart enough to not stand up. Anna Leigh repressed a wince at a final
kick that landed on his kidneys. When Xan stepped back he had blood on his
hands and a look on his face that said he expected rejection. But she couldn’t
judge him on his actions. She’d do the same to anyone who threatened her
people.

“You
should clean up before we see any of the others,”
she said telepathically.

Maintaining his reserve, Xan stepped
out of the cell and turned back to look at his cousin, who’d backed against the
wall and offered no protests though his eyes were filled with hate. Anna Leigh
recognized the type. He’d used his position to enforce his word. Wasn’t used to
opposition, but like most bullies he buckled under a stronger force.

“Let’s go,” Xan said aloud, and took
her hand.

Minutes later they entered a suite
that was nothing like the parts of the stronghold she’d seen so far. There were
plush carpets on the stone floors and thick comfortable looking couches in the
center of the room. On the opposite wall French doors opened onto a large
patio. To their right was a kitchen and dining area. On the left she could see
the bedroom through the open door.

“Was he using these rooms? Because
that would just be weird.”

“No,” Xan said. “The stronghold
belonged to my father as the second son. Since my uncle only had one son, and
he had no sons, it remained mine. I grew up here.”

His tone was so modulated she knew
there was a lot more to the story. He walked through the living area and into the
spacious bedroom, then to the attached bath, pulling off his shirt as he went. She
trailed behind him, wondering why the stronghold made him sad.

“You grew up here, but you don’t live
here do you?”

He reached into the shower and turned
on the water. Then sat on a stool and removed his boots and socks. Standing, he
popped the snap on his pants and slid them down. As usual she held her breath
at her first glance of him in all his naked glory. The man was magnificent, and
he knew it. He turned to the sink and washed his hands, giving her the perfect
opportunity to stare at his ass.

“You’re overdressed, love,” he said,
watching her in the mirror. He shut the water off and faced her.

BOOK: Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4)
12.12Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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