Mercy (3 page)

***

Iada stared at him, shocked beyond speech. Gabriel was speaking to her as if she’d been out prowling the streets of human cities preying on little children. She’d wanted to find out more about her husband before she was forced to confront him. Her uncles had always kept her apart and she’d been focused on her training to the point of almost absolute isolation this past year. Her plan had been to win the tournament and then her life could finally begin. She didn’t know what Gabriel was talking about. She didn’t know anything about him except that he was a mutant, a warrior, undeniably attractive and possibly insane.

Except she didn’t really believe that he was insane. She thought that she was beginning to understand—Gabriel’s accusations, snippets of overheard conversations between her uncles, the growing unease among the older warriors. It was possible that her uncles had decided to eliminate the mutants, at least those who could shift. She knew they feared exposure to the human world and that they considered the mutants a liability. They’d spoken once of the mutants organizing and Arturo had ordered Vin to look into it. It hadn’t concerned her then and she hadn’t paid it much attention. She didn’t think they’d spoken of it since.

If her suspicions were true—and that was still a big if—then what Gabriel planned was…noble. How her uncles would laugh over that. At least, they’d laugh over Gabriel’s corpse when this was done and that seemed wrong to her, wasteful.

She needed to be careful here but she couldn’t think clearly, distracted by the warm hand splayed over her hip, the fingers on her jaw that had gentled and were now softly stroking over her skin. The rain had plastered Gabriel’s dark hair to his head, catching on his thick lashes and running down his sculpted body like water over stone. Steam began to rise from his broad shoulders. Something deep within her that cared nothing for politics or position hummed in appreciation.
Mate.
She pushed that something down and shook her head to clear it.

The kind of selflessness that would make a man risk his life for such a cause didn’t really exist. It had been a very long time since she’d believed in such things. It was far more likely that Gabriel was here for the wealth, the position—for the power, just like everyone else. And he would use her to get it if she let him, just like everyone else.

“Less than a quarter of Yaguara-human pregnancies survive to term,” he was saying. “And of those children, few survive their first change, mostly because there is no one to guide them through it. It is a waste. I’ve been working to track those children to teach them of our kind and to let them know they are not alone. We make sure they have shelter, food, guidance when they need it.” He gave her a hard look and when she didn’t speak, he continued, “I won the tourney and the crown. They accept me, they accept the others like me. They deny me and the Yaguara will shatter.” The rough timbre of his voice was pitched low and laced with anger. A squirrel monkey screeched at the sound and shot away, rustling the branches above them, shaking water down on their heads.

Iada swiped the droplets from her forehead and raised her eyebrows. “
You
will destroy us?”

With every breath her nipples brushed against his skin. His chest was rain slick and ridged with muscle. She tried to ignore the jolt of attraction. Beautiful, strong, courageous and dumb as a water buffalo. He didn’t even realize yet that he was a dead man. She couldn’t keep from reaching up to touch the bruise on his cheekbone. She wondered if she’d been the one to give it to him. Her voice was gentle when she told him, “They will kill you, Gabriel, and choose a new king.”

His hand covered hers and he shook his head, ending the motion by brushing his lips against her palm. For one unguarded moment, she saw that his own action had surprised him and then that surprise melted into a warm, hungry look that twisted up her insides. Desire. She could see it plain and raw on his face. She could feel the pull of it herself. Could he have spared her for such a simple reason? It was what she’d assumed from the first. More likely than mercy in any case. But then why hadn’t he taken her when she offered herself? She’d spoken the truth. She was willing to claim him as her mate, even if it was only to be for a short time. Until her uncles managed to kill him. Her fingers curled into a fist and his hold tightened on her wrist.

“The Yaguara are a wandering people,” he said. “The only thing that binds them together is their ancient law. The same law by which I claimed the throne. Tell me again what will happen to your people should they reject a battle-crowned king.”

She closed her mouth and looked away. She’d not considered it in that light. Gabriel’s murder would be a grave violation of the most basic tenets of their civilization. But, of course, accidents did happen and Iada knew her uncles well. If Gabriel thought something as flimsy as honor would protect him, he was mistaken.

“So you plan to force the Yaguara to accept the mutants?”

“At least to accept their right to exist. There aren’t many, twenty or thirty shifters and their families. None who would want to live here that I know of. I want the shelters fully funded and the Yaguara to claim responsibility for their human children.”

“That’s why you risked your life in a bid for the throne?”

He paused for a moment then said roughly, “I came because of the fire.”

“What fire?”

The flash of anger in his eyes was sudden and fierce. “The one Vin ordered his men to start. A little girl died in that fire. She was only four years old.”

“They wouldn’t have done that,” she said automatically.

He shook his head in disgust. “One of the men they sent couldn’t go through with it and helped to clear the building instead of following orders.”

“So you say.”

“I’ll introduce you.”

Why would she believe a stranger? She opened her mouth to say so but just then the first hollow drumbeat rolled through the jungle, leaving a momentary hush in its wake. The celebration was beginning.

Gabriel put a hand on the small of her back and pushed her gently toward the trail leading back to the compound. “Come on. We don’t want to be late.”

***

Iada’s uncle had bought her an elegant gown in a deep sparkling green the color of leaves just after a drenching rain. Tonight they would dress as humans, dine as humans and celebrate as humans. Vin had a disturbing fondness for the luxuries of the human world. He’d even sent a woman to see to her hair and makeup.

Iada looked in the mirror and barely recognized herself. She hated the foreign dress and the way that it pulled at her legs when she walked, the inconvenient jewels that wrapped her at neck and wrists, the foul-smelling cosmetics and eye-stinging perfumes. Why did humans seek to disguise themselves like this? Were they so ashamed of who they were? To her eyes it made her look weak and uncertain, a stranger. She picked up a worn leather cord and slipped it over her neck, feeling the cold, smooth stone settle comfortingly between her breasts. The necklace looked out of place with the rest of her finery but she didn’t care. She would need all the courage she could find tonight.

She turned abruptly from the image, tossed the strange pointed shoes on the bed and left for the celebration. The throb of the drums accompanied her up from her underground rooms, onto the flat square plain hung with phosphorescent lights and up the narrow stairs to the flat-topped roof of the city, cleared for the occasion. They would allow the jungle to reclaim it over the next weeks to hide their presence from planes and satellites. Tonight it was crowded with people, with musicians, food and drink. The night was clear. The stars were bright and close enough to touch. A full moon slanted low in the sky, rising, casting silvery light over the tops of the trees, catching wisps of mist and making them glow.

She stood there for a moment to get her bearings. No one approached her. The crowd parted as she made her way forward to seek out her uncles. The rest would take their cue from that encounter. She frowned in annoyance. As much as she wished to reject Gabriel’s charge that she was her uncles’ pawn, she knew it was the plain truth. They all were. If she had any doubt before now, she could see the proof of it in the averted eyes, the bodies turned just so out of her path. She was an unknown factor until her uncles reaffirmed her status.

She saw no sign of her husband, their new king, who would be shunned more thoroughly than this. Even as she thought it, a warm hand pressed low on her back and she jumped.

“Steady,” Gabriel murmured as she turned to face him. His expression was guarded but he lifted his brows, half in question, half in challenge. “What will they think if you run so soon?”

She lifted her chin. “That you deserve it and that I’m a coward.”

“You’re not a coward,” he said, offering his arm. She hesitated, painfully aware of the watchful crowd. In an impulsive act of defiance, she snaked her arm through his and closed her fingers around his forearm. She felt the hitch in his step, felt his gaze snap to her face. She met his gaze calmly and nodded. Something flared there in his eyes, hot and fierce. She looked out again into the crowd, her eyes meeting those she had counted as friends or at least allies, accusing them, daring them to deny her. Some rose to the challenge of it, nodding back in acknowledgement, but most simply turned away.

Gabriel stopped walking when they reached the center of the crowd. She hated waiting. She wanted the confrontation with her uncles to be over. And while her instinct was to attack, rend and tear, she recognized the wisdom of waiting for your prey to approach. Her fingers tensed. “You have a plan, I hope?”

“Nope.” That cocky smile was back. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into the shelter of his body. His thumb stroked the bare skin of her arm, a subtle claim and mind snaring distraction. Through the thin fabric of his shirt, she could feel his heat. She could smell the scent coming off his skin. Unlike hers, his was free from the stink of fear. That too soothed her. She found herself leaning into him without realizing it.

“They won’t hurt you,” he told her.

Iada sucked in a shallow breath. Damn. Was she so transparent? If this stranger could sense her uneasiness, what would her uncles read from her? “You underestimate them.”

He turned his head to look down at her, gray eyes metal bright. “You underestimate me.”

She opened her mouth to answer but then noticed the crush of people parting like water before a shark fin. “They’re coming,” she whispered. “Brace yourself.”

She raised herself onto her toes, balanced herself against his broad solid chest and kissed him. She had intended to make a statement that she accepted this man as her mate, a clear challenge to the watchful crowd surrounding them. She had intended to make her uncles wait for their attention to prove a point, but as soon as Gabriel’s lips moved on hers, she was beyond all thought of political machination. She was beyond any thought at all except the slide of his tongue on hers, the sharp intentional abrasion of his teeth, the need that clouded doubt and reason.

Distantly she heard the sound of a dry cough from behind them. Gabriel’s hand caressed the nape of her neck, skimmed down over the exposed skin on her back to rest on her hip. His fingers pressed into her skin. With a soft growl, he pulled slowly away. She blinked up at him but he’d already turned to face her uncle. It took her several stuttering heartbeats to find the same composure.

It was her Uncle Vin and Aunt Marcella. Good, with her aunt present Vin did not plan to act now. There was still time to maneuver, time for her to learn more of Gabriel’s plans and choose a side. Uncle Vin smiled at her but his eyes were cold. She made the introductions and then stood slightly back to watch the exchange.

Vin’s eyes flicked her way and he said sharply, “Find Arturo.”

Gabriel’s hand at her waist held her firmly in place. He smiled, his eyes never leaving Vin’s face. “She is your queen,” he corrected almost gently.

Vin’s lips thinned in checked fury. Knowing that she played a dangerous game, Iada smiled briefly at Vin and then pointedly turned her attention to Gabriel. His fingers flexed on her hip in silent approval. She would need to be very careful. It would be foolish to throw her full support, her life and her future behind this stranger no matter how compelling his strength. On the other hand, if her uncles believed her to be nothing more than a broken pawn, they might decide to remove her along with Gabriel when this was done. And she enjoyed pushing back at Vin. She so rarely had the opportunity. She pressed a little nearer to Gabriel’s side just to watch the flare of outrage in her uncle’s eyes. “I’ll stay here, uncle. Send someone else to fetch him.”

“You are very like your sister,” Vin said to her. “I’ve never noted the resemblance so strongly as tonight.”

Her muscles snapped rigid beneath the blow. Gabriel’s thumb stroked along the back of her arm, a warning to stillness and a pledge of support in the gentle touch. She forced herself to relax. Gabriel spared her a brief look full of suppressed curiosity. He wouldn’t understand the insult her uncle had delivered and Iada didn’t want him to. Vin’s comment was as much an attack on Gabriel as it was on her. Her sister had been exiled for bearing a mutant child. She and Anna had never been particularly close, three years and Iada’s training separating them. But she loved Anna and mourned the loss. Stupid of Vin to provoke Gabriel so soon. They needed time.
She
needed time. Iada forced a smile to her lips. “Thank you.”

“Have you met our Anna?” Vin asked Gabriel conversationally.

“I have,” Gabriel said to Vin and then looked to Iada. “Your nephew is healthy and strong. She named the child Michael.” She blinked. She had a nephew, Anna was safe, and Gabriel had understood her exchange with Vin perfectly. He’d only wanted to see how she would react to the insult. While she processed that information, Gabriel’s attention shifted back to Vin. “I have a healthy respect for all of my wife’s relatives and will support their interests as they deserve.”

“That will be difficult to accomplish from beyond the jungle, will it not?” Arturo’s voice expressed only mild curiosity as he appeared suddenly at Iada’s elbow, forcing her to shift her body to allow him room. Gabriel’s feet remained firmly planted, not allowing even so subtle a deference. Iada had to slide her arm around Gabriel’s waist to keep her balance.