Royal Obsession (9 page)

Echo, you remember what Mistress Gowan taught us, don’t you?

Of course. And say no more. Varrik might not be the only one who can—

Varrik? His name is Varrik? What else have you learned of him? I’ll pass it on to Father.

Unwanted guilt bubbled to the surface as she quickly related what she’d learned. He couldn’t expect her to keep his secrets when he treated her like— He’d treated her with his own twisted sort of honor. He’d stayed true to his vow even as desire consumed him.

You can sense Mystic compulsions. Has he attempted to manipulate your mind?

Echo would love to blame her wanton behavior on some Mystic compulsion, but she hadn’t sensed an uninvited presence in her mind.
If he has, I didn’t sense a thing
.

A long pause followed. Echo was about to shield her mind when E’Lanna asked,
Should I tell Father what’s happened to you? He doesn’t realize you’ve been abused
.

Now there was a loaded question. Only at the very beginning had she felt Varrik was forcing himself on her and her terror had been enough to make him stop. A heated shiver danced along her nerve endings as she thought about last night. He’d used carnality with ruthless skill, but she’d chosen to get into bed with him.

I don’t see the point in telling Father
, she finally answered E’Lanna’s question.
It sounds like we’re on our own anyway, unless we can figure out where we are
. Unlike E’Lanna, Echo couldn’t filter her emotions. She either transmitted or she shut down.
I need a few minutes alone
. She slammed her shield into place before E’Lanna could sense the confusion seething inside her.

She tugged against the cuffs then looked for a manual release. There had to be a safety mechanism. What happened if Varrik never returned to open them? She needed a shower. She needed to pee. No, she needed to find a way out of the Shadow Maze! She’d enjoyed her stay of execution. He wouldn’t grant her another.

It didn’t matter that he saw this as a noble quest. She would not be the sacrificial lamb needed to secure his future.

A perfunctory tap drew her attention to the privacy panel a moment before a blonde woman entered. She balanced a tray on one hip and had a bundle tucked under her other arm. Her neck and the left side of her face were marred by a faded burn. A similar scar crawled from her right cheek to her temple.

“I’m Aila.” She set her burden down on the table and returned to secure the door.

Echo held the sheet against her breasts, a heady mixture of hope and distress speeding her pulse. There was no reason for Aila to lock the panel unless she intended to release Echo from the cuffs. Tall and curvy, Aila’s body would appeal to most men. Still, Echo couldn’t help wondering how much of her skin had been ruined by the fire.

As a pleasure giver, Aila could easily imagine all the things Varrik had done and all the things he intended to do. Shame curled around Echo, heating her cheeks and tightening her belly. She took a deep breath and rejected the humiliation. The situation was beyond her control.

“E’Lanna said you’ve been kind to her,” Echo began. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness. If there’s anything we can do to repay your kindness, please let me know.”

Aila smiled, her blue eyes sparkling. “You’re going to have to get some of the royal starch out of your collar if you hope to survive down here. You are both disgustingly polite.” She motioned toward the table. “I brought food, but I suspect you’d like to shower first.”

Refusing to think about what led Aila to that conclusion, Echo held up her cuffed wrists. “Can you free me?”

“I can deactivate the cuffs if the door is locked, but the door only unlocks if you’re in the cuffs. So don’t bother knocking me out. You’ll just piss off Varrik.”

“I understand.”

Aila crossed to the wall against which the bed sat and flipped over a small control panel. “Manual release,” she said and a scanner beam passed over her eye. The wrist cuffs deactivated, and Echo tossed them aside. “The utilities are automated once I scan open the door.”

Dragging the sheet with her, Echo followed Aila across the room. Aila picked up the bundle as they passed the table and handed it to Echo.

“Thank you,” she said automatically.

“There you go again.” Aila shook her head.

“You didn’t kidnap me. Why should I be rude to you?”

Aila shrugged and scanned open the door. “I’m not used to your level of courtesy.”

Echo didn’t comment. E’Lanna said Aila was here of her own free will. Why would she remain in this—place if she was mistreated?

Aila remained in the outer room, offering Echo privacy she hadn’t expected. The bundle consisted of a simple, nearly shapeless dress and wool slippers. Towels were neatly stacked on a shelf near the shower stall, as well as assorted combs and disposable teeth strips.

Dropping the sheet, she used the toilet, then stepped into the shower. After a short pause, a fine mist coated her body and dampened her hair. She rubbed her skin, creating fragrant foam. The hot blast of water would have been welcome, but the multipurpose mist worked even better. It would clean and condition her hair, and deodorize her body in a matter of seconds.

As the foam evaporated on her skin, she worked it through her hair with a wide-toothed comb. Last, she wrapped a strip around her index finger and vigorously scrubbed her teeth. She dropped the strip to the floor of the shower, where the mist residue dissolved it.

She was nearly dry by the time she stepped from the shower. The towel absorbed what little remained of the mist, and she slipped the dress on over her head. Running the comb through her hair one last time, she turned toward the privacy panel with a sigh.

Aila was seated at the table where she’d placed the tray, legs crossed, foot gently bobbing. She looked bored and a bit curious. Echo focused on her eyes, trying to see beyond her scars. “What’s on the menu?”

“Nothing fancy. Bread, cheese, fruit, and water.”

The bread had already been sliced and the fruit cut into bite-size pieces. They weren’t taking any chances. “How do you get fresh fruit if the complex is underground?” The level of technology in the Shadow Maze had surprised Echo as well. One question at a time.

“Some of it’s grown in greenhouses. They hunt for the rest.”

“Steal it, don’t you mean?” Aila just smiled, so Echo slid the tray closer and began to eat. “How long have you been down here?”

“Eleven cycles, I think. Time is a lot less relevant in the Shadow Maze.”

“Were you bagged during a hunt, or is the process different for pleasure givers?”

It took a long time for Aila to answer. Her gaze clouded with myriad emotions and her expression tensed. “Most of the pleasure givers aren’t Ontarian. They’re recruited from other planets and contracted for three to five cycles.”

“Are their memories scrambled before they’re returned to their home worlds?”

“Of course. No one leaves the maze with memories that could endanger the occupants.”

“You’re Ontarian. How did you come to be here, and why do you stay?”

Aila tucked a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear. “Where’s your royal courtesy now?”

“A question is simply a request for information. You can always tell me to mind my own business.”

“You might look exactly like E’Lanna, but your personalities are very different.”

Echo chuckled and bit into a slice of bread. “An observation or a criticism?”

“An observation.” Aila’s perceptive gaze moved over Echo’s face before she went on. “I was huddled in the burnt-out ruins of what had once been my home when a hunting party happened upon me. It was dark, and they couldn’t really see me. By the time they got me to the maze, it was too late.”

“Why didn’t they return you to…”

“The world above?”

Echo nodded, refusing to assimilate their terminology.

“Because Varrik knew I would die. He looked into my eyes and recognized the desolation of someone who had lost everything.”

“Who did you lose in the fire?” Aila was casting Varrik in the role of hero. Echo resisted the idea and focused on the shadows in Aila’s gaze.

“My life mate and our two children.” Aila glanced toward the door, inadvertently displaying the worst of her scars. “I’d stopped eating and did nothing to care for my wounds. I was beyond caring if I lived yet too cowardly to end my life. Varrik spent nearly a cycle returning me to health. When spring came, the elders offered to return me to the world above. I asked what I had to do to remain in the maze.”

“You didn’t want to leave Varrik?”

“It was more complicated than that. I was no longer part of the world above, yet I had no desire to start over somewhere else. The elders told me I had to enter the lottery or make myself available as a pleasure giver.”

“What’s the lottery?” Echo was almost afraid to ask. So many of their customs were…unusual.

“When a man is ready to fulfill his obligation to the maze and produce a son, he submits his name for placement in the lottery.”

Fulfill his obligation to the maze? Echo kept her comment to herself, but her gaze narrowed.

“The hunters bring back young, healthy women, and the men choose according to their placement.”

“Delightful.” She pushed the tray back, glad she had finished most of the simple meal before Aila got too far into her explanation. “If E’Lanna isn’t pregnant, will she be put in this lottery?”

“Yes.”

Echo accepted the answer with a stiff nod, more determined than ever to find a way out of the maze. “Why did you choose to become a pleasure giver rather than enter the lottery?”

Aila smiled. “What’s the first thing you saw when you looked at me?” She didn’t wait for Echo to reply. “My scars have faded a lot since I left the world above. If I had entered the lottery, the unlucky man who was left with no option but to choose me would have resented a ruined mate. As it is, I have shelter and solitude because
very
few men can be bothered with a scarred pleasure giver.”

They lapsed into silence as Echo finished the glass of water. Aila had no interest in leaving the maze, so what could she offer in exchange for her help? Varrik obviously trusted her, and Aila had good reason to be loyal.

“You’ve chosen this life.” Echo kept her gaze downcast, waiting for just the right moment to judge Aila’s reaction. “E’Lanna and I were brought here against our will. We have a life in the world above. Can you understand our desire to be free of the maze?”

“You’ll be returned to the life you knew as soon as you fulfill your purpose.”

Echo had to rein in her temper before she met the other woman’s gaze. “My purpose has nothing to do with the Shadow Maze.”

“I know Varrik explained what he is trying to do.” Conviction burned in her eyes. “His entire life has been conflict and pain, while you have never known hardship. Is this really so great a sacrifice?”

“You tell me,” Echo snapped. “You had two children. How would you have reacted if someone tried to take them from you? Would you have meekly bowed to the custom, knowing you would never see them again?”

“It’s not as simple as what you or I want. This might be our only hope of bringing change to the world below.”

Echo didn’t bother arguing with her. Aila was clearly a devoted disciple. If Varrik were really committed to changing his way of life, he could seek political asylum or… Varrik’s brother had been executed for opposing the elders. Then how did Varrik expect his son to succeed where his brother had failed? She raked her hair with both hands and heaved an exasperated sigh.

She couldn’t allow herself to care about the “conflict and pain” he had suffered. She had to get E’Lanna out of the maze. It was now or never.

“I’m sorry to take advantage of your compassionate nature,” Echo said softly. “I really am.”

Aila’s brows drew together and her lips parted. Echo slammed the tray into the side of her head, preempting her response. Edible debris scattered, and Aila fell over sideways. Echo grabbed her chair, rushing toward Aila in case the tray hadn’t done the trick.

Clutching her head with both hands, Aila moaned, blinking repeatedly. Echo tossed the chair aside and grabbed the front of Aila’s dress, dragging her to her feet. She swayed, leaning heavily on Echo as she guided her to the bed.

“This won’t accomplish anything.” Her words sounded muffled and somewhat slurred.

Echo ignored the prediction and snapped the cuffs around her wrists. “Where are the holding cells?”

Aila snorted. “You can’t get out of this room, much less find your sister.”

“Then you have nothing to lose by telling me.”

“I would rather die than betray Varrik’s trust.” She pushed the chain tether out of her way and curled up on her side.

Shit!

Echo touched the side of Aila’s head and quickly scanned her memories. Then she crossed to the main privacy panel, staying just out of scanner range. She paused, centering her energy, and tuned out her surroundings. She pictured Aila, meticulously recreating the shape of her face and the intricate color of her eyes. Waiting until the memory was perfect, she transformed into Aila’s likeness.