Starwalker (Starborn 1) (Sci-Fi Fantasy Romance) (14 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Gilleth stared at the commander like he’d lost his senses.

“Go home? You expect me to go home? With my mate lost in the city somewhere with a Helix soldier? You must be senile, old wren.”

The commander’s jaw ticked, but his voice came forward, deceptively calm. “The borders are sealed tight. No one is allowed in or out of the city. The Guard is searching for her. All there is for you to do is wait. I suggest you do that at home.”

“Yeah? Well, you can take your suggestion and shove it up your haunch. I’m not going anywhere until I know Emma’s safe.”

The commander blew out a long breath.

“Where the hell is Breckken?” Gill asked. Or Canna for that matter. The maiden wouldn’t wait around for Emma to show up. She’d be looking for her.

“His location has not yet been determined.”

“Have you checked his maiden’s castle?”

The commander didn’t answer, but looked to one of the guards.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. You didn’t check the maiden’s home? You’re a bunch of idiots. Yet,
I’m
not good enough to be a guard. Imbeciles!”

He turned and stalked away from the group, going in the direction of Canna’s home.

Once there, he pounded on the door, careless of the early morning hours. This was too important.

A sleepy attendant answered, but was hesitant to allow him entrance.

“Is the wren, Breckken here? It is important that I speak with him and cannot find him at his home.”

The wary maiden’s eyes darted left then right before she answered. “I believe he is with our maiden this morning, but I cannot allow you to interrupt them.”

Oh, the beast. Gilleth could hardly believe Breckken had convinced the cold female to give him a chance.

“It’s of grave importance. His commander seeks him. Please,” he implored. “Let me fetch him.”

She glanced over her shoulder, contemplating. Then she nodded and quickly ushered him inside.

“Top of the stairs,” she whispered.

Gilleth took them two at a time. At the top, he pounded on the only door. “Breckken! Wake up, you bastard.”

There was no answer. He rattled the door handle, but it was locked.

“Breckken!” he called, slapping his palm against the filigreed ice.

Attendants came running, followed by Rowene, but Gilleth ignored them. He wasn’t leaving until Breckken and Cannalise knew of Emma’s abduction.

***

Helix D shivered in the underground bunker. There was no ket to warm her, and both she and the target struggled to maintain body temperature. But being underground was necessary.

They hadn’t made it past the borders before they were sealed by the Nova Guard. If they could hold out a few days, they could be trafficked out by the spies. But there wouldn’t be breaking any cover. The spies were too necessary to the cause. More so than even the target.

The wooden door to the crawl space rattled above them. The sequence of knocks told Helix D it was a spy with information for her.

She glanced at the target, huddled in a corner of the small space. The maiden’s heart beat. It began after Helix D blasted the door of her castle with nitron. The wren with her had been thrown by his sudden working organ and hadn’t been able to fight the Helix off. Otherwise, she might not have gotten away. The look in the wren’s eye was lethal. He would’ve been tough to best.

The target glared at the Helix as she stood to open the hatch. She only lifted it a fraction. Just enough to see which of the spies had come. She had to be careful, since the target knew the faces of the citizens, and was even close to one of their best.

The weathered female on the other side of the hatch bent low to the ground to whisper through the crack. “I have new instructions for you. Direct from Davian. You are to turn yourself in to the Nova Guard at dark.”

Helix D’s heart sank. If Davian wanted her to give herself up, it meant she’d failed. It meant he was done with her. That she was of no use to him anymore. He probably meant to use her as a distraction so the spies could get the target out of the city.

Her teeth came down on her lower lip as she struggled not to weep.

“I-I only need more time. I can complete the mission—”

“No,” the voice hissed. “It is an order. Turn yourself in at dark.”

An order. Did she have any option but to obey? If only she could see him one last time, perhaps she could get through to him.

“And what of the hex?”

“Of course you mustn’t succumb to it. If you die, our leader would die.” Their heartbeats were entwined indefinitely.

“So I am to become a prisoner then?”

“For the cause,” the spy confirmed.

Helix D’s chest ached. Betrayed by her mate. She wasn’t all too surprised. She was less his mate and more his subordinate.

“And the target?”

“Release her.”

Helix D frowned. Release the target? None of this made sense. Perhaps this was a trick?

“I want a confirmation,” she demanded.

The spy huffed. “He said you would,” she muttered, ruffling in the pocket of her robe. Hurriedly, she shoved a piece of fabric through the crack in the door.

Helix D recognized it. It was the scarf she’d worn the night Davian had taken her from the Lands to be his. Tears pricked her eyes. It smelled like him, and held such sweet memories of those first few years. Before he changed. Before he gave up on her.

She held the strip of chenille to her face, inhaling the scent of her mate. She’d never see him again. Not unless he was captured by the Nova Guard. But Davian was too smart for that. This was his goodbye.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn’t care. What was a moment mourning her loss, for what she was about to do? Seemed only fair.

“Very well, then,” she murmured. “It will be done. At dark.”

She pushed the fabric back through the door. They wouldn’t let her keep it in the prison anyway.

“Very well.”

She closed the hatch. Closed the door on her life as she knew it. Closed the door on her hopes for a better tomorrow.

***

Breckken came awake to the scuffle outside Canna’s room. She lay sound asleep in his arms, her mouth slightly open on a snore. He had a moment to appreciate the sight before reality set in.

He shook her awake. “Canna,” he whispered. “Wake, my maiden, something is amiss.”

She sat up, immediately alert and scanning the room.

Breckken jumped from the bed, already pulling on his pants.

“It is Gilleth,” she hissed, marching for the door.

Breckken yanked her back, by the arm. Her fiery look stopped his words, but then he managed. “Your robes. Dress first.”

Her eyes widened and she nodded, pulling her clothes from the shelf and hastily putting them on.

When her body was adequately covered, Breckken opened the door to a sneering Gilleth.

“You
bastard
. Where’s your medallion?”

Breckken frowned. “What is wrong with you?”

His face crumbled, transforming from a scowl to defeated. “They have her. The Helix. They have Emma.”

Breckken looked at Canna. Her face had gone impossibly paler. “You told me she was well guarded.” Her tone waivered, shock and accusation mixing.

“Five guards were dispatched to protect her.”

How could this have happened?

“Yeah, well, they didn’t get there in time,” Gilleth said. “She’s gone, and we have to find her.”

Canna nodded, collecting her bow and arrows, and strapping on her boots. Breckken followed suit, donning his weapons and robe… and the medallion which glowed red alternating with purple.

Damn it. He should have notice it.

He caught Canna’s gaze on the signal and his stomach sank. He knew what she was thinking.

“Give us a minute, Gill.”

She frowned.

“A minute? I’ve given you plenty. We must go
now
.”

“Give us a minute,” Breckken barked.

Gill grumbled something Breckken couldn’t decipher, and slammed the door on his way out.

Breckken stared at Cannalise.

“What are we doing?” she urged. “We need to find Emma immediately.”

“Don’t do that.” He stepped closer to her, but she backed toward the door.

“Do what, wren? We need to—”

He pushed her up against the door, planting his palms on either side of her, invading her space. He stared down at her. They weren’t leaving until they got this straight. “Don’t
regret
.”

Her mouth opened to argue, but then her face crumpled. “I should have been guarding her.”

He took her face in his hands, brushing her cheeks with his thumb. “Five, Canna. Five guards were dispatched. And Gilleth. There is nothing you could have done to stop this.”

She nodded, but didn’t look convinced.

“We’ll get Emmalyn back. We’ll find this Helix, and make her pay.”

“I’ll kill her for this,” she vowed.

Breckken kissed her hard on the lips. “Let us go.”

He took her hand and led her down the winding staircase.

When they came up behind Gill, Breckken realized the extent of why his friend was in such a panic.

“Gill. Your neck…” he breathed.

Gill swung around. “I know,” he fumed. “It’s her. Emmalyn. She’s
mine
. The Fates think they can play games and no one will get hurt. Well, fuck them. Fuck them to the end of the star.”

One of the attendants gasped at his curse.

“Let us go,” Canna said, and together they set out to find Gill’s maiden.

Chapter Fifteen

They had searched the entire day, going door to door, and looking in out-buildings. Any place that could hide two maidens was searched. They’d questioned countless citizens. Some who wouldn’t even look at Canna. But there was no sign of Emmalyn or the mystery Helix.

And it hadn’t been easy. The people of An`gel were scared. Because of the Nova Guard, the city saw so little crime. And any wrong done was forgotten after a year’s time. They hardly even remembered the crime done to Canna’s family. If you asked them to tell you the story of how the Kingdom fell, what you’d likely get is a fairytale.

When the sun shone on An`gel it erased the darkness altogether. And the sun had been shining for too long. There had been too many years of good and plenty. Now, thrown into the midst of this blackness, the people knew not what to do.

Canna looked to the walls of the city. Ice coated every crevice. The bars of the gates were now a solid, shiny sheet of frozen wall. Nova guards paced the perimeter, icers in hand, searching for any crack that needed filling.

No, Emma had not left the city. But she was also nowhere to be found.

So when Canna spotted her friend from her vantage point on the bridge, she was sure it was her hope giving her visions.

She squinted against the muted rays of the setting sun. The maiden was too far away to confirm, but she stumbled down the street toward the fountain. Toward the crowds of people gathered in worry.

“Gilleth!” Canna shouted at the wren who was frantically questioning Star Dwellers down below.

His head came up, and she pointed in the direction of the maiden. He turned to look, but his eyes didn’t see what she saw. Still, the female shuffled through the crowd in their direction.

“What is it?” Breckken asked, pulling his medallion from his robe for the hundredth time. There was no change. It alternated between glowing red and purple. Like the angriest Brilliette sky.

“There,” Canna pointed. “That maiden. Could she be Emmalyn?”

Breckken peered at the stumbling female, skeptical, but then suddenly his face lit up.

“Gilleth,” he yelled, moving around Canna and running down the bridge. “It’s her!”

Gill ran, shoving the wren he’d been talking to out of the way. But before he could reach her, guards converged on the fountain area cutting off his path. So many of them. More than Canna could count in a single pass.

She heard Breckken curse and then he ran, full out, leaping over the side of the bridge when he’d reached the end close enough to the ground.

Canna ran to help, but there were too many Dwellers. She couldn’t see the threat. Didn’t know if her wren was in danger. Or her friend. She didn’t know where her help was needed.

She pushed through the crowd until she could clearly see the Nova Guard facing off with… a single female Helix.

Their weapons were drawn, commands were shouted. But the offending female had her hands in the air in surrender.

Canna frowned. This wasn’t right. Something was off. Since when did the Helix simply surrender?

Canna scanned the area, her eyes landing on Ula. The older maiden wrung her hands, watching the situation with worried eyes. But like Gill had said. Ula wasn’t a worrier. Perhaps Emma’s abduction had rattled her.

Turning back to the Helix, Canna watched as the female followed the instructions shouted at her. Her face was blank of emotion, or… no, Canna recognized that look. She was defeated in her spirit. It wasn’t that she had no reaction, it was that her reaction wouldn’t matter. The outcome was set already.

This was planned. This surrender wasn’t accidental. Emma hadn’t escaped, nor had the Helix been caught.

She watched as the Helix let herself be hexed and bound for transport, the crowd gasping as she fell to the ground limp. Mothers covered their children’s eyes. Father’s sheltered their families as they turned their own heads.

It was a
hex
. There wasn’t even any blood spilled.

When had the citizen’s of An`gel become so
weak
?

In her father’s time, they were fighters. They were respected. The wrens and maidens alike. When they said no water to the Lands, it was law.

Gilleth pushed through the murmuring crowd until he reached Emma. In a swift move, he lifted her into his arms, all but growling when the guards tried to question her.

Canna wanted to check on her as well, but clearly now was not the time. Gilleth and Emma had a mating to work out.

Canna jumped when Breckken’s warm hand landed on her arm. She still was not used to being touched at random.

He bent to her ear. “Are you well, my maiden?”

She shook her head, her mind scrambling to piece things together. “Something is…”

“Not right,” he whispered. She turned to look at him, but he was scanning their surroundings. “Yeah, I know. Let us get home.”

When they were past the crowd, she murmured, “I am… worried.”

He looked left and then right before pulling her into a secluded cove off the side of Hygg’s store. With her back against the ice crusted wall, he pushed his hips into her, bringing his face close. His breath was warm upon her, reminding her of their morning lovemaking.

It was love. She’d felt it at the time. But then tragedy had stuck, and she’d jumped back into her cutthroat routine. A routine that had never really made sense until today. Canna had spent her many years looking for a danger that wasn’t really there. Protecting people she cared about from nothing.

Except today, the danger existed.

Breckken breathed hard, clearly needing something from her. She needed something too, but couldn’t understand it.

Tentatively, she reached a hand to his cheek and his shoulders sagged. The simple touch was a comfort she’d been missing throughout the panicked day of searching.

“You’re still mine,” he murmured, but he seemed to be reassuring himself rather than her.

“Always. Remember? That’s what you said in my room this morning.”

“Of course I remember. I just wasn’t sure how you’d feel after this day.”

She frowned, and he fingered her lips.

She wanted to tell him the truth. That this day had made her even more desperate for him. But maybe she shouldn’t give that much away.

Her eyes fell to his thick arms. His scars weren’t visible. They were covered by his robe, but she knew they were there. The evidence of a love he’d had to hide for so long. Of frustration and desire, but now he was finally free.

She’d freed him to love her without hiding. He wanted the same for her.

She swallowed hard.

Could she say the words? Out loud? Would her wren accept them, or was it too much, too quick?

She didn’t know the rules, but he wanted her bare. He said he wanted everything.

“I…” She hesitated, so unsure. Her heart rattled in her chest, faster than she’d ever felt it.

Breckken bent to her ear, his lips brushing as he spoke. “Love you,” he whispered. “It’s easy. Say it.”

Hearing the words from his mouth sent chills all over her body.

He nuzzled her jaw, dropping tender kisses there.

“I love you, Canna. See how precious it sounds? Three simple words, my maiden. If you feel it…
say it
.” His voice was rough as fresh cut wood.

She trembled under his touch. She was about to break her heart wide open for him. The fear was real within her. She’d never trusted another so much.

She pressed her face into his neck, panting through the anxiety. On her next breath, she let the words fly.

“I love you.”

Seconds passed, and her wren was so still, so quiet, she wondered if he’d heard.

Slowly, he pulled back to stare into her eyes. The expression on his face was fierce. Almost angry.

Canna’s mouth worked to find new words. Ones that would take what she’d just said away. She could do that, right? Take it back? Anything to make him stop staring at her like that.

But his finger came up, pressing against her lips to still them.

“Do you mean it?”

She did. But…

She meant to shake her head, to dispel the awkwardness her words had brought them. But she nodded instead, unable to lie about something so important.

Breckken’s eyes closed as if in relief and he pulled her into his embrace. “Your secret is safe with me,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “Your heart… it is safe with me.”

She felt relief too, her body going limp as his words crushed any anxiety that remained.

He pulled back, kissing her with lips tender and hot. “Need to get you home,” he breathed. “Let’s go.”

Stepping back onto the path, Canna spoke. “What do you think Davian is planning?”

Her wren sighed, securing an arm around her waist. “I do not know, my Cannalise, but I suspect we will find out soon. For now, I wish to have you for myself. There will be fighting tomorrow. Helix tomorrow. Traitors and thieves tomorrow. Tonight, I will thank the Fates that you are safe and in my arms.”

She let her head fall to his shoulder, adding her own silent prayer of thanks heavenward. For the wren they’d given her. And that Emma had been found safe.

***

Providence and Destiny wore thankfulness around their necks as if it were a fine feathered boa. The twins looked down on An`gel, utterly satisfied with themselves.

Providence smiled, tossing her magenta hair over her shoulder. “We have done well, my sister. Don’t you think?”

“Indeed,” Destiny agreed. “Though I cannot fathom why the wren, Gilleth, continues to curse us.”

Providence waved her off with a flutter of bejeweled nails. “Don’t fret over him. A curse from a Dweller is nothing really. And besides, he’s become handsome enough to get away with it.”

Destiny giggled. “He does make my feminine bits tingle in the most delicious way.”

Providence nodded in agreement, squeezing her thighs together at the mere thought of the mortal wren.

“So let him curse and spit. He is lucky we are so fond of his maiden.”

Destiny nodded, her eyes wide. “So very fond.”

They lounged on their clouds, content with the progress they made, fanning themselves with the leaves of the Land trees, and thinking over their next move.

“What say you of the bloodsuckers that have invaded our star?” Destiny mused.

Providence shuddered. “They come from a far away planet. From a different heaven altogether. How they got here is a miracle.”

Destiny sighed. “They are stunning though, aren’t they? Some of the most handsome males I’ve seen.”

Providence raised a perfect eyebrow. “Beautiful savages. They feast on blood, sister, have you forgotten?”

“Of course not. It’s just… one of our favorite game pieces is now one of them. What are we to do about that?”

Yes, the Daybreakers had thrown a wrench in their plan when they… how to put it…
altered
Davian. But the Fates were nothing if not flexible.

Providence pointed one foot above her head to prove her own point.

“Perhaps this is where it will be fun to let the Dwellers make their own choices.”

Destiny frowned. “That’s never fun.”

“Of course it is. Davian has already made a surprising move, yes? Handing his mate over to the Nova Guard?” Providence clucked her tongue. “I do wish I knew what that wren was planning.”

Destiny leaned forward in interest, her ample breasts pushing into the cushion of cloud. “Perhaps you are right. In the meantime, I think I’ll take a lover to help quell my boredom. I’d like to see if Drak’s cock is as hard as his heart.”

Providence rolled her eyes. But just before her sister fell to the star, her curiosity got the best of her. “Report back to me on that, would you?”

Destiny giggled, and then sighed. “I shall, sister. I shall.”

******

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