Tara (7 page)

“I don’t want to leave you Leonidas. I don’t want to be without you again.” She felt his arms around her as the tingle of Eltera’s power moved over her.

“Wake up, Tara.” Leonidas’ voice was a little stronger as he spoke, but she wanted to hold on, she didn’t want to be alone again.

She didn’t want him to disappear.

Not again.

A gasp came out of her as she opened her eyes and found herself on the couch with her right arm twisted at an awkward angle above her head, the cuff cutting into her even as the skin beneath it healed with Eltera’s light.

Leonidas was gone… but Leonidas had been gone long before she slept.

Without the music the nightmares had come back. A horrible highlight reel of her life just waiting for her to fall asleep to start back up.

Tara’s skin was glowing brightly as Eltera’s power suffused throughout her skin and the cuts on her foot and arm and wrist tingled as they closed. Golden light, the power of the gods, coursing through her like it always did at dawn.

So. Fucking. Useless
.

Sitting up to ease the strain on the cuff she took a deep breath as the scent of rain filled the room. Tara wondered if Eltera knew how far she’d fallen. If she knew that the girl she healed was no longer a Faeoihn, but some useless whore. Tara was no more a warrior than she was the king of England.

Looking up through the gray light from the windows she jumped when she saw the soldier, awake, sitting in a chair across from her. She was afraid for a moment until she saw the shock on his face, his mouth open in an unspoken moment of absolute confusion.

“Please don’t freak out.” Tara sounded like she was talking to a wild animal. Mortals traditionally hadn’t reacted graciously to someone lighting up like a beacon at random.

“Wha- Why-
How
are you glowing?” He stumbled through the question.

“That’s a very long story, will you uncuff me please?” The memories from her nightmare made her sick and the handcuff was keeping them too close to the surface for her to think straight.

“What?” His eyes started to focus again as he looked at her.

“Can you please remove the handcuff?” She glanced at it and fought the rise of panic in her chest.

The soldier rubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath before he walked over. Slipping a small key into one side of the handcuff he unlatched it from her wrist, and his eyes stayed glued to the dried blood on her skin. “Your wrist -”

“- is fine.” Tara finished, pulling the bandage off the arm she had cut the night before. She held it out to him, showing the neatly healed skin under a bloody crust. “Just like my arm.”

“What the fuck?!” He stepped back from her, a mixture of fear and anger on his face.

“I thought you should at least vaguely know what you’re getting into, even if you don’t want details.” Crumpling the bloody bandage in her hand she turned so she was sitting normally on the couch. The bloodstains on the robe had dried to a rust color, just like the lingering blood on her skin – she really needed a shower and clean clothes.

“What
are
you?!” He spoke louder than he needed to, but she had known he’d panic when this happened. It was why she had made sure she had an injury to show him so he knew what Eltera’s light did.

“Faeoihn.”

“What?!” He yelled again, and she fought the urge to wince.

“Fay-oh-een,” she enunciated slowly. “Look, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you understand that those men that came after us last night aren’t just going to give up.” Tara pushed a hand through her hair and realized she had turned it into a nest of tangles in the night. “What I am is… rare. There are only about a hundred others like me in the world, and that’s if all my sisters still live. Which I doubt.”

It’s not like she should be alive, why should they be?

“Oh my God.” The soldier spoke to himself as he collapsed back into the chair he’d been sitting in, not even looking at her anymore.

“Well, about that, might as well rip off the band aid while you’re already in shock. The gods are real as well. All of them.” She spoke clearly and calmly, and his eyes came up to look at her again. “I’m the result of two gods: one who made me immortal and a warrior, and another who enslaved me for eternity.” The last words left a bitter taste in her mouth like the memory of blood.

“You’re insane.” His voice was flat and emotionless as he stared blankly at her.

Shock
.

“No, I’m immortal.” Tara shrugged and eyed him carefully. “You look like you might be losing it though, could you take a deep breath before you pass out?”

“I’m not going to pass out!”

“You look kind of pale.” She taunted him a little - the more she could get him to respond the less likely she’d have him on the floor. A ghost of a smile went across her face because of how irritated he looked. Other than when she’d cut herself, this was the only emotion he’d really shown, and with the flush in his cheeks he actually looked handsome.

“I’m fine!” He yelled at her while he rubbed his hands across his face as if he were trying to wipe away the memory of that morning.

Good luck with that
.

“Alright. Well, I wanted you to understand so you could decide if you still want me as a job. If not, you can leave me here and I assure you those men will find me. Or someone else will.” She sat back and crossed her legs under the robe.

“And you don’t care about that?” He looked at her over one of his hands that half-covered his face.

“One master is no different than another.”
Not exactly true, but it’s not like she had a choice
.

“So why did you come with me so willingly last night?!” The stress in his voice revealed how much it bothered him that she hadn’t fought him at all. Maybe he preferred it when girls fought? Probably not. He’d been careful with her. He had even turned around when she’d stripped, and when she’d come out of the shower. That hadn’t happened in… a very long time.

“You killed my last master, Gianni, didn’t you?” He nodded as if he was shocked she knew that fact. “Then by the rules of war you have the right to claim the spoils of his house. Namely, me. But you don’t seem interested.”

“I was hired to deliver you, not claim you as
spoils
or anything else.” He looked confused again.

“Alright then, deliver me.” Tara leaned back on the couch and started to try and clean the blood from under her nails. Her manicure was ruined. She should just peel off the polish.

This would all be so much easier if she just knew what the new master wanted from her.

“I can’t.” The soldier growled, gripping his hair. “According to my contact last night, the client is out of the country right now. I’m supposed to hold you until he gets back, and before you say anything I already told him he needs to make it ASAP.”

Tara shrugged. “Okay. So what do you want to do with me?”

Chapter Seven

Alaric’s head hurt. A lot. The girl still wasn’t wearing clothes, and she was streaked with blood like some kind of extra in a teen horror flick.

Oh, and apparently she glowed. Actually
glowed
.

He had woken up over an hour before dawn because she had been whimpering in her sleep, and he already slept so lightly that there was no way he’d sleep through that. It was torture to listen to. She’d sounded so afraid. He’d come into the living room and sat down, trying to decide if he should wake her up, but then she had calmed down. Her face had smoothed and the name
Leonidas
had slipped from her perfect lips several times.

Then… she had started glowing. At first it had been like the bathroom light was on and she was in the path of the light, but as it grew brighter, edging from that dim amber-gold to a vibrant, pale golden light – it was obvious she was the source.

Which was insane.

He rubbed his hands over his face and realized he
still
smelled like gunpowder. He hadn’t showered yet because he didn’t know if he could leave her alone. After the conversation with Luca last night he hadn’t known what to expect – but it hadn’t been this. Luca had said he had learned more about the girl and that she was ‘
weird’
, and that he ‘
shouldn’t be worried if anything strange happened, just hold on to her until the drop time
’. Then, as usual for Luca, he had refused to elaborate.

So,
weird
apparently meant the girl glowed, and healed herself. The girl also referred to him as human, and said she was created by gods. If he hadn’t seen the glow, and that deep cut on her arm all knitted back together like it had never existed, he would have called her crazy, but now?

Fuck. What
did
he want to do with her?

Looking up at her he was taken aback by how withdrawn she looked, her blue eyes were focused somewhere on the floor as she waited calmly for him to decide what was next. He believed her that she would do whatever he wanted, and that kind of control made him a little uncomfortable.

“Why don’t you take a shower? They delivered a box of clothes for you yesterday, and I think there’s some other things in it.” He pointed at it where he’d tucked it against the wall. “Plus, I can’t have you walking around covered in blood.”

Her eyes snapped up to his with a spark of hope. “You’re taking me outside?”

How could he say no when just the idea of it had pulled her out of whatever melancholy her nightmares had brought on?

“Yeah, I don’t want to spend all day inside, and I’d like to spend more than a few hours in that car.”

“Okay!” Her A-List smile came back, lighting up her face even though most of the actual glowing light had faded from her skin. She moved over to the box against the wall and started digging through it. Out of it came skirts and dresses and shirts and undergarments, bars of milk soap, a bottle of perfume, and a small zippered bag that probably held makeup.

Since when did Luca know about any of this stuff? Maybe he had a girlfriend.
That
would be a revelation.

“Wow, it’s like you took all of this from Gianni’s house.” Her hands were carefully refolding the clothes that he had rummaged through the day before.

“So, it’s good?” Alaric asked, trying not to stare as she knelt by the box, her robe gaping so he could see the round of her breast. He tore his eyes away.

“If this is what you want me in, of course.” Her response sounded truthful, but it was too quick, too automatic. Gianni must have liked to play dress-up with her.

“I didn’t buy any of that, it showed up yesterday. Would you rather have something else?”

She turned and smiled brightly at him, a bundle of clothes in her arms and a bar of the milk soap in one hand. “I don’t need anything. Thank you, sir.”

“Alaric.” He corrected her before he realized it and his teeth clicked together as he shut his mouth.
Shit
. He’d told her his real name too, and the name on the room was different.

“Alaric.” When she said his name a shiver went down his back, those syllables rolling through her accent. He suddenly wanted her to say it again, but he wouldn’t ask.

“What’s your name?” Okay, someone had taken over his mouth and was talking for him. He never asked these questions, he didn’t care about this information.

Except, you do.

Bloody hell.

Alright, so he did want to know her name, and the way that the edge of her lips had curved into a slight smirk had him staring. It made her look so much different than the big smile she kept plastering across her face.

“So, now you want details?” Oh, the challenge in her voice.

He fought the urge to smile back at her. “Just that one.”

“Tara.” She kept that smirk on her face, and her eyes were crystalline blue. She was unreal.

“Hi, Tara.”
Great name
. “Enjoy your shower. I’m going to clean up out here.” His voice was a little lower than he meant it to be, and a little below his waist something else was paying too much attention. She nodded and stepped over into the bathroom, and he forced his eyes to not track her to the door, which she didn’t shut. He was suddenly grateful that from his vantage point he couldn’t see inside the bathroom, because at the moment he probably wouldn’t have the self-control to turn around.

Standing up he moved into the bedroom and tucked the cuffs in his bag and dug out new clothes for the day. Her eyes had really lit up at the idea of going out, but then that made sense considering he had found her in that cell.

When was the last time you were outside?

His laptop was already open and he pulled up the document with her pictures looking at them more carefully. She didn’t have any marks in any of the photos, no bruises, nothing that seemed like she was restrained – but then again, if she healed every morning like that cut had… that didn’t mean much.

How much time had she spent in that cell? Was the bedroom just an elaborate ruse?

Alaric scrolled back to the top of the document with her turning around in that black dress, her blonde waves starting to come out of the bun. He had to stop staring at her – photos or otherwise. Pushing away from the laptop he gathered the clothes he planned to change into and took out his cell phone as he dropped back into the chair in the living room.

He sent a quick text:
do you know when the drop is

Then he flipped out of the text message to Luca to start looking for places to eat in the area, browsing various popular restaurants while he listened to the water run. The smell of milk soap was filling the hotel room and he found himself taking deep breaths of the clean, soft smell. When the water cut off he glued his eyes to the phone, but she didn’t step out. Instead he heard the hairdryer click on and start its loud hum.

Luca responded quickly as usual:
No. It may be outside Italy, possibly Morocco. You still have a contact for papers for the girl?

Well, apparently the client was from Morocco, and that would take time for transport. He’d also need to reach out to Claude, which was always interesting.

He tapped back:
yes. will be expensive.

Luca answered fast:
Make it happen.

No arguing with that. When Luca had his mind on a goal there was no deterring him from it. Like when Luca had seemed so focused on making sure the girl,
Tara
, was sedated the night before. Alaric had lied about it, and he still wasn’t sure why he had because he never lied to Luca. The man was too important to him to risk it over a job, but he just didn’t want to use it on her, especially not with how she had reacted to the handcuff. It looked like she’d been freaked out by it even while she was asleep, twisting her arm and rubbing her wrist raw inside the metal.

He didn’t want to even think of why that would be.

He was texting Claude to arrange a time to meet with him, knowing very well it would be hours before Claude was awake to respond, when Tara stepped out of the bathroom.

Long legs.

That was the first thing he noticed because the skirt she was in was awe-inspiringly short, stopping well above her knees. It was charcoal gray and the teal blouse she wore was form fitting and made her eyes pop. Whoever had gone shopping for her clearly knew her sizes and what she looked like. Her blonde hair fell in waves over her shoulders, down to the middle of her back, and he realized that as he had assessed her outfit he had been blatantly staring. Her lips parted as she blew air out in a sigh and ran her hand through her hair, lifting it before letting it fall back.

“Your turn?” She gestured back to the shower and he stood up with a nod. He had taken a few steps towards the shower when he realized she’d be alone, in the room, and he’d be occupied and unable to chase after her. He stopped.

“I need to –” He started to talk and she interrupted.

“You don’t need to do anything with me, I’m going to stay here. I promise.” Her body had tensed, but she didn’t turn away from him or step back.

“I can’t risk it, it won’t be long–” His stomach turned as he spoke, but she cut him off again.

“Please don’t cuff me.” There wasn’t a trace of a smile on her face now, and as his eyes wandered down her arms to the healed skin of her wrist he couldn’t forget how badly she had hurt herself in the night. “Just trust me, please. I swear to you I won’t leave this room or attract attention.” She was almost begging, and he really needed a shower. Who knew if cuffing her might make her freak out again? He’d trusted her last night when he’d gone to sleep not to scream her head off, and she hadn’t.

“I- ” he started, and he actually watched the light in her eyes go out, leaving flat color behind. None of that ocean water left from when she’d smiled at him.

“You have to give me a chance, or how can I prove you can trust me?” Her voice was so soft, so quiet, and she made a good point.

“Alright. This is incredibly stupid of me, but okay. I’m giving you this chance. Just please don’t make me chase you down. It will be worse if I have to catch you.” He felt completely evil saying it to her, but what would he say to Luca if she ran.
No, I actually didn’t sedate her? Oh, and I left her unattended in the hotel room while I took a shower?

He should write a book:
one hundred and one ways to get shot by your boss
.

Her face changed like she hadn’t expected him to relent, and then she gave him that half smile again, where just one side of her mouth lifted a little. That looked like a real smile from her, not the dazzling, heart-stopping, A-List celebrity one in all of those pictures.

“Thank you, Alaric.”
And
she’d said his name again in that unique accent of hers. As dumb as this was, that almost made it worth it. Probably not worth the torture Luca would put him through if she ran and he lost her, but close.

“I won’t be long.” Stepping into the bathroom he shut the door and got into the shower as fast as possible. The whole room smelled like her milk soap and he didn’t know why it struck him so strongly, and had ever since he’d walked into her room. It was clean and light, not like the thick perfumes a lot of girls wore. He’d never enjoyed stepping into a cloud of fake flowers, or strong chemically derived scents that made his eyes want to water. Alaric shook himself. He needed to hurry, not think about her soap preference.

It might not even be hers, actually. Gianni could have selected it.

Either way, good taste.

He was done quickly, and stepped out to wrap himself in a towel.
Please still be there.
Grabbing the door he opened it and stepped out to find her leaned back on the couch with headphones in her ears, staring down at a little black iPod. She sat up and pulled out one of the headphones, her eyes dipping down across his wet chest and stomach.

Right. Clothes
.

“I’m still here, Alaric.” Her eyes were back at his and he felt a flush in his cheeks. He couldn’t even form a response with her eyes on him so he just nodded and shut the door again leaning back on it. Dropping his head back against it he stared at the ceiling. She had stayed, and he didn’t know why he felt so warm in his chest. It’s not like she’d stayed for
him
, she’d stayed because he’d threatened to chase her down, or handcuff her, or sedate her.

Like a real fucking gentleman.

“You’re such a prat.” He growled at himself. Tara was the one dragged away from what she knew, she was the one who was basically his prisoner until he handed her off to some tosser who had apparently bought her like she was a very expensive accessory. Alaric gritted his teeth as he rubbed the towel over his hair and pushed his hands through it as it started to dry. He hated that he was a part of this, and he hated even more how
okay
she was with everything. It would almost be easier if she were fighting this, if she was arguing how unfair it was.
Anything
. But he felt like he cared more than she did, and he wasn’t supposed to care at all.