Unexpected Eden (14 page)

Chapter 15

Maxis perched on a rocky ledge at the height of his training grounds and observed Reese with the new recruits below. Despite Asshur’s cooler temperature, most had shed their shirts mid-drill. Their bodies shone slick with sweat even with the cloud-covered sky. They ducked and weaved and counterattacked in smooth kicks and punches. Their hesitation and strategy still needed work, but their grunts and shouts promised staunch determination.

If only the rest of his plans would fall in line.

The nagging thought tapped at his impatience and shoved him to his feet. Four days since he’d spied Eryx with Lexi and still no sign of her anywhere in Eden. Sightings of Eryx abounded, but there’d been not so much as a glimpse of the dark-haired woman from Evad.

Doubt waggled in the back of his mind. Maybe Eryx had contained his interludes to some remote corner of the human realm. For all he knew, the man had a damned harem locked away in Timbuktu.

He waved off his doubts and sent a mental summons to Reese. Second-guessing himself was a waste of time, especially with the other options he could work with. The bit he’d learned from Phybe about Serena promised an entirely new and intriguing angle for his schemes—and he intended to leverage every last thread he could find.

He situated himself on a nearby rock. Stone the color of burnt adobe stretched out, a wasteland, barren and dismal. Only sparse outcroppings of spindly, gray bushes broke the dull terrain. Thanks to the somewhat constant rain in this region, the men stirred very little dust as they drilled, but if a drought were to occur, the place would be a dust bowl.

Reese landed on the hard rock. “What do you want?”

Maxis ground his teeth.
Remember his value. Patience.

“You’d do well to remember who you’re speaking to, strategos.” Maxis emphasized the title and bared his teeth under the guise of an empty smile. “The army you’re training is young with very limited loyalties. You could be replaced. Rather quickly.”

Reese placed his hands formally behind his back, but the move screamed of mockery.

Maxis pushed from his seat. “I have an assignment for you.” He peered over the ledge to watch the men once more. “There’s a woman we’d do well to court. Welcome her into our fold, so to speak. Her name is Serena Doroz.” He faced Reese. “I understand she’s spent considerable time in the malran’s bed. Are you familiar with her?”

Reese cocked his head. “Gossip about the malran’s love life isn’t a topic I follow.”

Maxis paced with slow steps along the ledge. “Apparently, this lady was involved with the malran some time ago and is a bit distressed she’s been unable to regain his interest. Keeps throwing herself at him in hopes he’ll take another bite.”

Reese’s face hardened. “How does the malran’s discarded lover have anything to do with me and my efforts to train an army?’

Maxis waved over his shoulder and headed in the other direction. “The two have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. This is a new effort. One that will pay off for us handsomely if we play our cards right.” He paused directly in front of Reese. “Find this woman. Work your way into her good graces. And her bed, if it furthers our cause.”

“And that gets us what?”

Plenty. Evanora’s ruthless, deadly reign proved it. “The emotions of a jilted woman can fuel enormous power. Serena may be a laughing stock at court, but she allegedly has free rein in the castle. Why not use her access when it suits us?” Maxis resumed his seat and crossed his legs. “You’re a handsome man, and the woman can’t be too ugly to have caught the malran’s eye.”

Reese’s mouth opened and shut—twice.

“You never know. She may end up being the perfect woman for you.”

Reese stared a few moments more before nodding his head—not altogether convincingly. “I’ll make some inquiries.”

Maxis smiled and savored the agreement. “You do that, strategos. You do that.”

* * * *

“Oh, Lexi.” Orla’s muffled voice rang from deep inside the closet. “Wait until you see this.”

Lexi ignored her. Or tried to. She still hadn’t learned to turn off her senses and Orla’s happiness had pelted her non-stop ever since Eryx announced the upcoming mating. This had to be how parents felt after too many hours locked in a room packed with sugar-saturated four-year olds.

“Are you ready?” Orla’s voice fairly twinkled behind the bathroom door.

A hell of a question. When Lexi had told Eryx she’d marry him, she’d thought there’d be time to adjust. To make plans and settle into her new life. Not leap into wedded bliss the next night. So, no, she wasn’t ready. Not really. “Sure, bring it out.”

Orla swept into the bedroom Lexi shared with Eryx, a jaw-dropping gown of black velvet draped over one shoulder and her arms. “It’s beautiful, don’t you think?”

Lexi plunked into the armchair behind her and her heart leapt into her throat. She was getting hitched. Tonight. To Eryx. The dress proved it.

“Don’t you like it?” Orla hustled over and let the bottom of the dress fall toward the floor to better display its grandeur.

“It’s beautiful.” She brushed the velvet surface and the fabric whispered a soft greeting. Platinum clasps with delicate filigree were spaced in six-inch segments from the neck to the sleeves, holding the front and back of the gown together. Magnificent rubies adorned the center of each clasp with diamonds embedded at the edges.

“Do you love him?” Orla’s voice changed, levity replaced with concern. A tremble of fear.

Lexi dropped her hand to her lap and fiddled with the edge her robe. “I thought I did. And then he left for…” She waved toward the door. “Whatever secret stuff he had to do. Now I keep asking myself if I even know what love is.”

She surged upright and resumed the path she’d worn off and on all afternoon.

Orla laid the gown out on the bed, her footsteps soundless. She snatched Lexi by the elbow on her next pass, and spun her around. “Turn your silly mind off and answer my question with your heart. Do you love him?”

She thought of waking in Eryx’s arms. The intensity and comfort of each touch. The sincerity of his actions, and how her disconnectedness from life had ended the day she’d met him. “I think so.”

Orla raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” The admission shook her to her core. A fine sheen of sweat broke out along her spine and her head felt light enough to fly off her shoulders.

Orla stroked Lexi’s cheek, and her cornflower blue eyes filled with understanding and sadness. Or was it pity? “Then why fight it?”

“It’s just so…fast.”

“Is it?” Orla took both her hands in hers and pressed them tight together. “He looked for you for years. If you know he has your heart, why waste precious time?” She released Lexi’s hands and lifted the sleeve of her loose silver gown. The dull-gray image of a Rowan tree covered the space from her wrist to her elbow, its roots intricately twined around her arm.

“This was my mate’s mark.” She sucked in a ragged breath and gazed longingly at the faded image. “The marks pale when our other half moves to nirana, but when they’re alive, they’re a glorious, bold ebony.” She met Lexi’s stare, eyes wet and mouth trembling. “My fireann was taken from me when I was far too young. We had no children when he died, and I thank The Great One every day for the gaping hole Eryx and his family filled when they took me in.”

She let the sleeve drop and gripped Lexi’s shoulders. “There are days when I would give anything to have one more day. If you know this is right, then charge in and don’t look back. Drink up every minute of your love with no regret.”

Rattled from the strength of Orla’s emotions, Lexi’s shoulders curled inward of their own accord, like the action might somehow better protect her heart. “I don’t know how.”

“Oh, sweetheart. The answer’s easy.” Orla pulled her tight. “You let Eryx teach you.”

Such warm, heartfelt words. They radiated out across Lexi’s soul and cocooned her spirit in a soft embrace.

Orla held her for long, patient moments.

As soon as she could pull a steady breath, Lexi stepped away. The dress lay on the bed, waiting. A fairy tale promise—if she dared to take the leap. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Orla whooped with delight, all solemnity washed away under the happy clap of her hands.

The dress slipped over Lexi’s head, and the silk lining slithered into place in a wicked glide. “I’ll never get used to this no underwear thing.”

Orla’s chuckle was downright naughty. “Admit it.
Au naturel
feels better. Right?”

A knock sounded on the door.

“Perfect timing.” Orla smoothed out the velvet along Lexi’s shoulders. “We’re just finishing up, Graylin. Come on in.”

The door opened without a sound.

Orla stepped to the side with a Vanna White motion. “Doesn’t she look beautiful?”

Graylin strolled into the room, hands clasped at his waist. He hadn’t deviated from his usual tank and lounge pant combo, but this time the fabric was as black as the velvet of her dress. “Radiant.” He kissed Lexi’s knuckles and winked at Orla. “Eryx is a lucky man.”

A pretty pink dotted Orla’s cheeks.

Graylin’s lips tilted in a sly smile.

A sweet, innocent moment—and here she was, a gawking intruder.

Stepping to Lexi’s free side, Graylin settled one hand in the small of Lexi’s back and motioned toward the door. “It’s customary for a woman’s mother and father to walk her to her soon-to-be mate. I hope it’s not presumptuous of Orla and I to ask for such an honor in their absence?”

Orla looked up from her study of the floor and smiled hopefully.

“Are you kidding?” She was about to walk headlong into the single biggest step of her life without so much as a clue what to expect. If they were offering to stand beside her for the first few steps, she was very much on board with the plan. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

He nudged her forward. “I know you’re nervous, but you should know all Myren women go into a mating with exactly the same knowledge you will. It’s a tradition. A very worthy and important tradition.”

The candles along the hallway flickered, the subtle twitches and turns of the flames a fair representation of the nervousness skimming beneath her skin.

Graylin’s mouth pursed, the line between his eyebrows etched deep. “Tonight will be about Eryx proving himself. Demonstrating the manner in which he means to act as a mate. How he intends to provide for you, care for you, protect you and, most importantly, love you. Your task is to observe each action, each nuance, and determine if he is worthy of your commitment.”

She took the first steps toward the main level and rifled through the meat and potatoes of what he’d shared. The concept of Eryx putting himself out in such a formal way sounded beautiful, but Graylin hadn’t given much in the way of her responsibilities. “What about me? Don’t I need to do the same for him?”

Graylin halted. “Praise The Great One, no.” He shook his head and urged her into motion. “It’s a man’s honor to display his intent in a mating.”

So she was supposed to just sit and watch? Do nothing? Say nothing? The idea wouldn’t jibe with the world she’d grown up in—at least not in her neck of the woods. “Shouldn’t a woman have to prove her own intentions in a marriage?”

“Mating,” he corrected almost absentmindedly. “And a man would never take this important step if he hadn’t already deemed the woman ideal for him alone.” At the top of the stairs, he steered her toward a section of the house she’d yet to explore. “Our culture is much different from the one you grew up in. Women here are revered and cherished by their men. This is his night to show you how important you are.”

Revered. Cherished. Her footsteps slowed from the weight of the words. They curled through her, not uncomfortable, so much as unfamiliar. But they fit. With Eryx, they fit. “So.” She hesitated, thoughts scrambled. “What am I supposed to do?

A hallway lined with deep chocolate panels stretched out before them and soft gray stone lined the floors.

“You decide,” Graylin said. “You move forward or you walk away depending on what you garner from his actions. Not that ascertaining his true intent should be troublesome for you given your new gift.”

He pulled her to a stop at the end of the hall, the closed doors ahead of them symbolic in a way she couldn’t escape. It was all she could focus on—the thick slab of wood with its distressed markings, and the commitment that waited on the other side.

“There is one thing I will tell you.” He fixed her with a this-is-really-important stare. “If you can’t give yourself completely into Eryx’s keeping, trusting him without question, you shouldn’t go with him tonight.”

The solemnity of his voice sent goose pimples along her arms. The content of his words gave her absolutely nothing concrete to stand on, but the weight behind them wrecking balled into her gut. “And, the eight-hundred pound gorilla you’re trying not to talk about in this conversation is?”

“That’s it.” He straightened and squared his shoulders. “Suffice it to say, I love Eryx as much as I love my son and seek to protect him. I’m sure your senses are telling you there’s more to it, but some things in this world you have to figure out on your own. Tonight is one of them.”

The door opened.

Graylin stepped back.

Alone, perched on the precipice of something huge, yet utterly intangible. Her imagination ran wild, snippets of what her future might look like if she stepped forward or if she ran.

The smell of leather and worn parchment fluttered across her face. Books lined the far wall, and brocade chairs in taupe and crimson sat at conversational angles on thick patterned rugs. A glance at a corner window showed the Myren sun nearly nestled beneath the horizon, leaving a musky purple sky in its wake.

“Time for you to choose, Lexi.” A verbal nudge from Graylin at her back, though neither he, nor Orla, joined her.

An easy tug issued from the space around her heart, the pull strengthened by the memory of Orla’s quiet, heartfelt talk. She wanted this. Pitfalls and unknowns in all.

She sucked in a slow, deep breath. With trembling legs, she stepped across the threshold, turned, and drew up short.