Page 32 of Bradi

Chapter Thirteen

Bradi dabbed the wet cloth into the pan of cool water and wrung it out. It had been a week’s worth of revelations and worrying. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he and Nina had cleared up their differences. All he could think about when he’d been run through with the sword was that his father would somehow get his clutches into Marisa and hand her over to Stegian.

The very mention of the vampire made him shudder. The thought of his wife being subjected to Stegian terrified him. Once he realized that his father was no longer a threat and Nina was not in league with Stegian, he concentrated on Marisa. She’d been unconscious since she’d saved his life.

Wiping Marisa’s forehead gently, he felt someone touch his shoulder. He knew without looking who it was. “Lorelei.”

“Bradiainn…Bradi. I’m sorry. I’m not used to calling you by your newfound nickname.”

It felt good to hear his twin’s voice. It had been so long since he’d seen her that he was almost afraid to look upon her. Lorelei had been away negotiating with the Neatalie village when he’d awoken to find Nina at his bedside with news of Marisa’s condition. “Nina tells me that you’re mated now, Lorelei.”

“I am. His name is Sevan and our child grows within me as we speak.”

He knew that as well. What caught his attention was the name of her mate. “Sevan Vasil?”

“Yes. Why, do you know him?” Lorelei asked.

Bradi kept his eyes trained on Marisa as he continued to try to bring her fever down. “I know of him. The Commission thinks he and his men are dead.”

Lorelei was silent for a moment. “We guessed as much. No, they are all, or almost all, alive and well. We offered them the opportunity to leave, but all wished to stay. They think of this as home now, and we’re glad to have them.”

Bradi nodded as he continued to wipe Marisa down. “Is Christian back yet?” He hadn’t seen his childhood friend since his return, and he hated to admit that he missed him. Losing Pete made him realize how precious and short his time with everyone could be.

“Not yet. He should be here by suns set. He’ll be happy to see you, Bradiainn. You two aren’t planning on blowing anything up again, are you?”

He laughed as he thought about the time that they’d accidentally set the kitchen on fire when they’d been ordered to help the cooking staff as a punishment for wandering off into the forest alone. The Chieftain at the time, Christian’s father, had seemed so angry with them, but when they’d rounded the corner after he’d yelled at them, they’d heard him laughing.

Lorelei squeezed his shoulder gently. “Did Nina tell you of father and Jacquelyn?”

Bradi’s stomach twisted in a knot as he thought about his baby sister. Stegian had managed to completely control his father’s mind, and he in turn attacked his own children. Nina had assured him that Jacquelyn’s spirit still lived on around them, that Christian had somehow engineered a way for her to appear in the form of a hologram, but his grief wasn’t lessened. She’d been but an infant when he’d left. Their mother had passed while giving birth to her and Bradi had sunk into a depression. It didn’t help that his brothers had already been forced to leave the planet by then.

Guilt for leaving his sisters assailed Bradi and he hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t here to stop Father.”

She let out a small laugh. “You weren’t here to stop him because we believed him over you. We believed that you, our brothers, were the ones making deals with Stegian, not Father. He had us all fooled. Had I believed you, my own twin, then none of this would have happened. I am sorry that he sent you all away. I didn’t know until it was too late.”

“I know.” And he did know. He and Lorelei had shared a connection since birth. Born of the same womb but not the same egg, they had shared the powers of their parents. Lorelei had taken after their mother, who had been a High Priestess, where he took after their father, who had been mostly werepanther. His body lacked the colorful, tribal-like tattoo markings of the Shamenians, but he could not only shift into a werepanther, where Lorelei could not, he was one of the most powerful shifters around.

He turned and looked into his sister’s face and knew that she was reading him—scanning his mind. He didn’t care. He had nothing to hide from her.

“You love this woman, don’t you?”

Bradi nodded his head as he touched Marisa’s hand. “I do.”

“And she carries your child?”

“Yes.”

“Then why do you look so troubled?”

“She’ll never accept what I am, and even if she does, she’ll never forgive me for how she came to be pregnant.”

Lorelei moved next to him and put her hand on Marisa’s head. “You seem so sure that she’ll disappoint you. Why is that?”

Bradi looked away, not wanting to answer her question.

“Brother, just because Nina and I were blinded by lies and hatred does not mean that she will be as well. Have faith that she loves you.”

The thought of Marisa loving him made him laugh. Her heart belonged to his best friend. It didn’t matter that he was dead—she’d always love Pete.

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