Page 5 of Risen
“Oh now, thankyou, omega,” he said, ingrained respect for her designation obvious before his tone became more teasing once more, though still laced with an undertone of remembered hurt.“We all assumed Sadavir had perished playing the hero to save me.And I have carried the weight of that with me for years.Thank you for not letting my idiot brother get himself killed playing the martyr.”
I snorted.“Give it time,” I muttered under my breath.
Arif summoned a servant, and we were led to a suite of connected guest chambers carved from quartz-veined stone.The beds in the individual rooms of the suite were sunk into the floor and piled with thick cushions, pillows, and fur throws, like nests.Ambient light radiated from crystals set in the walls and ceiling, warm and softly glowing.
Sadavir helped Cicely lower Josh onto one of the beds.Then the faun collapsed on the cushions beside the limp vampire with a relieved groan.Robin stalked the perimeter with Queen Cat at her heels, checking for threats.Vlad and a couple of rats curled up in a smaller nest of pillows, while Odin perched on Dusek’s shoulder, the two of them standing sentinel at the door.
Ruya stepped up to Sadavir with quiet pride in her expression.“You did it.You found them.”
“Barely,” he murmured.“And with Robin’s help.”
“Still counts.”I turned away as she leaned up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.Ugh.Newly bonded true mates were apparently sickeningly cute.I was surprised Yukio wasn’t retching right now.
Outside the chamber, I heard the soft hum of naga voices.Of old songs.Of history echoing through stone.How could a place feel so ancient, when it had been such a short time since they went into hiding?Around nine years, from what I’d gleaned from Sadavir and Josh in their time with us.That wasn’t long enough to establish all of this.
I took a breath and closed my eyes, letting go of a little bit of my constant tension.Curiosity could wait.For now, we were safe—or at least far safer than we had been in the last two days.Rest and food were our next priorities.We could sort everything else out later.
I opened my eyes again and fought through my fatigue, forced myself to execute the role of security officer, checking the suite for any dangers, securing the locks, and setting up a rotation for someone to guard the main door to the suite at all times.
Still, that stupid discomfort in my gut slowly churned, turning into full-blown anxiety.My gaze kept drifting to the two other alphas in the room.Ruya and Sadavir gravitated to each other.She was attuned to him like a flower constantly turning toward the sun.Sadavir fairly glowed, his power stronger now that he was among his people, his confidence and his alpha influence drawing the others like a magnet.
Meanwhile, Robin’s energy only grew more subdued, suppressed, as if she was pulling away from not only Ruya, but from all of us.As if she was willing to let Sadavir take from her without a fight…
Our alpha princess was always a step ahead of the rest of us.Maybe Robin already saw what was coming, and was trying to prepare herself.
What if Sadavir wanted to stay here with his people?My chest clenched.I couldn’t lose Ruya.I couldn’t choose between her and my alpha and court.But it might come down to that.And if it did...I would losesomeoneno matter what choice I made.Ruya, or Robin.
And quite possibly the others as well.I knew Cicely would go with Ruya if she chose to leave our rebel court and join up with the naga.He had always made his allegiance to our omega very clear.But I’d also noticed how Dusek hovered closer to the naga these days.How Sanka seemed to respect him and look out for him.Even Yukio wasn’t as frosty as he had been toward the snake.What if Sadavir decided to rejoin his clan and he took more than just Ruya away with him.It would tear our court apart.
“Martina?”Sanka said, the impatience in his deep voice telling me this wasn’t the first time he’d tried to get my attention.
“What?’I snapped, whirling to face the sorcerer.
He lifted a dark brow at me and made a swirling gesture with his finger.“If you’re taking first watch, I think you should let me cast a wakefulness charm on you.You’re as braindead as the rest of us right now, goat-eater.”
I huffed.“Fine.”
Right.Priorities.Our safety.Getting rid of the cult.Murdering the emperor and burning the syndicate down.Severing Acacia’s stupid fucking head from her body and tap-dancing on her ashes.ThenI could worry about my loyalties, and my future, and myfeelings.
Chapter 3
Ruya
AfterRobinandMartinabriefly assigned guard duties and reviewed everyone’s roles while we were here, Robin finally allowed Sadavir to direct us to the facilities.My link to Sadavir was filled with a soft humor as he apologized for the small bathrooms and the minimalistic showers—small streams piped from a rock wall with a drain in the floor.But the water was warm, there was soap, and I was just happy to be rid of the sweat and dust of the last couple of days.
“What’s so amusing?”I asked, signing slowly and carefully.“I can feel you laughing at us.”
He kissed me on the forehead and patted my rump, shooing me into the small bathroom, his amusement and smugness still palpable through our bond.“Later,” he voiced aloud.“Once we are more settled, I will show you.”
After we all got cleaned up, we gathered around the bed where Josh was still lying motionless under Sanka’s spell.The sorcerer paused to squeeze my shoulder before moving to crouch near the bed.“Don’t worry, Ru.He’ll be okay.”
I wasn’t sure I believed it, and I found myself nibbling at my nails as Sanka reached out with his magic and muttered the words to undo the curse.
I was surprised when Josh didn’t immediately wake.Crouching beside Sanka, I ran my hands over Josh’s still body.My healing magic confirmed that nothing was wrong with him physically, other than a deep, lingering fatigue.
“He’s okay, Ru,” Sanka said again, putting an arm around my shoulder and giving me a lopsided hug, drawing me into his warm beta aura.“The magic is gone, but he’ll still need to sleep off the effects.We should have a few hours before he wakes up.Plenty of time to get some rest before we have to deal with Acacia’s bullshit.”He pressed a kiss to my temple.“Before you even argue, I know how exhausted you must be, Ru.You need sleep just as much as the rest of us.We’ll take turns keeping an ear tuned to Josh.”
Cicely approached from my other side, taking my hand and drawing me to my feet.Come rest with me.He whispered into my mind.We could all use a little while to recharge.And I want to hold you in my arms, my witch.
