Blood Bond (The Stones of Terrene Chronicles Book 4), page 9
Jade wrinkled her nose and yanked off her second boot with a more frustrated flourish than necessary. “So. Are you a Void Born, a bonded, or an Elph?”
A blonde eyebrow lifted. “I thought you were a princess.”
“I was raised on an airship.” Jade trailed a finger through the water and winced at the heat. She cranked the second knob, relieved when the water started cooling. “I’ll try again. Hi. My name is Jade, and I’ve been taken against my will––”
“You traded yourself for your friend, so don’t lie!” Pamela’s voice rang through the enclosed space.
Irritation lit Jade’s nerves at the same time as sorrow deadened her fingers amidst pulling pins from her hair. “I—yes. I’m here because I took my best friend’s place.” The tub blurred, and Jade blinked rapidly to see where she could drop her corset. “But I don’t want to be here, and I don’t even know if Krista is alive, let alone her husband or my husband, and I—” She hiccuped.
Gentle yet unrelenting hands guided Jade to the tub and pushed her into it. Water sloshed over the edges, splashing on the floor. “I can’t help you with any of that. But to answer your question, my name is Andrea, and I’m a bonded.”
Jade pushed wet hair from her face in time to see Andrea roll up her sleeve and reveal what had likely once been a crisp tattoo, though time had softened its edges. A small pang hit Jade’s heart. So Andrea had been under the blood bond for a long time. Years, if that quick glimpse was anything to go by.
“You had a free life prior to now, so I can only assume how difficult it will be to adjust,” Andrea’s clinical tone cut through Jade’s brief epiphany. “Whatever life you had, whatever friends or family you once had, they’re in the past at best—dead if we’re being honest. The sooner you accept that, the better.”
Andrea stuffed Jade’s dirty clothing into a brown sack. “I can’t help you in any way except that.” She gave Jade a look that wasn’t unkind. “Anything else?”
Just hearing her deepest fears so brutally uttered was too much. Jade submerged herself under the water, holding her breath. Maybe I’ll just wake up from a bad dream.
Fingers tangled in her hair and yanked. She screeched, bubbles sliding across her face even as she propelled her head out of the water to meet Pamela’s burning gaze. Andrea stood to the side, face down turned.
“He said nothing about killing yourself, so don’t even try it.” Pamela slapped Jade, and her face turned against the blow. She touched her stinging cheek as Pamela grabbed her hair again, forcing her attention. “If I have to live while missing my friends, who are dead, you can too.”
Pamela straightened, her gaze never leaving Jade as she addressed her words to Andrea. “Stay with her and make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid. She’s to wait by Lord Sephirn’s door when she’s done getting cleaned up.”
Andrea dipped her head into a subservient nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
Pamela wiped her damp hand against her black pants. “Good. I need some fresh air. It stinks of spoiled royalty in here.”
Jade tilted her head, trying to keep the steam from touching her cheek. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to hold her tears at bay until the door slammed behind Pamela.
She missed home.
The feel of Zak’s muscles under her hands.
The sound of Krista’s laughter.
The taste of Briar’s cooking.
Whales, she even missed Weston’s curly hair and Francene’s casually dismissive kindness.
Now the tears did fall, one for every sorrow, and all the unspoken grief.
Andrea sighed. “There’s nothing I can do for you but tell you the life you once had is over.”
Jade held in her whimper. Where was her courage and Monomi steadfastness now? “I know.”
Chapter Fifteen
Victor
Victor didn’t watch Jade and Pamela leave. He pressed his palm against the wood grain of the door and took a moment to revel in the fact that he’d made it to Tastow so quickly. It had taken several years longer than he’d hoped. But because of that, he’d been able to bring back the youngest of the Doldras line. If only he knew what he wanted to do with her.
Her snark and fire reminded him of Artemis, and that had been a welcome respite during his days on the Sapphire. Until Jade’s heritage was revealed. And Artemis killed. For that alone, he had to make her life as miserable as his had been. She’d feel the same loss, the same anguish that he’d endured at the hands of her ancestors.
Victor growled low in his throat and yanked the door open, striding into the cramped office. Overflowing bookshelves lined one wall, maps wallpapered the other side, and file folders flanked the door. Sephirn still seemed to lack the motivation to organize his personal space.
Sephirn looked up, a scowl crossing his ever-youthful features, then recognition dawned, and a genuine smile spread across his face, puckering a small scar at the edge of his lips. “Videl.” He stood, reaching his hand across his paper-strewn desk. “It’s been far too long. You finally made it back.”
“Indeed.” And how long had it been since he’d last had someone call him by his rightful name? Videl pulled up a chair to sit across from the Elph lord. Strands of reddish hair brushed Sephirn’s sharp jaw in a manner more reminiscent of a youthful cad than of a ruthless Elph lord known for training assassins. Videl gave a small nod to Sephirn. “What do I need to know now that I’m back?”
Sephirn leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “Ah, yes, you’ve missed a lot.” His face scrunched in thought. “You were gone, what, fifty years?”
“Sixty-three years. And seven months.”
Sephirn snorted. “I’m amazed you kept your sanity after being around the rabble for so long.” He rubbed a thumb across his lips as he thought. “Avery sent his forces south after the barrier fell, as did Lea.”
It seemed Uncle Avery had already started his push to regain Doldran lands. Good. Coven Leader Lea hadn’t been much of an ally in the past, but she wouldn’t hesitate to invade lower Terrene to claim more land and slaves for herself.
Videl lifted an eyebrow. “Pham?”
“Oh, Avery dispatched Pham about twenty years ago.” Sephirn crossed his arms. “It only took him about three years of maneuvering, but now it’s just myself, Avery, and Lea as the Coven.” His tone held a note of challenge that Videl didn’t rise to.
Three lords now. Things had changed since he’d been home. Had new alliances been made, or were things just as strenuous between leaders as before? “I assume you three are remaining here, in the north?”
Sephirn let out a short laugh. “Worried about us three falling and the bond dying out?” His tight smile pulled at his facial scar. “Fret not, we old ones have no desire to get our hands personally dirty right now.” He picked up his pen and lightly tapped it against his desk, his expression thoughtful as he looked at Videl. “We may even look into adding a fourth to our ranks, just to keep the bond well-protected.”
Videl tilted his head, cautious to not look over-eager at the hint of suggestion. “That could be a prudent decision,” he stated neutrally.
“Indeed.” Sephirn shrugged, his eyes sharp, assessing. “We’ll have to consider our options, once we’ve claimed the south.”
Assuming the humans didn’t do something unexpected to ruin what should be an easy victory. Videl ran his fingertips over the supple leather of his chair. “Thank you for sending the Void Born teams, they were instrumental in dropping the barrier.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Did any make it back?” Sephirn shuffled some papers around before finding what he was looking for and pulling it closer. “I know Fulton would be pleased to have some of them train the next group.”
“Only one came back with me, and I have some plans for her still.” Videl crossed his arms. “And somehow the humans of the south learned to use the bond to a meager extent.”
Sephirn’s jaw dropped slightly. “Come again?”
“Somehow King”—Videl sneered at the title—“Brandon Doldras holds rank in the bond equivalent to my own. How, I don’t know. Though I suspect a meddling doctor who’s now deceased. But we need to erase the Doldras scum as quickly as possible.”
Sephirn rubbed at his jaw with his thumb. “Indeed. That is most concerning. How did the vermin figure out such a thing?” He shook his head. “We’ll eliminate that trouble soon.”
Videl briefly reviewed his options. He still had to get home, and as much as he wanted to personally slay Brandon, he’d left Krista to do the job for him—though he honestly doubted that plan had worked. They were like weasels, constantly slipping out of his well-laid plans. “Are we still in contact with the armies in the south?”
Sephirn nodded. “Of course. We’ll send word to them immediately to adjust their target and dispose of this royal problem.”
“Good.” The kernel of an idea sprouted in Videl’s mind. “I left a trap for the Doldran king, but I don’t know if it worked. If it didn’t, he may very well be attempting to pursue me.” Curiosity took over Sephirn’s expression but Videl kept focused on laying out his list of needs. “If he doesn’t follow, then the commanders should be made aware of him.”
“I can get a message to Lea easily enough.”
Videl nodded his thanks, then added, “There may be some people following with him. Monomi.”
Sephirn smacked his lips in distaste. “Monomi. I take it you found a way to upset their righteous nobility?”
“I stole their princess. And I need to get her north, to my uncle.”
Sephirn considered that. “We have an airship that’s due to leave for Magus Heights today, actually. You could go with it. It’s not due to leave for another hour.”
“That would be most excellent, thank you.”
“Do you have much to take with you?” Sephirn lifted a small silver bell and rang it.
A side door opened, and a young man bowed, his forehead pressed against his knees. “How may I serve you, my lord?”
Sephirn nodded to Videl to respond.
“There’s an airship that recently arrived from the border,” Videl stated, relishing in the simple satisfaction of knowing that his orders would be followed without question. He’d missed the ease of being home. “What supplies are still on it need to be moved to the airship leaving for Magus Heights.”
“Yes, sir.” The youth lifted his face to look first to Sephirn, then Videl. “Anything else I may do for you, my lord?”
“That is all.” Videl flicked his wrist in dismissal, and the youth bowed again before closing the door after himself.
Videl leaned forward, intently focused on Sephirn. “Your methods for training new recruits. Have they changed at all?”
“A bit.” Sephirn’s eyes glinted. “Find what they love, then erase it. It is the connections to others that shape a person’s identity. Make them forget those crucial relationships.” Speculation tinted with cruel irony sharpened Sephirn’s features. “Is this your plan for their princess? If so, I have all you’d need here, in this facility.”
Videl raised an eyebrow. “And it works?”
“It worked well enough for two of our soldiers who thought they were above the rules of Void Born and fraternization.” Sephirn leaned back in his chair. “Did you get a chance to meet Commando Saroot and Commando Vulpin, by any chance?”
“Christopher and Pamela? Yes. Pamela came back with me.” Videl mentally reviewed their interactions together. There had definitely been interest between the two Void Born, but no lines had been crossed. “They were together?”
Sephirn scowled and nodded. “We’re lucky we caught them before their mating produced anything to be put down. Losing Vulpin’s skillset would have been most unfortunate.”
Videl ignored Sephirn’s commentary as he considered the sudden possibility presented to him. How rich an irony it would be, if Jade forgot Zak. If she was turned against her friends and family, and then she destroyed them from the inside out.
A lazy, slow warmth of vengeance worked its way through Videl. “I’m going to watch both their worlds burn.”
Chapter Sixteen
Raine
The Phoenix rumbled underfoot, and the aircraft tilted for a heart-stopping moment. Raine gripped the bunk bed with white knuckles, shivering while she waited for it to eventually return to normal. Despite the pipes pumping boiler room water throughout the airship to help combat the freezing temperatures, her bunkroom held a distinct chill that wouldn’t go away. The fact that Rebecca and her crew weren’t suffering from frostbite while exposed to the elements and crossing into the northern mountains was a miracle. But it’d soon be up to the rest of them who weren’t part of the airship crew to split into teams and go through the land on foot.
To go find and rescue Jade. Somehow. In the midst of a war.
Raine breathed out slowly. Since Brandon had activated her bond, she hadn’t felt any different. No unexpected urges or desires, no change in her temperament.
It was quite the relief, knowing her decision had been sound. At least for now.
Bile soured the back of her throat. There were plenty of other decisions she regretted. Even now, her palms felt slick—she knew it was sweat, but her mind wanted her to believe it was blood. Her hands forever stained red because she’d murdered a man out of revenge.
Had Simon deserved his execution? Oh yes. But was it something she should have done, and with such hatred in her heart? No, not at the expense of how it haunted her dreams, her waking moments. It had taken something from her. Something more than what he’d done.
Raine leaned her head against the cool metal of the bedframe, staring at the too-close-to-see-clearly blankets. The door creaked behind her, but she didn’t turn. It was probably Schultz, coming in to say––
“Raine?” Papa’s voice sounded distant. “Raine, love, are you okay?”
She blinked up at him, the double image of him returning to one. “Sorry, yes. Just a—just a brief dizzy spell. It’s passed now.” She forced herself to smile, but Papa didn’t seem to buy it.
He leaned against the doorframe, something in his posture distantly echoing Ben’s mannerisms. Papa studied her over crossed arms. “How are you really doing, Spook?”
She shrugged halfheartedly. “Eager to get out of the airship, and also dreading it.” She wrinkled her nose. “It reeks of horses up here. I don’t know how you men survive with your bunk room right by them. Great creatures for riding, not so great for pleasant breathing in enclosed spaces.”
Laughter exploded from Papa, and his arms engulfed her in a warm hug. “Fresh air would do us all some good,” he agreed, his chest rumbling with his chuckle. He brushed a kiss against her hair, and she inhaled a whiff of his crisply scented after-oils. He released her, but kept a stabilizing hand on her shoulder. “You’ve been quiet. Anything you want to talk about before we lose any chance of a private conversation?” His gaze sharpened but his voice softened. “How have you fared, with all these men aboard and in such an enclosed space? Do you think it will be too difficult to travel with them when we won’t have walls and doors that can be locked?”
Irritation crashed on her nerves, splashing them with a caustic acid. Of course he’d pick up on that. And ask. She clenched her jaw and blew out a breath, willing her ire to melt away. This was Papa. Doing what he did best: finding the most prickly of fears and working to soothe them away.
She tugged on the end of her braid. “I’m not too concerned about that, exactly.” She shrugged a shoulder, trying to find the words needed to explain herself. “I trust Ben absolutely. That’s not an issue. And while I don’t know Christopher at all, and Geist not as well, either, I don’t feel concerned about them. Geist helped get me out of the Hollows. And the crew here, they know Jade. They’re not the dregs of society. No, that’s––” She floundered. “I … what am I, Papa?”
His brow knit and she flailed her hands.
“I killed someone. And not just in self-defense. Not a quick, clean death. He wasn’t a fighter. It wasn’t on even ground. I-I made him bleed. I made him feel pain and terror. And I enjoyed it. What kind of vile person does that?” Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked rapidly, mentally begging them to go away.
“A person with a heart full of pain.” Papa’s eyes held the same hurt she felt pounding in her chest. “But that doesn’t make you a vile person. A vile person does the kind of evil that was forced on you. There is a stark difference, dear heart.” He sighed and slipped both hands in his pockets, staring at the floor before looking up at her. “What did you learn from your actions?”
“That revenge isn’t worth it,” she whispered. She stretched her fingers far apart from each other, trying not to feel the imaginary blood that her mind supplied. “It’s not worth the price of staining my soul.”
Papa grunted softly. “Remorse over revenge isn’t a bad thing. He would’ve paid for his actions. Be it by your hand or mine or someone else’s.” His tone shifted slightly. “If any on this crew were there, and had known of his evil while he was still alive, I can just about guarantee that they would have risen to do what you did.”
He left unsaid what she already knew: Ben’s wrath against Simon would’ve been equal with her own rage.
Probably with less sadistic glee, though.
She studied the floorboards. “I haven’t given Ben an answer yet.”
“I know.”
“I need to.”
“You should, yes. But he also knows it’s not something small that he asks of you. If he’s foolish enough to push you to answer right away, then you need to factor that into your decision. Such impatience on irreversible choices should be a warning sign.”
“I know.” Raine smiled up at Papa, memorizing the glint in his eyes, the curled hairs in his eyebrows. “He hasn’t said anything else since then. He’s been waiting.”
Papa’s eyes lit up. “He’s a good lad.”
The sound of footsteps approaching made them both turn at the same time to see Ben at the doorway, his hand raised to rap on the frame. He froze, then splayed the fingers of his lifted hand, revealing two deep-green glow stones. “Samantha wants everyone to have one when we depart, in case we get separated at all.”
