Defy (30 page)

He also felt the lingering effects of the
deep sleep he had induced on her. He knew that whatever she was
going through was exacerbated by his actions because her reaction
times were compromised. Taking the time to analyze just how he felt
about himself in that moment wouldn’t have helped matters,
however.

Her fear continued to spike, and pain
exploded along his body in ways that told him that she was being
severely mistreated. It took a tremendous amount of focus to push
past the sensations and emotions being forced on him, but stubborn
will was something he had in abundance.

When he finally finished loading his pockets,
securing his tomahawk in its harness and turning toward the
mountain trail that he sensed would lead him to her, he felt such
pain in his head that he knew Tate had suffered a significant
blow.

His connection to her was suddenly
severed.

It was enough to motivate him to do something
he hadn’t done in nearly five decades. He extended his wings and
flew.

Tiege once again flew with Ini-herit. The sky
around them glowed orange due to the flicking wings of the Waresti
now traveling with them. His thoughts were still hazy, but finally
started clearing when the unexpected pain hit him.

His head snapped back as though he’d been
struck. The involuntary reaction had him head-butting Ini-herit,
who cursed and briefly lost altitude.

“Ow! Sorry,” Tiege said, reaching up to rub
the back of his head where he’d connected with the elder’s face. “I
don’t know what—”

A second sharp sting of pain hit him, but he
managed to control his reaction this time. His heart raced. A
feeling of escalating fear seized him around the throat.

Two of them. There are two of them!

His sister's thoughts flashed through his
head. “Tate’s in trouble,” he said.

“What?” Ini-herit asked.

The words barely made it out of Tiege’s
throat thanks to his hammering heart. Forcing himself to calm down
and focus, he said more loudly, “Tate’s in trouble.”

Hands are tied—gag in my mouth!

The thoughts were rapid. He doubted she
realized she conveyed them. Glancing over at Alexius, who had flown
nearer when Ini-herit’s flight pattern had been disrupted, he
asked, “How far is Harold from Tate’s location?”

Alexius’ eyes glowed briefly. “He thinks he’s
still at least thirty minutes from her.”

It wasn’t Tate’s fear that flooded Tiege
then. He knew that the Mercesti Alexius had mentioned had reached
his sister, and he was nowhere near her to help. They were probably
at least twenty minutes from her location themselves. He hissed as
pain seared along his side. Other pain exploded in his cheek, as
though someone had taken a fist to it.

“Oh, God—she’s in real trouble,” he said
choppily as he fought for breath. He brought his hands to his head
in an effort to center himself and somehow ward off the projected
pain. “They’re hurting her. They’re—”

The next blast of pain had darkness ringing
his vision. He felt himself fading. Then silver light and healing
energy swirled around and through him. He blinked back to full
awareness. When he looked up, he caught Clara Kate’s worried
gaze.

“Tiege?” she asked.

He saw that she read his expression and knew
what he was going to say. Still, he looked to Alexius and said, “I
can’t sense Tate anymore. The Mercesti have her now.”

Caleb figured they were about thirty minutes
from reaching Tate, judging by Uriel’s continued updates provided
by Harold. It sounded like Tiege might actually make it to her
first, which was fine with him. He’d rather know the twins were
together than think of either of them on their own.

Uriel’s eyes flashed. When the energy
subsided, he exchanged a look with Gabriel. Caleb knew even before
his brother’s thought entered his head that something had gone
wrong. Gabriel caught his gaze. His eyes had flashed to dark blue,
something that only happened when his Gloresti instincts were
engaged.

The thought was to the point:
Tate’s in
trouble.

“You wish to die, do you?” Eirik asked in his
unfeeling tone.

Ariana didn’t even bother nodding as he
walked a slow circle around her. She just stood there and hoped
that Deimos was really, really hungry. Judging by the saliva
dripping from his mouth where he stood about ten feet away in the
grips of four large Mercesti, he was.

Please let it be over quick
, she
prayed.

“Very well. Do you wish to disrobe yourself,
or shall I do it for you?” Eirik asked.

It felt like ice sliding over her skin as she
flicked her gaze to his when he stopped in front of her and stared
down at her with his deadly red eyes. She realized then that he
intended to turn her over to his men before he let Deimos kill her.
Her resolve faltered as a number of the soldiers around them
stepped closer.

Think of Tisha
, she told herself, even
as she trembled in fear.
Think of all of the Estilorians who
will die if you assist Eirik in finding that scroll
.

“See? I can be accommodating,” Eirik said
when she just stood there without speaking. “I have offered you a
choice, have I not?” He once again started circling her, causing
the other males to step away to give him room. “I will even give
you another option. Live, follow me and achieve power beyond any of
your most far-reaching dreams.”

Some choice, she thought bitterly. Give up
her soul for the chance of her physical form to live on under his
control. He was completely deluded if he believed that was at all
an appealing thought. Visions of the world she knew falling within
the dark shadow of Eirik’s rule had her reaching for the buttons of
her gown.

“What are you doing?” he asked her, coming to
an abrupt halt.

“I’m making my choice,” she replied as she
fumbled with the buttons. She was pleased that her voice didn’t
waver. “You and your followers may have this body. You can abuse me
however you’d like for as long as you’d like, and then you can kill
me or turn me over to your disgusting henchman to do the job. But
you will never get me to lead you to that scroll. You can find it
yourself. And I’ll happily die letting you wonder if I’ve been
leading you in the right direction at all.”

She registered the surprise in his gaze even
as the first button came undone. She realized then that he hadn’t
expected her to stick to her decision. That knowledge firmed her
resolve.

His eyes narrowed consideringly. Managing a
smile as she held his terrifying gaze, she unfastened the next
button. “Thanks for letting me decide, Eirik. I happen to really
like this gown. It’d be a shame to see it destroyed before I
am.”

For the first time in the many days she’d
been with him, Ariana saw some form of emotion flash in Eirik’s
gaze. She thought it must be fury, but his face remained so
expressionless that it was hard to tell. Only when his eyes moved
from hers and lowered to scan her body did she understand.

Her fingers slipped on the buttons as
realization dawned. Revulsion had her looking away from his face.
Up until then, he had treated her like nothing more than a mat upon
which he wouldn’t even deign to wipe his boots. She realized now
that she preferred that to the depraved interest she had just
inadvertently ignited. Mortified, she reached again for the next
button as tears burned behind her eyes. She blinked them back,
determined not to break down at this critical moment.

Murmurs arose from the outskirts of the crowd
then, drawing her attention. When Eirik looked away from her and
turned his attention to the sky, she lowered her hands from the
buttons and glanced around to figure out what was going on.

She soon saw them. Two pairs of red wings
approaching in the distance. They stood out in stark contrast to
the night sky.

Eirik reached for his cursed krises and
stared intently at the Mercesti as they neared. Ariana knew after
listening to Eirik issue orders to his followers that he insisted
that none of the group traveling with him use their wings. There
was no greater attention-grabber to the Waresti patrolling the
mainland than the luminescent glow of a Mercesti’s red wings
against the black backdrop. She imagined he was ready to kill the
Mercesti coming toward them the moment they landed.

To their credit, the two Mercesti in the air
didn’t fly right to Eirik’s location. They were apparently smart
enough to land a safe distance away and then walk to their
destination.

Eirik stood with his krises in hand, his eyes
shifting between her and the path leading up into the mountain from
which the two Mercesti were bound to approach. She figured he was
debating what held more importance. He made his decision, shoving
aside several of the Mercesti around her so he could move a few
steps closer to the mountain path.

A few minutes later, the two Mercesti
approached. Ariana recognized the two cast-outs and realized that
one of them carried a third being over his shoulder. All she could
see was a pair of long legs clad in purple pants and combat boots.
It appeared as though the third being’s hands were tied, indicating
that Eirik had another prisoner. The knowledge filled her with
dread.

“What are you doing back here, Bertram?”
Eirik asked, his gaze moving between the two males. “Tycho? Are you
ready to die?”

“If it pleases you, sir,” Bertram said as he
fell to one knee and crossed his right arm over his chest in a
bastardized version of the greeting normally reserved for elders,
“we have brought you a gift in hopes of receiving your favor and
forgiveness so that we can once again serve you.”

Ariana watched along with all of the Mercesti
around her as Tycho leaned down to drop the Estilorian he carried
to the ground.

Oh, no
.

The thought flashed through her head as she
realized it was another female. This female’s clothing was in
terrible shape. The scrap of cloth wrapped around her upper body
was doing a haphazard job of covering her. The pants she wore hung
so low on her hips that Ariana could see the bones of her pelvis.
Her skin was mottled with bruises and scrapes.

“I have a female in the camp already,” Eirik
said in frigid tones. “I have no need of another.”

Deimos issued fierce growling noises that
made the hair on the nape of Ariana’s neck stand up and a number of
gazes move warily in his direction. When she dared to look at him,
she saw he was fighting like the animal he was to free himself from
the Mercesti containing him. His red eyes focused on the female on
the ground. Saliva flew from his sharp teeth as he bared them and
snapped at the hands holding him. Even Eirik looked back at him as
if to figure out what caused the aggressive behavior.

Bertram ignored Deimos, apparently more
concerned with his own neck. “But this female is different, sir,”
he explained. He reached over and removed the gag, revealing more
of her face. “This female is a Kynzesti.”

Ariana’s eyes widened in shock as she looked
again at the other female. She found herself walking closer, even
pushing past some of the Mercesti around her so she could get a
better look at the new prisoner.

She realized Bertram wasn’t lying. The female
had markings around her eyes in the deep blue-green color of the
Kynzesti class. Blood from a head wound coated almost half of her
face. How on the Estilorian plane had a Kynzesti ended up here?

Deimos started howling. The sound was so
horrifying that Ariana brought her hands to her ears. When she
dared to open her eyes after squeezing them shut, it was to find
Eirik standing directly in front of her.

“So,” he said, “you were ready to sacrifice
yourself rather than help me on my quest.”

She swallowed hard when his gaze moved behind
him, to the Kynzesti female. She knew what was coming.

He again looked at her, his eyes soulless
orbs. “Tell me…are you willing to sacrifice her?”

“Holy light—they’ve got Tate!”

Sophia and Quincy had only just caught up
with the Mercesti camp when the two stray males made their
appearance. Sophia watched from their position within the tall
branches of a nearby tree as the males unloaded their burden and
engaged in a conversation with the leader of the rogue Mercesti.
She couldn’t hear anything from their distance.

Quincy didn’t respond to her statement, but
he did give her a squeeze that told her he heard her and also
recognized the form on the ground.

Sophia stared at her cousin with an
overwhelming mix of disbelief, joy and terror. She tried not to
think of the fact that she and Quincy had been sleeping while Tate
was captured. Whatever had happened, it had occurred far from them.
There was nothing they could have done.

“I have to shift—” she began.

“You can’t,” Quincy interrupted.

She tried to turn to look at him, but it was
all but impossible while in the confines of the flight harness. “I
have to, Quincy,” she argued. “Tate needs us!”

“Yes, she does. But a limping animal will
hardly be a match for all of those Mercesti, and you’ll tear your
stitches. You’re better than you were before we slept, but you’re
far from a hundred percent.”

“Quincy—”

“No, Sophia,” he said in a firm voice. “There
have been many times when I’ve admired your independent nature, but
I won’t let you go into a Mercesti camp alone, especially while
injured.”

She again opened her mouth to argue, her
focus on Tate. He reached up and brought his hand to the side of
her face, forcing her to look at him as he leaned closer to her.
Her pulse thrummed in the side of her neck as she caught his gaze.
His lips were mere inches from hers.

“I will tranq you, Sophia, if that’s what it
takes to keep you safe.”