Hadaen [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book One (6 page)

Amelia stared deep into his eyes.
Somehow she knew that whatever he was talking about rang more to
the truth than anything else she had ever been told in her life.
She could see the dread in his eyes; the hurt and struggles marring
his features. She could only imagine what it must have been to have
those she was close to being murdered before her very eyes. She had
no doubt that he and his brothers—the nobles—had been fighting hard
to prevent further bloodshed. Amelia looked away and back at him
quickly.

She did not know what to
believe.

Could she truly have lived in some
supernatural kingdom hundreds of years ago? And Hadaen Maruj had
been to marry her? She simply could not fathom it. That could only
mean one thing. Pulling her hand away, she jumped to her feet and
ran a palm over her face. Squeezing her eyes shut and willing away
the headache that was coming on, she then sighed long and slowly.
“How old are you?” she asked.

He looked up at her. “I’m seven
hundred and twenty-seven years old.”

“Holy shit!” she drawled,
feeling like she wanted to hurl. Amelia leaned against the arm of
another sofa, grateful for its support. “Okay.” She blew out a
breath. “So are you trying to tell me that you’re…
immortal
?”

Hadaen got to his feet and
moved over to the bar to refill their glasses. “Immortal would be
the incorrect word to use. Or else my father would be alive to this
day.” He drank some and muttered softly, “Mother, too.” Hadaen
handed her the wine and watched as she drank it as if it was some
life-saving potion. He caught a spec of her thoughts before her
mind went foggy again:
To hell with
savouring
. He chuckled to himself and
continued, “We are would you could say, ‘difficult to kill’. In
order for a Marujan noble to be killed, his
mana
must be completely removed from
his being as he cannot survive without it. Our
mana
is the essence of our
souls.”

“Then how was your father—murdered
then?”

Hadaen swallowed down his
wine. Maybe he should get a stronger drink. “The Kankul Dynasty is
a very powerful group as well. While we owe our praise to The
First, they are governed by a very dangerous fiend named Deorci.
Somehow he managed to understand the
prana
—life source—beneath my
father’s powers.” He casted her a long side-long glance. “Maruj is
in a vulnerable position, Amelia.”

Blowing out a sigh, she
re-took her seat and massaged her temples. She tried to imagine a
calm and peaceful place that she could run off to but her thoughts
never averted from the words he had just spoken. She
really
needed to go home
and get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow she’d wake up and realize that
she’d been in a horrible dream. Amelia looked up to notice Hadaen
staring at her. All emotion had been swept from his face and he
looked at her expectantly.

“What does this have to do with
me?”

He said, “In order to be
able to resist the Dynasty’s darkness, we must seek
Liberty
. It is the only
way.”

“Wait—what? Who’s this
‘
Liberty
’ person
you keep talking about?”

“It is not a person but a
force. A force created by The First to overcome all darkness. It is
yet to be found,” Hadaen told her before grasping her hand, gently
massaging her wrist with his thumb. “Amelia, you are the
Daughter of Liberty
.”

“No, I’m not!” she snapped, snatching
her hand away.

“Yes, you are.” His annoyance had
broken his steely surface. “You are a sorceress and I cannot
understand how you cannot remember!”

Amelia brushed him off and shook her
head. She refused to believe any more of it. It was too much for a
mortal girl to take. Did she just describe herself as being
‘mortal’? When had she ever thought of being anything else? She
needed to get this man out of her hair before he managed to crawl
deep under her skin.

“Look, I know your country—land,
whatever it is, must be in some real deep shit right now but it’s
got nothing to be with me. Trust me, if I was some sorcerer or
something, I’d know. I surely wouldn’t be going home to a dump
every night. Can I go home now?”

Hadaen clenched his jaws
furiously.
Damn stubborn woman!
“Sit down, Amelia. You’re not going
anywhere.”

“The hell I am—.”

The front door busted open. Amelia’s
harsh shriek echoed throughout the room as she flew up off her
feet, her fingers piercing into Hadaen’s flesh, and seeking
protection. The last thing she saw was a large figure coming
towards her before she blacked out completely.

*~*~*~*

H
adaen pulled the blanket over Amelia to shield her body
against the semi-chilled air that blew in from the balcony. She
looked so peaceful while she slept. The flames from the fireplace
sketched dancing shadows across her beautiful face. Her chest rose
and fell slowly as the realms of sleep seemed to be taken well with
her. A few strands of hair, positioned near her mouth, flew up… and
slowly back down as her calm sighs came puffing out like a sweet
lullaby. Hadaen gently pushed back her hair from her face and
silenced the groan he knew was fighting to escape him. Dammit, he
was getting hard again.

Turning abruptly from her,
he seethed hotly and headed out to the balcony, feeling murderous.
He was going to fucking kill him! Pulling the doors shut behind
him, he turned to face the fool, lounging back in a chair and
sipping on
his
damn whiskey. “I can feel your rage all the way from over
here, Hadaen,” Gideon mumbled. And he had the damn nerve to mock
him.

“Did
you have to come barging in like you did? Did you learn
nothing from Father?”

“I love whiskey, don’t I?” Hadaen
grabbed him by the collar and shoved him up against the wall.
Gideon was only an inch shorter than he was, and almost as large.
But the rage that was broiling within him could have made Hadaen
kick his fucking ass all the way to Antarctica.

“Easy there, all right?” Gideon said
raspingly, his own hand gripping the hold that Hadaen had around
his neck. “No need to get violent, big guy.”

Shoving Gideon away as if he didn’t
weight more than a feather, Hadaen released his fury in one massive
growl. He hoped he hadn’t woken Amelia. He then turned to face him
brother again. “Where the fuck were you?”

“Easy… I just went to check out some
things.”

Hadaen’s eyes narrowed.
“What
things
?”

Gideon ran a hand through
his hair and glared at his oldest brother. “Faolan needed—,” he
cleared his throat. “—a little help with sorting out some stuff.
Give the man some credit, Hadaen. He’s the one who’s been left
there breaking his back over the job that
you
were supposed to be
doing.”

Hadaen nodded. “How is he?”

“He’s good. There hasn’t been any
sight of a Kankul soldier at all. The cover is working just as well
as we intended.”

“Good…good.” Blowing out a
breath of relief, Hadean rubbed his forehead and shook his head. He
knew how the Kankul Dynasty was. They’d attack at the moment when
they were at their most vulnerable; when they least expected it. He
had to ready Amelia fast. Seeking
Liberty
was their only option. And
she was their key to finding it… and the key to his release as
well. God, his cock pained him as much as his head did.

He hadn’t even realized when his
brother and stepped up to him, planting a firm hand on his
shoulder. “I didn’t mean to scare the heck out of your girl. I was
just in a hurry.”

A hurry?
The words grabbed Hadaen’s attention like a stab
wound. He knew his brother; too well, perhaps. Gideon has been
never in hurry. “What’s happened?” The hair on the back of his neck
stood up straight.

Gideon stepped away, placing his palms
on the cool concrete balustrade structure and staring out into the
darkness. “I could sense a dark trail following behind me,” he
confessed, never meeting Hadaen’s eyes. “It was strong. Stronger
than I’d ever seen.” He could feel the tension stirring around his
brother.

“Could it have been Deorci?” The words
came out like a strain.

“I don’t know,” he said, shoulders
sagging a bit. “God, I hope not. But if it is, we are truly fucked.
Maruj is well protected. We need to worry about Deorci slithering
up while our backs are turned.”

Hadean saw no argument in his
brother’s words. “I need to convince Amelia to go to the Hub of
Lensai with us.”

Gideon nodded. As much as he could be
an ass most of the time, he understood the measures and staidness
of duty. “Does she remember anything?”

“No. Just a sublimal flashback. But
she still believes that it’s only a dream.

“What about the necklace? Maybe that
can trigger some memories.”

“I guess… When she wakes, I’ll show it
to her. If nothing happens, then I’ll have no other choice but to
drag her fighting-and-screaming to Lensai.”

Gideon grinned. “It seems like you’ve
got a feisty one on your hands, big brother. I wonder if she has a
friend,” he said, pushing the doors open. “I could do well with
one—fuck, where is she?”

Hadaen jumped ahead of his brother and
scanned the room. Blood pounded in his ears as his blazing gaze
averted to the slightly opened door.

“Shit! She’s gone.” And his knuckles
slammed—splitting against the wall.

Chapter Four

I
t
had started to rain again. And boy was the heavens in a bad mood
tonight. Thunder boomed through the cloudless sky, preceding the
sharp flashes of electricity coursing its way to Earth. Traffic
went by slowly, possibly to avoid any accidents as the streets
glistened, wet and slippery. Patrons huddled beneath the shelter of
bus sheds. Others donned thick coats and moved about their
businesses, strong umbrellas held overhead.

Amelia moved quickly pass them, ran
actually. Her T-shirt was soaked, her jeans felt like rubber
against her skin. The squishing sound of water in her shoes, made
her feel just as yucky as it felt. She was moving as quickly as she
could, daring a glance over her shoulder occasionally to see if
they had caught up with her. Her heart pounded against her chest as
if it was begging to be set free. Her stomach twisted, both from
anxiety and hunger.

She needed to leave Seattle. Amelia
didn't know how she'd make that happen but she'd think of
something. Rain water beat down on her head, her hair sticking to
her face and neck like paste. She could feel her body shivering,
attempting to make heat. Her teeth clattered and she shut her mouth
instantly.

She had woken up at Hadaen's place
only a few minutes ago, feeling more cosy than she had ever had in
many years. She had somehow felt at home. But then she had heard
the voices; Hadaen's and another's. Of course curiosity had led her
to the doors she was sure led out to the balcony. And she had
listened. Amelia's heart had sunk through the floor when she heard
them mention taking her to some place commonsense only told her she
wouldn't even be able to find on a map. She had felt hopeless and
frightened; and the only reasonable thing she'd seen fit was to get
the hell away from there. She was damn grateful that his apartment
wasn't far from where she lived.

Looking around in all directions,
Amelia scanned the area cautiously before running up the steps
which led up to the building she called home. A staircase brought
her up to a hall before she felt around in her pockets for her key
and slid it into the slot. Shoving the door open, she saw Reese
jump to her feet.

"Where were you? I was starting to get
worried."

Amelia slammed the door shut. It was a
good thing they didn't have neighbours. "Relax, okay? I'm fine. I
just need to leave Washington… Or the country." Stripping out of
her blouse, Amelia headed for the bathroom.

"What?" her friend’s voice came from
behind her. "What happened? Are you in some type of trouble?
Amelia...we can talk about this!"

She took a towel from the rack and
started to blot her hair, glancing at her paled face in the mirror.
"You wouldn't understand."

Reese grabbed the towel from her
hands. "Then tell me. Make me understand. Is this about that guy at
the store? Did you see him again?" And then her hands searched at
Amelia's face. "Did he hurt you?"

Amelia glanced at her friend. She'd
never seen her like this before. Maybe she really did care. Pulling
off her jeans, she then took back the towel and wrapped it around
her body before ridding the wet underwear. Suddenly remembering her
cellphone, she retrieved it and pressed a button. It still
worked.

"I just need some cash, Reese. That's
all I need. I have to get out of here."

"Tell me what the fuck is going on
with you!"