Phantom of the Heart (18 page)

A loud cheer split the air, when Cybralle pointed to the armory.

“You have an hour.”

Mesmeria's sight was blurred by tears, as she looked up at Cybralle. In the predawn light, her wife looked even larger in her armor.

“Did you hear that?” she asked, as she cupped her wife's face. “We managed to get it right the first time.”

“I have never been so proud to be a mother,” Cybralle leaned into the caress, and Mesmeria smiled into her eyes. “She is twice the commander in chief I was, and she will become even greater as she grows older.”

Mesmeria pulled Cybralle's head down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, before she rested her forehead against her wife's. “You were a great example for her, my love. I just wish we were wise enough to have had another child.”

Cybralle chuckled softly. “Did you forget that your mother threatened to kill me if I ever got you pregnant again?”

“Oh, how can I forget?” With a playful leer, Mesmeria's hand slipped around Cybralle to gently pinch her butt. “I told her you were an impressive specimen and that the baby was likely to be big. We just never expected Sterling to be
that
big.”

“And seeing that big baby coming from your small body almost drove me insane with fear. As joyous as the occasion was, it was also my single most terrifying experience.”

Mesmeria grinned. “The Spear of the Gods has not been used since. What a pity.” She laughed, as she saw Cybralle's pupils dilate. “Come back to me, and I will see if we can get the priestess to allow us to use it one last time…without any lasting repercussions.”

This time, it was Cybralle who leered at her. “I will definitely come back for that.”

A short silence fell between them, and Mesmeria swallowed hard. All this talk about family was what she wanted Cybralle to take with her into battle. She wanted her to remember what she was leaving behind and what she would be coming home to. She stood on her toes and gave her wife a deep, loving kiss.

“I will wait for you. Now go and bring that stubborn girl back with you.” With one final look into those brilliant, silver eyes, she turned and walked away. Just before she entered the palace doors, she chanced a final look and smiled when she saw that Cybralle still stood where she had left her. Mesmeria gave her a small wave and walked on.

Now the hardest part would begin—waiting.

Chapter 18

Gentro's eyes flickered open and almost immediately, he sat up.

A sharp pain through his head made him groan softly, but he pushed through it as he took in his surroundings. He frowned as his eyes darted around him. He appeared to be in some sort of a rundown, windowless cottage. The interior was dusty and smelled of decay. The place was bare except for the crude fur pallet he sat on and a crudely constructed fire pit.

Where am I? And how did I get here?
He mentally retraced his steps and surged to his feet, ignoring the pain the swift action caused. Something had attacked him. He sniffed the air, picking up a familiar scent.

The door flew open and Gentro was surprised to see daylight streaming in. How long had he been unconscious? His eyes narrowed, as a dark silhouette filled the doorway.
Clever
, he thought. Pushing the door open and stepping to the side was a fine ploy to draw him out if he was to attack. Would he ever stop being amazed by her?

“Why did you bring me here?” He wished she would come closer so he could see her face. With the sun behind her, her face was shrouded in darkness. “You know that I am not the enemy?”

She rolled her shoulders and Gentro almost smiled at the gesture. He liked doing that too. It just helped him relax. He took a step closer to her, eager to have a peek at her face.

“Stop.”

The word was uttered quietly and in a nonthreatening way, but Gentro had experienced her strength before. She would not need to resort to threats. She was quite powerful. He had not seen her in Ulv form yet, but he was sure she would be magnificent.

“I simply want to gaze upon your face. I will not attack you,” he said soothingly.

“You would lose.”

Gentro marveled at the deep, rich sound of her voice. It wound itself around him and brought a warm smile to his face. “You are quite sure of yourself.” When she did not respond, his smile faltered a little. Rom had told him that she was not very talkative. “So, why am I here, Orla?”

He saw her hands curl into fists. “Why did you bring
her
here?”

For a moment he did not know who she was referring to. Then it struck. “I thought you might want to see her again.”

“You thought wrong.” A noticeable edge of menace had crept into her voice.

“But you love her.” He was a little unsettled by her statement combined with the slightly threatening posture. “You need her to grow into your full power.”

Orla took two steps, and Gentro was stunned by how fast she moved. There was something that he was missing here. The girl had evolved too soon, too fast. Close up, he could now see her face. Achingly familiar, pale eyes looked back at him.

“Do you really think that she will want to be with a monster?”

She was not screaming at him, but Gentro could sense her rising anger. If possible, it seemed to make her appear even larger than the last time he had seen her. He slowly held up his hand in a nonthreatening way.

“Not a monster. You could never be one, not even if you tried.” He took a hesitant step closer. “If you will allow me, I would like to tell you more about yourself.”

The ice-blue eyes hardened. “You do not know me.”

“Oh, but I do. I was there the day you were born. I hid in the stables. When your mother fell into a deep exhausted sleep, I snuck in and picked you up. You were the most beautiful baby I have ever seen.” His voice caught. It was such a wonderful experience to have held his daughter in his arms while gazing down at the sleeping face of his beloved. “I was there when you took the position of blacksmith. I was also there when you got married. I only looked on from afar, because I knew that if I had been in the cathedral, I would have wanted to sit next to your mother and hold her hand while we watched you pledge your heart to another.” As he spoke, he watched her closely. He could see all the different emotions flitting over her face. “I have made it my duty to be there at the most memorable moments in your life.”

Orla shook her head. “Then why did you make me into this?”

“Come and sit, and I will tell you everything I know.” He saw the distrust and anger warring in her eyes as she looked at him. When, after a few seconds, she still had not moved, he gently coaxed her closer. “It is a great tale, and I am sure you will want to know more about your heritage.”

It worked. Curiosity seemed to have won the epic battle in her heart, because Orla moved over to the opposite side of the cottage and slid down the wall until she was sitting flat on the floor.

“That night I took you, your commander told you a little about the Ulvs.” He saw her eyes widen in surprise, and he smiled. “Yes, I was listening too. You actually sensed my presence that night. But let me not divert from the story. Everything she said about the Ulvs was true. Except for the part when she said that at full moon we became man-eating demons who prey on our subjects. That is so far from the truth.”

There was still a lot of talking to do, and he wished for a drink of water. But if he did not make use of this opportunity to tell Orla about her Ulv side, he doubted he would get another chance. The water would have to wait for now.

“We were given unique powers and status by the gods to rule and protect their subjects. This power enabled us to shift between human, wolf, and Ulv form. The Ulv is rarely exposed unless the threat is great to ourselves or to mankind. Over the ages, many immortal beings have surfaced, putting the existence of mankind in great peril. As the keepers of the mortal realm, the Ulv have fought and won many epic battles.”

“The first ever Ulv was Hark who was the first king to the modern human race. He had three sons Berth, Minos, and Elan. All three of the boys inherited their father's Ulv gene. So, when the boys came of age they, by stipulation of the gods, had to find and mate with the purest souls they could find. This would ensure that the gene stayed pure as it was transferred and it would also initiate the gene, allowing them to be able to change into Ulv form.” Gentro was happy to see Orla was listening attentively. “The sons each traveled the world and managed to find the purest souls and married. For generations, boys and girls were blessed with the gene. As the older generations stepped back into quiet hibernation, the younger generations ruled over the mortals.”

Gentro took a long breath and smiled when he saw a flash of impatience in his daughter's eyes. She was definitely hooked. “All went well for many, many centuries until the birth of two boys, Besk and Tart. Both princes inherited the gene, but when it came to finding mates, it proved a bit difficult. Mankind had begun to evolve, and fewer and fewer humans believed in the gods. People were now easily corrupted by power, greed, and physical urges. Finding a pure soul in this maelstrom of depravity made the search more taxing for the princes. Tart traveled to the cold northern climes and found his mate. Besk, after searching the earth for many years, returned home without a mate.”

“In the meantime, Tart and his wife produced an heir—me.” He almost laughed at the shocked look on Orla's face. “You, my dear, are part of the oldest royal house in existence. You will not believe how great my joy was when you found your mate and married into a respected royal house.”

Gentro watched again as a kaleidoscope of emotions washed over Orla's face. Her innocence was endearing and very refreshing. If he was ever to see Lima again, he would want to thank her for this great gift.

“Just when Besk had given up on finding his mate and made peace with the fact that his Ulv would remain dormant, he met a woman.” Orla's eyebrows shot up, and Gentro found that he simply liked having her as an audience. “The woman was a servant girl working in the royal palace and one who had had her sights on the throne for a long while. To blind the lonely prince's eyes and heart, she solicited the help of a witch. Impatient and scared that her treachery would be discovered, she enticed Besk to her bed. Unfortunately, this act coincided with a predicted lunar occurrence and the woman conceived. With the knowledge that she was carrying an Ulv heir, she dropped her façade and her revolting character surfaced. The reigning king, Helm, your great-grandfather, banned her from the kingdom.”

“What happened to the baby?” Orla was not even trying to hide her curiosity anymore. Gentro smiled warmly at her.

“It was a boy and, yes, he too inherited the gene, as the mother had planned when she seduced your uncle on that specific night. But the gene in the boy was tainted. He grew into a cruel, depraved man.”

Orla pursed her lips. “What happened to him? Where is he now?”

Gentro was quiet for a moment. “When I heard of Karas, which is one of only a handful of kingdoms that still practice dual religions and still pay homage to the gods, I decided to come here to look for my mate. I found your mother and fell deeply in love with her. By the time your mother conceived, I had decided to wait until after your birth before I asked her to accompany me to meet my family.” He sighed deeply. “That was when I leaned that Ridat had followed me here. I knew he would try to harm, even kill, the both of you. So I followed Rom to war. When Rom was fatally injured I bit him and turned him. We have been together since, watching over you and your mother from afar. Occasionally, we would travel the battlefields of the world and find honest souls on the brink of death. We would offer them the opportunity to live forever. That is how I managed to put together such a well-oiled army.”

“What happened to Ridat?”

“Ridat, on the other hand, began slaughtering humans. Unlike the pure gene, his tainted one released his Ulv immediately, not needing to be initiated by the purity of true love. The wolves that attacked the Arnati troops and then later your group, were Ridat's spawn. He sends out his men to attack villages and turn innocent farmers into brutal monsters.”

He watched, puzzled, as Orla left the cottage. She was back in a few minutes, with a pail of water and a hastily roasted rabbit carcass. Gentro's stomach growled at the sight of the food. He had not eaten since midday yesterday. When Orla handed him the rabbit, he shook his head.

“What about you?”

“I had breakfast.”

Gentro held her eyes for a moment. “Thank you.” He took the meat from her and tore into it. His eyes almost rolled back in their sockets when he tasted the slight smokiness of the blood. She had prepared it just the way he liked it and he told her so. She blushed and looked away.

“I like it that way too. My mother squirmed at the bloody mess it left on my plate.”

Gentro stopped eating and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He sat back slightly and studied her for a while. He only looked away when Orla began to squirm under his gaze.

“May I ask you something, Orla?”

The pale eyes were wide when she turned to look at him. “You seem to know everything about me already. I doubt I have anything more to tell you.”

“Believe me, I know of you, but I think there is still a lot I can learn about you.” He smiled warmly, but Orla looked away. “May I ask you now?”

Orla shrugged. “Yes.”

“When did you begin to feel the change in you?”

Orla was quiet for a while, her blue eyes fixed on him. “I think right after my wedding night.”

Gentro nodded and resumed his eating.

“Why do you ask?”

Gentro finished swallowing the mouthful. “Because I am amazed by how fast you have evolved. Many of us had to wait a while longer before our Ulvs manifested themselves.” He took a small bite and chewed slowly as he watched her. “That first night, when you left the palace dungeon, I saw claw marks in the room and the furniture was completely destroyed. Your Ulv revealed itself quickly.”

Orla dipped her hand into the water pail and took a sip of the water. Gentro could see through her nonchalant attitude to the concern she was trying to hide. When she spoke again, he knew he was right.

“What does that mean?”

He shook his head quickly. “I do not know, but I also do not think that it is something bad.”

Orla grimaced. “Not something bad, you say. I personally do not think that turning into a wolf is normal at all.” She took another sip. “Is…Am I a danger to humans?”

“No. Your gene is pure and thus you have an ingrained responsibility to protect humans.” He saw her look away. “You will not be a danger to her at all. As a matter of fact, you can still have a fulfilling life with her.”

***

Orla did not know how she felt at that very moment. All she knew was that confusion, anger, and fear were warring for supremacy inside her. She had stayed in wolf form for the past three weeks since her escape to avoid all these warring emotions. She preferred that state, because the wolf's senses were so overwhelming they almost drowned out her human thoughts and emotions.

That changed two nights ago.

While out running, which she did quite often, she had picked up a familiar scent. Her first instinct had been to run away, thinking it was Gentro's men trying to capture her again. Curiosity pushed her through the woods to a place where the smell was stronger. As she came closer, she saw a figure sitting at a fire. She stood there rooted to the spot, as she pushed aside her wolf senses to sift her human memories for this familiar-looking person. She was still trying to place the person, when the redhead turned and she caught sight of the face. She stumbled back in shock, her eyes hungrily moving over Sterling's face. It had been more than nine months since she had last seen her wife. Orla stared, imprinting the face on her mind. For a moment, she was tempted to rush over to her. The urge to kiss and hold her was so strong. When realization struck, it was like a physical blow to her system.