The Sacrifice (24 page)

“Madam.” Her accent sounded different.

Italian
maybe?
She met the criteria for a feeder—black eyes and an
eat-shit smile. “We are pleased to have you and Miss Lily here,” the woman
said.

Riana
didn
’
t trust her. Feeders were not this civilized. Her
mom had told her enough horror stories to know this was a ruse. Not to mention
everything she
’
d learned in class over the last few weeks. The
female opened her mouth to say something else. Riana cut her off before she
could speak. “
I am
not
pleased to be here. And, neither you nor anyone else will be going
near Lily. I will take care of her. We will not need your services.”

“Riana,”
Vind snapped.
“You will show Ms. Rizzo and Alpheus respect.
Matter of fact, you will show anyone in my employment respect, especially them.
They are loyal, and have been with me for a long time. Surely you haven
’
t
forgotten what we spoke of earlier?” His merciless eyes cut toward Lily.

Riana looked away. She ground her
teeth to keep from saying something that would cause him to follow through on
his threat to harm Lily.

“
Good.
” Vind said.

Heat
radiated from Riana
’
s face. The asshole had taken her silence as a
sign of submission, when all she wanted was to tear into him like a tiger
protecting her young.

“Wake
the child and cleanup for dinner.” Vind said. “There are clothes for you in the
closet. Ms. Rizzo will bring appropriate dinner clothes from Lily
’
s
room. Alpheus will come and escort you to the dining room in one hour.”

The three of them turned and left the
room, closing the door behind them. The sound of several locks slid into place.

“What happened to moving freely around
the castle?” she said to the closed door.

Cy
returned from his meeting with the council and stopped by Oz
’
s
office for a quick update. Afterwards, he hurried to his apartment to change
clothes before taking Riana home. Vind
’
s army could show at
any time and try to break him out. For some unknown reason, he was becoming
more anxious by the minute. His chest was tight and his head was splitting. He
needed to get Riana someplace safe.

As
Cy headed for the door, the lights blinked inside his apartment and his watch
released a soft beep. Those were signals alerting him that his mother had
arrived. She wasn
’
t home when he
’
d visited to tell her
about Vind
’
s capture, so he left the message with her
assistant. Most Sivadians would never believe their queen actually transported
outside the compound walls and followed a tunnel leading into his kitchen
pantry. He couldn
’
t keep his identity hidden if people at the
compound saw their queen popping in to visit.

He
opened the pantry and punched a code into a wall panel, releasing the locking
mechanism on a steel door. His mother stood waiting on the top step that led
down into the bricked tunnel. Other than Riana, she was one of the most
beautiful females on Earth. Throughout history, her legendary beauty had inspired
artists, sculptors, authors and poets. With dark hair and skin as flawless as a
perfect diamond, her pale aquamarine eyes held the light of a mother
’
s
love whenever she looked at him.

“Hello,
darling. I know you
’
re busy, but I have something to ask of you.”

Cy
embraced his mother and kissed her cheek. “I
’
m a little anxious to
get Riana home, but can spare a minute for you.”

The
queen took a long breath and released it. “Cygan, I came because I want to see
Vind. I would like to speak with him before he goes before the council. Would
you and Oz be so kind as to bring him here so we can talk privately? I know
everything he
’
s done, but he is still my son. I need to look in
his eyes, mother to son, one last time before he is taken away forever.”

It
broke Cy
’
s heart to hear the anguish in his mother
’
s
voice. He understood her need to look into Vind
’
s face, the same way
he had. If she was looking for a sign of remorse, then she
’
d
be in an even worse frame of mind afterward. Remorse was an emotion his brother
had never been capable of producing, not even for her. But he couldn
’
t
deny her request, even though it would cause her more pain.

“Of
course we
’
ll bring him to you. You
’
ll
have to allow us to remain in the room. Vind can
’
t
be trusted, and your safety comes first. Don
’
t expect much from
him, Mother. Time has hardened him more than even I could
’
ve
imagined.”

An electric carafe of tea sat on his
desk. “Would you like some tea while I call Oz and let him know?”

“That would be nice dear.”

Cy poured her tea and sat it on the
table in front of her. As he grabbed his phone, Oz’s face appeared on the
caller ID. “I was about to call you. Mother is here and wants the two of us to
bring Vind to my office so she can talk to him.”

Oz
took a long breath, and when he spoke his voice sounded tight, stressed. “That
’
s
why I
’
m calling. I
’
m at the jail now,
and Vind
’
s not here. The guards are unconscious, locked
inside one of the cells.”

Cy
rubbed his brow. “He couldn
’
t have escaped this compound undetected. There is
no
possible way.”

“I
’
ve
already locked down the compound. The guards are conducting a detailed search.
Something went on at the gate and I
’
m headed there next.
They said I needed to see this for myself. Meet me in the observation room so
we can go over the recordings inside the cells.”

“Okay,
I
’
ll be there in a minute.”

Cy
hung up, and met his mother
’
s fearful eyes.

“Has he escaped?” she asked.

“He
’
s
not in his cell. But I don
’
t believe he
’
s left the compound.
I need to meet Oz. Don
’
t worry, Mother, we
’
ll
find him. You lock the door behind me and I
’
ll call once we know
something.”

“All
right, dear,” the queen said, her tone deflated. “I
’
ll
wait to hear from you.”

Cy
headed straight to Riana
’
s quarters. The knot in his stomach worsened with
each passing second. Until he laid eyes on Riana, he wouldn
’
t
be calm enough to concentrate on searching for Vind.

After knocking on the door for what
seemed like forever, Elle finally answered. “Took you long enough,” Cy snapped
as he strode past her.

“I
was
taking a nap. Since it appears we
’
re under house arrest. That wouldn
’
t
be any of your doings, would it Mr. Boss Man?”

Cy
ignored her and headed into Riana
’
s room only to find no one there. Her bathroom was
empty also. His heart raced as he went back to the living room.

Elle sat on the couch with a bottle of
water in her hand.

“Where is Riana?” he blurted.

Elle’
s gaze narrowed. “She
’
s
not in her room?”

“No,
I wouldn
’
t have asked if she were. When was the last time
you saw her?”

“She
was here when I went to take a nap. Commander Oz came by and told us not to
leave until you returned.” Elle glared at him suspiciously. “What
’
s
going on, Cy?”

“Nothing.” He cast his gaze down and
headed for the door. “I have to go.”

Elle
stepped in front of him. “It
’
s
something
, and the only thing you
have
to do is tell me what
’
s going on.”

“
I don’
t know where Riana is. I have to find her. He tried to hide the fear
in his voice. It didn
’
t work. He grabbed the door handle and pulled.

Elle
shoved her weight against it, slammed it shut, and pinned him with a frustrated
stare. “There
’
s something you
’
re not saying, Cy.
Why do you look so freaked out? If something has happened to Riana, you had
better tell me.”

“We
had Vind in our cells and he
’
s escaped. I need to find Riana to make sure she
’
s
safe. I
’
m not saying this but once, Elle. Get out of my
way, before I do something I
’
ll regret.
”

“I
’
m
coming with you.”

“No,
you
’
re not.” Cy
’
s phone rang and he
pulled it from his pocket. “Yeah.”

“I need you in the observation room,
now,” Oz said.

Oz
’
s
voice was tighter than last time they
’
d talked. Whatever he
’
d
found, it wasn
’
t good.
“I
’
m on my way.”

Thank
God, Elle had disappeared.
At least she was no longer demanding answers he didn
’
t
have. Cy slammed the door on his way out, and hit the stairwell at a dead run.
He wasn
’
t surprised at the sound of bare feet pounding
down the steps behind him. “Go back, Elle! That
’
s a command!”

Elle
caught up to him outside, keeping pace with his long strides. “Look, you can
command all you want. I really don
’
t care. I
’
m
helping you look for Riana whether you like it or not. She
’
s
been my best friend since we were five. I love her as much as you do, and I
have as much right to search for her as anyone.”

Cy
stopped abruptly and pinned Elle with a hard stare. Damn, she was stubborn. He
didn
’
t have time to argue, and she might actually be of
help. “
Fine, just don’
t get yourself killed. And, try to do as you
’
re
told, for once.”

Elle
gave him a tight-lipped smirk. “I
’
ll do my best.”

When Cy and Elle entered the
observation room, Kam and Oz sat in front of a roll of monitors covering one
side of the small room.

“What
’
s
Blondie
doing here?” Kam asked in a snide tone.

Elle gave him a disgusted glare. “Love
you too, asshole.”

“Don
’
t
ask.” Cy looked over Oz
’
s shoulder at the screen, paused on a view outside
the trainees lodge. Oz stared at the monitor as if he were in a trance.

“What did you find?” Cy asked when no one
said anything.

Oz
shook his head and started one of the videos. “You need to take a seat. This
one starts not long after I left Riana
’
s this morning.”

The
recording started with Riana following Mr. Connors out of her building and
through the compound. Once they entered the jail, Oz switched monitors. It
picked up with Riana and Mr. Connors stopping in front of Vind
’s cell.

Cy
’
s
stomach churned bile into his throat as he watched the tape. His eyes widened
and he moved closer to the screen. “What the hell? Is Vind actually fading?” No
one answered. They were all paralyzed by what was happening on the screen.
Right before he disappeared, Vind turned and looked up at the camera with a
vengeful grin, as if to say ‘I have what I came for, brother.
’
At
that moment, Cy realized he
’
d set-up his own capture. Vind wasn
’
t
satisfied with just killing him. He wanted Cy to suffer. Suffer for their
father
’
s choice of him as successor. Suffer knowing Vind
would destroy the only woman he
’
d ever loved.