Chapter Eight
"That still doesn't erase the fact that we're looking for him." He kept one hand on the stack of files that hadn't shocked Emily as much as they should have. Hadn't she already known her grandfather was a ruthless monster?
"And once you find him?" Emily looked into his eyes, trying to determine if he was lying to her. How could she trust him? "What are you going to do to him? Us?"
"He'll pay for his crimes." He lifted a hand to her hair and Emily forced herself not to flinch. If what he'd shown her was authentic she could almost understand the rage that pushed him to go after the man responsible. Almost.
"And us?"
"I swore an oath to you earlier, and I'll reaffirm it right here. I will not harm you again. Nor will your cousins be harmed."
"Any of them?" Emily asked, "Not just the ones here?"
He hesitated. "I cannot promise that. My first duty is to protect my people. If your cousins seek to harm them or stand in my way, I cannot in good conscience not act."
"Will you ever release the four of us?"
****
Rydere stared at her, seeing the need for truth in her eyes.
"Then we’ll never agree to your terms." Her chin rose, challenging him. "We’ll find a way to get out of here, and you won't be able to stop us. We won't stay here."
"You will die out there, then, within six months. Here, I can promise you’ll be safe and protected. Served by all my people. By me for the rest of our days."
"But at what cost? My father? My sister? I'll never see them again. My career? I've worked hard to get to this point, years of school, of internships at TI. You took that away from me, the same as your friends robbed Josey, Mal, and Mickey." Anger turned her cheeks pink, had her spine stiffening and her voice hardening. "We'd like to be alone somewhere now. Or are we to be denied that freedom, too?"
Rydere pulled her to him before he even realized he'd moved. His lips covered hers; he needed to taste her. He kissed her for a moment despite her resistance, then released her. "There's a sitting room that will be yours for whatever you choose to do in it. Theo will lead you there. I'll come for you once I finish some business."
****
Emily put one hand to her lips as she followed Theo down the long hallway. She could still taste the king, still feel him pressed against her. She said nothing as she and her cousins walked.
Theo bowed, first deeply to her, then Mickey, followed by a quicker bow to Mal and Josey. "If you need anything, there's a button by the door here. It'll ring Jambu and he'll fetch or send whatever you request."
Emily nodded at him. "Thank you."
Theo turned to Mickey, his hand touching her arm. When compared with the other three men, he seemed different. Quiet, almost safe. Almost human. He brushed a kiss against Mickey's brow then spoke in a low tone. "My love, I'll be back for you when we've finished. If you've need of me before then, have Jambu fetch me."
Mickey watched him leave. When the door shut behind him she shivered and dropped into the nearest chair. Emily looked around. The room was beautiful, not large, but well furnished and comfortable.
"What do we do now?" Mal sank onto a chair.
"I have no idea."
"Do you think it's true, about Grandfather?" Mickey asked. "What they say?"
Emily hesitated before replying. "Yes, I do. Obviously these creatures exist, and they felt they had good reason for what they've done. And we all know Grandfather is capable of horrendous things."
I don't want to stay here, Josey signed. He is strange and frightening. And I think he can read my mind. I can almost feel him listening to my thoughts right now.
"So whatever we plan to do, we need to keep Josey out of it until the last possible second, otherwise it'll tip him off," Mal said. She signed to her cousin. Josey leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes, shutting out the conversation between the others. “The gardens are completely enclosed. We can’t get out that way.”
“And they can track us, by scent I think.” Emily thought for a moment. “And more, I think they enjoy it. The hunt.”
“So we’re prey and there is nothing we can do to get out of here?” Mickey looked ready to cry.
Emily wrapped the youngest cousin in her arms. “Oh, sweetie. We’ll go home, I promise.”
Somehow.
****
He came for her an hour later, filling the door and watching her. “Come, little dove. It’s late.”
He didn’t give her time to protest or fight, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the room. She didn’t speak until they’d entered his suite. “I won’t sleep with you.”
“Yes, you will. Remove your jewelry. I’ll get you something to sleep in. I won’t touch you until you want me to. No matter how much I want to.”
He picked her up and gave her little choice. Emily bounced on the bed when he dropped her, before scrambling to the mattress edge nearest the wall. She caught the tunic he tossed to her. “Turn around.”
He did, though she heard his muffled laughter. “I’ll have you naked and moaning beneath me before the end of this week, Rajni. Your body won’t be able to resist me.”
****
She woke snuggled against a warm male chest that felt nothing like what she would have imagined a vampire’s would be like. His hand was wrapped possessively around her waist, under the tunic he’d given her. His other hand was woven into her hair.
He held her like he loved her, had her tucked into him, warm and safe.
Safe with a monster.
Should she use that with him? Use the weird belief he held of her being his mate against him? Gain his trust, then try to escape?
What about Josey and Mickey? Mal? Would it be easier for only one of them to escape and find help? Get home, to Rand and Uncle Jason?
Those two men would not stop until they were found. If someone were to meet them halfway, rescue for the others would come twice as fast.
Did she have much choice?
Josey would not be able to get away from the monster holding her. Of all these creatures, the one called Cormac frightened Emily the most. Mickey was too timid to even attempt an escape. That left either Emily or Mallory.
The first opportunity Emily found, she’d formulate a stronger plan with Mallory—and between the two of them, they’d seize the first chance to escape they could find.
And just pray they pulled it off and could return with help before the creatures hurt Josey or Mickey further.
Chapter Nine
Emily slipped the small knife she'd taken at dinner under the thick mattress she knew she'd be sharing with the king for the fifth night.
"Are you awake, Rajni?" He whispered the words as he pulled off his clothes. She knew now what that strong chest, muscled arms, and tanned body looked like. Knew exactly what it felt like pressed against her. The night before had been long, with him holding her tight against that chest through the hours.
She should hate him, but last night she’d been filled with the urge to touch him. Even to taste him.
What had he done to her? With every minute that passed her desire to escape him waned. If she stayed with him much longer, would she ever want to leave? Did she have some sort of Stockholm Syndrome? Was she falling in love with her captor? Her breath caught, backed up in her throat.
The bed dipped beneath him, his large body slid beneath the blankets and rubbed against her much smaller one. Emily shifted, turning more onto her stomach. Within reach of the knife. Could she do it? She let her hand fall casually between the mattress and the wall. Her fingers closed around the hilt. If she was going to act, she'd have to do it quickly, without hesitating. She would have to make it work.
Strong hands slid around her waist and pulled her to him. His scent surrounded her as he buried his mouth in her hair, as one hand traced her thigh. Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then flipped over quickly. It was now or never.
****
Rydere stilled when he felt the press of a blade against his neck. Green eyes stared at him in the low moonlight, determination and fear in their depths.
"Don't move." Her voice trembled but the hand that held the knife was steady.
"I'm not." He kept himself still, curious to see how far she'd be able to take her threat. He knew she wouldn't be able to kill him; as his Rajni, her heart would not let her harm him permanently. "You know this won't work."
"Maybe not. But did you honestly expect me to just fall in line with your plans?" The blade slipped a bit until she firmed her grip.
It would take him seconds to disarm her, but he ran the risk of hurting her. "I expect you to put the knife down and go to sleep."
"I'm an adult and I have rights—rights you seem to think you can just take away because of some insane idea that we're mates. We're not. I don't believe in that."
"We are mates."
"What we are is hostage and kidnapper. Period. No matter what that book said." She took a deep breath, causing her chest to press against his. It distracted him for a moment. "And I'm tired of playing that game."
"It's not a game, Emily. Nor is our mating insanity. I've waited six hundred years for my Rajni. I'm not going to mistake her when I find her." Rydere grabbed the arm holding the knife and pushed it down, away from his neck. "Give me the knife."
"No." Her left knee slid between his knees in a sudden move women had used as defense for centuries.
Rydere cursed as he tried to catch his breath. Damn her.
She still held the knife and was climbing over him to run. He stopped her with a hard jerk to her sleep tunic, anger giving his move more force than he’d intended.
She stumbled and jerked, lashing out with the knife. Burning welled in his chest. He grabbed her forearm and jerked her still. "You'll stop now."
"Rot in hell!" She aimed at his neck but he moved, catching the blow across his shoulder. He ignored the second burn as he yanked the knife free of her grip. He flung it across the room, hearing it embed in the wall. She screamed and backed away, her eyes wide on his.
It was nowhere near the worst injury he'd ever received, but none had ever hurt him more.
****
Emily felt the heat of his blood on her skin as he wrapped one hand around her neck. Panic filled her. He was going to kill her now, rip her throat out as punishment.
She stifled a second scream when he jerked her off her feet and carried her back to the bed, throwing her roughly across its surface.
"Sleep, now." He spoke through gritted teeth, and his eyes burned the orange flame. His hand covered the wound on his shoulder. "While I take care of this."
Emily didn't argue, sliding back in the bed and watching him. When he returned he said nothing to her. The bed dipped from his weight and she felt herself rolling toward him.
She lifted a hand as a barrier between them. Her fingers brushed the small bandage on his shoulder. Tears filled her eyes as she imagined what the knife slicing through his flesh must have felt like. How it must have hurt him.
Hard fingers covered hers, held tight. “Do not touch me again unless it’s to give me your acceptance as my Rajni, to give me your body.” He pushed her hand away. “Sleep. We will speak of this night no more.”
Emily felt oddly bereft as he turned his back to her and flipped off the light. She lay in the darkness for several hours, thinking and listening to the sound of his breathing. He should have—could have—killed her, yet even though he’d been angry he hadn’t hurt her. But what did that mean?
He shifted in his sleep, sliding close to the bed’s center. Crowding her. Moonlight snuck through the windows and highlighted his chest, making the white bandage glow. Emily ghosted her fingers over the cotton before she remembered the warning he’d given her. Still, it wasn’t as if he was awake.
Beneath her hand, the warm skin felt human. Her hand lingered in the small covering of hair. Yes, he felt human. But she knew he wasn’t. Everything about him was different from any other man she’d known. So why did she find that so alluring?
****
Rydere felt her exploring fingers and he fought to keep his body still. Hunger was upon him, the wound she’d inflicted having bled more than he’d expected. He’d thought if he ordered her to sleep, he’d not be tempted to taste her again. He wanted nothing more than to replace the blood he’d lost with one more taste of her sweetness.
A small finger brushed over the bandage and she sighed. Did she feel some regret for what she’d attempted? Rydere stretched his arm over her pillow, casually scooting her closer to his side. She didn’t resist. He kept his voice at a whisper as he said her name.
She jerked her head up to stare at his face. “You’re awake. I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”
“No...” Rydere couldn’t help himself. He needed to taste her more than he’d needed anything in six hundred years. It took him little effort to pull her over him. Her hand landed on the bandage hard enough to have him hissing out a curse, but that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but...“Kiss me.”
She shook her head, sending floral-scented strands of hair over his chest. “I...”
“Do it, Emily.”