Defy

  Chapter 29

  Tate allowed herself a good, long cry after Tiege faded from her thoughts. Her emotions were all over the place.

  He was coming for her.

  In these terrifying days since regaining consciousness, she hadn’t allowed herself to consider the alternative. If she had, it would have crippled her. Now that she knew her brother was on his way, she acknowledged the doubt that sat like a stone in her heart.

  Her disappearance had happened so quickly that her family might not even know what had happened to her. They could have assumed she was dead and never initiated a search. She could have managed to get herself killed out there on her own and they would have never known any different.

  After connecting with Tiege for that brief moment of time, it had been painful to have him once again fade from her thoughts. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her family again.

  She found a fairly sheltered area that provided a view of anyone approaching and allowed the emotions to make their way through her system. One feeling after the next toppled around inside her, provoking tears that she didn’t even bother to wipe as they fell. Fear, uncertainty, exhilaration, love.

  When she had purged the rush, she produced some water and cleaned herself up. Then she closed her eyes and focused.

  Sparky glared at her from where he stood in the shade of a pine tree rubbing the center of his chest. “You really must learn to control your emotions,” he greeted her.

  She couldn’t stop the wide smile from spreading over her face when she saw him. Her pulse raced in a way that she knew wasn’t normal as she once again stood within sight of him. She couldn’t really explain her reaction since he always seemed annoyed by her presence. For some reason, though, his perpetual glower had become a source of great comfort to her. Perhaps it was their strange connection, or perhaps there was some flaw in her character that caused her to be charmed by grumbling, disinterested males. But she found herself making the impulsive decision to have her goodbye to him be a memorable one.

  Approaching him, she responded, “Hiya, Sparky.” She liked how the setting sun filtering through the trees turned his burnished hair a rosy gold. She suspected he would be insulted to know the light softened his appearance. “I wanted to come and tell you goodbye.”

  He frowned, another expression with which she had grown very familiar. “What?”

  “I’m hoping that you have some kind of connection with Nyx so you can call her back.” She stopped less than a foot from him. Her words must have surprised him enough that her nearness didn’t register, as he didn’t back away. “I have someone on the way to get me. I won’t need Nyx’s help anymore.”

  “Who is coming for you?” His eyes searched her face, but she couldn’t read his expression.

  “Oh, no one for you to worry about,” she said with a wave of her hand. When his frown intensified, she added, “I’ll be fine. I’m staying put until he gets to me. It shouldn’t be more than a day or so. Just hours at this point.”

  “He?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “How do you know you can trust this male?”

  “We’ve known each other as long as I’ve been alive,” she answered, being deliberately vague. There was a reason he had chosen to remove himself from the rest of Estilorian society for so long that he didn’t know anything about her class. She figured the less he knew about her at this point, the better. After all, he had even issued the warning that she shouldn’t trust him. She may be more trusting than was wise, but she wasn’t a fool.

  “How did you hear from him?” he asked.

  She tapped the side of her head. “Kinda like you and me, Sparky.”

  His gaze grew shuttered. His frown faded into a cold mask. “I do not have a way of calling Nyx back.”

  Her smile faltered. “Oh.” Considering that, she asked, “Do you have any idea how long it might take her to reach me if I don’t go anywhere?”

  “It should be less than a day. She will mostly follow from the ground to more easily track you and evade detection by others, so it is hard to say.”

  She brightened. “Okay, then. I’ll stick around until she gets there and then tell her I’m okay. She’s smart enough to understand what I’m saying, right?”

  He hesitated. “She should understand, yes.”

  “Great! No problem. We can wait for her to arrive if she takes longer to get there than my knight in shining armor.”

  Now he looked puzzled, which humored her. “My rescuer,” she explained. Then she moved even closer to him. This time, since he wasn’t focused so much on what she was saying, he noted her closeness. He started to step back. “Wait,” she said. “I didn’t get the chance before to say goodbye. And I’m sort of experimenting with my abilities here. Would you stay still and let me see if I can focus enough to touch you?”

  He blinked. “Touch me?”

  “Yes.” She was mildly embarrassed by the breathless nature of her voice when she responded. Focusing with all her might, she reached out and placed her palm on his chest.

  Lord, he was hard. She was thrilled to feel the heat from his skin radiating through the tank top he wore as she touched the well-defined muscles of his upper body. Bringing up her other hand, she gently ran her fingers from his pectoral muscles to his sculpted shoulders and biceps, tracing a few of the dark blue designs decorating his skin. Then her touch progressed to the sides of his neck and the sharp planes of his face.

  She hadn’t been around many males to whom she wasn’t related. She’d certainly never kissed a male in a romantic way. In truth, although she could admit curiosity about the intimate experience, she’d never had any burning desire to give it a try. That had suddenly changed.

  When she leaned up with her eyes on the sinful curve of his lips, he suddenly shoved her away with enough force that her partly-manifested form collided with the trunk of a tree.

  “Goodbye,” he said without any inflection. He could have been looking at crusted dirt on his boot for all the concern he gave her.

  She rubbed the sting to her back and shoulder as well as to her pride as her shock over his response faded into understanding and humiliation.

  “Goodbye, Sparky,” she murmured.

  Then she pulled her focus back to where it should be: in the shadows of the mountain waiting to return to the home she should never have left in the first place.

  In the form of the harpy eagle, Sophia soared over the Mercesti camp. She took full advantage of the bird’s marvelous eyesight to fully scope out what she and Quincy faced.

  They had both agreed that it would be helpful to have a literal birds’ eye view of the group they followed. Since they hadn’t come across any Waresti to help them out, they were on their own. That meant she was off in the form of the unsuspicious eagle while he waited for her back in the forest. They couldn’t risk him being spotted by the Mercesti because he flew with her.

  She knew this arrangement bothered him. She could only assume it was due to male pride. He surely wished he was the one in the air. Thinking this, she rejoiced a bit more as she flew.

  While at first it did appear that their estimates regarding the number of Mercesti containing the Lekwuesti female had been accurate, she realized as she conducted a wider sweep of the area that more Mercesti approached the central group from multiple directions. That realization alarmed her. She lost count at a hundred and knew there were many more than that on their way.

  Just as she turned to fly back to the spot where Quincy waited for her, a flash of metal caught her eye. Fear shot through her as she attempted to outmaneuver the bolt headed in her direction. She managed to avoid getting shot through the chest, but scorching pain flared in her right wing, releasing a cry from her throat.

  The second bolt flew past her before she even saw it. This one slid along her ribs and missed her heart by inches.

  Angling herself in the direction of Quincy’s location, she tried not to think about the pain and the blood she was losing. She had to focus on maintain
ing her shift or she’d crash to the ground, something she’d never survive from this height. The moment she spotted him, she issued another cry to get his attention. He looked up at her.

  Evidently noticing that she favored her right wing, he hurried over and grabbed his satchel and her clothing from the hollow log where she had stashed them. She was relieved when she saw him move to a relatively grassy area with plenty of room.

  She didn’t land gracefully. In fact, she lost her shift just as she neared the ground. Fortunately, Quincy must have anticipated her exhaustion because he moved to intercept her. They fell as he accepted her full weight at her flying speed. She noticed that he twisted his body so he didn’t land on her.

  As soon as they stopped sliding, she found herself lifted in his arms and hurriedly carried over to where he’d left his supplies.

  “They had—crossbows,” she said. The pain in her chest and side made it difficult to get the words out. “Don’t know why—they shot me.”

  Unexpected fury flashed in his expression at the words, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he quickly laid her on the grass, giving her a once-over to assess the damage and then covering her unharmed lower body with her gown. She could only appreciate his concern for her modesty.

  She looked down at herself, following Quincy’s concerned gaze. One of the bolts had sliced the outside of her right forearm. The second caught her along her right side, the resulting gash running along her rib cage and curving all the way up to the top of her right breast. It bled freely and she figured it would require stitching.

  Quincy grabbed a clean cloth from his satchel and pressed it against her side to staunch the flow of blood. She found herself needing to distract herself from thinking about his hands being on her.

  “They must have thought—I was something—they could eat,” she said, her words broken by gasps of pain.

  He touched the side of her face so he could look into her eyes. She guessed he was gauging for signs of shock. She felt stable enough, which he seemed to determine as he studied her. The backs of his fingers brushed her cheek. It was such a tender caress that her heart thrilled even as confusion wrinkled her brow, and it was over as quickly as it happened.

  “Don’t talk,” he said as he reached into his satchel and pulled out a couple of bottles. He deftly mixed two liquids together by combining them into one of the bottles and shaking it. “Conserve your energy.”

  “Talking—takes my mind off—the pain.”

  She saw from his expression that he didn’t appreciate her arguing with him. Well, that was too bad. She was the one suffering here, and she desperately needed to focus on something besides the pain and just where he was going to have to touch her to mend her injuries.

  Perhaps understanding this, he explained what he was doing. “As you know, the Lekwuesti work with the Scultresti to create Estilorian medicines.”

  He reached over and took her injured arm, setting it on his thigh as he knelt beside her. Using another cloth covered in the yellow liquid, he began cleaning the wound on her forearm. It burned like hot coals. She clenched her jaw tight against the pain.

  “Estilorians aren’t susceptible to illness, of course,” he continued, “but injuries are common enough, particularly among the classes that travel to the mainland. And since very few beings have the ability to heal others, effective medicines are quite necessary.”

  She watched as he finished cleaning her forearm and moved on to the other wound. Tears pricked her eyes as the pain intensified. “What is that?” she asked as she watched him work. She had to keep her mind off the pain.

  “It’s an antiseptic made in part of whey protein and honey. There’s a unique extract used to activate the antiseptic properties.”

  He talked as he worked, describing how the Lekwuesti and Scultresti had come up with the formula and how he had adjusted it to account for human DNA, as well. While he stitched together her torn flesh, he described right down to the cellular level how the antiseptic worked, addressing her many questions. The scientific exchange served as an effective distraction for them both. He finished the last suture just as the sun faded to indigo. While he wrapped her forearm with gauze, she gave him a smile.

  “I’ve missed conversing with you like this,” she admitted.

  She realized she’d caught him off-guard when he stared at her for a few seconds without so much as blinking. Then he just said, “I’ve missed it, too.”

  She sensed that he didn’t want to pursue the conversation, so as he bandaged her side wound, she said, “I obviously found the Mercesti camp, since you’re patching up the results. The female—a Lekwuesti—is with them. I’m guessing they might be forcing her to see to their hospitality needs. She looked abused and unwell.”

  Frowning, he said, “Are they on the move?”

  “They were camped when I saw them, but it seemed they were pulling up stakes as the sun set. I think they’re traveling at night. And there are others on their way. I saw them in the distance.”

  After a moment of consideration, he asked, “How long of a hike are they from here?”

  “About five miles.”

  “Okay. We’re going to rest here for a bit—” He lifted up a hand as her lips parted. “No, Sophia. I’m not budging on this. You will sleep to restore your strength and urge your healing along. After some rest, we’ll fly closer to them and cut the distance.”

  She closed her mouth, swallowing her words. Then she nodded.

  “By this time tomorrow,” he said, “I hope to have that Lekwuesti free and on her way back to Central.”

  She couldn’t do anything but agree. She just had no idea how they were going to do it.

  Chapter 30

  Caleb flew beside Gabriel, James, Uriel, Knorbis and Jabari as the sun set. A host of Waresti, Gloresti and Corgloresti flew with them. Skye had wanted to transport as many of them as possible to Harold’s location. She believed she could bring them to Harold using the Waresti commander’s thoughts about his location.

  It had taken quite a bit of arguing to turn her from that course. In the end, the only reason she backed down was Raphael’s insistence that she would be placing her unborn children at risk. The strain on her already beleaguered system would be too much.

  Leaving her behind had been one of the most difficult things Caleb had ever done. He knew she was devastated that she couldn’t go with them. She was riddled with guilt over not somehow sensing that their daughter was still alive. His own guilt was multiplied by his refusal to believe Tiege when his son had tried to gain his help. But these emotions wouldn’t help them get their children back home, and he did what he could to push past them.

  Harold kept Uriel informed of his whereabouts as he and his contingent tracked Tate. Alexius also kept him informed as he grew closer to Tiege. Caleb, Gabriel and Uriel would soon join Harold in the search for Tate while James, Knorbis and Jabari went after Sophia and Quincy.

  Alexius had sent word earlier that Tiege’s party had split up. Caleb hoped to get to Tate about the same time as Tiege did. The news that Quincy and Sophia had headed in pursuit of the Mercesti had James very anxious. They all wanted to get to their children as quickly as possible.

  Although flying throughout the night wasn’t particularly safe because it led to exhaustion, that was what they planned to do. Uriel predicted that they would reach Harold and Alexius within the next few hours. None of them was willing to rest when they were so close to accomplishing their goal.

  Thoughts circulated among them when they reached the point where they would part ways. Caleb didn’t speak to his brothers, but he caught their gazes and exchanged nods. They knew each other’s thoughts and had already communicated about the plan.

  Still, as James veered left while he and Gabriel maintained course beside Uriel, he couldn’t help but wish he could be in two places at one time.

  Ariana was both thrilled and terrified when she realized that they were on the right path. Of course, “right” was a rather bro
ad term. She still had no idea what actually lay at the end of the course set by the powerful and heavy weapon she was forced to carry in an uncomfortable harness on her back. She only knew that the closer they got, the more convinced she was that they were heading toward the scroll that Eirik sought. Although the lavender path in front of her didn’t change in intensity, her instincts practically vibrated as they advanced in the dark of night. She knew it was only a matter of hours until they reached their destination.

  And then what?

  The thought resounded through her head as they walked, her heartbeat thudding in her ears. She was leading this group of evil beings who had done nothing but mistreat her and threaten her life to an artifact that would imbue their leader with unstoppable power.

  Or so she now believed. At the risk of losing her life, she had eavesdropped as Eirik spoke to Deimos about their goal.

  “I want her,” Deimos had growled. “I hunger.”

  They were in Eirik’s makeshift chamber within the mountain housing Grolkinei’s weapon collection. Eirik had ordered her to remain by his side the moment she declared she could find the Elder Scroll, so when the time came for them to rest for the day, she had to do it with him just feet away. Fortunately, she was so exhausted that she slept despite the fact that she didn’t trust him in the least.

  Ariana had developed a heightened sense of self-preservation during the course of her intense exposure to Deimos. The bloodthirsty creature—for she refused to think of him as an Estilorian—was so abominable that his nearness made every hair on her body stand on end. As exhausted as she was, she sensed the instant that he entered the chamber.

  His words made her want to whimper and curl into herself, but she had learned not to flinch, stir or so much as alter her breathing in his presence. She feigned sleep, her skin prickling with the urge to flee as her back lay exposed to the two wretched males.