Chapter 14

The room was deathly silent. No one was breathing, there was no rustle of clothing or metal. It was as if the universe and everything in it held its breath for the explosion that was to come, because there would be an explosion. One of epic proportion.

Kara lay in Aden’s arms for the first time in a long time feeling complete. Oh, her body was still bruised and bleeding, but her soul was able to take a deep breath and not feel as if a vice were squeezing it, making it hard to expand. That too she knew would be short-lived. Even though she knew who she was, what she was. That she was powerful, a goddess. That she had lived more lives than she cared to count, fought even more battles. And the last and most unsettling piece of knowledge, that her life was not her own. In truth it never had been. None of them had been truly free, just that the chains that had bound them to their fate from the moment they had been brought into existence were much more subtle than the ones the demon bound her with now. They were a tool of the universe. Her job was to keep the balance between darkness and light. The last she remembered, darkness had gained a new player, and it was winning. Knowing what she knew of the past mixed with what she knew of the present, things had not changed much in the last two thousand years.

Movement next to her, an arm pulling her gently against a body she knew better than her own, and she remembered what she had just done. She had defied the demon who had locked her once mortal body in chains so thick, so strong, not even the most powerful of them could free her. Knowing she would pay for her insolence, she could not find it in her to regret her decision. Not because it was the only decision, but because the male that held her so gently, that breathed her name in her ear as if it was a prayer, was a part of her soul she could not exist without. Another such soul tugged at hers, willing her to acknowledge what had always been, what was true. Kara slowly opened her eyes, searching for one of the beings that had been her constant companion her entire existence. When she found his eyes, she flinched at the anger, the betrayal in his as he stared in horror at her.

All around them, people lay on the floor dazed or unconscious. Ignoring them all, his eyes only for the two lying by the dais watching him as if he were the starving tiger in the room and they were the only available food, Tanis stood and started for them, stopping when he stood towering above them as he glared down. There was a comfort, a level of trust and surety between Kara and the boy that was only earned through battles of blood and pain. Where the only person you had at your back was the one who had put their life before yours time and time again to assure that you both lived to see another day. The intensity of jealousy that consumed him was foreign and unyielding, covering everything in a red haze.

Clenching his fists, Tanis was unsure what he should do. Part of him wanted to rip Kara from the boy’s arms, and then teach him that he was nothing compared to the power Tanis wielded. That he was not worthy to touch Kara. The other part, the one being smothered by this new jealousy knew Kara still love him, still need him, and as the depth of her love for him brushed against his heart, his soul, it told him nothing had changed between them. She was still his. Her feelings for him were older, more comfortable, but just as passionate as her feelings for the male holding her

“We don’t understand this anymore than you do,” Aden assured carefully in the tense silence. Part of Kara’s soul once again belonged to him; all of him once again belonged to her. It was more than Aden had ever hoped for since he learned of the prophecy, and he would do nothing that would take her from him again. Adding flame to the fire that was Tanis’s jealousy would not be productive to that end. “What I do know is I am not here to take Kara from you.”

“You are not a part of this,” Tanis said, his voice strained with his anger and the effort to stay where he was.

“I think that despite your best efforts I am once again bonded to her proves otherwise,” Aden responded. He had tried to keep his voice neutral, but he was tired of being told he had no business claiming Kara as his. The only thing that stopped him from saying anything else was Kara gently his arm. A subtle warning that this was not the time. That there was a bigger threat in the room than a jealous god. A vengeful demon.

“You were warned,” a voice growled, echoing throughout the room.

With a look that told Aden they were not through, Tanis moved to stand in-between Kara and enraged demon.

Sighing, Aden burying his face in Kara’s hair. Is a moment of peace too much to ask for?” he asked letting his exhaustion fill that thought.

Unfortunately, yes, Kara answered just as weary. She shifted slightly in Aden’s arms and too late realized her mistake. The bond between them was healed to a point. The one between her and Tanis was waiting for that last piece of the ritual that would seal it. Make it as unbreakable as hers and Aden’s once was. It was her body that was still bruised, battered and bleeding that shot pain sharp and immediate through her, forcing a gasp from her lips.

“Kara?” Aden asked worriedly, moving so she lay on her back and he lay next to her, his upper body raised so he could look her over to see where the pain was coming from.

“I’m fine.” She tried to smile to assure him, but it ended in a grimace.

“Liar,” he frowned, but there was no more time to think about injuries. Hot scalding rage washed over them, burning where it touched. Kara cried out, her back arching. Aden gritted his teeth, his head bowed, eyes closed as he tried to ride out the pain. Nothing ever good came from this much rage and the one who wielded it.

“You’ve lost, demon. You cannot bond with her now,” Tanis hissed, unable to completely hide his own pain. What the hell? What kind of demon could make his emotions a weapon? The only answer was a powerful one. Tanis was starting to wonder if he had completely underestimated the creature.

The demon chuckled. It was kind of chuckle that raised the hair on the back of your neck. That spoke of a slow painful death. Low and full of evil, it sent shivers down the spines of those in the room still conscious. “You understand nothing. I haven’t lost her, yet.” His eyes moved to Aden who hovered protectively over Kara, trying to shield her with his body. As if that would save her. “Once again, because you could not let her go, she will pay the price.”

“Aden did not disobey you. I was the one who could not let him go,” Kara corrected softly. Turning her head, she looked directly into his eyes and said in a tone that spoke of a defiance that she thought long lost. “I was I who chose him.”

The silence dragged on as the demon held her gaze. The rage was gone, but Kara could not decipher the emotion in his eyes or the expression on his face. A mixture of pain, anger and longing she did not understand. Finally, it settled into an unfeeling blankness that frighten her far more than his rage.

The three watched him warily, Tanis keeping himself in between the demon while Aden and Kara lay on the floor. Careful with each movement, Aden moved so he sat next to Kara, pulling her into his arms.  They knew the risk they were taking by doing this, that they would be punished, but Aden could feel that she was too weak to sit on her own and he could not bear letting her go. Not yet. Even though their bond was back in place, it was still raw and bleeding, and Aden could feel there was something missing. Some new piece of the puzzle that had yet been put into place.

 As Kara settled in his arms, her fingers fisting the front of his shirt, he realized that she felt it too. Was there was still a chance she could be taken from him? Looking down at her, he saw the pinch of her face and realized that she was still in a great deal of pain. If they were to survive whatever was to come, she needed to be stronger. Brushing the hair from her face, he gently lay a kiss on her forehead. With that small touch, he released some of his power into her, seeking where she was hurt most and carefully mending it. With each touch, Kara’s body relaxed a little more, and that piece of her that was inside him loosened a bit more.

A swish of material far too close startled Aden out of his concentration, bringing his eyes up. The emperor had walked past them, and he had not even noticed. That was a form of carelessness that was too dangerous for words. Glancing at Tanis, Aden saw he had moved so he could watch the emperor and them at the same time. The expression on his face when he caught Aden’s eyes bled from wary to outright hostile. Great. Once more being trying to take Kara from him. Unfortunately, this one he could not fight because he was also a part of Kara and that in turn would hurt her.

What was left of the red guard surrounded them, standing at attention, awaiting their master’s orders. It broke the tension between Aden and Tanis so they focused on the real threat in the room. The emperor.

The emperor had reached the top of the dais. Turning, he sat on his throne, leaning back, one arm carelessly on the arm of the chair while the other he rested his elbow, his finger rubbing back and forth on his lip as if he was thinking about something of grave importance as he watched the three below him.

The silence stretched on.

Finally, the emperor sighed. A weariness passed over his face as he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they focused on Kara, ignoring the rest.

“Kara, come,” he ordered quietly.

Aden felt Kara’s hands convulse in his shirt. Neither of them wanted to let go, but they knew if they did not the consequences would be painful. What Kara did not need right now was more pain.

“She is not some pet you call to you,” Tanis snapped, his full attention and hostility now on the demon.

“Actually, she is,” the demon answered calmly, a small smile on his lips.

Tanis looked down at the two on the floor as Aden very carefully moved out from under Kara and stood. There was an unsteadiness to the boy’s stance that he tried to hide and failed. It was something Tanis understood all to well. Until the ritual was finished, none of them would feel…steady. What Aden did not know was that hell would freeze over before Tanis allowed him that privilege.

As one, they both reached to help Kara to her feet.

“Do not touch her,” the demon snarled, that calm façade slipping for a moment, showing the true beast beneath it. Just as quickly it was smoothly put back into place.

They both froze. After a moment of hesitation, Aden slowly straightened and stepped back, his eyes dutifully forward. That small distance cost him dearly. Tanis ignored the warning and gently took ahold of Kara’s arm.

“Let her go,” Aden said, his voice tired, defeated.

“You have not earned the right to tell me what I can and cannot do with my mate,” Tanis growled pulling Kara up and into his arms.

Aden’s eyes flashed with his power as they narrowed on Tanis. Logically he knew that Tanis did not know the rules, who the master was and the consequences of disobeying him. But the fierce protectiveness that raged through Aden was not logical. If Tanis did not let go of Kara, then she would pay the price, again. That was not acceptable.

“I have been with her in this lifetime through more pain and torture than you and your many lives could ever imagine. I know the rules and what it means if we disobey them. You do not. So I will repeat myself only once. Let. Her. Go,” Aden said that last through gritted teeth, his fist clenching at his sides.

He’s right, Kara’s voice breathed through Tanis’s mind. I must go to Caius or he will punish us.

That thing is not Caius, and he has no right to you. We defeated him in the paste. We can defeat him now. Tanis said angrily not understanding why she would give in so quickly. It was so unlike her.

You are right. He has no right to either of us, but this time is different. This time he found me first and he bound me in chains that we cannot break, Kara reminded reading his thoughts. If you attack him it will rebound on me. If you kill him…it will kill me.

Tanis’s eyes widen as he turned to face her. “He can’t do that,” he whispered looking into her eyes.

“But he has,” Aden answered when Kara look away, his voice filled with the weariness of countless of sleepless night. Ignoring Tanis’s narrowing eyes when he glared at him, Aden went on. “You have felt her pain. You know what he did to her just this morning. What he will do to her again if she does not obey him. Is that what you want for her?”

“Kara,” the demon called, his voice a low deep growl telling them he was growing impatient.

Knowing what hesitating any longer would cost, Kara pulled away from Tanis and began to walk towards the dais. Before she was out of reach, Tanis grabbed her arm pulling her back. Kara tried to pull away, but he only held on tighter.

“You don’t have to obey him,” he said looking down at her, frowning when he saw the frighten look in her eyes.

“Yes, she does,” Aden corrected again stepping beside him.

“Don’t,” Tanis snarled when Aden reached to pull her from him.

Aden’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Do you want her to suffer?” he hissed.

Before Tanis could retort Kara cried out in pain and seconds later it bled into him. Years of protecting her, shielding her kicked in and he immediately tried to block the demon’s attack only to find he could not. Gritting his teeth, he pushed back as the demon increased the pain.

Aden watched in horror as Tanis tried to fight the inevitable. He knew from experience the pain would only become worse, and he would not sit by and watch Kara suffer because Tanis was too stubborn to see their reality.

Swearing, he grabbed Kara wrenching her from Tanis’s grasp. Suddenly the full force of the demon’s attack hit both Aden and Kara. Crying out they collapsed to the floor. The moment Aden released her the pain stopped.

“Shit,” he hissed rolling onto his back trying to blink the spots from his eyes. Next to him Kara lay on her side barely conscious.

“Kara!” Tanis cried going to help her.

“Stop!” Aden’s ordered his voice echoing throughout the room as he rolled protectively over her, his hand up ready to push Tanis away if necessary. Although he was not sure what he could do. The demon’s punishment had taken the last of his strength. Under him, Aden felt Kara move slightly before her fingers weakly grab a hold of the wrist closest to her. Once their skin touched his power increased and the spots began to diminish. Moving his hand so he held hers, Aden quickly masked what Kara was doing from the emperor, but he could not hide it from Tanis.

Tanis hesitated, his eyes widening slightly when he felt what she had done with Aden. Sharing power between their kind was an intimate act seldom done, but more common between bond mates. This more than anything brought home how close Kara was wedded to Aden, and Tanis was unsure how to handle the knowledge. Always it had just been the three of them. Now this boy was protecting his mate from…him, and Kara was helping.  

A low chuckle broke into the silence. Aden slowly lowered his hand, his eyes staying on Tanis and not the figure who now slowly walked towards them. Again, Tanis thought this strange because the demon was the danger to Kara, not him. Deciding to puzzle this new development out later, Tanis turned towards the demon, his eyes narrowing in rage.

“Not bonded more than a few moments and already you are fighting over her. You should heed Lord Sahen’s warning. He has learned the hard way what it means to try and protect her from me.”

Tanis watched Aden climb once again shakily to his feet, leaving Kara where she lay on the floor. He thought it strange that the powerful boy would not meet either of their gazes.

“Lord Sahen,” the demon said as if nothing had happened. As if the universe had not just shifted.

“Yes, my Master,” Aden answered bowing his head.

“Take our…guest,” he grimaced when he glanced at Tanis who bristled, “to his quarters. Then I want you to go down and pay a visit to the queen.”

“I thought she served her purpose,” Aden said confused by his master’s command.

“She delivered the package, yes, but not as promised. Colin did a better job breaking my beautiful pet. Since neither one of us want Colin anywhere near Kara, it leaves me with no choice but to break Tanis myself.”

At Colin’s name, Tanis stiffened. Colin was the queen’s consort who was known for his sadistic appetites. The thought of Kara in Colin’s hands for any length of time made his blood run cold.

“I want you to personally show her the correct way to break a spirit. Then when you are done, I want you to hand her over to her people. Tell them who she really is and let them deal with her as they see fit. After that I want you to find someone to take her place who will not fail us,” the emperor finished.

“That will take weeks,” Aden protested not catching the panic laced with bitterness in his voice or stopping himself from glancing at Kara in time. After everything that had happened, to be parted from her now…. The thought chilled him.

“Yes. It will,” the emperor agreed his eyes narrowing.

A faint flutter brushed against Aden’s mind, soothing his anxiety.

Aden, Kara breathed. Go.

The relief Aden felt at her familiar presence washing through his body calmed him. She was still there, still his, but she was also very weak. Any more zaps like the last one and she may not survive it whole. He would have to make sure Tanis understood rules before he left.

“As you wish,” Aden answered calmly, coolly, even though every cell in his body was screaming no. Kara’s assurances did nothing to alleviate his fears. From past experience Aden knew that leaving her alone with his master would be far from all right. But as Caius had so plainly put it, disobeying him would only cost Kara more pain. “I will return when the job is done.” He first bowed to the emperor then turned to the guards, motioning them to take Tanis and follow him.

“I am not leaving her alone with you, demon,” Tanis growled stepping away from the guards. He too knew leaving Kara alone with this…thing was dangerous, something he would not allow.

Gritting his teeth in frustration as the two demi-gods glared at each other, without thought of the consequences he was sure he would regret, Aden’s fist connected with Tanis’s jaw. There were a few gasps as flesh connected with flesh and Tanis crumpled to the ground. Aden knew he would hear about it once they arrived in Tanis’s rooms, but he would be damned if he let the stubborn idiot cause Kara anymore pain.

Stunned silence followed sd Aden, swearing under his breath, stepped back shaking his hand as pain radiated up his arm. All around him people stood frozen, the only movement the blinking of their wide eyes.

“I think I speak for us all when I say I did not see that coming,” Commander Wells drawled as he walked up to the crumpled figure on the floor. His eyes full of amusement, he looked from Tanis to Aden. “Although I wished you had done it sooner,” he grimaced. When Aden gave him a slight smile it seemed to unfreeze the room.

The emperor began to chuckle, bringing Aden’s eyes to his master.

“Be careful who you direct your anger at, my young one,” the emperor warned the amusement still clear in his voice. “And do not think you will be able to render my brother unconscious so easily again. He will take measures to ensure you regret it when he wakes.”

“He’s a stubborn fool,” Aden snapped turning his glare back to the figure on the floor who started to groan.

“Stubborn yes. Fool? No. He is just very protective of her,” the emperor said softly as he knelt next to Kara.

The soft tone of his master’s voice, the way he gently rolled Kara over brushing the hair from her face, changed Aden’s scowl into a frown of confusion. If he did not know better he would have thought someone different, someone who cared for her wellbeing, knelt over her. But that did not make any sense. Not after the way he had treated her these last few weeks.

“It is ingrained in us to protect her. She is the glue that keeps the universe together. If she is destroyed…,” the emperor whispered so softly Aden had to strain to hear him. Then suddenly his master seemed to remember he was not alone. “All of you, leave us. Kara will follow when I am through with her,” he ordered harshly.

Aden motioned for the guards to take Tanis out of the room, but he hesitated before leaving. Watching as the emperor put his hands on Kara, Aden wondered at his master’s sudden softening towards her. Taking the fact the agonizing ripping of his soul did not start again as a good sign, Aden did the hardest thing he had had to do in a long time, He left Kara alone with the unstable emperor before their master realized he was still there.

Chapter 13
Chapter 15

Copyright © 2019 Heidi Barnes

Chapter 11

 

Kara was brought before the emperor by two of the elite Red Garrison guards. Two of the six that had survived Aden’s vengeance. The only two who had refused to touch her during her…punishment. Two of the remain four stood at attention just inside the door to the throne room, bruised and battered but functional. The remaining two were still in the infirmary, one paralyzed with a broken back, the other on life support in critical condition, one arm ripped from his body along with a vital piece of male anatomy. It was still unsure if he would survive the next few hours.

The two who held Kara between them gently lay her on the floor before the Emperor then quickly backed away. While they hadn’t been involved in the rape, they had heard the message from the young sorcerer loud and clear. Anyone who touched the emperor’s witch with intent to harm would answer to him. Where they were loyal to their emperor and feared his wrath if they did not obey his orders, at the moment Lord Sahen’s rage was far more crucial to avoid. What he had done to the other nineteen guards…. One of the remaining shuddered at the thought of the carnage, of the screams. No, they would not touch the witch unless absolutely necessary and then with great care.

As per Caius’s orders, the healer had attempted to only heal those wounds that would have left her unable to perform her duties. But with Kara fighting her every step of the way, it meant Kara was still in a great deal of pain and barely alive. Even now the healer stood to one side, ready to render aid if Kara’s heart started to fail.  The gods only knew what the emperor, or Lord Sahen, would do to her if the girl died.

“I see you have learned your place once again,” Caius cooed, bringing everyone’s attention to him.

Kara could hear the pleasure in Caius’s voice at her suffering, but she could not muster the emotion to react. Part of her wanted to yell at him, tell him that she did not lie on the cold metal floor out of obedience, but because she had no will to live. That she could feel her life force slipping away, bit by bit, and she did not fight it. Part of her, a part that was foreign, new, mourned his callousness. His glee in her pain. This was not the male she knew and loved. This was the demon who had dug his claws in deep and was not about to let go of his prize. Those thoughts puzzled Kara. Where did they come from? She knew of no demon, and she sure as hell did not love the bastard that sat on his throne sneering down at her. Feared, loathed yes, but never loved. The moment she thought that last she knew it was not true, just not why it was not true.

“You look so fetching abasing yourself to your betters, my dear. Don’t you think so Lord Sahen?”

Kara felt rather then saw Aden walk to stand next to her. Felt his alarm at the dimness of the light that was her soul. However, they both knew better than to act on that alarm. Not with the mood their master was in.

“My lord,” Aden greeted bowing, keeping his eyes downcast. He could not guarantee that his eyes were a safe neutral. Showing his rage at his master’s cruelty would do neither of them any good. He also had to be careful to keep his eyes adverted from Kara. If he saw the condition she was in, the thin control he held on his rage would break, and heaven help what stupid thing he would do. Like try and kill Caius. That did not stop Aden from feeling her slipping away from him, from them all, and she did nothing to fight it. Why didn’t the emperor feel it too? If she was so important to his plans, why didn’t he help her?

“Doesn’t she look the vision, Lord Sahen? Lying there on the floor before her master. Where she belongs!” The emperor’s voice had gone from sweet to hard, punctuating the last few words.

Then and only then did Aden dare to look at her.

Kara’s hair fanned around her head on the floor, her dress barely covering her, leaving her legs and part of her ass along with the fading welts and bruises exposed for everyone to see. He felt her fear, knowing one wrong move with the mood their master was in would mean another more excruciating round of some sort of agony. Right on the heels of that emotion was the feeling that she did not care for she would not be in this world long. NO! Aden screamed.

I am sorry, my love, Kara breathed, a single tear sliding down her cheek, hovering for a moment before falling to the cold floor.

 Clenching his fists and jaw, Aden struggled to keep his place. One wrong move and the emperor may finish what he had inadvertently started. How to draw his attention to the immediate danger of Kara’s dwindling life force without directing his anger at her for daring to thwart all his careful planning.

“Yes, she does, but I wonder how much the healer has helped her,” Aden answered his eyes finding and narrowing on said healer. There, a safe target for his rage. The healer wisely paled and dropped to her knees, her forehead touching the floor.

“How do you mean?” Caius asked.

“Master,” the healer beseeched. “I tried to heal her, but she refused my help. When I forced it on her, she blocked my magic.” The trembling in her body from her terror showed in her voice. “It is as if she wants to die.”

The following silence was deafening.

“We shall see,” Caius response ominously filled the room. Then he smiled a smile that did not alleviate the tension in the room. “Lord Sahen. Come take your place at my side where you belong.”

Hesitating for only a moment, Aden reluctantly did as he master bid. Swallowing, he started for the dais, leaving Kara on the floor behind him. It went against every part of him to leave her vulnerable and exposed, but they were playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse, and at present the cat had the upper hand. Before Aden reached his place beside the emperor, his back still to the door, there was a pull on his soul. A pull that felt as if a vital part of his being was being torn away from him. Staggering, Aden reaching out and grabbed the nearest guard for support. Gasping for air, his hand on his chest, excruciating pain radiated from deep within his body threatening to consume him. There could be only one explanation. Tanis had walked into the room and the prophecy was coming to life.

Dear Gods! If the pain is this bad now, what will it be like when she is completely ripped from me? Aden did not want an answer to that question, but as the pain began to intensify he knew there was no avoiding the inevitable.

“Ah,” the emperor smiled seemingly ignoring the agony his apprentice was in. “Our guest has arrived. Now we will see history repeat itself.” Caius smiled slyly as Aden gathered enough strength to stumble to his position at his master’s right and turn to face the doors. Caius could sense Aden’s pain that was filling every cell in his body. So much emotion, so much agony he cannot control nor hide. This indeed will be interesting to watch. And he would enjoy every minute of it.

Chapter 10
Chapter 12

Copyright © 2019 Heidi Barnes

Chapter 10

 

Images flashing so quickly, one blurred into the next. Some as familiar as his own arm, others like a distance memory of another. As if he were reliving someone else’s life before switching yet to another, then back to his. Before he could catch his breath the images would carry him away again, spinning wildly. The only constant were a pair of hazel eyes that looked at him with such love that his very heart hurt from a loss he did not understand. Sometimes she lay in his arms, content and safe. Another she lay in someone else’s. Someone he felt he knew as if he were his own brother. There she to was content, but he felt as if there was a hole in his soul. One that only those hazel eyes could fill.

Soon those foreign memories began to override those of his wife and daughter, pushing them to the side as if they were of no consequence. The harder he tried to hold onto them, the quicker they slipped away. Like sand through his fingers. Wars he had never fought in, peace he never understood. Beautiful places he had never seen that left him breathless. Barren rock as far as the eye could see, desolate plains with winds filled with sand that could scour the very skin from your bones. Hell in its true form.

When Tanis woke, he was drenched with sweat and in a room he had never seen before. A strange shiny surface made up the walls. Some sort of light came from the edges of the ceiling, illuminating the dim room. A strange thin material covered him, silky soft, as were the pillows at his head. There were voices, hush and harried. A female voice desperate in her fear because he was not healing fast enough. That someone called the emperor would be furious if his fever did not break and he did not wake soon. Another, deeper, calmer, voice assuring the female that all would be good. Somehow they knew he was a healer, and that his body would not allow him to die. Not if the wounds were not fatal, and the blow Tanis receive to his head was not fatal.

Where was he?

He tried to remember the last thing he saw. It was a pair of pale blue eyes in a face that he had never seen before yet seemed familiar. Those eyes held curiosity and behind that a lot of fear. Power radiated off that being, so Tanis had no idea why he would fear him. Then images that felt fresh, new, as if they were happening as he lay on the floor seen through beautiful hazel eyes assaulted him. Legs, arms, bruising fingertips, pain, pleasure, a hunger that felt as if it would never be satiated, not for food, but for what those surrounding her bodies could give her. A circle of pain and pleasure, never ending unless they let go of life itself. That above all else had frightened Tanis. The one who belonged to those hazel eyes was losing their will to live. Somewhere deep inside Tanis, he recognized who that feeling belonged to, and to lose her when he was so close to holding her in his arms again clutched his heart painfully.

All of those images, the emotions, jumped from him to the being who touched him and the sudden clarity of who he was, what he was, almost sent Tanis into oblivion, but he fought it off because he had to warn the male doubled over in front of him.

“He’s awake!” the female cried in relief, interrupting Tanis’s thoughts.

Turning his head, he sought out the source of the voice. She seemed young, and the white uniform she wore was very unflattering to her slightly plump body, hugging in places that only emphasized that plumpness. Her brown eyes matched her brown hair that was braided away from her face in rows and held back by a band at the base of her neck. He only knew this because some of the strands fell over her shoulder. Her light brown skin was foreign to Tanis. He had never seen anyone with that color skin, but it was the other physician that truly alarmed him. That person, being, demon – Tanis was not sure what he was looking at – was a deep purple bordering on black. The red eyes and pointed ears that peeked out of shocking red hair only convince Tanis that his assessment of demon was true. When the creature smiled pointed teeth at him, he shrieked and scrambled backwards, falling off the other side of the bed with a loud thump.

“Oh my,” someone exclaimed mildly.

There was a long suffering sigh. “Really, Addy. How many times must I remind you not to smile at the patients. Especially the ones who are visiting.”

“I was merely trying to be friendly,” Addy pouted.

“There is nothing friendly about pointed teeth,” the other scolded.

Tanis lay on his back, trying to will the world to stop spinning. While most of his injuries were healed, his head was still tender and the jar from the fall had not help things. Neither had that embarrassing shriek. Did that really come out of his mouth. Way to make a first impression.

The dark skin female popped her head into his view, her smile gentle and without pointed teeth. “Sorry about that,” she apologized. “Addy keeps forgetting that not everyone is like her, but she’s harmless. She only eats every few days, and she had a huge breakfast this morning of raw dragonia and some fish native to her world. I was with her so I know she ate her fill.”

Was this suppose to make him feel better? What hell had he been dragged into? The only response that Tanis could muster was rapid blinking of his wide eyes.

“Come on, then,” the girl coaxed coming around the end of the bed to stand before him, holding out her hand. “My name is Fotina. I am so glad you are awake because we need to get you ready for the ceremony.” She gave him an appraising look, one eyebrow raised high on her forehead, and when she continued her voice had dropped a few octaves and sounded more sultry than cheerful. “And as much as I am enjoying the view, the emperor would rather you go clothed.”

With a quick glance, Tanis realized he wasn’t wearing any clothes. A quick grab and yank, and the thin material that was half on and off the bed was covering the more embarrassing parts.

She gave that long suffering sigh again, only this time it was tinged with regret. “If only we had time…”

“Tina!” Addy admonished, slapping her on the shoulder as she passed her by. “Put in back in the pants, girl, or you’ll lose more than your head.”

Shaking his head at the weirdness of the conversation, Tanis allowed the two females to help him to his feet then to the edge of the bed, where he sat down gratefully.

“Where am I?” he asked hoarsely, his head in his hands.

“You are on the star cruiser Rising Tempest,” Addy answered.

“Look at me,” Fotina ordered gently.

Tanis raised his head to see her knelt in front of him, that same friendly smile on her face.

“I need to check your eyes for any sign of damage,” she explained holding up a small metal wand that held light. When she saw Tanis’s eyes narrow in suspicion, her smile widened. Taking the light, she flashed it on her hand. “See. It won’t hurt, unless there is damage. Then it might not help any headache you may have.” To show him, she flashed it in her eyes. When she seemed unharmed, he grudgingly allowed her to do the same to him.

When the light hit his eyes, the images he had seen earlier came crashing back, engulfing his senses. When they cleared, he was staring up at the ceiling on his back and both Addy and Fotina staring down at him, frowning. He also knew that the female who was being abused was somewhere on this star cruiser, whatever the hell that was.

“What happened?” Fotina asked.

Tanis pushed himself up off the bed.

“Whoa,” Addy cautioned, standing in front of Tanis with her hands on his chest. “Just where do you think you are going?”

“I have to find her,” he answered hoarsely.

“Find who?” Fotina asked.

Tanis opened his mouth to answer then closed it. Who was he looking for? In all the images, there had never been a name attached to those hazel eyes. Only different shapes of faces.

“I don’t know,” Tanis frowned. The world spun and he sat down hard on the bed, bouncing. “All I know is she is on this ship and I have to find her before it’s too late.”

“Too late for what?” Addy asked.

“To save her,” Tanis whispered looking up at them.

The two females looked at each other and something passed between them. Some knowledge.

“You know who she is,” Tanis accused standing. Addy promptly pushed him back down on the bed.

“Hold on there, sparky,” she chided. “You aren’t going anywhere. Not without an escort, and certainly not without clothes.

Tanis decided she had a point, so after he has washed the blood and grime of Maura’s dungeons off him, he allowed the two healers to help him into the strange clothing that seemed to be common. Only instead of white, his were black. Somewhere in the middle of lacing up the strange shoes, he asked Fotina, “What is a sparky?”

Fotina laughed. “Just some slang that Addy picked up on some small planet we visited.”

“Planet?”

“Didn’t you know? A star cruiser is a ship that travels in the stars between worlds.”

Tanis sat on the bed unable to wrap his mind around what he had just learned. A ship that travels through the stars? He once again asked the questions that no one seemed to answer to his satisfaction.

Where the hell was he and why was he here?

It seemed forever before an escort arrived, which gave him time to heal the rest of his wounds, but instead of allowing Tanis to look for the female that was haunting his every thought, he was escorted through the strange metal halls to what he was told was the throne room. Finally something he understood. It still did not ease his fear the further he traveled through the strange city. He’d never seen anything like it before. Smooth metal panels with no handles slid open without a word leading into rooms. Lights turned on the moment you stepped into a room. The room they called a bathroom, where they showed him how to work the strange buttons that caused hot water to flow in abundance from a metal disk embedded in the ceiling. There was a magic wall they had called a replicator that when told what you wanted to eat or drink within seconds materialized on the small shelf embedded in the wall. Most of the people he saw hurrying up and down the halls wore something in their ear with a long slim metal piece that reached down their cheek, and when they talked into it apparently someone talked back. They called it technology, a word Tanis did not know or understand. What he did know was that nothing on Krynn prepared him for what he had experienced since he was taken from his home world. And when they passed a row of windows and he saw the blackness of space dotted with the stars of the heavens and his planet far below them, he stopped in awe. Yet there was something familiar about it.

Another memory through someone else’s eyes, yet familiar somehow. Looking out a window similar to the one he stared out now, only the stars were stretched into streaming lights. He was on a much smaller ship, speeding through space, running from something. Or was it running to something? Whichever it was, the tension in his body was high, his muscles taunt. What they were doing was risky, but it was the only thing he could think of to keep her safe.

Hands smoothed around his waist and up his chest. A feminine body pressed against his back as her arms tighten around him, holding him close, soothing him. Closing his eyes, he hugged those arms to him and relaxed into the embrace. Within those arms he felt powerful, complete. He felt as if nothing could harm them, which was a lie. Someone could harm them, could harm her, and he had to make sure that never happened.

“Why are you so tense?” she asked. “He cannot find us here.”

Tanis opened his eyes to stare out at the streaking stars. “You are a magnet to him. No matter where we go, he will find you. It is only a matter of time.” He turned in her arms to stare down into hazel eyes warm with love. Cupping her cheek, he gently brushed his lips with hers. “I cannot allow him to touch you. Not after what he has done,” he breathed resting his forehead against hers.

She sighed. “That is what I don’t understand. Why would he do such a thing? Never in all our lives has he ever done any harm to me, yet now…,” she struggled to put into words what she knew was true. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him with worry and fear. “It is as if he sold his soul to the devil himself.”

Tanis smiled at her metaphor. “You spent too much time on that backwards little planet,” he chided. “Their version of evil does not exist. It is only fairytale and myth to scare their weak into following the power hungry zealots.”

“Where that maybe true, you know as well as I that there is darkness in every corner of the universe. That it prays on the weak, promises them riches and immortality if they do its evil bidding. No matter what you call it, it is there. Waiting.”

“True,” Tanis sighed, “and I fear you are right. Somehow it has snared our brother, tipping the scales in its favor. I do not know how to….”

The ship rocked violently, sending them slamming into the glass wall. Just as suddenly it stopped, as if a hand grabbed it, yanking to a standstill. It threw them through the air, down the hall. They landed on the floor sliding a few more feet before stopping against another wall.

“What the hell was that?” Tanis snarled pushing himself shakily to his feet. Glancing outside he saw they were at a complete stop as the stars were no longer streaking by and there was the blackness of space looming before him.

“I don’t know,” she groaned rolling over onto her back, “but it hurt.”

A male dressed in white ran around the corner towards them, relief on his face when he saw they were alright. “Sir!” he called as Tanis helped her to her feet. “We’ve been hit!”

“By what?” he asked.

“Them,” the male answered pointing out the window.

They turned to see a massive black ship looming before them. Not their brother’s ship, but one just and deadly. Tanis had time to turn towards the woman beside him and utter, “I love you,” before the world turned fiery red.

Suddenly Tanis was standing on the deck of the star cruiser staring out at his home world. The sudden change was disorienting, and he had to grab onto the wall to keep from falling.

“Pretty impressive, is it not?” the elder who introduced himself as Commander Wells said stepping up beside him to stare out the window, misinterpreting Tanis reaction as fear of where they were.

“Who are you people?” Tanis whispered, his voice shaky.

Commander Wells moved his gaze to Tanis, his eyes showing humor as he answered calmly, “We are not so different from you.”

“I beg to differ,” Tanis scoffed pointing at his planet. “We cannot travel the heavens. You have this…technology that we do not.” Which was true, but it did not explain why at the same time it seemed familiar.

“We did not always have these…luxuries. Once, we were like you. Living in the dirt, off the land. We have just learned over the years how to make and use what was giving to us, as your world will one day.”

Tanis found that hard to believe. Looking back out at his planet, an emotion not his own engulfed him, making him stumble once again against the cold clear surface. An overwhelming sense of loss, of desire to end the pain. Surrounding that emotion were others that were desperate to keep whoever was willing themselves to die to live. The urge to find that person, that…female flared within him. Tanis felt if he could only see her, touch her, he could somehow heal her, protect her. That she was some vital part of his existence he needed to survive, but that was impossible. Tanis had not even seen the female so how could he feel as if he needed her like he needed air to breathe.

Wanting to understand, Tanis tentatively reached out to see if he could figure out what it was that drew him to her, if she was the same female that he saw in those strange memories. Just as the edges of his mind touched hers, something powerful slammed into his brain sending him reeling. The guards behind him caught Tanis before he hit the floor easing him down.

Commander Wells tsked him as if he were an errant child. The condescending tone did nothing to alleviate the irritation that bloomed inside Tanis. He was tired of being treated as if he were something lesser. He was a healer and a…what was he? Frowning, he tried to grasp the words that kept alluding him. Somehow he knew, if he could only grasp them, everything would become clear.

“You were trying to find her, weren’t you?” Wells chided squatting down next to the reeling healer. “You were warned about using your powers without the express permission of the emperor and now suffer the consequences for disobeying.”

“I do not know your emperor and owe him no allegiance,” Tanis hissed holding his head in his hands. It was if a hot knife had been shoved into his brain and continued to burn.

Using his thumb and pointer finger, Wells rubbed his eyes and sighed wearily. He had one stubborn male to deal with already. He did not need another. With a fair amount of irritation in his expression, he said in a calm tone he had learned in the years dealing with Aden’s mood swings, “A word of advice, son. The sooner you accept your fate, the less she will suffer for it.”

“Who will suffer?” Tanis snapped glaring at the male. “Why won’t anyone tell me why I am here? Who this female is?”

“You can sense her, can’t you,” a familiar voice breathed behind him.

Tanis turned his head to see the young lord that was on the planet. The one come to collect him and bring him here. Again the sense of familiarity slammed into him, but it was different than the female. She he felt as if he had known far longer than his short lifetime. This male had something familiar about in him his features, the feel of him. As if he was a part of Tanis, which would be impossible because Tanis had never met him before and they were from two completely different worlds. Yet.

Aden stopped before Tanis, staring thoughtfully down at him. His emotions were mixed and all over the place. On one hand he wanted to kill the bastard before him because he meant the end of his world. On the other, he knew he could not. Not so much because his master would be furious, but because he knew what this male was to Kara, and he would do everything in his power to see no harm came to her. Unfortunately, there had been very little in his power these last years.

“You sensed her on the planet. You knew what was happening to her,” Aden finished.

Tanis frowned up at him. What was he talking about? Did he mean the female he felt dying?

“Will you tell me who she is and why she is haunting me?” he asked.

“No,” Aden answered.

“Why not?”

“Because it is not time,” he answered absently. Without another word, the young lord turned and continued down the hall. “Do not be late,” he ordered before disappearing through a door.

“Yes, my lord,” Wells acknowledged. Turning to the men, he ordered, “Get him up.”

As two of the guards dragged Tanis to his feet, Commander Wells stared at the door Aden had disappeared through, thinking about the barely controlled rage simmering under the young lords calm façade. He knew Aden well enough to know it was his way of hiding his fear of what was to come. God only knew what would happen once the ceremony began. He managed to suppress the shudder that the memory of what Aden had become when Kara had been sent away. What would happen to him when she was completely ripped from him.

“Be glad the emperor has need of you or you would be dead right now,” Wells commented wearily, making a show of straightening the cuffs at his wrists so Tanis would know he was not important enough to warrant the commander’s full attention.

“Why does he hate me?” Tanis asked his breathing still ragged as he shrugged the guards off. “I have done nothing to him.”

“It is not what you have done, but what you will do,” the commander answered ominously, the smile sliding from his lips. When Tanis opened his mouth to retort, Wells cut him off. Repeating once again, “It will all become clear soon.” Ignoring the male’s narrowing eyes full of frustration, Well motioned the guards to follow.

Tanis stood unmoving, his anger being quickly replaced with trepidation as the memory of the female’s pain filled him. What would this emperor do to him? The question went unanswered as one of the guards shoved him forward. Glaring at him, Tanis followed the commander into the unknown.

Chapter 9
Chapter 11

Copyright © 2018 Heidi Barnes

Warning: This chapter is pretty intense as far as what happens to Kara sexually. If you do not like this sort of thing I would either skip down to the chapter that starts with “A small voice in the back of Kara’s mind laughed…” While I did try to tone it down, not everyone likes to read about rape, even though it fits in the story line.

Chapter 9

 

Kara lay on the tangled sheets slipping in and out of consciousness. Somewhere in the room there were voices talking. Something about rotations, but she did not care. All she cared about was that they were not touching her. The bed dipped, and she tensed, but no one touched her. A voice close to her rumbled a time, but he did not touch her. As long as they did not touch her the lust would fade and she could finally give into the darkness that hovered around the edges of her soul where there were no hands, no bodies, no hunger and no pain.

There was not a spot on her body, inside or out, that did not scream at her. Somewhere in their lust filled haze, pain had become an aphrodisiac. That was the worst part of her curse. Not only did the touch or thought of another rouse the thirst inside of her, it also rose that of the anyone who was in the room with them. Her power, for lack of a better term, amplified those lustful thoughts and spread them, infecting everyone within reach. The one with the strongest mind tended to dictate how the sex would go, and the strongest mind in the garrison had been Captain Hiram who had a cruel streak that rivaled Colin’s. As Kara lay on the bed, the endorphins wearing off so the pain began to override the pleasure, she thought maybe rivaled was not the right word. Dwarfed. That would be the word.

A hand caressed her calf, making her shiver and pulling a hoarse moan from her raw throat.

“My gods, she still hungers for more. Too bad I don’t have time to enjoy her again,” a deep masculine voice chuckled.

“Don’t worry,” Hiram crooned. “I will enjoy her for the both of us.”

“I’m surprised she’s still alive,” another mused. Gentle hands moved the hair from Kara’s face before lightly brushing fingertips along her cheekbone. “The bruises are almost faded. She heals fast.”

“Which is why we must not let her rest. She is here for punishment. Allowing her time to heal would defeat the purpose of this lesson,” Hiram said.

Kara managed to open the one eye that was not swollen completely shut to see the male that was touching her face with a gentle hand. He was squatted down next to the bed frowning at her. Not all the males of the Red Garrison were happy about Hiram’s orders that they were to use her has painfully as possible. Some of them even left, a few had taken her into their rooms and had been very gentle. The majority, however, had been too caught up in the pull of her power that Hiram was directing to care.

“I still don’t understand what she did to warrant this kind of punishment,” the male in front of her said. He looked towards where Kara was sure Hiram sat. She closed her eye, unable to keep it open any longer. “The emperor protects her like a prize possession. To just throw her at us like so much garbage isn’t like the him.”

“Are you questioning our master?” Hiram asked, his voice low and dangerous.

“No,” the male quickly answered, a thread of fear in his voice. He must have stood, because he was no longer touching her. “We should go. Our shift starts shortly, and I need a shower.”

“You do that,” Hiram growled.

The bed moved again as the door hissed open. Footsteps then the door hissed shut, leaving the room in silence, but Kara knew she was not alone. She could feel Hiram’s eyes boring into her, his lustful thoughts fill her head. No, she was not alone, and she would not know the blessed darkness that she so craved anytime soon.

Dropping a naked female in the middle of ten males who had not had a woman in months was like dropping a single steak in a cage full of starving lions. Especially with Kara’s special ability to take the lust of one man’s thoughts and spread it out to others pulsing from her, and Hiram had made sure those thoughts had to do with not only lust, but pain. Within seconds the men had grabbed her arms and legs, carried her to the nearest table and slammed her on top of it. Another second and there was a male between her legs forcing himself inside her while another climbed onto the table near her head, shoving himself into her mouth. When one male was finished another took that male’s place, barely giving her time to breathe between assaults.

More of the garrison’s guards began to appear, saying that they had been released from duty for the rest of the day and were to report to their barracks for an unexpected surprise. When they saw what was happening on the kitchen table, was sucked in by the growing lust that filled the room, they were more than eager to join in the fun.

On his various trips with the emperor to Colin’s planet, Hiram had heard rumors of how easily the witch could be seduced if the right measures were taken. That she may fight in the beginning, but by the time they were through with her, she was begging for more. The most intriguing piece of information was that the harsher the abuse, the more she responded. Ever since he had heard this, Hiram had wanted to see if those rumors were true. As he watched his men brutally rape the female, he decided that today he would take full advantage of this ‘gift’ and find out just how far they could take her before she begged them to stop.

When the last of the twenty-five men had had their fill of the witch and she was on the floor gagging and gasping for breath, her body shaking with pain, Hiram motioned two of the men to pull her to her feet. Taking in the disheveled hair, the multiply bruises and teeth marks all over her body, the blood, his desire to have her grew tenfold. Grabbing a hold of her chin he forced her head up so he could look into her eyes. What he saw hardened him even further. Along with the pain and fear there was a great deal of desire in those eyes. There were many times during the last hour he had seen her body convulse in orgasm. When she had a moment to breathe she had even screamed them.

“So the rumors are true,” he purred. “You crave the abuse of men in your bed. That is good, because for the next few hours that is all you will receive from me.”

Tightening his grip on her jaw, he forced her mouth open so he could viciously kiss her while his hand went between her legs. Kara fought the men holding her until her cries of pain turned into moans of pleasure. Smiling wickedly, Hiram moved far enough away so he could watch her eyes close in obvious pleasure to his harsh touch. Just before she was to orgasm he stopped. Her whimper of protest brought laughter from the men around them watching.

“We will have fun with this one,” Hiram sneered. “And now that you men have had your fill, the real punishment will begin.” Stepping back, he addressed those men. “While the emperor has sent his witch to us for our pleasure, he has also sent her to us as punishment for her traitorous thoughts. I think we should fulfill the emperor’s wishes to the fullest.”

“How much can she take before she dies?” one of the men asked clearly not wanting to be on the emperor’s bad side.

Hiram’s eyes widen in glee as Kara’s eyes flew open, full of dread, as he revealed a secret he had been keeping for some time. One that would be revealed to all later that day. “The witch is immortal, so aside from taking her head, she will survive whatever we decide is necessary to teach her her lesson.” Reaching down, Terrance slowly unbuckled his wide leather belt, “and what better way to start her sentence than a beating she will not soon forget.”

With a nod of his head the two holding Kara turned her around and slammed her over to the table so her ass was exposed for what was to come. A man on each side holding her arms, Terrance wrapped one end of his belt around his hand and began beating her until his arm tired and her screams had turned to whimpers. Throwing his belt to the floor, his breaths labored, he unbuttoned his pants, moving so he was behind her. Rubbed himself along her ass to let her know just how large he was, he leaned over her, making sure he pressed the buttons of his pants against her raw skin, relishing her whimpers of pain.

Taking her long hair, wrapping it around his hand before digging his fingers into it at the scalp, he yanked her head back painfully, his lips at her ear, “Now it’s my turn,” he whispered harshly.

Moving his hips back, positioning himself, he shoved himself inside her with one cruel stroke. Kara screamed, struggling to get free of those holding her. The men that held her arms let go, but Hiram kept his grip firmly in her hair, not relenting until she screamed at least three times in orgasm.

Afterwards he had sat back and watched his men do their worst. Kara tried to fight a few times, but it always ended up with someone’s belt or the cattails that someone had gone to retrieve from one of the torture rooms, marring her already raw skin. They had not cared where they had beaten her. Nothing was safe from their cruelty.

Hiram looked down at her taking in the multiple welts, the bruising, and grew hard just thinking of what he was about to do to her, but first he needed her conscious. Some of the earlier wounds from six hours ago had healed, but with twenty-five men there was little if no time in between each one for her to even catch a breath. Now it was once again his turn. How many had it been? Four, five? He honestly had lost track. No matter.

“Wake up little whore,” he ordered slapping her ass. “Come on. Wakey, wakey.”

Kara groaned as the captain kept slapping her on various parts of her body. When he reached her face, she raised her hands to stop the onslaught.

“I am not done with you yet,” Hiram sneered grabbing a handful of hair and twisting her head so she looked up at him. “The emperor wants you punished for disobeying him and I intend to do just that. But there is another who needs to be reminded of his place and that you are off limits to him.”

“Please,” Kara begged weakly as she grabbed his wrist in an attempt to lessen the pain. “No more. I beg you.”

“You beg me?” he mocked throwing her head back on the bed before taking a hold of her ankle and flipping her onto her stomach. “You have not even begun to beg. I see how he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching. The emperor is very displeased with the both of you.”

Kara cried out when he yanked her towards him, letting her feet drop onto the floor once again. She knew what he was about to do and tried to crawl away. Grinding his knee into her lower back he gave her two hard whacks on her already raw ass. She cried out tears streaming down her face.

“When I am done with you will cringe at the thought of another man touching you,” he promised grabbing her hips and pulling her to him. She screamed when he once again brutally shoved himself into her. “Sahen will think twice before he touches you now, knowing how many men you have pleasured today. Knowing how much you actually enjoyed it every time they fucked you,” he sneered when he heard her moan.

A small voice in the back of Kara’s mind laughed at the captain’s attempt to humiliate her. What these men had done to her was nothing new. She had moved past humiliation a long time ago, but the captain was right about one thing. It was the one punishment she tried to avoid at all cost. Aden knew what Colin had forced on her and had never judged her for her body’s responses to this form of abuse. It had become almost impossible for her to feel anything during sex without some sort of pain. But the fact this was being done to her because he wanted to make a point to Aden. That he had no claim to her, would make it worse for him.

Through the haze of pain and pleasure that had begun to envelope her, Kara realized the captain had stopped his assault. His fingers seemed to reluctantly release her, his body slowly moving away. When he touched her no more, Kara’s legs refused to hold her and she slipped to the floor in a heap.

“You…don’t know…what you are…doing,” she heard the captain gasp as if he had to force the words out of his lungs.

Kara looked up through her tangled hair to see the captain hanging a few feet in the air clutching at some unseen force that held him by the throat. She followed his gaze, whimpering at what she saw, the humiliation Hiram had tried so hard to inflict on her finally washing over her.

Aden stood in the doorway, his hand stretched out before him, his fingers bent as if he clutched the captain’s throat with them. His face was a mask of rage, his eyes glowed red as his body shook. With sudden and frightening realization, Kara knew that it was not Aden Sahen, a powerful sorcerer, standing before her, but a god in full fury.

“I was only following orders,” the captain choked.

“I highly doubt he told you to use her until you killed her,” Aden snarled.

The captain managed a wicked smile even though he was slowly turning blue as he dangled naked in midair. “I was told to use her as I wished, which we all did with the greatest of pleasure,” he sneered.

Aden turned his hand only slightly and the captain neck broke with an audible snap. Lowering his hand, the captain dropped to the floor with a crash. Aden stared at the lifeless body doing his best to reign in his blind rage. The emperor would not be pleased he had killed the captain of his personal guard, again, but when Aden had walked into the room and saw what he was doing to Kara, heard what he had said, heard her hoarse cries of pain he had lost control. A soft sound brought his attention to the huddled creature on the floor and the rage instantly melted into alarm.

Kara had tried to pull herself onto the bed where she could cover herself with the blankets, but her arms and legs would not cooperate. Rushing to her side, Aden pulled her into his arms where she began sobbing hysterically.

“I am so sorry,” he breathed into her matted hair as he held her to him. “I should have never left. I should have stayed and protected you.” When he tried to move her so he could look her over, she cried out in agony. “What have they done to you?” he breathed taking in all the bruising and blood. “I will kill them all,” he snarled.

“No, Aden,” Kara pleaded her voice a hoarse whisper. “It won’t help. They have done nothing that has not been done to me before,” she softly added doing her best not to look him in the eye.

Aden warred between doing as she asked and going on a rampage until he had fulfilled his vow and every man who had touched her no longer breathed. Finally reasoning won out and he allowed the exhaustion from the last weeks wash over him. He was tired of the constant worry, the pain, the anger and frustration, the helplessness that he fought every day so he could be strong for both of them. More than anything he wanted to take Kara someplace where they could live in peace. Someplace where no one, mortal or immortal, would ever find them.

“I don’t understand. Why he would do this to you?” he whispered not even trying to keep the tears from his eyes as he brushed her hair away from her face. “This is Colin’s cruelty, and there are numerous times Caius has raged against Colin inflicting it on you. I never thought he would sink this low.”

“I would not do what he commanded. Could not,” Kara answered wiping the tears from her face, wincing when she touched a tender area.

“What was that?”

Kara’s only answer was to finally look sadly into his eyes. It was all Aden needed. In that one look he saw in his mind everything that had happened after he had left the throne room. That Caius had once again asked Kara to do the impossible, and she had refused him. The captain had been right. This was his punishment as much as hers.

“Kara,” he breathed pulling her close, wanting to take away the pain he had caused her. He quickly loosened his grip when she cried out once again.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered hoarsely, choking back her sobs. “If he finds you….”

“He sent me here,” Aden interrupted furiously. “He wanted me to find you like this. As the captain told you, he thought seeing you with another man would change the way I feel about you. What our master fails to realize is there is nothing he can do to either of us that can change my love for you. Nothing.” Not even her being torn from him. Kissing Kara’s forehead, Aden gathered her gently in his arms. “I need to take you to your room. Today everything will change, and you must be strong enough to survive what is to come.” I must be strong enough, he thought to himself. Somehow he knew he could never be that strong.

Carefully wrapping Kara in a blanket, Aden picked her up. When she fell limp in his arms, he feared he had lost her, but the subtle moving of her chest told him she was still alive. It did not alleviate the dread of what was to come. Today he would lose her forever to another and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Aden was one of the most powerful sorcerers that had ever lived, but as he was painfully reminded just now not as powerful as his master.

The men in the common room had vanished.

“Cowards,” Aden snarled in disgust.

Picking the thin material off the back of the chair, he carried Kara back to her room; the dark foreboding expression on his face as he strode down the hall sending people scrambling out of his way. Once inside the small quarters that were attached to Caius’s, Aden called for the healer and Kara’s serving woman. When they arrived, they informed him that the emperor wanted to see him immediately. The last thing Aden wanted to do was leave Kara, but then Caius knew that. It was yet another test of his loyalty and obedience that left Aden gritting his teeth, but he knew it would be much worse if he prolonged it any further. Not wanting to give the bastard another reason to punish Kara, and with the promise he would return soon, he went to face their master.

Aden stopped outside the room next to Kara’s, putting his hand on the door and closing his eyes. He could feel the occupant’s fear and yet there was something else. With a start, Aden understood Tanis’s strange behavior down on the planet. As far away as he was from the her, he could already sense Kara’s presence, and the prophecy was already beginning to unfold.

Aden pulled his hand away from the door, wondering if the emperor knew what he was doing. If Tanis had half the power Kara possessed, together they could very well destroy them all.

Chapter 8
Chapter 10

Copyright © 2018 Heidi Barnes