All For One [Nuworld 3] (15 page)

attention once again to Syra.

“I’ll ask you again, I will, why did you lie?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Syra hissed at him as she moved

around the couch cautiously, not taking her attention from Darius.

“I may not be able to read minds but you’ve slept with him and I want to know

why you lied, I do.”

“Tara, make him stop,” Syra said, shooting Tara a quick glance.

Tara was surprised to actually see somewhat of a desperate look on Syra’s face

when their eyes met. She didn’t understand Darius’ bold accusations. It wasn’t like him

to act this way and she assumed he had good reason to do so—or at least he’d better

have a good reason.

“Syra, is there anything you didn’t tell us?” Tara spoke quietly trying to calm the

situation down.

“I gave you my files accounting for every day that I was with the Tree People.” She

glared now at both of them. “Is there any questionable behavior mentioned in there?”

She turned her attention to Torgo.

“No.” Torgo crossed his arms across his chest and looked from Tara to Darius.

Syra gave Darius a triumphant look.

“You said you created those files when you discovered the opportunity to log

information on a new race. You intended to turn them over to us when you returned,

you did.” Darius’ body was tense.

He still looked ready to spring and Tara braced herself as she stood between the

two of them. Torgo moved and now stood close to his brother. Tara worried this might

get ugly.

“You knew damn good and well who would read those files when you brought

them back, I’d say. I’m sure they’re full of lonely and virtuous thoughts.”

“Darius, that’s enough, it is.” Torgo’s tone showed his anger.

“You have no voice here.” Darius turned his rage on his brother. “Remember your

place.”

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Tara feared for a moment that Torgo would hit his brother. The two men stared at

each other for a long moment. Both of their muscular bodies appeared ready to spring.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen the two of them so angry with each other. One of them

defending a nation he felt had been jeopardized, the other defending a woman he

obviously still loved.

“Darius, you’re worse than a fool woman.” Syra hissed the words with a biting

tone.

Darius jumped. He literally flew to the side and dove at Syra. He didn’t attack the

way he would to reprimand a mouthy woman. He didn’t lunge at her the way he

charged when reprimanding one of the twins. He didn’t even dive at her the way he

would take on a belligerent drunk who cursed him one too many times. No, Darius

could think clearly even in anger, in extreme outrage, in cold-blooded fury. He attacked

Syra the way he would an enemy warrior in battle. Syra was a Runner, trained to fight

since she was a child. In all his anger, he respected who she was and acted accordingly.

Tara was there to intercept him in midair. He would have taken her down with him

if it weren’t for Torgo leaping just as quickly and pulling him back by the shoulders.

Darius swung around to attack Torgo just as two large Gothman guards appeared in

the doorway.

“Stop it!” Syra screamed.

Darius shoved Torgo back and then turned to face her. Tara placed her hands on his

chest and pushed although she knew at this angle she wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“You’ve had a relationship with Sorg. I could tell by the way he looked at you, yes.

Now, before I throw you in jail and have you chained…” The two guards straightened.

“I’ll ask you one more time, why did you lie to me? Why did you intentionally lead us

to believe you barely knew the man?”

“I won’t answer your questions.” Syra straightened and assumed the position of a

Runner warrior, feet spread slightly, hands locked behind her back. Her face went void

of all expression and she stared at no one.

“Syra, just tell him you didn’t sleep with him, yes.” Torgo tried to reason with the

woman he’d always known as way too stubborn.

Syra met Torgo’s gaze and Tara thought she saw her niece try to send him some

kind of unspoken message, but she said nothing.

“Syra, if you don’t deny Darius’ accusations,” Tara said, and Syra turned to look at

her, “it could be viewed as treason against your nation.”

Tara spoke her last words very quietly and a deafening silence sprang up around

the room.

Syra looked at each one of them. She saw Tara and Torgo’s puzzled expressions and

Darius’ look of justifiable anger. She’d known he would be the hardest one to fool. But

shit, she hadn’t fooled him for a minute. His furious dark gray eyes burned holes into

her until she looked away, and shrugged.

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“I have nothing to say,” she said quietly.

“Get her out of here, I say.” Darius gestured to his guards and they moved quickly.

She made no attempt to fight them.

The three of them stood silently after the guards escorted Syra out the front door

and into town to the jail.

Finally, Torgo spoke in a tone so cold it gave Tara a chill. “If she’s harmed in any

way, dear brother, you shall pay for it, yes. You shall pay dearly. I promise you.”

Darius turned to look at Torgo but his brother walked through the family room,

toward the kitchen, and out the back door.

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Chapter Nine

Ana hurried up the rocky hill, hardly able to contain her excitement. A strange

smell alerted her as she neared the clearing where she’d been with Roth earlier that day.

She straightened, pushing tree limbs out of her way as she walked toward the clearing.

She’d never smelled anything like it before in her life. What was it? The smell was

sweet, but not nauseating. It smelled sour as well, like boiling vinegar but not quite.

Roth stood from a squatting position when he noticed her. His smile warmed her

entire body and she felt a chill of anticipation. Even from the twenty feet of clearing that

separated them, he seemed to notice her reaction to him because his smile broadened.

“If you could only see how the moonlight makes your hair look silver.” He

extended a hand to her as she approached and she willingly put her hand in his.

“It’s not silver, it’s gold,” she said as she sat on the flat rock he offered her. “What is

that smell?”

He laughed and sat on the ground at her feet, looking up at her. “You are the most

honest, open person I’ve ever met. You’re right, your hair’s golden. I was trying to tell

you that you’re beautiful.”

“Oh,” she said, and felt her cheeks warm.

“Now, as for that smell, I am preparing one of the specialties of the Tree People.

Travelers will stumble into our boardinghouses with only a few coins to their name and

order Brooca bark. It is an ugly, twisted-looking tree that serves no purpose other than

it’s great to eat.”

“You eat your trees?” Ana asked in disbelief.

He laughed a gentle laugh that warmed her once again. But when his fingers traced

a pattern on her knee, she felt a tingle creep across her skin.

“You see, the bark of this particular tree is spongy and when you boil it, it softens

and falls apart. But, the secret is in the sap. The bark is very sweet. I ate it straight as a

child, but now that I’m a man, boiling it in the sap adds a sour taste, which I prefer.”

She made a face of skepticism and he leaned forward to the small fire he’d been

tending when she entered the clearing. A silver bowl sat over the fire with a pink liquid

boiling in it. He used a stick to stir its contents and Syra noticed blood-red strips

floating in it.

“It’s almost ready. We’ll have the Brooca bark.” Then he lifted the lid off another

bowl sitting to the side of the fire. “And I prepared some stuffed Prog leaf.” She leaned

forward to see thick brown leaves that appeared to be shaped like pockets and had

cooked meat inside them. “I stuffed them with some of your own game, so hopefully

you’ll like it.”

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“I hope I’ll like all of it.”

He turned to look up into her eyes and then stood, pulling her up with him.

“I brought some other things that I had at my camp. I thought I could show them to

you and you might learn something about my homeland. Would you like that?”

She didn’t need to answer. Her grin showed her enthusiasm and he reached to

stroke her cheek. Instantly, her mouth moved to his hand and his chuckle forced her

gaze to his.

“Did I do something wrong?” She looked into those mesmerizing green eyes and

almost relished in the sensation of being pulled into him.

“No, not at all. You don’t tease me. Your excitement is refreshing. I like it.” He

lowered his head and kissed her gently but suggestively and then nibbled her lower lip.

She felt warmth churn within her and build in intensity as his lips lingered. Something

she didn’t understand deep inside her was swelling with his every touch. She could feel

an insurmountable urge that seemed to make her entire body a single nerve ending.

A sudden reality caused all internal warmth to subside, and she pushed Roth away

from her gently. “Wait a minute,” she said, and gasped for breath trying to recompose

herself. “I wasn’t trying to suggest…”

She didn’t finish what she was saying but instead took a deep breath, glanced up at

Roth, and suddenly felt very embarrassed. He thought she was anxious to have sex

with him. Although she had no desire to let him know she’d never been with a man

before, she didn’t want him to think that’s all she wanted from him.

Maybe she should’ve asked Andru more questions. She knew he’d been with some

of the Gothman girls. She’d heard them talk.

Roth placed his hand gently on her chin in order to tilt her head back so he could

see her face. She didn’t fight him but fought to suppress tears of embarrassment. She

had really looked forward to this evening and now she was going to mess it up.

“Ana, you’re priceless.” His smile was gentle, reassuring, as was the caressing tone