She never knew how quiet could be so loud. Her soul waited for his next words. Would he condemn her? Why wouldn't he? They were two people who lived in secrets, in the shadows of the universe, peddling lies to anyone who knew them.
But their connection to each other had transcended the lies, uncovered the truth that lay in their souls, and exposed their real selves. Now, she uncovered another layer, another lie, that she knew would hurt him.
"Carina,” he said, his voice warm and vibrant. “Machinka, it doesn't matter what they made you do. It never will."
Tears blurred her vision when she snapped her gaze to his face. “I should have told you. I wanted to but—"
He tightened his fingers on hers. He nodded. “Listen to me. I was four when my father was sent to the Mistresses. I never knew him before he was...broken."
She winced. Broken. The horrific months of torture lay beneath that word. The Mistresses were a necessary tool, using psychology to manipulate and break criminals who grasped power, refused to follow the precepts of Nyral society. Though Carina didn't know exactly what they did, she'd seen the results. A male dominant was reduced to a groveling slave. It wasn't true submission, but subjugation, and the Mistresses were clear on the distinction.
The practice of this punishment had been questioned. But the Mistresses used compelling arguments. An innocent man could not be broken. That was their contention.
Xandros continued. “My mother died before he was released from the Mistresses, and she never said a word about what happened. When my father came home, I was contemptuous, believing a real man wouldn't have crawled.” The self-disgust in his voice made his tone harsh. “He told me—” Xandros swallowed and wiped one hand over his face. “He told me that he hadn't been guilty of treason, but he'd deserved what he'd gotten.” He cleared his throat and raised his gaze to hers. “And when he told me why, I wanted to forget every word he said."
She waited, but Xandros seemed to struggle for the words. It was her turn to fold his hands in hers. “But you didn't, did you?"
He shook his head and his nostrils flared. “He said he'd...been foolish, falling for a message that turned out to be a lie.” Xandros closed his eyes, and Carina tightened her hold, trying to comfort him. “The Brotherhood tempted him with my mother's survival.” A muscle jumped in his cheek. “How they knew my mother was going to die, I don't know. But they did. And somehow they convinced my father they knew."
Carina dreaded the next words. Not because she didn't want to hear them, but because she could see how much pain they caused Xandros. Their hands were intertwined, interconnected, so it would be difficult to pull away.
"She died when I was seven and he was in the Conclave. He was freed when I was fifteen.” He seemed focused on the past, on that day. “I asked him why he did it, why he betrayed Nylar."
His short laugh was filled with anguish. “He was shocked I asked. It never occurred to him that I would think he was guilty.” He shook his head. “My mother believed in his innocence until the day she died. I suppose he thought I would too."
"How did she die, Xandros?” Carina whispered.
"You know.” He met her troubled gaze, his face pinched and worn. “She was killed in a random act that poisoned thousands. It never crossed my mind that the Brotherhood had done it until after the TIF released me."
Carina was confused, her mind spun. None of it made sense. “But I thought your father—” She stopped, the question lodged in her throat.
"That he did what the Brotherhood wanted?” Xandros shook his head. “No.” He tightened his lips until they were bloodless and white. “He was supposed to murder me."
Stunned, Carina stared at him. “I don't understand."
"My father was supposed to get rid of me. The Brotherhood promised they could stop my mother's death. Hell, they got him to betray secrets in order to keep her alive. They convinced my father that it was either me or her. When he wouldn't play their game, he was set up, and my mother died.” His voice was heavy with emotion. Such a burden to carry. “I'm the reason my mother is dead and my father killed himself.” Xandros began to disentangle his hands. “So you see? There's nothing you can tell me that will change how I feel about you."
He yanked his hands away and stood up, turning his back on her. Slowly, she got to her feet and pressed her hand to his back. “Oh, my love. There's so much more to this."
His fists were clenched at his side, and he shook his head once sharply.
She pulled on his arm. “The Brotherhood deliberately took everything from you. From both of us. If they wanted us dead, they could have done it."
His head whipped around and she nodded. “So, why do it? That's the question.” She had his attention. “To keep us broken, damaged.” And it almost worked. “I've seen how they operate. They don't always want me to kill someone, though I've often left a person wishing they were dead."
He cupped her face with his hands. “I once thought that the marks were just a biological manifestation of sex. I thought the rage was a myth. Now, I can't imagine my life without you, my soul without yours.” His eyes brimmed with tears. “There is no secret, no person, nothing that could change it."
"Xandros,” she whispered his name, her heart filled to bursting.
His smile transformed his face from the tight, stretched features to relaxed. “How many times do you think we have to declare our undying love before we'll believe it?"
She snorted. “Probably a bunch more."
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “Whatever it takes, machinka. You are mine. And however many times it takes to say it, prove it, declare it, I will."
She snuggled deeper into his arms. Whatever happened at Pelios, it couldn't rob her of these precious moments.
The plan was in place, complete with all the flaws that worried Xandros. The modifications he'd suggested were also implemented, but he still wasn't happy. Just the name “Pelios” screamed danger. He didn't like being apart from his mate while she paid a visit to a place like that.
Of course, walking onto the Brotherhood's ship wasn't safe either. Originally, Leo was going to wear a holomask and play the part of a bounty hunter. Xandros insisted on going as himself. Leo would still have the disguise and stay with Princess Sera in case it all went wrong, but Xandros was sure the Brotherhood would see right through the plan.
Carina and Shaun had the trickier deal. They all had no idea whether Carina's power would work or not, and their backup plan was sketchy.
All and all, nothing new, really.
Xandros always flew by the seat of his pants, confident in his ability to survive. Right now, Leo, Xandros, and the princess surrounded Carina and Shaun to see if one part of their plan would work or not.
Carina knelt in front of Shaun. Stars, she was beautiful when she was on her knees. She'd fixed the jagged cuts in her hair and now it fell long in the back and short and spiky in the front and sides. Her flight suit was black, her slim, small form filling out the material but leaving no doubt that she could kick ass when needed.
Shaun was also dressed in black. His hazel eyes were dark and hooded until he began to speak the words Carina had remembered from her last meeting with Father Pestori. Then his eyes glowed greenish gold, eerie and frightening.
The words were gibberish to Xandros, but power filled the room. The air shimmered. A small light grew larger, circling around, glowing like a florescent beam. Just as Carina had described, it shone purple and gold, such innocuous colors for something that struck fear inside him.
His mate mark burned, and he noted Carina's shone red, the power that ripped through her also tore through him. Her eyes snapped open, and he met her gaze. He hated that they had to be separated, but that was what they had planned.
Shaun and Carina stepped closer to the portal, joined hands, and then both of them glanced back at Xandros. The love in Carina's gaze riveted him, and an echo of that feeling shone in Shaun's stare too.
Then they were gone, swallowed up by the swirls. All that was left were flashes of light like gold glitter on an empty dance floor.
Leo put a hand on Xandros's shoulder. “Have faith in them. They'll be fine."
"I don't like being apart from her.” He stared at the space where his mate had disappeared.
"Now that we know the Star Blessing works for us too, we'll have the advantage when they capture us.” Princess Sera linked her arm through Xandros's.
"I hope this works.” Xandros wasn't too confident about this. They were walking into the maw of danger and had very little to fall back on. Mystical powers didn't seem as reliable to Xandros as a laser rifle, but he had to go along with this.
"There are two things we have as an advantage,” Leo said. “One, the Brotherhood believes they've mind wiped Carina, that she doesn't remember what happened. And two, your reputation."
"I would think that the declaration on Nariad would have given them a heads-up,” Xandros said. He'd told the priest that he was allied with Carina and the mate mark, not just a mercenary.
Leo shook his head. “There were no transmissions from the planet after they landed. In fact, chatter on their lines of communication indicates that the Brotherhood has no idea what happened there.” He grinned at Xandros. “By the time they figure it out, we'll have rescued those men on Pelios and captured Father Pestori."
Princess Sera glanced up at Leo. “It's time, I think."
Leo nodded. “I agree."
Princess Sera crossed to a small cabinet in the wall of the ship. “Sindar was amazing, Xandros. What he saw, he saw clearly."
Xandros didn't know what to think about the four-eyed mystic who'd spoken to his mate from the past. He didn't doubt the man had seen
something
, but the future? He wasn't sure about that.
But Princess Sera handed him a data disc and seemed to believe it was meant for him. He shrugged and shoved it into a vid player. The now familiar Dormrelian filled the screen.
The alien's smile was all-knowing.
"Greetings, Birdman,"
he said. When he straightened, the smile was gone.
"By now, you've sent your mate off into danger, into a fiery pit."
His gaze was filled with compassion.
"I know you doubt the prophecies. You should. Nothing is certain."
The man leaned forward and peered from the screen. “
I do not know your name or your planet, but I know you have the mark of a bird on the inside of your thigh, a mark that connects you to the messenger."
Sindar glanced over his shoulder as if he didn't want someone to overhear him.
"Listen to me, Birdman. The message she carries resides in you, in both of you. One cannot be without the other."
His four eyes narrowed.
"I know what you think you must do. But you are wrong. Your sacrifice is not the key to success against this evil. You must free the ones who destroy it. That is your part in this drama."
He took a deep breath and stared at Xandros as if he could see him through the eons.
"Do not throw your life away, Birdman. You have a long, beautiful life ahead of you."
How had the alien known? Xandros hadn't formed the concrete thought, but he hadn't expected to get out of this alive. To save the rest, he planned to sacrifice his life that the others, especially Carina, might live.
The princess's hand touched his arm. “All of us or none of us, Xandros Jasper."
Xandros stared at the blank screen. “What if we are all destroyed, Princess? Can you really say that you'd be able to live knowing your death might have ended this evil?"
The bleak expression on her face made his heart twist. She dropped her hand. “I live knowing it every day, pirate."
His guts churned. He hadn't meant it that way. “Princess—"
She held up her hand. “Leo taught me that it was better to fight, to go out in a blaze of glory, rather than go to my death meekly."
"I hadn't planned to go quietly."
Princess Sera glared at him. “No? You planned to throw yourself on the pyre of sacrifice to save us. It would destroy Carina.” She stepped closer and thrust out her chin. “Tell me you want that for her, that heartbreaking loneliness."
He couldn't. He didn't. He wanted that beautiful life Sindar had talked about. He didn't want to die. For a moment, he blinked, his mouth open, his soul torn between the inevitability he thought he saw and the overwhelming love that filled his heart.
With a nod, Princess Sera stepped back. “That's better. We're not going to die, Xandros. We're going to win."
Xandros shut his mouth and shot a glance at Leo. He wasn't surprised to see a grin on the other man's face. And then, Leo fixed his gaze on Princess Sera, and the absolute adoration Xandros noted softened the man's face. That's what Xandros looked like when he stared at Carina.
For some inexplicable reason, it gave him hope.
Pelios. When Carina and Shaun had tumbled through the portal, they rolled into a rocky cave, filled with heat and the foul stench of weferies’ shit. Carina leaped to her feet and plastered her back against the wall.
Sweat poured off her skin, and she noted Shaun hadn't moved from his position across from her. The cave was filled with noise. Men's voices, the whine of the weferies, and the constant pounding of metal on rock. Clearly the men here had no intention of staying if they could escape.
But Carina knew there was no escape for the prisoners here. If those crude tools broke through the rock, all the men would find was molten rock. The only way out was the Star Blessing.
It was part of their plan to use these prisoners, to tempt them to escape. Who wouldn't take the chance to gain freedom even if they were more likely to die? Would death out there be worse than life in here?
Silently, Carina and Shaun crept toward the men's voices. How many prisoners were here? There were no numbers, no records of the lost souls here. How long had the Brotherhood transported prisoners to Pelios?
Too long.
A group of practically naked men surrounded a weferi. The animal guarded a box, probably food dropped by the Brotherhood. Carina wanted to puke. Two prisoners went down as she and Shaun watched, and while the weferi tore the throat out of one, another man jammed a sharp rock into its belly. The creature screamed, and the other men attacked.