Haven (8 page)

“Queen Kaylin, we
never intended for this to happen.” Arian rushed to explain.

“It’s what happens
when you allow your children to run around like trampy Dzivas. Had she kept her
legs closed we would not be in the situation.” Kaylin pursed her lips in
distaste.

Arian paled.

Leo shifted, a
subtle reminder of his presence in the room. Damned if he would let the queen
disrespect Liliana in front of him. What was the penalty for knocking around
royalty? He considered it, seething. His violent thought must have reflected in
his eyes because the queen opened her mouth to say something, but closed it
with an audible snap. Liliana stiffened, her nails digging into his hands. He
didn't need to look at his mate to know she was angry. Her body no longer
trembled in fear, power vibrated between them, little sharp stings traveling up
his arm.

“Enough, Kaylin.”
The reprimand in King Leander's voice whipped through the room.

Evan rushed in with
the documents, passing them to the king’s solicitor standing quietly in the
corner. The man read them over quietly.

Moments later he
cleared his throat. “Your highness.”

“Are they in order?”

The solicitor's eyes
darted around the room. “Your highness, these documents are still valid.”

“What?” Kaylin
lifted an eyebrow and turned to the solicitor.

Leo winced at the
venomous glare. He felt sorry for the lawyer.

“These documents
were signed and witnessed prior to Prince Kedric’s birth. There are no names
listed.”

“What is he saying
Leander?” Kaylin tapped her husband with one long tipped nail.

The solicitor
swallowed. “The same loophole…er…loose wording that allowed for the switch
between the Marcolev sisters apply. The contract only states that the families
have to join.”

Dark amusement
filled him and for once, Leo could appreciate the cruel joke fate had played.
“He is saying, your highness, that whatever you promised as a dowry still
stands. The contract is still valid.”

Kaylin ignored him
and faced her husband. “Leander, you cannot allow this to happen.”

“He is my son as
well, Kaylin.” Though Leander’s tone was weary, a hint of pride slipped through
his gaze.

Leo’s body tightened
like a bowstring. Hearing the king's statement was a bitter pill to swallow.
He’d kept his Eshu form to remind the king and queen of his heritage, but
hearing Leander’s pride in him left a bad taste in his mouth. Liliana's hand
brushed his back, the motion soothing.

“You will allow him
to take what belongs to my son?” The chill in her voice lifted the hair on the
back of his neck. He had firsthand knowledge of the lengths the queen would go
to rid herself of problems.

“Mother, please.”
Amusement tilted Kedric’s lips, his eyes finding Liliana’s.

She shuddered. Leo
tightened his grip on her hand to still her trembles. He assessed the prince
through narrowed eyes. Kedric was a replica of the king. The same brown skin,
squared chin, though his chiseled features slid into gaunt. The prince's hair
was a riot of reds, from the palest shade of blush to the deepest of burgundy
like his mother. His eyes were identical to Leo’s and the irony of it staggered
him. He hated that he looked like these strangers instead of the brothers he'd
grown up with and loved.

“You set the terms,
Kaylin. If you recall, I warned you against so generous a dowry.” Leander said
patiently.

“It was to go to my
son,” she objected.

“So what have I
won?” Leo crossed his arms over his chest, all trace of amusement gone.

“You have been
nothing but a curse to me.” Kaylin narrowed her eyes, her hands clenched
tightly into fists. Her caramel face was flushed, anger causing sparks in her
eyes.

“I have been nothing
to you, your highness. You made that distinctly clear when we last met.” There
was no respect in the title. Memories washed over him igniting his rage. He
would never forget her words to a child who'd done nothing to earn her venom.

“Your mother stole
what belonged to me. I'll not allow you to do the same to my son."

Silence choked the
room. His vision changed, sharpening and expanding, signaling his loss of
control. Only a thin thread of sanity kept him from the violence clawing at his
chest. The touch of Liliana's cool fingers pulled him back…marginally. Only the
strict training from his brothers kept his beast leashed. He would need to
thank them later. Though, the meeting was not done yet. It remained to be seen
if he could keep it together.

He took a deep
breath. "Well, shall we see what exactly I have stolen from my
brother?" His brother. It left a foul taste in his mouth. Leo released
Liliana's hand and held it out.

The solicitor looked
at the king, who nodded. He passed the forms to Leo. Liliana leaned over his
shoulder and gasped.

"Dear
Goddess." She whispered.

"You cannot let
this happen, Leander." Kaylin snatched the forms from Leo's hand.

Leander stood.
"It has happened and there is nothing to be done. It also means that the
Marcolev family's portion of the agreement still stands." He gave his wife
a pointed look.

She nodded
grudgingly.

The king shook
Evan's hand. "Do send word when you would like the Di êjê to take
place."

"We are not
attending." Kaylin brushed her gown and stood.

"You may stay
in your room if you like, but it will be held at the palace as befitting my
son. Kedric and I will be in attendance. Let's go."

Kaylin gave Leo one
last nasty look and followed her husband from the house. Leo doubted it was
finished between them.

Kedric stayed
behind. "Despite what you think about my mother, or I yours, I don't
dislike you Leonalph. I've never harbored any ill will towards you."

“Nor I you.” At
least not until he saw the way the prince looked at Liliana.

Leo ignored his
outstretched hand.

“Well, I don’t envy
you your mate.” Malicious amusement danced in Kedric’s eyes. “She was something
of a handful when we were growing up.”

Leo's eyes narrowed.
He shrugged in faked nonchalance and he fought his jealous urge to lash out. “I
don’t think that much has changed.”

“Since we are going
to be neighbors we should make the effort to get to know one another.”

Not in this life.
“My work for the Amanda will make it impossible for me to stay in Legba, it
won’t be a problem.”

Kedric nodded, his
jaw tightening at Leo’s reminder of who he was. “Lucky for you then.” He left
quickly.

Leo brushed a hand
over his face and reigned in his tattered temper. Only a few weeks and he could
leave. The ceremony couldn't be over fast enough to suit him.

***

"Well, thank
you, Liliana." Arian clenched her hands at her sides.

"Try to contain
your pride in me, mother." Still reeling in shock, the words were
automatic, the sarcasm a natural response to her mother's taunts.

Arian sucked in a
shocked breath. "Sarcasm is common, but then, you've proven yourself to be
just that."

Leo’s growl closed
her mother’s mouth, surely stopping a flood of other insults.

Liliana pushed down
on that well aimed dart, shoving it into a dark place in her heart reserved
just for her mother. "Since we obviously don't have anything nice to say
to each other, I'll leave. Good night, baba, Leo."

She prayed her legs
would carry her to her room. Her mother's angry words had struck their mark.
After two hundred years she should be used to it, but nevertheless it hurt.
She'd always hated displeasing her mother.

Fickle fate.

The Eminzu had given
both she and her mother what they'd asked for. Tears of relief stung her eyes.
Her mother would get the palace wedding she so coveted and Liliana avoided
mating with Kedric. Hysterical laughter bubbled at her lips. Too bad they would
all be shunned because of it. She stopped and braced her arm against the wall
of the hallway to give her legs time to stop wobbling.

The dreadful meeting
played through her head and her knees weakened. She could barely focus on what
had been said with the looks the prince threw her way. It was a look she knew
well, it promised retribution. Bile rose and she lowered her head.

It was over.

Kedric wouldn't dare
lay hands on her now that she was mated to Death's Messenger. Her back bowed as
memories of his lashes snuck past her defenses. She could almost feel the
sting. It didn't matter any longer. She took the memories and shoved them back
into the black box of her mind. She would not be bonded to him, and now some
other poor noble would bear the brunt of his sick pleasures. She thought of her
sister and wondered if Kita had known what she was getting into with Kedric.
She'd never seen him lay a hand on her sister, but that wasn't saying much.
They never allowed her near them, and if they did it was to play some cruel
joke on her.

Liliana sighed. It
wasn't as though her sister was mean. She'd simply been used to getting
everything her way. In light of their mother's pampering it was no wonder. The
clear favorite in their mother's eyes, Kita could do no wrong. Liliana stood
straight and released the tight bun from the top of her head. She finger combed
through the tresses, leaving the small braids.

It was done.

Really done. She was
mated, and her mother had no hold over her any longer. She'd searched for Kita
to avoid mating Kedric, and now that was unnecessary. But… her sister was still
missing. Her parents still suffering, could she in good conscience stop the
search for Kita? She prayed Xavier would do what he promised and help.

VERITY WATCHED THE
ESHU noble as he nervously paced the club parking lot where they arranged their
meeting. His dark multi-hued hair gleamed under the street lights. His tall
rangy body stooped, and bent into his coat to hide his face. She rolled her
eyes at the cliché. Really, a dark parking lot? The noble certainly had a flair
for the dramatic, but what did she care? His love of drama would make him
easier to control. She ran her hands down the front of her mini skirt.

A spurt of
anticipation added an extra sway to her hips as she walked over to him. She
regretted the human skin she wore. It would keep her from using most of her
powers, but one did the best with what one had. She had a feeling the noble had
requested the meeting in a place humans frequented exactly for that purpose.
Exposing the Demis to humans carried a heavy price.

She couldn't afford
the Amanda's attention.

            So she'd traded her
iridescent scales for smooth skin the color of the darkest chocolate. Her
normally long hair swung around her chin, black with highlights of her natural
pale lavender hair. The noble's eyes widened as she approached him. Men were so
easy.

            "You are
Verity?" He licked his lips and looked around.

            She inclined her head in
acknowledgement.

He rubbed his hands
against the front of his pants. “I’ve never seen you in your human skin.”

“You know we’re not
supposed to meet outside of the guild.”

            His eyes narrowed into
slits. He crossed his arms over his chest. "We have a problem."

            “What problem could
we
possibly have?”

He handed her a
sheet of parchment with a single name on it. Cursing, Verity crushed it in her
hand using her magic to burn it to a cinder.

That bitch.

Verity pushed down
her aggravation. Leo had been a useful contact, and damned good in bed. Her
body tingled in remembrance. Though he'd not been a good source of information,
being his lover did give her access to better informants. Now she would lose
him.

            And Verity did not lose.

            “She needs to be taken
care of.” His pout did nothing for his handsome face.

            “Why exactly? Getting rid
of her would certainly cause more problems.”

            “She’s still looking for
her sister. What do you imagine will happen when she gets her mate to help?”

            Damn.

            He was right. The last
thing they needed was the Amanda looking into Kita’s disappearance. Although
not directly affected, the scrutiny could cost them.  

            "She's mated, to
royalty no less, it will cost you." She studied his face, using the
nuances to determine how far she could push him.

"I'm told you
are the best." He moved closer to her, anticipation shining in his eyes.

“Of course.” No need
in bragging. A fact was a fact.             

His lips tightened a
fraction before the arrogant mask descended. "How much?"

She smiled. That
would be easy to remedy. "Money is for common folk. There is something
else I require from you."

He sneered.
"I'm not stupid enough to trade favors with a Dziva. Trading favors for
you is how I ended up involved in our guild in the first place."

She smirked at the
reminder of how she’d recruited him into their group. "Not even for the
removal of one very wealthy nobleman's daughter?" She put a hand on her
hip and pushed her full lips into a sultry pout. “I mean, you caused this
problem, I could simply allow our friends in the guild to deal with you.”

Terror sprang into
his gaze and she watched him weigh his options. "What is the favor?

"I understand
that you are…intimate… with a few members of the Ajo council. All I ask is an
introduction"

"That's
impossible. You're wasting my time." He turned to leave.

Damn it. She'd
counted on him being desperate to get rid of his problem. There were other ways
to get what she needed. Shedding her human skin, Verity jumped and landed
behind him. His start of surprise pleased her, almost as much as the feel of
his neck under her knife.

"Perhaps you
are not familiar with dealing with a Dziva?" She pressed the knife into
his skin. She looked around the parking lot to be sure she hadn't been seen.

"I have gold in
my pockets, take it and leave." The noble showed no fear.

"Must you
continue to insult me?" Verity shook her hair.

The noble's eyes
widened, his pulse skittered. Whispering a quick binding spell, she circled
him, her scales glinting in the dim streetlights. His fear was a fine wine on
the back of her tongue.

She smacked her
lips. "Now, here I've come all this way to exchange business with you and
you insult me. You now owe me for the inconvenience."

He swallowed, his
eyes blinking, darting around the parking lot. "I don't owe you shit.
We've come to no agreement."

She smacked her
lips. "Not for the information I provided, no. However, you do owe me for
information I've not yet disclosed. What do you think will happen when your
secret comes out? I mean, we’re talking about getting rid of a soon to be
princess. Do you imagine your position in society would hold if this got
out?"

His body, frozen in
her spell, twitched. A noble with secrets was always useful. Verity slid her
blade down his lips.

"You’re as
culpable as I in this matter. We’re both fucked if you go to the Amanda.” His
eyes gave away his uncertainty.

He could have a
point.

Putting pressure on
the knife she watched a sliver of blood well on his bottom lip. "I’m only
asking for your contact in the Ajo council. Surely your lifestyle is worth that
much."

He struggled against
her bonds. His panic burned through her senses. “If I give up my contact, I
give up my leverage in the guild.”

She smiled. Gods she
loved secrets. The noble couldn't afford for anyone to know about the games he
played. About the blood he spilled every week for the sake of pleasure. Nor
about his attempt to kill a fellow nobleman’s daughter. She licked his bottom
lip, tasting his. "I'll keep your secret, and get rid of your female, all
you have to do is introduce me to your contact."

Calculation replaced
his fear. "Just an introduction?"

"That's
it." For now. She backed away and released him from her spell.

He grabbed his
jacket lapels and shook his shoulders. "And you'll kill her?'

"Right after
you introduce me."

He nodded and walked
away.

"You have forty
eight hours." She called after him. His shoulders stiffened but he didn't
turn back. She smiled. One more to add to her bunch.

Verity's network of
spies and informants was vast, once a contact was made, she never gave them
back. She would use him for as long as he was useful, and dispose of him when
she was done. Freeing the master was the ultimate goal, the casualties did not
matter. What was one merchant’s daughter in the grand scheme of things?

She turned, her
change back to a human skin fluid. Pleased with tonight's outcome she dismissed
the noble. The introduction to the Ajo was a big step. One that despite other
tries had failed. It was how the noble had ingratiated his way into their group
and convinced them to help him with his first ‘problem’. His usefulness had run
its course though. He’d promised that the Ajo council would come to heel, and
he had yet to fulfill that promise. The guild bade her to find her own way into
the Ajo’s world. They needed them for their plan to work. All she needed was an
introduction.

She was a Dziva, it
would take her nothing to bring the Ajos to their knees.

***

UNABLE TO SLEEP,
Liliana sat outside on her balcony hours later, mulling over her problems. A
cool night breeze played with her hair and cooled her over heated skin. With
her mate two doors down, arousal sensitized her body to the point of madness.
She supposed had she no memories of his touch, it wouldn't be so bad. But,
every time she closed her eyes, the sight of his dark marbled skin flashed
before her. The very moment the
di êjê
finished, she intended to wrap
herself in his black hair and wallow in the soft strands.

It was disconcerting
how much she wanted him. She couldn't fathom how some were able to cheat on
their mates. How did one ignore the attraction between each other? The thought
of anyone other than Leo soothing the heat turned her stomach. She knew once
the mating frenzy left, that feeling would go away. But she still couldn’t imagine.
Her mind drifted back to the confrontation with the royal family.

An unpleasant bit of
business.

Two families
destroyed by unfaithfulness.

Her body warmed, her
only warning that Leo had stepped onto the balcony. His scent wafted to her
next and she closed her eyes and drew it in.

"You couldn't
sleep either?" She kept her eyes on the stars. Maybe if she didn't look at
him, she could get her body under control.

"Legba makes me
restless." He sat in the lounger next to her.

"There is
something quite stifling about it." She'd certainly felt strangled since
she'd stepped through the portal. It had nothing to do with Legba, more her
family.

A short mirthless
chuckle was his only answer.

"I know my
issue with Legba, but what's yours?"

A beat of silence
passed. "My mother brought me here when I turned seventeen. Rather, I
should say she dragged me kicking and screaming through the portal."

"That's
terrible."

"She and my
father were arguing again. Always arguing, those two. Anyway, she said she was
leaving and my father told her she couldn't leave with his kids. She said
'fine, but Leo's not yours.'" He laid his head on the back of his lounger,
eyes closed, his mouth pinched. "She snatched my arm and marched me to
Haven's portal room."

She laid her hand
gently on his. The pain in his eyes when he opened them clutched her heart.

"See, up until
that point I'd had no idea Ranolph wasn’t my father. My mother was almost
always gone, and so I spent the majority of my time with my father or with the
Amanda."

She hurt for the kid
he'd been. Finding out something like that had to be painful.

He shook his head,
and the pain in his eyes disappeared under anger. "She dragged me before
the royal court and demanded King Leander give her a place to stay to escape
her abusive mate."

"Oh no."

"My father never
laid a hand on her and King Leander called her on it. He and my father were
best friends, so of course he wouldn’t believe her. He told her if she had a
grievance to go to the Eminzu. My mother refused and told him he had to provide
for his son. Queen Kaylin exploded. She told my mother she’d rather kill me
herself than allow my mother to use me against the king. The Queen still had
not been able to conceive at that point. Over two hundred years into their
mating and she hadn’t provided the king with an heir. I'm surprised I wasn’t
killed on the spot." He smiled. There was no humor in the upturn of his
lips. "That's not to say she didn't try. I had 'accidents' for years after
that visit. Three hundred years later and I still avoided Legba for fear she
would make good on her promise."

Liliana's closed her
eyes to trap the tears.

"Long story
short, my father came to pick us up. He told me that to him, I was his son and
that was all that mattered. My mother and I don’t speak, and I quite frankly
prefer it.”

"I'm sorry,
Leo." The useless platitude her only offering, she stood and paced the
balcony.

"What's on your
mind, Liliana?"

Her search for Kita,
her constant fights with her mother, him. Everything. She shook her head.
"How did you get the name 'Death's messenger'?" she asked instead.

"I'm half Eshu.
The messenger part sort of stuck."

"And death? Do
you kill Demis?"

Their eyes met, his
narrowed, but he shook his head. "I hunt those sentenced to death and
deliver them to Azreal. In essence, I brought the message of death."

She nodded,
relieved. Would it have made him a different person? Maybe not, but she was
grateful just the same that he didn't kill for a living.

"Don't get it
twisted though, Liliana. No one can enter Azreal alive. You understand
that."

Her heart lurched.
She gave a sharp nod.

"They are
executed at the portal to Azreal, by Azra's servants." He met her gaze,
his look needing her to understand the difference.

Her body slumped in
relief. What he did was important. She couldn't, wouldn't judge him for it.
Besides, it was not as though she moved about in society. She certainly didn't
plan to stay here after their ceremony. It didn't matter what others thought.

Silence stretched
between them until it became a heavy weight. Her body tuned itself to him, her
heartbeat thumping to match the rhythm of his. She straightened her nightgown,
doing anything not to look at him. A languid heat moved through her limbs,
making them heavy.

"Come here,
Liliana.” His face was patient, no evidence of the heat sapping her strength.

 "How can you
sit there so unaffected?" She growled.

 Leo laughed.
"Unaffected? Liliana were it not for the fact that your parents were right
down the hall, I would have you pinned to the nearest surface, making love to
you until neither of us could walk."

 Oh Gods. She
gripped the banisters to keep from melting into a puddle on the ground.
Lightning arced through her, firing her blood, her womb clenched in need.

LEO WATCHED THE HEAT
playing across Liliana’s face and adjusted in his chair, pushing his erection
to the side. In her innocent nightgown, with her hair flowing to her back, she
was irresistible. Her teeth worried her bottom lip. His attention was riveted,
her lush mouth moved in a sensual pout and fire pooled in his gut. He'd tensed
when she asked about his job, unsure of what she would think. He was used to
getting two reactions from the women he ran into, fear and disgust, or lust.