Parallel Heat (40 page)

‘‘Then why do you object?’’

‘‘Because you’re Madjin, and she is one of your protected. You know the rules—and you remember your vows. Now that security has normalized, your bond with her will have to be broken.’’

He shook his head adamantly, pacing the room as if on a tight chain. ‘‘No, it won’t. That won’t ever happen.’’

Behind him he sensed Sabrina bristle. ‘‘You took vows, Marco.’’

‘‘Vows you have always told me didn’t include staying celibate or without a mate. I made that vow to myself!’’

‘‘And what about your empathy?’’ she reminded him gently. ‘‘Think of Thea—of her safety and well-being.’’

‘‘So far, with our near-bond, she’s fine. She hasn’t even received my abilities.’’

‘‘It won’t happen until you’re fully mated, Marco. You know this; you’ve always known it.’’

‘‘I love her, Sabrina! I love her. I’ve spent my life in solitude—why would you try to stop me?’’

She grasped him by the shoulder. ‘‘Because you are dangerous to her!’’

Marco rubbed his jaw as if she’d just slapped him hard across the face. ‘‘I see. So now we have the truth: This is what you truly think of me.’’

‘‘Marco, no.’’ Sabrina’s eyes slid shut. ‘‘What I mean is, she’s from the house of D’Ashani, a royal, and you are sworn to all the royals, not just Jared. That’s the vow I’m reminding you about. Not a vow of chastity or otherwise. First and foremost, a Madjin warrior places the well-being of his protected above any personal desires.’’

Marco implored his Circle leader with his eyes. ‘‘What better way for me to protect her than keeping her at my side? Always? We’re living in different times. New times,’’ he argued, unwilling to back down.

She set her jaw, then slowly looked at him again. ‘‘You won’t let me stop you.’’

‘‘No one could.’’ He broke into a joyous, warm smile, feeling the tide turn between them.

Sabrina put her back to him, both hands on her hips; she seemed to wrestle with a great weight. Perhaps her decision to bless the union, or perhaps simply choosing what would be her next tack in trying to sway him.

At last she pivoted toward him. ‘‘Well then, there’s something you must know. Information you must have before taking the final step of mating with her completely.

“Show me your Madjin’s seal—would you please?’’ she directed, using her unit leader’s voice. He’d long ago determined that she had two voices when talking to him: One was the tone of a mother, the other that of unit commander. She was all leader right now, leaving no room for him to deny her.

‘‘All right.’’ He rolled up his flannel shirt sleeve, revealing his naturally olive-gold skin.

Lifting his other hand, he allowed a shiny beam of light to flow from it onto his exposed right wrist. Rarely did he reveal his Madjin’s brand, and yet he always remained aware of its presence, prickling there somehow just beneath his skin—even as he was always aware of his powerful vows.
R’thasme siet falne,
he’d sworn before the council: Dying to self to serve those more worthy.

The holographic marking spun into view, undulating powerfully in the air between them. ‘‘Ah, there it is,’’ she said, her voice filled with wonder as it always did when one of her Madjin revealed their brand. They were an ancient line, and the mark had been passed from Madjin to Madjin for almost a thousand years. ‘‘It still amazes me,’’ she observed.

Marco bowed his head reverentially. ‘‘I’m honored to bear the king’s brand.’’

She nodded in thoughtful agreement, then asked, ‘‘Haven’t you ever wondered why you were branded on your
right
wrist instead of your left, like the rest of us?’’

Marco thought a moment; no, he’d never questioned the council’s choice for his branding. ‘‘I assumed it was because I’m left-handed,’’ he replied with a shrug. ‘‘Part of the Madjin sealing symbolism, or because I’m the primary protector to the king.’’ Again, he searched within his mind, a small leaden feeling of dread beginning inside his chest. ‘‘I never really thought about it, to be honest.’’

She stepped toward him, reaching for his right hand. She took hold of it, gently exposing the underside of his wrist; she pressed her thumb and forefinger into the beating point of his pulse. ‘‘Right here.’’ She smiled appreciatively. ‘‘The mark is right
here
.’’

Marco stared at her, confused. ‘‘What mark?’’

‘‘The mark of the D’Aravni.’’

‘‘What are you talking about, Sabrina?’’ he blurted with an awkward laugh. ‘‘I don’t have another mark.’’

‘‘I know you’ve been intimate with Thea—maybe you haven’t made love yet, but you’ve touched her,’’ she said. ‘‘Haven’t you felt the fire? Don’t tell me that you haven’t, it would be impossible.’’

His thoughts catapulted to the scorching compulsion he’d felt every time he was near her, the overbearing urge to touch her core self. The way he blazed inside—the way Thea seemed to brush him with her fiery nature. And he thought of how hungry he’d been for her D’Ashanian self in his room—how he’d
had
to expose himself to her, then stroke himself. He’d been compelled to mate with her beyond any urge he’d ever imagined just from seeing her naked, true form.

‘‘You have felt it.’’ She could see everything on his face.

‘‘Don’t . . .’’ he managed to choke, backing away from her.

‘‘Illuminate it, Marco. See for yourself; even now you feel the emblem’s presence, don’t you?’’

She was right, of course. The underside of his wrist had begun to burn and even itch slightly, as if by the very act of her telling him about the mark, some kind of chemical reaction had occurred in his body. He swallowed hard, trying to steady his thoughts. Shaking, he raised his left hand and allowed a silvery beam of light to spill onto his wrist, in the exact same manner he always illuminated his Madjin’s seal. In reaction, a swelling, undulating sphere of energy materialized in the air between them, causing a quiet shudder throughout his whole body. It was Jared’s mark, the emblem of the D’Aravni.

‘‘Wh-why is this here?’’ he stammered, staring at the glowing mark in shock. It appeared identical to the one his king and queen bore.

The glowing light illuminated Sabrina’s face with an eerie glow. ‘‘Your mother was a young protector, brought to the palace to train with the Madjin as a child. She was never strong, not like she should have been—because she was an empath, just like you, Marco. All your gifts of intuition and empathy come from her.’’

‘‘I know all that,’’ he gritted. ‘‘Tell me why this
mark
is here on my
wrist
!’’

Sabrina nodded in acknowledgment. ‘‘But what I’ve never told you is that your mother became the king’s mistress. They were in love, deeply, and had a dreadful affair that broke everyone’s hearts,’’ she explained. ‘‘When the king felt he had to end the relationship, she lost control of her empathy and went into madness. All her life she’d struggled to keep her sanity, but losing him . . .’’ Her voice trailed off, her eyes becoming filled with melancholy emotion. ‘‘Well, after that, we learned she was carrying the king’s child. So we nursed her through the pregnancy, and when you were born, I cared for you. Your mother died three months after you were born.’’

A sickening, blinding headache pulled at Marco’s temples; he shook his head, trying to clear it, trying to hear what Sabrina was telling him. ‘‘I don’t believe you,’’ he whispered, voice thick. ‘‘You would have told me before now—someone would have told me—’’

‘‘After Jared’s parents were murdered and he ascended to the throne, the elders had me bring you here, to Earth. To protect you. To protect the succession because Jared was in such terrible, life-threatening danger.’’

Marco gestured at her angrily. ‘‘What you’re saying is that all this time I thought I was training, serving, disciplining myself as a Madjin, I wasn’t really the protector. I was th-the
protected
,’’ he sputtered.

‘‘That’s not entirely true, Marco,’’ she argued softly. ‘‘It was never like that.’’

Every day that he had lived, for as long as he could remember, was a sham. They’d taken him, the bastard son of a murdered king, and hidden him. Fawned over him and prayed the day would never come when they needed to parade him in front of the people as the heir apparent. He spun to face her. ‘‘Then how, exactly, was it, Sabrina? You’re telling me that the Madjin Circle brought me here for protection—’’

‘‘Just as Jared was protected.’’

‘‘But you drew the Circle around
me
—not him.’’

‘‘He was secure, Marco. Safe. You know it—the safest he could be during a time of war.’’

He jabbed at the air with his finger. ‘‘He will never know this. Never. I am his protector, his Madjin, and he will never know this, or I’ll kill whoever tells him.’’

‘‘You’re his brother,’’ she reminded him. ‘‘The time has come for—’’

He roared, ‘‘He will never know! Nothing will change, not for him, not for me, not for the Circle.’’ Marco barked his wishes, dimly aware that he was behaving every bit the ruler they claimed he was born to be. ‘‘From this day forward, no one mentions this to him or to me again.’’

‘‘You can’t pretend you’re someone you aren’t, Marco.’’

‘‘I can’t pretend I’m a prince, either.’’

She smiled, an annoyingly patient smile, which only stoked his rage. ‘‘You’re every bit as much a D’Aravni as your brother. In time you’ll come to understand that.’’

‘‘What’s that supposed to mean?’’

‘‘You’ve seen what Jared is—what Thea is, truly. The power, the gifts’’—she paused significantly, tilting her head upward so that their gazes locked—‘‘the fire.’’

He shook his head in flimsy denial, even as he felt a strong burning sensation catch hold in his chest. The same sensation he had felt countless times with Thea—in her arms, in his dreams, just looking at her. In that bar, the very first night. Always with Thea the growing sensation of scorching fire, when all along it hadn’t just been her pure nature, as he’d believed, but his own as well. He remembered how the sight of her natural form had aroused him beyond his imagining, stoking his lust for her to outrageous proportions.

And most of all, he recalled the way that intercepting Jared and Kelsey’s bond had awakened a desire to experience Thea’s mating cycle with her; how palpable and real that need had been.

Because he was just like her, a being of fire and lust and power. And just like his brother. ‘‘That’s why I intercepted his bond with Kelsey,’’ he said, realization dawning.

Sabrina inclined her head, saying nothing, but she didn’t have to. He saw the answer in her eyes.

Marco rubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to process all the revelations. ‘‘Why are you telling me this now? Before my wedding?’’

‘‘Because you had to know before then,’’ she answered opaquely.

He dropped his hands away from his eyes. ‘‘Why? You tell me.’’

She took several steps closer, and reached a hand to cup his cheek. Very rarely had Sabrina expressed physical affection toward him, not after he’d grown out of his headaches. But on very rare occasions she treated him as her son, except this time he recoiled from her touch.

She stared up at him, her eyes shining with heartfelt emotion. ‘‘If you mate with Thea, there’s a very real possibility that you will undergo your first Change while you make love.’’

He shook his head, half-terrified, as much of losing his virginity as of experiencing the kind of cataclysmic transformation she was describing.

‘‘Marco, this is your true nature. It’s who you are.’’

‘‘A force of nature,’’ he muttered.

‘‘An amazing person, a powerful being. A warrior, a prince, the king’s brother . . . soon to be husband to Thea. You will likely Change the first time you lie with her.’’

‘‘No,’’ he denied, feeling vaguely excited and repulsed at the same time. ‘‘No, not then.’’

‘‘You’re inexperienced in these matters, but the Madjin have guided the royal houses through their Change for thousands of years. You won’t be able to fight off the urge once you come together with her. It’s the natural way of things for your kind. It’s your natural state, far more than’’—she waved her hand at the length of his body—‘‘
this
form will ever be.’’

‘‘Why haven’t I experienced this Change before?’’ he demanded. ‘‘If this is true, tell me that.’’

‘‘Because you never passed through your awakening, at least not completely, because you didn’t understand it. Once, when you were fifteen, you complained to me of a terrible fever, of feeling strange and out of sorts. Do you remember that?’’

He instantly knew the time she described; it had been on a ranch in Montana, a place of rest and tranquility that he’d loved almost more than any other in their nomadic lives. His body had blazed with desire for days on end; he’d felt dirty, ashamed. Certain that something dark was altering inside himself.

‘‘I was filled with lust, my body hot and unsteady,’’ he admitted gruffly. ‘‘I thought there was something wrong with me, Sabrina!’’

‘‘It was the first flush of your awakening. But you closed yourself off, unaware—and I prayed you’d never cycle again.’’

A realization hit him. ‘‘That’s why you told me I had to stay apart from women. That I couldn’t ever have a girlfriend, or sleep around. You knew what would happen to me!’’ he shouted angrily. ‘‘It wasn’t because I’m an empath—it’s because you knew I’d learn the truth. And it would have exposed me.’’

‘‘It was a danger, yes,’’ she agreed solemnly. ‘‘There was always the risk you might make your Change with a human during the act.’’

‘‘The act?’’ he snarled. ‘‘The
act
, Sabrina? Call it what it is! It’s having sex, making love—and for just about thirty years I’ve hardly been touched by anyone,’’ he sputtered. ‘‘Because you’ve kept me in the dark about my identity.’’ He shook his head, acid fury boiling over. ‘‘I’m out of here. I have nothing more to say about all of this, except that if I so much as hear a murmur that Jared knows a thing’’—he jabbed the air with his finger—‘‘I’ll be out for blood.’’