Chapter Fourteen
“Try again,” Vikter yelled, stalking around the fire pit in the Elder sanctuary. “I know they’re not an officially completed triad, but the woman declared her love for them before we left the king’s grounds. That has to count for something!”
He threw a hand in the air, and then hesitated, whirling to face the Dragos head elder. “Wait,” he said, pointing at the old man. “You know Castor, don’t you, Pollux? If memory serves from all that history drummed into my head as a child, you two shared the same mother. Different fathers. Your Dragos, his Gemini.”
Pollux kept his eyes on the flames. “That was centuries ago. I haven’t seen my brother since our mother’s funeral pyre.”
“You can reach him. Castor, I mean. Even if he is held in thrall by Malus. Through him you can tap into the bond he shares with the Gemini alpha and omega. You can find it and manipulate it.” Vikter nodded, ignoring the look of distaste on the old man’s face.
Becca moved to her husband’s side. “Go easy, love. Flies with honey, not threat of torture,” she murmured.
“Your mate is wiser than you, it seems.” The old man pulled his milky gaze from the pit. “Malus,” he said, gesturing to the book on the stone pillar on the opposite side of the fire. “He’s skilled in the old ways, or so I’ve heard.”
He tapped the side of his head. “Even sequestered in our circle of solitude, we hear the rumblings from outside.” Pollux looked to the ceiling before settling his regard on Vikter. “For that reason, and for the sake of the human girl this false diviner will use as his pawn, I will search my mind for the strength and ability to do as you ask.”
The elder’s acolytes ringed the fire with white stone, laying them in a row directly over the circle of hearth stones. Pollux approached the flames and knelt in the soft sand, his arms at his side and his head bent. They threw fragrant herbs into the fire, and smoke swirled.
A chant rose and the smoke eddied and curled as they fanned it toward Pollux. The old man lifted his head, and raising his arms, guided the sacred smoke toward his lungs. He inhaled and as he did, his eyes closed.
“Is he going to be okay?” Camille whispered to Ryker. “An old guy like that shouldn’t breathe that kind of smoke.”
Ryker shushed her, shaking his head.
The chanting increased in pace and volume and Pollux cried out, but his eyes stayed shut. He lifted his arms. “Malus has him suspended.”
“Suspended?” Vikter asked. “How do you mean? Who?”
“My brother’s consciousness is floating, separated from his body. Castor walks between the living and the dead. Not belonging in either sphere. It’s the only way Malus can control the staff and channel both his and Castor’s power through it.”
“Pollux, can you tap into that suspended consciousness without Malus knowing? Can you find the link created for the triad?” Vikter asked.
The old man swallowed hard. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and ran down the sides of his face. No one approached. Sharp breaths strained his chest, and he winced as if in fear before his face relaxed. He nodded, keeping his eyes closed the entire time.
“The link is there. I can reach it—” He cried out, his hands clenching at his sides. A long protracted breath left his lungs and he slumped forward in a Bālāsana, yoga child’s pose.
Vikter and Ryker rushed to his side, but the acolytes shrieked.
“Do not touch him,” one ordered. “He is communing with his brother. When his eyes open, you will know if he succeeded or not.”
Seconds seemed like hours and minutes like days until Pollux lifted his head. His eyes snapped open and he straightened to his knees again.
“Well?” Vikter and Ryker asked in unison.
The elder nodded and a small smile took his mouth. “I touched my brother’s mind. In his suspended state, I saw everything, including how he’s missed me all these years.” He looked at the Dragos alpha and bowed his head. “I was wrong, my leader. Forgive me.”
“Yeah, yeah. The past is past, yada yada. Were you able to reach Arin and Xavier?” Ryker interrupted.
“Ryker!” Camille smacked his arm.
The old man cracked a smile, sparing a glance for her and Becca before addressing the question. “These human women…I know I was skeptical at first, but they certainly bring fiery blood into our midst.”
“Pollux, please,” Vikter prompted.
He nodded. “I tracked the Gemini alpha and omega’s trace. They are leaving the Wyanar as we speak. You can find them in the foothills of the Aubergine on the outskirts of their territory. Be aware. Malus sits in wait for them. You must reach them first and plan. Tell them Castor knows. As I was open to his mind, he was privy to mine.” He smiled again. “We had our own special connection as children. A mind path no one could read or share.” He chuckled, lifting a surprised hand. “It’s still there. It’s how I reached him without Malus knowing.”
Vikter helped the old elder to his feet and embraced him. “I promise you this, if we live through this and peace prevails, I will personally see you reunited with your brother and the elders from both the Dragos and the Gemini forever linked.”
***
Every muscle in her body screamed. Even her hair hurt. Valerie opened her eyes, scanning her surroundings. Nothing was familiar. What the hell happened? The last thing she remembered was a lightning flash and Vikter diving to get away from the crack. She lifted an arm across her forehead. The counter pressure helped the dull throb behind her eyes, but she still couldn’t remember much.
Arin and Xavier.
She pulled her arm down from her eyes and tried to sit up. A wave of dizziness took her and she slumped down again.
“No, no. You mustn’t try to get up.” A soft feminine voice tsked. “You’re lucky to be alive, princess.”
She cracked an eye open. “Princess?” she croaked, ignoring the fact her tongue had cemented itself to the roof of her mouth. “What are you, some sort of comedian?”
The older woman eyes went wide. “I didn’t mean any disrespect, please forgive me.” Fear etched her face and she dropped her gaze.
Valerie struggled to sit up again, guilt slashing her at making this woman feel bad for trying to help. “I’m sorry. I’m still a little out of it. Can you tell me where I am? Have you seen my…my…” she hesitated. How was she supposed to classify Arin and Xavier? Her lovers? Her…what…mates?”
She cleared her throat and started again. “I’m Valerie Ross. I’m not really sure how I got here, or where here is, actually. But I’m sure Arin and Xavier can explain. They are the alpha and omega of the Gemini. Have you seen them?”
The woman’s eyes bugged and she got up from her chair, the book she had in her lap clattering to the ground. “I…I…”
Valerie watched the woman’s panicky antics and frowned. “Look, I don’t understand. There’s no reason to be so jumpy. I only want to know what happened and where I am.”
“You are inside the heart of the Ice Mountains, dear,” a wheezy male voice replied. He approached from the door, giving the nurse a scathing look. “Leave us.” He waved her away and then turned his yellowed smile toward Valerie.
She blinked. “I know you. From the beach that day. You threatened my…my…”
“Mates?” he finished the sentence for her. “You’d better get used to saying the word, because that’s what you are, love. At least until I take over for them. Once they claim you and open the crystal cavern grotto, I’ll have no use for your triad. You’ll be nothing but dust.”
Valerie’s eyes looked him over. She outweighed him by fifty pounds at least, plus magician/sorcerer or not, he was old. She could squash him like a bug, if she had to. “Look, whoever you are. Your delusions of grandeur, however psychotically charming, are never going to happen, got it? Nevah.” She put every ounce of New York she had into the last word.
“Arin and Xavier will find me, and once they realize what you have planned, they’ll rip you to shreds like the insect you are. You’re not even a shifter. They’re dragons, or did you forget that not so little tidbit?” She nodded.
After riding on Vikter’s back in dragon form, she had a vast appreciation for how deadly they can be if provoked. “Everyone knows you’re a fraud, and they’re all willing to join forces. Dragons and the rest. Dragons who happen to love me, want me and need me more than anything else, so I’d spend more time worrying about saving what’s left of your wrinkled hide than measuring for a crown you’ll never wear.”
“Impressive.” His yellow grin widened. “Maybe I’ll keep you around for breeding purposes once I dispose of your overgrown lizards. Fire like yours is a trait I admire, especially when it’s struggling beneath me as I sample what I want.”
Pain forgotten, her lip curled in disgust and she picked up a ceramic cup from the table beside the bed and flung it at his head.
With a laugh, he waved his hand, deflecting the missile. “Well-aimed, like the lightning storm I raised to get you here.” He scoffed. “Shifters think too much with their dicks. I would never allow a woman to put my objective at risk for a whim. Then again, so easy to predict. A royal transport with an armed escort would have been much harder to manipulate.”
He eyed her with a smirk, tapping the side of his head. “I’ve done my homework, Miss Ross, and I have my moles. I’ve been planning this before you were even a flicker on the horizon and I know every counter move your coalition could use. I have a built-in protective field around me, and as long as my life-force is linked to that pathetic Castor’s, no one can harm me. If by some miracle they manage to get around it, then they hurt him.” He grinned again. “Something your precious mates would never risk. Not to their beloved mentor and elder.” He left the room and seconds later, the sound of a bolt hitting its lock sounded from the other side of the door.
She was trapped. Closing her eyes, she sent up a silent prayer, hoping someone heard it and came.