HerMatesEmbrace Page 34

  Tracking the man, he focused on getting closer to him. It took him a little time to catch the subtle change in direction. When he did, Colm’s eyes widened. He was looping back toward the Thent. And Cami. Colm gritted his teeth and bit back a curse. With a good number of men out in the forest helping with the search, Kynar might have a chance of getting inside without being detected.

  “Linc.” He looked over at his bond brother, but knew from the hardening look on his face that he didn’t have to say any more.

  “I’ll head straight back to the Thent. If he keeps on the arcing route he’s taking now, I should beat him there.” Linc took a deep breath and slowly released it, but his hands clenched into fists, revealing the tension in his body. “I’ll leave most of the men with you. Contact me if his route changes.”

  “With any luck, we can trap him between us, cutting off any hope of flight.” Colm met Linc’s eyes. “Make sure Cami’s safe while we’re finishing this.”

  “I’ll have her locked up tight. Don’t worry about her.” Linc smiled and selected a few men before leaving at a fast jog.

  Colm focused on the trail and moving as fast as he could to catch up with the man. Kynar might seem to be going against logic, but Colm knew he probably had a plan.

  Linc pushed the panic surging inside him down. When the Thent came into sight, he picked up his pace to get to it and Cami. He needed to see her, to know that Kynar hadn’t managed to get past the walls as the other tamaurg had. The gates opened as he approached them. He went through, pausing only to yell for a search of the inner courtyard and set the men on the walls to watch for any sign of the man.

  Linc burst into the Thent and pushed open doors as he went, looking for Cami. He sniffed, searching for her scent. He grabbed a warrior as he searched and brought him along. A trace of her fragrance lingered on the first floor, but not fresh. He didn’t catch a hint of a strange shifter. That reassured him a little, but he didn’t stop moving.

  As he reached the stairs, he found the trail a little fresher there. Letting his nose lead, he made his way up to the second level and toward their wing of rooms. Stationing a man at the entrance to their section of rooms, he went to find her.

  Part of him was relieved. She was already here. Almost completely safe. He wouldn’t be completely satisfied until he’d searched the rooms here and had her lock the door. As satisfied as he could be since she couldn’t go to her haven yet. He hoped that they managed to do that soon. He struggled to hold onto his control when she was so exposed to danger. She’d be the main target of their enemies. He wanted to know she had someplace to safe to go.

  He pushed open doors as he passed, checking inside for any sign of an intruder and looking for Cami. He’d do a more thorough search once he found her, but if possible, he didn’t want to let anyone slip in behind him. He didn’t find anyone until he came to the room next to theirs. Cami sat on the bed there, sewing quietly. She looked up as he entered. Her mouth dropped open and she gasped. She was plainly surprised to see him. A smile spread across her face. He had no idea what she was doing sewing in this room and now he didn’t care. She was within reach and she was still safe.

  He stalked over to her and gripped her arm, but was careful not to hurt her. “Come with me.”

  He kept his hand near his weapon as he began slowly, methodically searching every room along their hallway. Her feet dragged a little. He knew she was confused, but she didn’t say anything until he pushed open the second door.

  “What’s wrong? Has something happened? What are you looking for?” She didn’t pull back from him, but she hissed the question at him.

  Linc put his finger to his lips to signal for quiet and continued the search. She followed along, but the glare she slanted at him indicated he’d hear about it as soon as he finished. He cleared each room slowly, his senses alert to any sound or movement. When he cleared the last room, he released her in the hall near the large metal door.

  “What was that about?” Her hand landed on her hip and the index finger of her other hand dug into his chest.

  “Kynar’s trail began leading toward the Thent. I have men beginning a search within the walls, but I wanted to make sure that he hadn’t gotten into the building and come after you.” Linc hugged her and simply reveled in the feel of her solid and safe in his arms for a moment in spite of the stiffness of her body.

  “He wouldn’t come after me first. It doesn’t make sense. Yeah, he might be after the crystal still, but he’d know that getting to me would be difficult and forcing me to tell him where it was almost impossible before he was discovered. If he’s coming here, he’s coming after Laed.” She looked up at him and shook her head. “Although I’d never have credited him with that kind of loyalty, even to Laed.”

  “A lot of what they’ve done doesn’t make sense. Now I’m going to stand outside this door until I hear it lock. I want you to close it and secure it. Don’t open it to anyone other than Colm or me.” Linc drew her to the end of the hall and the metal door and waited until the man he’d brought with him stepped out of the corridor. “Since the haven is still out of the question, this is as secure as we can get for now.”

  She frowned. “What’s the haven?”

  “It’s a place you’ll be safe and provided for no matter what. We’ll give that another go after we get back and you’ll see for yourself.” Linc cupped her cheek and brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “Now close the door.”

  She grabbed his shirt and rose on tiptoe to kiss him. Her teeth nipped at his lips as she drew back. “I’ll want a better explanation than that when you get back. Don’t get hurt while you’re taking out that last tamaurg. I’ll want you in good shape to enjoy this haven with me.”

  “I definitely will enjoy it with you and so will Colm. Close the door. We’ll be back as soon as possible.” Linc stepped back and waited. “As for Kynar, he has no real chance against Colm and me.”

  She grabbed the door and pushed it closed. Linc waited and listened. He heard the top bolt slide into place and then the bottom bolt. Nodding, he spun on his heel and headed to round up a few more men. He wanted the building searched from top to bottom before they began looking outside the walls.

  They found nothing on the search, but he hadn’t wanted to chance letting the man take a hostage to get to Cami or try to free Laed. Once the Thent was cleared, he left the walls. Some men were mounted and ready to chase if Kynar came into the cleared areas, but if the chase was in the trees, men on foot would fare better.

  We’re getting close to the Thent. His path doesn’t seem to be curving to it anymore. I think he might mean to go parallel and head for the main gate. He might think to slip through to leave the planet. Colm’s voice sounded in Linc’s head, bringing him to a stop.

  Now that made more sense to Linc. We’ll try to intercept. Give me a better idea of where you think he’ll be as you approach.

  Linc divided the men into two groups, sending them into the forest to help box the rogue in. He worked with Colm through their bond and was in position with the men, waiting. In spite of the contact with Colm, they were a little off in position. They had to move quickly to stop him from running right by them. The men surrounded Kynar, forming a wide circle around the man, but gave him no opportunity to get through any gaps. Colm and the other men arrived only a few moments later, taking up positions in the gaps in the circle.

  Kynar drew a knife, but Linc wasn’t letting him force them to kill him. The people he’d harmed deserved to see him face justice as they would Laed. His eyes met Colm’s. They both stepped into the circle. Linc wasn’t going to face him one on one. They’d end this quickly so that they could get the two men off the planet and on the way to Scali Thent. Linc drew his sword, but tossed it out of the circle. He didn’t want to give the man any more weapons once he managed to get hold of him.

  Linc and Colm circled the man slowly, letting him feel the rush of panic from being cornered and helpless. Kynar’s knife slashed toward Linc’s
midsection. Linc jumped back, but Colm stepped in, wrenching the knife from Kynar’s grip and tossing it to the dirt near the edge of the circle of men. Kynar edged around a tree.

  Linc narrowed his eyes. He knew what the man was trying to do. Kynar wouldn’t find it so easy to slip away from them or divide them. He and Colm kept circling, pushing him back to the center of the circle.

  “You’re not going to die so easily. You have crimes to answer for.” Colm growled. I’ll stay back and just keep him where we want him. I want to rip him apart. I’m not sure I could hold back.

  Linc grimaced. Colm wasn’t the only one who felt that way. The tiron within him raged and ripped at him, ready to burst free. It wanted to sink its fangs and claws deep into the man in front of him. The man who’d hurt his mate. Linc held the urge at bay.

  The people of Scali Thent deserved a chance to see that Laed and Kynar truly had been caught and stopped. He knew if he’d been in that position, he’d wonder. That didn’t mean he was simply going to take the man down and secure him, although it was possible. Cami deserved justice as well. Laed had been taken down almost without a fight after Cami pulled the hostage away from him. The others would get their justice, but so would Cami.

  Linc continued to circle, but each gliding step brought him a little closer to Kynar. The other man seemed to realize that the dance was almost over. Kynar swung, but Linc was barely within reach and leaned back to avoid it. Linc didn’t rush to respond. He wanted the man to feel the panic and the pain.

  “I’ll escape before I ever return there to be killed before those fools.” Kynar snarled, his lips pulling back and baring his fangs. His face flushed red with anger and his breath burst from him in harsh rasps.

  “Maybe if you were dealing with men from your old Thent, but not with us. Every man here knows real magic, not the corrupted form that you practiced. You’ll get there and in good physical condition.” Linc laughed and swung his fist for the other man’s jaw.

  Kynar ducked and rushed at Linc. Linc’s feet glided out and back, taking him out of the path of the man’s ramming shoulder. He slapped a palm into the middle of Kynar’s back as he barreled past him.

  Kynar screamed in rage. “I’ll make you kill me.”

  Not going to happen, especially now that Linc knew how much the man wanted it. As Kynar wheeled around to face him, Linc took a step forward and drove his fist into the man’s face. Kynar stumbled back. He regained his footing and lunged forward. Linc didn’t have time to sidestep this time. Kynar’s arms pinned Linc’s.

  Momentum toppled Linc and Kynar. Kynar landed heavily on top of Linc. Linc struggled to regain breath. As he grabbed the man to heave him off, a fist slammed into the side of Linc’s face. Light exploded across his eyes and a numb sensation flared over his jaw followed by a slash of pain. Linc shoved at the man just as the next blow landed. Kynar toppled over onto the dirt before rolling to his feet a short distance away.

  Linc rolled away from him and stumbled as he managed to get to his feet. He shook his head, trying to clear some of the haze away as well as the rush of anger from the tiron. The animal inside him wanted to end this quickly and permanently. Taking a deep breath, he fought to control that part of him. He couldn’t let Kynar get what he wanted. That would be a victory for him. Linc wouldn’t give him that.

  Kynar circled and Linc countered. Panic and fear drove the man as well as a desire to escape. Linc could tell just by looking at him. Claws tipped his fingertips where normally there would be fingernails. He wasn’t far from shifting to attack or make a run for it. Even before Colm caught his eye, Linc knew that drawing this out could be dangerous.

  Kynar’s open hand swung at him, claws ready to rake across any flesh they encountered. Linc blocked the blow, catching Kynar’s arm just below the wrist and swinging him into a tree. Kynar’s breath wooshed out of him a moment before Linc’s fist caught him on the jaw. Linc didn’t give him time to catch his breath. He pulled the man off the tree and threw him face first to the ground. Kynar was so dazed he didn’t try to catch himself as he fell.

  Linc was on him before he could try to rise. Men came forward and before he could ask for it, rope to secure the false Ardin was held out in front of him. Linc tied the rope around his wrists and then rose. Two of the men grabbed Kynar and hauled him to his feet.

  “You’ll begin your journey soon and you’ll be watched. You won’t take your own life. You’ll face true Ardin and justice in front of the people you’ve wronged.” Linc smiled at the frustration he could see on Kynar’s face.

  Colm’s hand rose and brushed over the side of Linc’s cheek. “Nice. I know someone’s who’s going to be mad at you. I bet she told you not to get hurt again before you left.”

  Linc winced, more from the thought of facing Cami with the bruises than from the slight sting of the touch. “Just as she did this morning.”

  Colm laughed. “Better hope that the good news makes her happy enough not to want to chew on you for the rest of the night.”

  Linc shrugged, but smiled. “I like how she worries about us, but I already have a plan to get past the anger if his capture doesn’t do it. Let’s get back to the Thent.”

  Colm nodded. They began walking back through the forest. Linc wasn’t too nervous about Cami. She’d do more pampering than nagging. He wasn’t going to let these small bruises change what he had planned tonight. If everything worked, tonight Cami would discover what a haven was. After they’d explained everything, they could show her the pleasures to be had there.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Are you sure? That looks as if it hurts.” Cami wrung her hands as they walked into the rooms and cast a look at his face before her eyes fell down to his ribs.

  She didn’t want him in pain, but arguing with him all the way up the stairs hadn’t helped. Colm hadn’t said a word. All he’d done was smile and shake his head as she tried to talk some sense into Linc. All right, she had yelled at him at first, but she had told him not to get hurt. It wasn’t such a big request. All those men with them and Linc had to fight Kynar himself.

  “I’m certain. If my arm was broken, I’d still want to do this. I want you to know you’re fully and completely ours before we have the ceremony. Our woman, our love, our mate.” Linc ruffled her hair, but his wide smile told her he wasn’t irritated by her persistent questioning.

  He guided her into the room and Colm followed, shutting the door behind them. They’d insisted since the mating that the ceremony be delayed. Cami hadn’t really minded. In her eyes and those of almost everyone else, they were fully mated. Because of their position, a formal ceremony was a requirement.

  “Now, are you ready to try this?” Linc stopped at the end of the bed and cupped her cheek.

  She knew he wasn’t referring to sex. It made her a little nervous. What if it didn’t work again? That was the only thought running through her head. She wasn’t scared about what they were going to do or what this haven was. She simply didn’t want to disappoint them by unintentionally blocking them again.

  “I trust you. I love you and have for a while. I don’t want to mess this up, though. I know how important it is to you.” She bit her lip. She should have trusted in the mating, if not the men themselves, from the start.

  “You’re not doing this on purpose. We know that. If it doesn’t happen now, we’ll have a good time playing with magic until it does happen. It’s just a matter of time until it does.” Colm pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.

  “I do like playing with magic with you two.” She smiled. Her muscles relaxed a little.

  “Good. Let’s try this. You’re going to feel our magic.” Linc’s hand brushed up and down her back. “Out of your clothes and onto the bed with you.”

  She laughed a little as she unfastened her shirt. “I remember. I’m going to feel a wave of your magic. It’s not going to hurt me. It will take me to the haven. If for no other reason than finding out what that is or where that is, I’d like it to
work.”

  “Maybe we’ve talked about that a little too much.” Colm helped her pull off her shirt. His lips curved up into a grin.

  She unfastened her skirt and let it fall around her feet before toeing out of her slippers. For once, she left the clothing where it fell. She’d take care of it later. She crawled onto the bed. She’d made it only halfway before she felt the wave of magic sweep over her.

  It was different this time than last. The power surrounded her. Warm and tingling, it raced over her skin. Her head spun and streaks of light flashed in front of her eyes. She felt a slight dipping lurch in her stomach as if she was falling. Her fingers splayed and clenched on soft, smooth fabric. She looked down and stared at slightly shimmery, cream-colored fabric. Definitely not the purple blanket on their bed. Her head snapped back up and she looked around for the first time.

  White walls framed an arch covered only by sheer white curtains. Outside, flowers carpeted a grassy meadow bordered by a forest. She rose to her knees and took a better look at the room. Her mouth dropped open at the large, round tub near the far wall. Water cascaded into it from an urn held by a statue.

  She’d never seen any place similar to this. Each wall had an open arch covered by curtains. One led into another room and the other two led outside onto a white stone courtyard. She loved the light, open feeling of this place.

  “Welcome to your haven.” Colm’s voice rolled through the room. “Do you like it?”

  “Yes.” She smiled as she turned to face them. They stood at the side of the large bed. “I’ve never seen anything as open as this building or the area. Where is this?”

  “It’s not really a where. It’s real, but it’s not on a planet.” Linc climbed onto the bed and pulled her into his arms. “It’s a place where you can go and an enemy can’t get to you.”