Demon Slave (Shadow Quest Book 2) (34 page)

At least the Kaiylemi had stopped his assault, but the damage left behind was substantial.

At the crest of the hill, edisdon riders appeared from the north. A lead weight settled in the pit of her stomach. More rebels? They were doomed.

Nadua sucked in a harsh breath as a familiar figure stood out from the pack. “Ava?”

Atop her edisdon, she was dressed in a soldier’s tunic and metal breastplate. She looked like a warrior. Pride flooded though Nadua at the sight.

Then, like some sort of mythical creature, a small gray craft rose up from behind them, hovering ominously.

The rebels took one look and began a furious retreat. Only a few stayed to fight, hollering curses at their departing brothers. They were soon silenced.

Nadua scoured the field for Marik. He and Cyrus were caught between the forest and the escaping rebels, still fighting. From her distance, she couldn’t tell if the blood drenching their clothes belonged to them or not. Bolting down the hill, Nadua raced across the field toward them, dodging corpses as she went.

She didn’t notice a bloodied hand reaching up from the ground till it was too late. It wrapped firmly around her ankle and the packed terrain rushed at her, knocking the air from her lungs with a painful grunt. She glanced back and saw angry eyes glaring at her from a deeply slashed face.

Rex placed a heavy foot on the aggressor’s back. Both let out a sneering growl, and the hatred wafting from the Cyrellian made her stomach roll. Blade aimed straight down, Rex slid it easily through the rebel’s neck.

Nadua kicked his gnarled hand away. “Thanks.”

Rex pulled her to her feet and gave a masculine grunt in reply.

To Nadua’s relief, Marik was already headed their way. The field was now full of cheers and victory cries as the last of the rebels either perished or fled. Nadua leapt at Marik, clutching him tight in a cage of arms and legs. He held her just as tightly.

Brushing his blood soaked hair away from his face, she asked, “Are you hurt?”

“
Now that I have you in my arms, you could cut off my leg and I wouldn’t notice.”

“
I would notice when we’re falling over.”

His smile was exuberant.

To their left, a throat cleared. “My Queen.”

“
Wren!” Nadua jumped down from Marik. “Ava!”

Ava came forward, throwing herself into Nadua. “I thought you were dead!” Her voice cracked and cool fingers duck into her back.

“
No,” she cooed. “I’m fine. I missed you, though.”

“
I missed you too.” Ava sniffed. They clung to each other for a long while. Neither wanting to let go. “You’ll never believe what I did.”

Behind her, Wren had a wide grin.

Nadua’s gaze drifted to the large army waiting on the hill. “What did you do?”

Ava backed away and bounced in place. “I claimed my title as queen! My aunts were in shock, one nearly fainted, but it is done.”

“
You did?” Nadua looked to Wren. “How is this possible?”

“
She spoke like a queen and took what was hers. Plus, she has the weight of the army behind her. As you did.”

“
But wait!” Ava cried. “Now you can come back and be queen again. I won’t mind.” Ava’s expression fell when she registered the look on Nadua’s face.

Nadua swallowed hard. “I can’t come back with you, Ava,” she said softly, glancing toward Marik, who was now in an excited discussion with a strange new black-haired demon. Rex was standing a few yards away, quietly watching them. Nadua turned back to Ava. “It’s time for me to go. Do you remember what I told you?”

“
That one day you would go home.” Her lip quivered. “But you don’t
have
to.”

Nadua’s throat clenched. “I do. My people need me now, just as yours need you.”

Ava gave the tiniest of nods, but her eyes were glossed and brimming.

“
I’m so glad I got to see you before I left.”

In response, she buried her face in Nadua’s furs and mumbled something incoherent. She grasped so tightly that Nadua was afraid Wren would have to peel Ava off her.

“
Now, now, queens don’t sniffle.”

“
Yes, they do. I say what a queen does now, and a queen can sniffle if she wants to.”

Nadua laughed. “Yes, My Queen.” It was then that Nadua noticed Cyrus, flanking her just as Wren was flanking Ava. “But I have someone I need to introduce you to.” Ava wiped her tears and straightened. Nadua smiled at her. “Ava, this is Cyrus.” She gestured toward him.

Cyrus bowed. “Hello, young queen. I am your father’s brother.”

Ava shyly nodded. “Wren told me about you on the way here. Thank you for your service to our people.”

Nadua gave Wren a sharp look, remembering that he had kept the information from her all this time. He smiled, a little sheepish. To Ava Nadua said, “You should stay here a few days and get to know each other. He’s the one who taught me how to fight.”

“
Speaking of,” Wren chimed in. “We weren’t expecting to come upon a war. What happened here?”

“
It was the rebels,” Cyrus replied. “Since this is the first time they’ve attacked us, I can only assume they were going after Nadua. They seemed to know she would be here.”

Nadua noted the undertone in his words. Cyrus had a traitor in his midst.

“
And what of Tamir and Nakul?” she asked.

Wren answered, “Tamir has been arrested. Nakul has not been found, as of yet.”

That worried Nadua, but she would have to leave Ava and Wren to deal with it.

* * *

After Sebastian was finished slapping him on the back in greeting, Marik was relieved to hear that Anya was well and waiting for them in the shuttle. She waved with both hands and brandished a giant grin when he glanced through the window at her.

Sebastian’s arrival couldn’t have happened at a better time. A bit of weight was lifted from Marik, only to be replaced by a dozen heavy boulders.

What will he think of what I’ve done?

Marik was almost too ashamed to tell him. But there was no way around it.

But before he could form the words, Sebastian asked, “Who is that?”

Rex was standing a few yards away, eyeing them both. Marik motioned him over. “This is Rex. He has been a great help to Nadua and myself.”

Sebastian held out his hand. “Much appreciated.”

Rex eagerly took his hand and nodded silently. Marik could see the stress marring his features.

“
Rex would like to join us, and I vouch for him. He would make a good addition.”

Sebastian looked him up and down. “Everyone works on my ship unless you can pay.”

“
I’ll work. I worked the engines on my last ship, but I can do any job you need.”

“
You’ll take your orders from me.”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Also, I have a rule on my ship about sleeping with crew members. I don’t approve of it.”

Marik coughed, pulling Sebastian aside. After explaining Rex’s unique situation, Sebastian grumbled, “Hell, I should just throw the rule out the porthole, no one follows it anyway.”

Nadua chose that moment to join them. Sebastian took one look at her and shot Marik a stunned expression. Marik tried to keep the guilty look off his face, but feared he did a poor job of it.

Without hesitation, Nadua strolled up to Sebastian. “Hello, I’m Nadua.”

“
Sebastian.”

Moving to stand by Marik, Nadua replied, “Oh! The captain of
Marada
. How is my sister?”

Nadua followed their gazes to the shuttle. Anya was pressed against the window, staring straight at her with wide eyes.

“
She is eager to meet you.”

“
As am I. Will we be leaving right away?”

“
As soon as possible, yes.”

She looked a little sad and Marik wanted to embrace her. “I will go say goodbye then.”

Marik avoided Sebastian’s hard gaze by watching his mate as she walked away.

“
You’re mated.” The statement in no way accusatory, but it still felt that way.

“
I...It wasn’t...” Marik trailed off, hating himself anew. Rex was stepping away, obviously curious to see if Sebastian would follow the old laws. “It was not a proper claiming.”

At first, Sebastian looked confused. Then, understanding, he closed his eyes in dismay. “Fuck.”

The disappointment he saw in Sebastian was worse than a lashing. “She recommended we contact the Serakians. To see if they could undo it.”

Head snapping up, Sebastian balked, “Undo it? I’ve never heard of such a thing.” His brows knit together. “I suppose it’s possible the Serakians could...Is that what you want?”

“
If it is still what she wants, I will not argue.”

They all looked to Nadua, who was leading the small white-haired girl their way. “Marik, this is Ava.”

He nodded in greeting. The chit looked to be on the verge of tears.

Ava gave a slight bow. “I am in your debt. Thank you for saving Nadua. Is there is anything we can do for you before you leave?”

“
Thank you, but no.”

Ava looked desperately around the group, then to Nadua. She sighed, “Very well, perhaps in the future. Know that you are all welcome at the palace, any time.” She turned to Nadua. “Please do come back and visit.”

“
I will try.” They came together for one last hug. “I’m so proud of you. Your father would be as well.” Nadua’s breath faltered. “I love you.”

“
I love you too. Ouch.” Ava pulled away, rubbing behind her ear.

“
Oops. Sorry.”

Marik quirked a brow at Nadua, who nonchalantly winked back at him.

After a few more goodbyes, they headed for the shuttle. Nadua took one last look behind her, and then bravely stepped into a new world.

The shuttle ride was mostly a blur. Not only did Nadua discover she had developed a fear of flying—by the fact that her nails were digging into the cushion of her seat as the craft bounced through the clouds—but leaving, what had essentially been her home, was causing her emotions to run rampant.

Her sister, Analia, seemed to sense her distress and was trying to distract her with stories of
Marada
and its people. She was enthusiastic about it, which did lighten Nadua’s spirit a bit.

The resemblance between the sisters was only clear in their matching blue eyes. Their fathers’ eyes.

Nadua was proud to see that Analia had grown into a lovely young woman. After Marik told her about Analia’s past, Nadua feared she would be dejected, but the opposite was true. Kindness oozed out of her.

When they first spotted each other, there had been a strong burst of emotion that had come from Analia and had nearly knocked her back. They held each other for long a moment, until Sebastian put his hand on Analia’s shoulder and she finally let go, tears dampening her cheeks.

The shuttle had six seats, two by two, with a small aisle between them. Marik and Sebastian took the helm, Analia sat next to Nadua in the middle, and Rex was behind them watching out the window.

From his seat next to Sebastian, Marik kept glancing back to see if she was alright. She tried to give him a reassuring smile a couple of times, then gave up. Once they got out of the rough atmosphere, Nadua’s stomach was almost ready to settle itself.

Then Sebastian spoke. “Once we dock, we will head straight for Earth, but I will contact the Serakians and see if they can be persuaded to send someone to meet with us on the way.”

Apparently, it had been the first thing Marik suggested upon reacquainting with Sebastian.

After that, no amount of Analia’s cheerful stories could ease her churning gut. Hadn’t she told Marik she wanted to be with him? His bonding with her had been a complete accident, but she always assumed, deep down, that he had wanted her. With the possibility of an out did he no longer wish to be with her?