Haven (6 page)

LEO LOOKED DOWN at
Liliana. Her hands were shaking in his grip, fine tremors moving through her
body. She'd been that way since they had checked in at the portal. It tugged at
protective instincts he'd long suppressed. He could understand her reluctance,
he himself dreaded this trip. He hadn’t been in Legba since his mother dragged
him here at the age of seventeen. Almost three centuries ago, the memory burned
and he fought to push down on his fury.

He looked around the
sky lift station and sighed, he hated having to check in, but it was necessary.
One: he wanted the royal family to know they had arrived. He was not skulking
and sneaking onto their realm. And two: never let it be said that he was afraid
of the royal family or what they could do to him. Xavier's instructions to him
were clear. While his brother held no fear of the Queen, the inconvenience of
pissing her off was not something Xavier wanted to deal with. Seeing the way
Liliana paled at the portal officer’s instruction, he couldn’t do it. His
brother would be pissed, probably accuse him of once again doing things the hard
way. He’d take the dressing down from his brother in order to spare his mate
the fear wafting from her.

Stepping into the
sky lift, he watched as Liliana punched in the code for her parent's home. Her
mounting fear pulled him from his unsettling thoughts, the need to comfort her
a compulsion. His hand reached automatically to rub her back. The contact with
her skin tingled. She sighed and moved closer, settling her head onto his
shoulder. Leo leaned down and laid a small kiss to her hair, inhaling her scent
and allowing it to push away his anxiety at being back in this realm.

The ride was done in
tense silence. The portal station was situated in the metropolitan area of the
realm. It needed to have close access to the market square, which was central
to Legba. They sped through the realm’s business districts, and the bigger
buildings gave way to small neighborhoods. The Eshu neighborhoods, were large
floating pods, on which multiple houses were built. Each pod was usually
occupied by a family from immediate to second and sometimes third generations.
Sometimes the wealthier families had individual pods for each family’s home,
and a central pod on which they gathered and the children played. As the air
lift continued, the groupings of houses were more sporadic, the space in
between the pods where the Eshu lived wider. Leo tipped his head in curiosity,
wondering how far outside of the city they would travel.

His eyebrows winged
high on his forehead when the lift came to a stop.  Leo took his first look at
the home where Liliana grew up. The large oval structure was white with large
windows from the roof to the ground. Their yard was lush, native shrubbery
lining the iridescent tiles that cut a path from their front door to the air
lift pad. Their house stood well apart from the others in the neighborhood,
floating along its own pod. It spoke of her family’s wealth, that they were not
connected to any others. It gave the family privacy and exclusivity. No one
could simply ‘walk’ or stroll onto their land, they would need permission or
would plunge thousands of feet in the attempt. Their nearest neighbor was
barely visible on the horizon.

“You’re awfully far
from your neighbors.” He kept his voice casual as he held out his hand to help
her from the lift.

She grimaced. “Yeah.
My father’s an only child, and he and my mother’s family don’t get along. The
family pod is the one we passed a moment ago.” She pointed to the neighborhood
to the east of them. If my father could be further from them, I’m sure he would
be. He wanted to live in the city, closer to his investments. My mother wanted
to live close to her family. This is their compromise.”

“A mansion…near the
edge of the realm no one can access.”

She smiled at his
dry tone. “Did I mention my father could be petty?”

 "Oh Gods,
Lily. We are saved." Her mother’s cry interrupted them. She descended the front
steps, her stride unrushed.

In a simple long
sheath of gold, Liliana’s mother was elegant. Her aqua tresses were pinned atop
her head in a series of tiny braids. Gold bangles jingled on her wrist as she
glided to them. Her eyes, large and tilted at the corners, glowed from her
caramel face. With the push of a few buttons on the control pad in the yard,
the tiles on their walkway extended, connecting the airlift pad to the front
yard and bringing her the rest of the way. She grasped her daughter's hands and
kissed Liliana's cheeks.

"Do you have
any idea how worried we have been?" She examined his mate, her expression
anxious, and relief plain on her beautiful face.

Something was off,
but he couldn't put his finger on it. Her mother made all the correct motions,
said all the right words, but an air of falseness surrounded the woman. Leo
wondered what she hid.

"I'm sorry, mother,"
Liliana whispered, tears streaming.

The sight pulled at Leo
and he stepped closer to her. He slid an arm around her shoulder. Her mother
stepped back and eyed him from toe to head, disdain curling her lips. Could be
his human skin, or the fact he was touching her daughter, the Eshu were strict
about propriety. Openly touching her daughter in public was frowned upon. Only
his uniform kept her from saying the nasty words glowing in her eyes.

Leo smirked. The
fireworks would fly when she realized he was her daughter's mate. Suddenly the
trip was looking up. Yeah, he was petty, but anything that took his mind off of
where he was, he'd take.

Her mother bent her
legs in a small dip he assumed was supposed to be a curtsy. "Thank you for
bringing my daughter home. If you will come in, my mate will be home soon to
thank you properly."

Liliana's eyes met
his entreating him not to say anything. He nodded and her mother escorted them
both into the two story glass structure. A large painting of who he recognized
as the lost daughter dominated the wall directly across from the front door, he
gave a surreptitious look around for one of Liliana. Finding none, he made a
mental note to ask Liliana about the clear preference her parents had of Kita. It
could explain the falseness he felt around her mother.

The place was well
kept. The Eshu nobles were known for their exquisite taste…and the tendency to
show off. He could hardly see the paint on the walls through all their 'good
taste'. Expensive artwork littered the table surfaces and covered the walls.
Leo sat in the plush leather armchair and controlled his urge to roll his eyes
at the trappings of wealth.

"Would you like
some tea?" Her politeness was forced, her hands white knuckled in fists at
her side. Evidently Liliana's mother didn't think much of him either. But then
he imagined no noble would like feeling beholden to an Amanda soldier. Though
they ranked high in status in most realms, the Eshu regarded anyone in service
as lower.

 Leo nodded and the
woman turned to leave, but turned back quickly to hug her daughter once again.
They were left alone and an awkward silence descended. Liliana looked at him.
He could almost read the thoughts crossing her face. Doubt and fear were the
clear winners as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She opened her
mouth to speak when the door crashed open.

"Arian, is it
true?" Her father rounded the corner of the room and came to a halt.
"Lily, my darling." Her father crushed her into a tight hug.
"You've had us worried to death. The prince and his family will be over soon
to greet you."

Leo cleared his
throat.

Emerald eyes the
same as Liliana's stared at him from over her shoulder. An older version of
her, Liliana's father had hair the same colors but muted with age. His hair,
pulled back into a neat queue, revealed his narrow face and stubborn chin, the
twin of his daughter's. His skin was a darker brown, its pallor dull. Worry had
taken its toll on her father. Compassion welled unbidden.

"I cannot thank
the Amanda enough for finding my daughter." He held out his hand.

Leo shook it, giving
Liliana a pointed look.

"Sit,
baba
,
I have news." She grabbed her father's shoulders and guided him into a
chair.

Her mother rounded
the corner with the tea service. "I've ordered the maid to bring in tea
cakes once they’re ready."

"I'm
mated." Liliana blurted.

The teakettle
crashed against the tile floor, sending shards of ceramic skittering under the
table and chairs. Tea splashed on the surface of a table, the leaves landing
scattered in a pattern like an ominous warning.

Her mother looked
down and saw the glowing Sanskrit on Liliana's wrist. "No. You would not
be so reckless." Arian turned to her husband. "Evan, this can't be
true. The Eminzu approved the bonding to Prince Kedric."

Evan's shoulders
slumped. The resigned look on his face emphasized the wrinkles around his
mouth. "Lily, even for you, this is too much."

"
Baba
, I
didn't do this on purpose."

Leo cringed at her
statement. Maybe she hadn’t done it on purpose, but the fact was, had she
followed Eshu customs and remained celibate until mated, she wouldn’t be in
this predicament.

Leo's eyes darted
between mother and daughter. Both held a stricken expression, Arian's hair and
body lit in her fury, a blue halo surrounding her body. He wondered if he would
need to step in.

Arian straightened
her back, rigid with anger. "I think you did exactly that. Goddess, the
shame. Why can’t you do anything without embarrassing this family?" She
paced the room muttering under her breath. She stopped and turned to Evan.
"The Eminzu promised we would be joined with the royal family. I'll
protest the mating straightaway."

Ah, he began to see
the real problem. "That won't be necessary."

"Is that right?
What would you know about the situation? As a matter of fact, you've done your
job and escorted my daughter home. You may leave." Frost dripped from
Arian's tone.

A small smiled
tilted his lips. "As your daughter's mate, it's best I stay."

"Excuse
you?" Arian stopped pacing. The look she gave him could cut through steel.

Leo squelched the
urge to check his chest for stab marks. "Your daughter and I are
mated."

Silence descended,
and lasted exactly three seconds before the situation exploded.

Her parent’s shouts
drowned out her apologies. She couldn't get a word in edgewise as they took
turns screaming their displeasure. Oh Gods, this was bad.

"You are
responsible for this, Evan. You spoiled her entirely too much." Arian
shouted into her mate's face. Their magic blended, blue and yellow halos
merged, battled and green sparks crackled in the air between them.

Her father brushed
past her mother, pushing her aside. "Lily, do you have any idea what
you've done?"

Arian slumped into a
chair, her magic withdrawing. "Oh gods, we'll never be able to show our
faces in public again."

"You."
Evan faced Leo. "Show me your true form now."

Liliana held her
breath, praying he didn’t go off on her father. Leo shrugged seemingly unconcerned
and shed his human skin with a simple spell.

Her heartbeat
spiked, and heat flooded her body. He stood before them shirtless in the
flowing Eshu lounging pants. His chisled chest and rock hard abs made her sigh
in longing. His skin was a beautiful mahogany, marbled as with most Cagyns,
with hints of bronze lines flowing through his skin. Black hair flowed to the
middle of his back. Every shade of black from a shade slightly darker than
gray, to a color so black it was blue. The light loved his hair, playing in the
midnight strands, highlighting them.

Her body heated,
melted, as a fierce craving moved through her. Liliana put a hand to her
stomach. Why did her chest hurt? Oh, yeah, she'd forgotten to breathe. Power
tingled along her fingertips as she fought to keep her composure in front of
her parents. She stepped closer to Leo, an involuntary step, her body demanding
his nearness.

"The Eminzu
have given you what you asked for. Your family will join with the Eshu royal
house." He turned his back to them.

Her hands shook as
she pushed his hair to the side. The soft downy strands flowed through her
fingers and she fought the urge to wrap the length around her body. Wings
covered his back, black and bronze, very dark lines from his shoulders to hips.
Oh Gods, he was half Eshu. Sitting between his shoulder blades, a crown, the
mark of the royal family glowed. His mixed heritage showed in his hair color
and the copper colored lines that flowed throughout his skin. Cagyns as a rule
were ebony skinned with jet black hair.

“Gods above, he’s
half Cagyn, how do we know didn’t-”

“Arian, stop it.”
Evan sliced a hand in the air to cut off her mother. “They are marked.
Pheromones or not, the Eminzu wouldn’t have marked them if they were not meant
to be together.”

She licked her lips,
tuning out her parents arguing. “Why… why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice
trembled, confusion and shock taking turns with the butterflies in her stomach.

 “You’re not the
only one running from family duty.” His voice carried no further than her.

            “Oh Gods.”

Her mother’s hoarse
whisper spun her around. Her father stood with his mouth open. He wiped a hand
across his face. Guilt stabbed Liliana. She’d put those worry lines on her
father’s face. Would he forgive her for this?

Evan cleared his
throat. “I’ll contact the royal family. The
di êjê
must take place
immediately, the new moon is barely three weeks away.”

“What has happened?”
Arian sat on the edge of the sofa, her eyes dull with shock.