Born of Shadows (The League Gen 1 #3)(40)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Fain gave him a cocky grin. “Look on the bright side, drey. You’ve never had much dignity anyway. I know. I’ve seen the P.O.S. ship you pilot.”

“Thanks, Fain. Your personal support means so much to me. Glad I can rely on it.”

“Hang tight,” Chayden said an instant before he banked sharp left and slung Caillen into a control panel.

Cursing, Caillen banged his injured leg and butt cheek. Pain exploded through him with such ferocity that for a moment he thought he might pass out. But as soon as he caught his breath and glanced to the right, his heart stopped beating.

Desideria.

She was lying sprawled on the ground, half in and half out of the head.

Please be all right. Please be all right.

He ran with a limping gait to where she lay on the floor. Terrified, he turned her over as gently as he could. Her features were pale, but she was still breathing. To his instant relief, she opened her eyes and frowned up at him.

“You okay?”

She nodded slowly before she pressed her hand against her forehead.

Caillen held her tight until his rage took hold of him. “Good, ’cause I’m going to kill that bastard brother of yours.” Rising from the floor, he reversed course so that he could reach Chayden and beat him down until he whimpered for death.

That was the plan that went to hell when he saw what Chayden was flying through. All in all, the man was doing a phenomenal job on the horde that had descended while Desideria had tended him. There were League ships everywhere. All of them armed and loaded for pirate.

Crap.

Without conscious thought, he tried to take the controls.

Chayden slapped at his hands. “Sit your ass down. I can handle this,” he said between clenched teeth. “Both of you strap in.”

Angry at the bitch-slap, Caillen wanted to hurt the man. Normally he would. But now wasn’t the time.

Desideria sat in her chair and called out to him. “C’mon, Caillen. Let’s not distract the pilot while he’s fighting for our lives.”

Galled to the center of his soul that he was having to trust his life to someone else’s piloting abilities, he followed suit. “I don’t like being a passenger.”

“Yeah, now you know how I feel,” Fain muttered. “Suckillen. Lee back here. However it could be worse.”

“How so?”

“You could be the pilot.”

Caillen rolled his eyes at the Andarion. But honestly, he had to give Chayden credit. The man twisted through the gauntlet and came out between two cruisers with the narrowest of margins—it was a miracle they didn’t scrape metal. Chayden pulled back and they shot up at the steepest of angles. Just as the alarm sounded that they were target-locked and about to be blown apart, Chayden maneuvered into a wormhole.

The ship went dark, then exploded in speed as the natural opening propelled them across the universe.

For the moment, they were safe again.

Caillen let out a long breath. “I think we’re probably running out of luck at this point and I know my underwear can’t take any more abuse—not that I wear underwear, but if I did it would be soiled. How many more near misses do you think we have in us?”

Hauk laughed over the intercom. “Collectively or individually?”

Chayden leaned back slightly in his chair. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I always run at an extreme deficit.”

Hauk came through the door and joined them on the bridge. “So what’s the plan now?”

Desideria answered before he could even part his lips. “We need to get to my sisters.”

Caillen widened his eyes at her insanity. Heading into her palace was as crazy as breaking into his, the only difference, he knew the security where he’d lived. He was going to bet she had no idea about hers. “Okay, why?”

“My aunts will be after them. Even though they’re minors under our laws, they can still petition for the crown, especially since Narcissa is acting as empress. My sisters will be the next obstacle and target. I’m sure it’s why Kara hasn’t seized the throne. She’s waiting for the assassin to take them out, then come after us with all justification. And trust me. A Qillaq tribunal is not something you want to go through.”

Chayden backed her stupidity. “She’s right about all of that, especially our sisters. If it is a combined plot between Karissa and Kara, they’re unprotected victims waiting to happen—just like your uncle. We have to get to them as soon as possible.” He laid in the course for Qilla. “Once they’re safe, we can sort this out.”

“I don’t know,” Hauk said. “We’re extremely high profile right now. The best course might be to get some of the Sentella in there to secure them and for us to lie low and let some of this die down before we’re spotted again.”

Desideria gave him a withering glare. “The Sentella didn’t keep my mother or Caillen’s father or uncle safe, so you’ll have to excuse me if I’m lacking a bit of faith in them. Besides that doesn’t matter. My sisters wouldn’t go with them anyway. They trust no offworlders and would fight to the death if one tried to take them from their dormitory.”

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Hauk raked a sneer over her. “What makes you think they’ll go with you? Especially since they think you killed your mother?”

Desideria backed down as he brought up something she hadn’t considered. There was no reason for either of her sisters to trust her right now.

None whatsoever.

But that didn’t matter to her.

Keeping them safe did.

“I’m hoping they’ll listen to reason.” She did her best to make Hauk understand. “Either way, I have to try. I’m the best shot at getting them out of this alive. Without me, they’re dead.”

Fain scoffed. “Oh I don’t know. I think I could knock them unconscious and carry them out pretty quick.”

She was horrified by his suggestion. “I don’t want my sisters beaten.” She passed a probing stare to Hauk. “Would you be able to lie low if your family was in the line of fire?”

Hauk glanced over to his brother. “Depends on the day of the week and the mood I’m in.”

She knew better.

And he confirmed it a few seconds later after he let out an aggravated breath. “All right, the name of stupidity right now is us. Let’s go fly into certain death to help people who will most likely try to kill us and claw out our eyes.”

Fain laughed. “Sounds like a typical assignment to me.”

“Yeah, well, there is that.”

Caillen sat back as he ran through all the new information they now had and tried to come up with a reasonable plan of action.

Save the sisters. Clear their names.

Don’t die.

Simple list. Impossible odds. What the hell was he thinking? They were screwed. Every government was out to capture or kill them…

C’mon, don’t give up. You’ve lived through worse odds than this.

Yeah, right.

His gaze drifted to Desideria, who sat lost in her own thoughts. There was a smudge of dirt across her left cheek. Her clothes were crumpled and she looked completely exhausted. Still, she carried on with a warrior’s persistence and her presence gave him strength. Most of all, it gave him a reason to fight to the bitter end. He wouldn’t let her die. Not over something she was innocent in.

Even though there was no chance now of his clearing his own name, he would see her through this no matter what and make sure that when this was done, she was queen.

The one thing she wanted most. He would do everything in his power to give her that dream.

“We’re going to make it,” he promised her.

She smiled at him. “I can almost believe that when you say it.”

“Oh well, paint my ass pink,” Fain groused. “ ’Cause I don’t believe it. I think we’re going to prison or graves. But hey? What do I know?”

Hauk shoved playfully at his brother. “Stop being an a**hole.”

“Impossible task. Besides, I enjoy it.” Fain turned back around so that he could continue scanning the news reports for anything else they needed to know.

The rest of them didn’t speak much over the next few hours. They were too tired and too worried. They knew what they were up against and it was debilitating.

Caillen tried to stay focused, but over and over his gaze went to Desideria. He wanted to pull her into a back room and make love to her so badly he could taste it. But she wasn’t the type of woman to welcome that. One thing he’d learned about women, their sex drives were radically different.

They didn’t respond well when they had dire matters pressing on them. Women liked to be wooed and romanced. Something that was a little impossible at present.

Gah, to have her lay her hand on his skin right now…

But he was used to putting other people’s needs before his own. So instead, he savored the memory of her. And wished for a better ending than the one he saw coming.

As they neared Qilla, Chayden kept the ship back, out of the atmosphere. One of the advantages they’d learned while en route about Desideria’s planet was that they didn’t monitor anything outside their upper stratosphere. It was only when something broke their official air space that their forces were notified and they pursued the invaders.

Let’s hear it for an isolationist planet…

Chayden set the autopilot and prepared the Verkehr to transport them to her palace. “I’ll send you guys down and be on standby to get you back.”

Caillen arched one brow. “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep on the job.”

Chayden yawned. “Now that you mention it, I am a little tired.”

Caillen glared at him. “You’re not funny.”

“Oh please. I’m a riot. You’re just incapable of appreciating me.”

Ignoring his joke, Caillen took Desideria’s hand as he faced Hauk and Fain. “You two really have gone above and beyond.”

“Trust me,” Fain snorted, “we know.”

“Thanks.” Caillen’s tone was thick with sincerity. “For everything.”

That sincerity seemed to embarrass Fain, who inclined his head beforwidth="2 covered his face with his mask. “All right, Princess Pain. Lead us into suicide.”

Desideria took comfort from the warmth of Caillen’s hand holding hers as Chayden teleported them from the ship down to the back courtyard of the palace where the high brick walls would protect them from cameras and guards. She wasn’t far from the training ring where she’d spent most of her life.

How weird to be back now. So much had happened to her since she’d left with her mother’s Guard that she felt like a stranger in her own home. Unwelcomed. Unwanted.

Foreign.

She wasn’t the same person who’d left here. Everything was different now. Her faith in her mother and her aunt shattered. More than that, she had a newfound strength and confidence in herself that hadn’t been there before.

All because of Caillen. He’d shown her that she could survive even in an alien environment where she knew nothing about the people or customs and that she was capable of taking care of herself no matter what her aunt or mother thought. She was a woman, not a child.

For the first time in her life, she actually believed that.

But she didn’t have time to focus on that right now. She had her sisters to save and the lives of the three men she’d learned to trust and care for were in her hands. She had to get them in and out of there before they were attacked.

Releasing Caillen, she led them into the east wing where her sisters should be. This time of day, they were normally in their room resting for the next training session that would start after dinner. With any luck, that wouldn’t have changed.

Yet.

As she led them through the back palace rooms, she shivered. The hallway had always been cold, but never as frigid as it seemed today. It was like the palace knew her mother was dead and in its own way, it, too, was grieving.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she strained to listen for any sound that could denote detection for them.

Luckily it didn’t take long to reach their apartments and yet it seemed like eternity had passed before she made it to Gwen’s room. There was a light beneath the dark wood door and inside, she could hear someone violently throwing things around. It sounded like a war was going on in there.

They’re killing her!

Her vision dimming, Desideria swung open the door, prepared for battle.

But there was no army inside.

She froze at the sight of Narcissa who’d also stopped midtantrum at her intrusion. For a moment, everything appeared like someone had pushed pause as they stared at one another in mutual shock. While she stood in the open doorway, Narcissa held one of the clay pots Gwen had collected since early childhood in her hands. One of the few that hadn’t been shattered during Narcissa’s apparent fit.

Terror replaced the shock on Narcissa’s face as she took in the sight of Desideria and the three armed men standing behind her, ready to kill if necessary. “What are you doing here?”

Holstering her blaster, Desideria stepped into the room. She held her hands up so that her sister wouldn’t panic any worse and to let Narcissa know that she meant her no harm. “I’ve come to save you and Gwen. Kara’s trying to kill you.”

Narcissa scowled. “What?”

“It’s true,” Caillen said. “She’s framed all of us. We’re here to help and protect you.”

Stunned disbelief hung heavy in Narcissa’s dark brown eyes. It was obvious she was struggling with what to believe. “Are you sure about Kara?”

Desideria nodded. “Think about it, Cissy. She’s always pushed us to fight, even to the death. She pushed us all beyond our abilities and then never wept when one of us died. She never thought Mom should have been in power. You know that. I overheard her talking to one of her conspirators. She and Karissa have teamed up so that they can rule the two empires jointly… after all of us are dead.”