“We have an agent who has been working to convince Jozel to defect. We believe Stergiou is now willing to join us, but we will need to get both him and our agent out of Alexandria.”
“Who is your agent?” Hel asked, suspicion thick in his voice.
“His name is Kyris Asimenios,” O’Fallon responded. “Your father.”
Shocked silence followed.
“Kyris was captured several years ago in the same attack that killed your mother,” the commander said. “We were able to make contact with him, but by that point he had connected with Stergiou. He had already seen the potential of flipping the man. We wanted to get him out, but he refused.”
“You never told me he was alive,” Hel said, his body tense with the rage that seemed to be coursing through him. “I thought my father was dead for ten years.”
O’Fallon sighed. “I know. For many years we had thought he had been killed in the same attack that killed your mother. Then we got wind that he had been made a eunuch and was being held in one of their goddamn Houses.”
“B-but everyone ignored us when we said we needed to rescue him,” Hel began. I knew my brother’s Bonded had to be shaken. I’d never seen him stutter before.
“We didn’t ignore you. Kyris and Jozel have been rotated amongst a number of Houses over the last ten years. His medical skills have made him valuable. We didn’t know which House he and Stergiou were currently at. The information you provided helped us pinpoint their location and we were able to get another agent in to meet with them.”
“Why is this an Omada mission, Commander?” Rhu asked.
“Because we have never successfully liberated a high value target from the heart of Alexandria before,” he responded. “Previous attempts—well, let’s just say,Iwould be not want to be taken alive.”
The room was silent. Elex and I had witnessed the King’s cruelty before. We knew exactly what he was capable of.
“So your plan was to send in one Soma, and hope that he would somehow be able to get Jozel out?” I asked. “That seems like a pretty thin strand to hang your hopes on.”
“There is a team that will be helping him get into Alexandria. He won’t be completely alone, but that’s essentially what Omada is. Wearethe shot in the dark. We’ll have one chance at this. If we can rescue Stergiou and your father, we might have a chance to bring public opinion in Nova Roma and Greece against the Alexandrians.”
“We won’t let him go alone. Two Tesseris Mageia should help improve the odds significantly,” I said. “If anyone can get them out of the heart of Alexandria, it will be us.”
“I don’t know that Omada will be willing to risk even one Tesseris Mageia, let alone two,” Erix pointed out.
“Good thing we aren’t going to give them a choice,” I responded.
Chapter 28
Luke
I shoved a pair of tac pants and shirts into the backpack, my mind a million miles away.
“Alexandria doesn’t normally get snow this time of year. You know something about the weather I don’t?” Rhuyin asked from his seat at the table. We were in my small apartment area preparing for the upcoming mission. He had taken to staying with me most nights. Most nights it wasn’t about sex, but more about developing the connection between us.
What do you mean?I practiced signing, enjoying the view as he stood, stretching his arms wide. His shirt hugged his biceps and chest, showing off the ripple of muscles across his chest.
“Well, you’ve just shoved four pairs of thermals in there and about six pairs of socks,” he said, a smirk on his face.
I looked down at the bag and cursed. He was right. I tore the thermals out of the backpack and shoved them back in the dresser drawer. All the clothes had been provided by the Illyria government.
“The socks stay,” I insisted stubbornly. “There’s nothing worse than having cold or wet feet.”
Rhu came over and wrapped his arms around me, the heat of his body penetrating even through our clothes. I couldn’t help but sigh and relax back into his embrace. I could feel the power thrumming between us.
“You can have as many socks as you want, General. It’s going to be okay,” he said as he pressed a gentle kiss to the side of my head.
I pulled away from him and spun around.
“You don’t know that, Rhu. We could all be killed, or recaptured.”
The thought of once more being at the mercy of the Elusians and my father made my vision go red, while a deep pit opened in mystomach. Worse, the thought of Rhu or my brother or Hel being hurt or captured drove me crazy. If they were captured Alexandria couldn’t allow any of them to live.
