And I obeyed. My body went limp and relaxed.
“Whatever this is, you won't be needing it.” Braxis yanked off my lodestone necklace and tossed it on the ground. “I don't want your fey charms anywhere near me, my pretty pixie.”
My mind and heart raced. I knew I had seconds to get away from him but my body refused to move. Braxis swept me up in his arms like a bridegroom as his men closed in between Everan and us. Everan cold-cocked the first warrior he could reach and the man went down like a chopped tree. That was the last I saw of the fight. Braxis turned, blocking my view, and ran for the side of the Embassy. A Bleiten portable transporter was set up there, its discs adhered to the wall. It started to glow as we approached and then its light formed a passageway. Braxis kept running straight into it.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
We came through another transporter and out onto the reception deck of Malik's old personal spacecraft—the one Braxis and his men had stolen when they fled Hell. Braxis took me further into the room and set me down on my feet. Behind him, his warriors began to step through the transporter. Several of them returned bloody and two had to be carried. It was a small satisfaction but I took it.
My mating mark suddenly went ice cold and then burning hot; I sucked in a breath and laid a hand over without thinking. Malik knew I'd been taken and even though Everan couldn't find me, he could. Maybe Everan would be able to twist Malik to me.
“Oh, is that Mvarro of yours bothering you?” Braxis asked snidely. “We can take of that. Just stand still, my pretty pixie.”
As he spoke, a silver glow seeped past his full lips and that resonant tone filled his voice again. My body went still at his command and my eyes widened in horror.Hehad the Silver Tongue? How? Braxis grinned, noting my attention on his mouth.
“Recognize this device, do you?” He tapped the corner of his mouth. “One of your people gave it to me—your Triari people, not the Danutians. Shocking, isn't it? A Triari helping a Bleiten. Almost as shocking as a Triari duchess mating a Bleiten prince.” He laughed snidely, then waved someone over. “Rusalla, if you would?”
A woman stepped before me. She had the build of a Bleiten woman—tall and curvy—and looked old enough to be Braxis' grandmother. Bleiten, like Triari, can live for over 1,000 years. With her graying hair and lined face, this Rusalla had to be close to that. Despite her age, her back was straight and her dark eyes were clear. She narrowed them at me menacingly as she pulled a pouch from her belt and emptied some of its contents into her palm.
I saw the powder and my jaw clenched as my stomach lurched. This was the stuff Braxis had used on me before—the spell that took away my magicandmy bond to my men. Not only would it render me powerless but it would also cut me off from Malik and he'd never be able to find me. I determined not to breathe. Maybe if I didn't inhale, it wouldn't affect me.
“Make sure you breathe it in, Amara,” Braxis ordered, his tongue glowing silver from a device my own people had built.
Oh, the irony.
Rusalla bent forward, the beads in her hair clicking ominously, and blew across her palm. The powder covered my face and I obediently took a deep breath. She stepped back with a satisfied look and brushed the remainder off her hands. A strange numbness settled over my neck—Malik's mark going dormant—and my body shivered as my bonds were dulled and my magic submerged under a thick fog. I stood there utterly powerless, cut off from my men and magic, but I lifted my chin and glared mutinously at Braxis.
“Thank you, Rusalla,” Braxis said to her as he held my stare.
“My chief.” Rusalla bowed and left.
Braxis wasn't quite as frightening as he'd been in my nightmares. His features, though angular, weren't monstrous. He had a new scruffy layer of stubble on his chin, nearly thick enough to be considered a beard, that softened his brutish jaw without concealing it. I glimpsed his fangs but he didn't bare them at me in threat and his pale green eyes were full of triumph but not malice. The top third of his auburn hair was pulled back with a leather tie but the rest flowed down to his shoulders in bright waves—a cheerful color. He was the largest Bleiten I'd ever seen, but even his height and girth seemed less than I remembered. That being said, I was still terrified. Beyond terrified.
With the combination of the witch's powder and the Silver Tongue, Braxis could keep me under his control indefinitely. And my men wouldn't know how to find me. Braxis had evaded us for months, I had no doubt that he could easily continue to do so. And by the time I got free of him—if I ever got free—it would likely be too late for Danu.
“Braxis, I know you hate me but Danu is in danger. Please, I have to go back,” I had little hope that my entreaty would work but I had to try.
Braxis blinked and drew back his head a little. “Now, that's unexpected. Not your request to return—that was a given—but the thing about Danu. That's an interesting choice.”
“Because it's true. Someone has been stealing the life force and magic of Danu and it will die if I don't take it back and return it to Danu. The entire realm is at risk and I'm the only one who can transfer the magic.”
Braxis stared at me for a few seconds, frowning, then turned to one of his men and said briskly, “Set a course for Agranen.”
“Yes, Chief.” The man hurried off.
“The Ungaru home planet?” I asked in surprise.
Braxis took my hand and started to walk away but I remained planted where I was and it wasn't by choice. He had told me to stay still and my body was obeying his order. Braxis yanked on my hand and I went stumbling into him. He caught me with a laugh.
“Did you think you could withstand my strength?” Braxis shook his head at me. “I have taken all of your magic, Amara.”
His men laughed scornfully as they passed by, their eyes raking me with satisfied glee.
“You told me to stand still, you imbecile!” I snapped.
Braxis blinked. “Oh. Yes, I forgot. You are free to move, Amara.” He stroked my cheek before steadying me. “You don't mind if I call you Amara, do you? We're about to becomeveryintimate after all.”
I slapped him. He said I could move; I might as well take advantage of it. Braxis' head swung to the side but I think it was more from surprise than the power of my blow.
