Page 24

When he barked an instant, “No,” I shook off the Alpha command and kept going.

“It’s good for Omegas and children. Strengthens their blood.” Heart racing, I broke into a run. The smell of the ocean drew me, making me feel stronger. When I stepped out of the trees onto the beach, the eastern wind sprinkled my flushed face and neck with sea spray, and I could breathe again. The pain in my chest from Lusca’s bond had lessened measurably, and the burn on my throat had gone numb again.

“Huh.”

“What?” Serak was beside me instantly, one hand on his knife hilt.

“Nothing.” I stepped quickly across the black sand to the water, the pounding of the surf covering all the sounds from the jungle behind us.

The damp wind was cool, almost cold on my arms and legs. “Ratter.” Serak’s voice was raw as he grasped my arm gently.

I let myself look into his eyes again. His grip was warm, but not punishingly hot this time, and the heat in his gaze was softer. The deep blue of his eyes was that of the boy I’d loved long ago, or started to love, though they crinkled at the corners as if he’d aged a century since then.

“Ratter, I need you to know something—” He doubled over suddenly, a coughing fit silencing him.

“Can he step back into you whenever he wants?” I asked when I thought he might be able to speak again. “Can he read your thoughts?” I had no idea what a god like Edan was capable of. Skadi hadn’t seemed to be able to read my mind, or at least not most of the time.

“No,” he rasped after a long moment. “If he… stays inside me for too long, I pass out.”

“I got bloody noses when the Goddess used me to walk around,” I said, trying to think of how to converse with Serak and keep Edan from finding out what was going on. I was sure he was listening, or trying to.

Serak gave a short laugh. “He’s exploded more than a few Alphas’ brains over the past two decades. When he inhabits me, it feels like my brain turns to jelly. How long could you stay on your feet?”

“Ah, you know. Not long.” He lifted an eyebrow. “A few days?” Such a lie. She’d inhabited me for far longer, though it had been a pain in my ass.

He coughed until his eyes went red. “Days? That’s not possible. At least, not for me. I’m weak.” His tone was severe, and when he repeated himself, I understood what he was saying. “Even now. I’m very weak,” he repeated earnestly. “I always have been.”

“The man I met long ago wasn’t weak at all. And if you are now, it’s not your doing. I don’t think the fire fucker knows all that much about taking care of Omegas or Alphas.” His eyes turned slightly redder as he coughed again. I ignored it. “It’s no wonder the ones he has trapped here aren’t going into heat often. I think it’s safe to assume I won’t either, even with your little gifts. You’ve seen the puny food and water rations the guards provide, once they’re done pilfering the best of everything. They must not fear their god all that much, if they’ll steal right under his nose.”

“If he knew, he’d kill them.” He worked his jaw. “He has a habit of killing the stronger servants anyway.”

“Like you?”

He nodded once, though the movement was jerky. “He came close this last time, and he needs me. I’m the only one left on Pict who can carry him for even a few minutes.”

“Why can you?”

He gave a half-grin that made one cheek dimple. Wait. He had a dimple? How had I missed that before? Had he grown one? Was it a scar? My fingers itched to press on it and see.

“The same reason you can carry Her. Our ancestors were priests.”

“Mirrim told me that my father was a priest of some kind,” I admitted. “But she didn’t say whose he was. Which god or goddess he served, I mean.”

“Perun worshipped a lesser god, so you come from that line on his side,” he murmured and reached for my tattooed arm, taking it without asking. He didn’t say anything about his own ancestors. I suppressed a shiver as he stroked a finger lightly over the starflower vines from there to my elbow. “What is this?”

I inhaled discreetly, the sea air muting all other scents, even this close. “Marriage tattoo from Goran,” I said at last. “It’s a very nice poison these pretty flowers make.”

His grip grew punishing, and a sudden, faint hint of smoke wafted toward me. I twisted my arm, using a move Alexios had taught me to pull away.

The smoke could have been from the volcano, but I knew better. “Time for a swim?” I dropped the basket and strode across the beach, into the waves.

Serak stopped short of the water, coughing violently again. I dipped my arms into the sea, the saltwater soothing me more than it ever had. No, healing me. The small scratches on my hands and wrist from gathering herbs washed away on the next wave.

Was this a gift from Lusca? I liked it a hell of a lot more than the feeling of my heart tearing, that was for sure. I sent a silent plea to Lusca now, wishing I knew how to use whatever bond we had to call him to me.

Serak’s voice when he called out from the sand was rough. “You married the Warlord? That surprises me.”

“Why should it surprise you?” I lifted an eyebrow. “I’m an Omega, right? Like it or not, that means more than one mate.”