Mage guardian 1, p.38
Mage Guardian 1, page 38
“No,” she wept against his shoulder, shaking her head. “No, no....”
“You failed the test because you were too powerful, Narcissa. You failed because you’re an Adeptus Prime.”
Chapter 38
Rune would break this bond. It was supposed to be impossible to break a Guardian/Adept bond without one of them dying, but Rune was a Prime, possibly the first Prime in three hundred years. He had five Adepts he could tap into for power. He could do anything.
And as he and Narcissa made their way back to their inn, Rune swore an oath to himself: he would break Narcissa’s second bond before she ever laid eyes on that kid again. Before she ever felt even a whisper of his psyche again.
Rune belonged to Narcissa, and she belonged to him.
He was not going to share her. Not ever.
At the same time, Rune couldn’t help thinking… a Guardian Prime bonded to an Adeptus Prime. There had to be power in that. But what sort of power? What would this mean for them both?
He had to discard these disturbing thoughts as they finally reached their destination. Not a second passed after Rune and Narcissa had stepped into the inn, when the clerk called out, “Excuse me, sir? Yes, you.”
Rune paused to draw a calming breath. This better be short or important. He was too tired to deal with any bullshit today.
He’d infiltrated the Breeder compound—by digging a tunnel with his bare hands—killed one of their leaders, freed a couple of people, and discovered that his best friend was more trapped than he’d ever realized—and that was if he was even right about Cam being trapped at all. It could also be some sort of trick. Lenore had been saying so ever since she woke up, when he and Narcissa were halfway back to the inn.
And add to all that the depressing fact that he hadn’t achieved all his original goals yet. Sure, they’d found the compound and killed their Tree outcrop and wreaked havoc, but the Breeders were still operating. He hadn’t been able to find any evidence to expose them... yeah, he was tired. Dead on his feet.
“What is it?” he asked the clerk, without any inflection. He didn’t have the energy for it. He just wanted to get Narcissa somewhere safe, where they could discuss her status as an Adeptus Prime in peace. He had even taken the long way back just to ensure they weren’t followed.
Rune needed a fucking nap.
Behind the long maple desk, beside the inn’s stained-glass double doors, the clerk said, “Sir, the woman staying with you—” and then stopped. The poor man’s eyes had landed on Narcissa, and something unpleasant had clicked in his brain. He swallowed. “I mean... the woman who made your reservation....”
“He means Lenore,” Rune thought vaguely.
Lenore was the one who stole the money to pay for this place, and she was also the one that had booked it. The room had only one bed, though, albeit a huge one. The man couldn’t know that Rune had shared it with three women last night.
“Just say what you need to say, man,” Rune said, trying his best not to sound too grumpy.
If the man wanted to worry about how many affairs Rune was having, and with whom, and spurning whom... well, he could join the club, really. Rune was just as confused as this poor clerk when it came to his love life.
“Well, she... the woman with the braid, sir, she booked you a second room and told me to let you know when I saw you.” He pulled a key off one of the many hooks behind the counter and held it out to Rune. “Here’s the key, sir. Room 208, the newlywed suite.”
Rune exhaled, annoyed, and took the key. In his head, Lenore called out, “Surprise!”
“You’re hilarious,” he sent back, and even mental, his words were testy.
“Well, Narcissa did promise you a lot of lovin’ tonight, didn’t she? I figured she could pay up with some privacy. It might be weird to fuck in the same place where Ria and Iris are trying to sleep.”
“Go away,” he replied, making his way toward the stairwell.
Narcissa added not a peep to the conversation, although she had to be at least partially aware of the whole exchange, since she was bonded to Rune, and he was keeping all his bonds open. He was starting to figure out that he had to narrow his focus on one Adept in order to use her power, but that for communication, he could keep his mind open to everyone, which meant almost none of his experiences or conversations were private.
The exception, of course, was Narcissa.
When he focused on his bond to her, he could shut everyone else out. He suspected this was because she was an Adeptus Prime, a fact that had been confirmed an hour ago, when she had inadvertently bonded to a second Guardian—a thirteen-year-old trainee from the Breeder hideout, who was now thankfully distant enough to be out of her head.
And who was absolutely, definitely not here to stay.
I’m breaking that bond before the week’s out. Before she ever feels his presence again. I swear it on my life. He is GONE.
As he unlocked the door, he heard Ria slur, “What’s this about a Prime?”
“An Adeptus Prime,” Lenore chirped. “Narcissa is one.”
With a groan, Rune delved into his bond with Narcissa and cut everyone else out of his head. During the walk back to the inn, he’d explained the whole thing to Lenore, all while Narcissa was listening in, too overwhelmed to speak. Now Lenore could do him a real fucking favor and keep him from having to explain himself a third time. It was hard enough to answer all of Narcissa’s tough questions, and then to have to answer them again in her hearing.
“How long have you suspected that I was a Prime?”
“Since we fought the night witch, back at Tellus’s temple.”
“Why then? What happened? What didn’t you tell me?”
“I figured it out during the fight. She had multiple Guardians, the same way that I have multiple Adepts.”
Narcissa insisted there was no literature to corroborate this, that they had only confirmed the existence of one Prime, and he was a Guardian, and he was Tellus the Mad. And this and that and… she was grasping at straws to rationalize it any other way.
Rune understood her desire to deny it. For one, he could tell that she didn’t wish to have any other bondmates, and Rune agreed wholeheartedly. While he had a many-to-one relationship with the women he was bonded to, he had to admit he wouldn’t like any of them to have bonds with other men.
There was also another reason for Narcissa to want to deny that she was an Adeptus Prime: if anyone like the Breeders got hold of her—now, or far into the future—they could subject her to a whole boatload of shitty Guardians.
Or, they might just kill her outright.
He was fairly certain this was the reason why Ivy and Oak were sent to murder her after her failed Adept test proved she was too powerful. They hadn’t been working for the Breeders, but for someone else who wanted Primes dead.
Weighty as her concerns were, Rune had one that begged a question.
Was Narcissa the first ordered to be killed for her power?
Or was she just the first one that they failed to kill?
It was a disquieting thought, and Rune did not want to dwell on the implications. At least, not today, not right now, when he was about to unwind and spend a special night with a woman he was madly in love with.
And as he swung open the door and stepped into the suite Lenore had cheekily booked for him, he had to admit this was a great place to sit and stop thinking for a while.
The room was spacious, and damn luxurious, with two white-leather chairs and a sitting table on one side of the wide bed, and a full velvet couch on the other. An iced wine bottle sat on a bench at the foot of the bed, as well as some berries and a few sugar-dusted sweets. The door to a private bath stood open, steam already wafting out of it. Warm yellow glowlights illuminated the room in a cozy, inviting ambiance.
On the bed rested down comforters covered in rose petals, all of them dyed faintly blue by the moonlight passing through the stained glass windows, which were set into a pair of ornate terrace doors.
Newlywed suite, indeed, he thought, warming to the idea, but knowing Narcissa was in no fit state to explore the meaning of the name.
“The bath looks hot,” he said, closing the door behind them both, but still holding on to her in case her knees gave out. Even aside from the Adeptus Prime revelation, she had experienced some dark things today, and as much as he’d been looking forward to making love to her, her mental wellbeing took priority. “How about I dump this ice bucket and fill it with hot water, and go scrub myself down in here, while you go relax in the bath for a while?”
He could only see the back of her head as she nodded, her red ringlets far less bouncy than usual, on account of all of the dirt they’d accrued in their escape tunnel. Even in her mind, she wasn’t saying much. This was all a lot to process—especially for someone with a mind like Narcissa’s. She was a scholar. She’d look at this from all angles, perhaps too many.
And so he set about getting some water and bathing the old-fashioned way, with a rag and a bucket, while she disappeared into the bath and closed the door. He was fine with that. He hadn’t expected an invitation.
Besides, he had one thing left to do.
Rune opened his mind to his Adepts again. He liked to think of it like un-damming a bunch of rivers at once. There were probably actual terms for these things, but he didn’t exactly have a Guardian Prime to teach them to him.
“Ria,” he sent out. “I need your help.”
“Yes?” she replied, right away. She had clearly been slapped awake by his news.
“How are you feeling? And Iris?” he asked. First things first.
“She’s still asleep. You really sapped her back at the compound. But her breathing is even and her pulse is normal. As for me, I still feel dog-tired, but I understand why you drained us. Just try not to make a habit of it, all right? It’s scary, to just... faint like that.”
“Noted,” he replied and meant it.
Sapping his Adepts’ energy to power their spells—not to mention powering himself, when he borrowed said spells—was a last resort option. He had done it to keep them safe, and that was really the only scenario where he’d let himself do it again.
“So,” she sent, “what do you need?”
“You used to carry merchants around, right?” he asked. “On the Sex Machine—I mean, on your carriage.”
She hadn’t expected this change of topic, away from Adeptus Primes; he could tell by the length of her pause.
“Sure,” she finally sent. “I’ve carted lots of merchants around. Why?”
He twisted the wet rag he’d been using to clean up his arms, sluicing dirty water into the ice bucket. “Do you know any place to get merchant records? Like, from a long time ago.”
“Hmm... well, I think so. They’re all public record, at least anything legal should be. Am I looking for anything legal?”
“Yes. All above board. I need you to look into orders delivered from a specific blacksmith... Hawthorn Smithy, out of a small auxiliary town near Pine. Starting about twenty years ago, and going to now, I want to see if anyone around here—in Maple—ever ordered weapons or armor from Marius Hawthorn... that’s the owner of the smithy. We’re talking orders to supply the Guardian compound, so they’d be big orders. A dozen weapons at a time, at least.”
He sensed, more than heard, Ria chuckle in consternation. “All right. I can do that right now... the mercantile at the city center should have that information, and I can borrow a few coins from Lenore to rent the ledgers. But what’s this about? Do you know this guy, Marius Hawthorn?”
Rune sighed. “Yeah. He’s my father.”
During the pause that followed, Rune strode naked across the room to a closet, where he found a white linen tunic and a pair of simple black pants. Lenore had gone all-out with her little surprise. She’d even gotten his size right.
Breeches were naturally missing from the ensemble. Her idea of a joke, no doubt.
“I took my mother’s maiden name when I left home,” Rune explained. “So my pops couldn’t find me.”
“Oh. I see,” she replied after a moment. “But what does your father have to do… with all this?”
“While I was in the Breeder compound,” he explained as he dressed, “the trainees gave me some names of the people in charge of the different Guardian cohorts. There are three of them, one to each wing of their tower. The one supposedly led by Acer Drake is the one housing the Breeders, but he’s not the real mastermind here. Or he wasn’t, anyway, since he’s dead now.”
“So I heard,” she replied, musing. “And the other two leaders? You suspect one of them of being the real man in charge?”
“Yes. We’ve got the Covenant Minister himself, Arens Redwood, or some guy called Larch.”
“And you think one of them might have ordered weapons from your father?”
Rune sprawled out on the couch, listening distantly to the water splashing in the bath as Narcissa stepped out of it, beyond the door and out of his sight.
“When I was a kid, my father mentioned a guy called Larch. Said he was a real piece of work, but that he paid well.”
“I see,” Ria replied. “So you think he might be in charge of the Breeders?”
Rune watched the shadows move under Narcissa’s door. “Maybe. It depends on what you find.”
“And if he is? Then what?” she asked as the bathroom door opened.
“Then we have a very big day ahead of us,” Rune said honestly as Narcissa stepped into the room in a silky white robe. “Look, I... I have to go,” he told Ria, because suddenly his mind couldn’t focus on this conversation—and suddenly he wasn’t feeling very tired at all.
Ria sent him a wink. “Go get ‘em, stud,” she said, and a moment later, Rune closed her off.
“Oh. No need to stand up for my sake,” Narcissa said, pausing outside the door.
She was absolutely stunning. Warm glowlight danced in her golden eyes, lighting up the hint of pink on her freckled cheeks, and reflecting off her curly red hair that cascaded onto her shoulders. Draped across her curves, the white silk left bare a deep window into her perky, freckle-painted breasts, and left much of her pale legs uncovered, causing Rune’s attention to flick up and down, unable to settle anywhere with so much to look at.
Rune had barely been aware he’d stood up from the couch, but now that he had, he figured he’d make the most of it.
“Hard not to stand at attention, when a beautiful woman walks into a room,” he said, sinking back down slowly and daring to pat the leather beside him. He was pleased to watch her pale cheeks darken.
She gifted him a coy smile and approached. Every swaying step hiked the hem of the whisper-thin silk, threatening to reveal the breath-stopping sight hiding between those perfect thighs. If Lenore had meant to assassinate him through temptation with this gift, she had officially achieved her goal.
Narcissa paused within an arm’s reach, as if afraid he might grab her. She closed the neckline of her robe, though it didn’t really improve the modesty of the garment. His mouth dried out as a pair of nipples hardened under the stretch that strained over her breasts.
He looked away, knowing that if he adjusted his belt, he’d only draw attention to... and if she looked, it might pressure her into things she was too weary for.
“I... I feel silly,” Narcissa said.
Rune met her eyes, even while her hair was guiding his gaze down her neck, down to the riot of erotic innocence that stood before him, garbed in the most frustratingly tight robe in all of history.
“You feel silly?” he asked, incredulous, and took the moment to sneakily slip his erection into a pant sleeve. “Why?”
She swept a hand around the room, pivoting to indicate the whole place. The hem hiked up her thigh then, as her legs swayed, rising dangerously high.
“Just... this. All this. It’s like... it’s more than I....” She swallowed, closed her open hand, and let it fall to her side as she faced him.
“Oh,” Rune said, understanding. He shook his head. “Narcissa, nothing has to happen. This is Lenore’s idea of a joke. Would you like me to have Iris come in here? I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on, given the last time she saw you... I’d guess, being a handmaiden, that she’s probably really been missing her lady....” He was rambling. “I can sleep in Lenore’s room,” he summarized, “or alone, if you’d rather. It doesn’t need to be awkward. I’ll get you some proper clothes. Do you want my shirt?”
“No.” She smiled at him. “It isn’t awkward, Rune. And I’m sure Iris is fine. I can see her tomorrow.” She stepped up to the couch and sank down beside him. “Don’t send for anyone, please.” She reached for his hand and guided it against her leg as she looked into his eyes. “And let’s not talk about today, either. Let’s just... relax.”
Relax? Rune thought. Sexiest goddess I’ve ever met wants to sit next to me wearing a tiny strip of fabric that a passing cloud could rip open, and you expect me to relax?
Narcissa stifled a chuckle into her palm. “Rune, I can hear what you’re thinking, you know.”
He swallowed and looked away. “Ah. I keep forgetting....”
She leaned closer, moving to touch and squeeze his thigh, inches from his hard-on. Rune drew a shuddering breath, cursing Lenore for leaving out the breeches.
“Rune, look at me.”
He did, perfectly aware that he was down to his last thread of willpower. Her golden eyes shimmered in the light of the enchanted sconce, their beauty as hypnotic as the first time he saw them.
“You’re thinking you’re acting like a teenager again,” she said, her hand drifting over the inside of his thigh, avoiding the package by a miracle. “And now you’re thinking that, even as a teenager, you never felt this strongly about someone before.”
He didn’t trust himself to try reading her mind. He hadn’t drawn a breath in several seconds.
