Page 3 of The Erion Triad

An unexpected little pang jabbed her heart., but that was illogical. She’d argued with herself about going home. Back to Earth. She’d been arguing with all of them for weeks now, and for weeks they’d told her they’d never heard of Earth. They didn’t even know where it might be. She didn’t know whether to believe them or not. Then the voice had told her it knew where Earth was and could return her there.

She crouched low behind a shrub in the garden, waiting for the voice to tell her what to do.Hide behind that large tree and follow the path to the tower. Donotget caught.

She darted across the garden hunched over, making the cover of the tree just as Juliran stuck his head out the window. “Lucie?”

She held her breath, her heart skipping beats as she waited to see if he would go back inside or come out to find her. Her fingers dug into the bark, tension gripping her. The voice had told her not to get caught. There was no telling what it would do to them if she did.

Thankfully, Juliran disappeared back into the room. In front of her was a tree-lined graveled pathway. She stuck to the deep shadows at the side and crept along as quietly as she could.

Two shadows appeared— palace guards—walking along the path towards her. She jumped over the small hedgerow of spiky-leaved plants and curled into a ball behind the closest tree.

“Yes, sirs. I’ll keep my eyes out for her.” One of the guards spoke into a wrist comm as his shrewd eyes peered about. She knew that guard—nothing got past him. She would have to be doubly careful.

Two sets of footfalls passed directly behind her, crunching in the gravel. She held her breath, not wanting the sound of breathing to alert them. She didn’t move a muscle as they passed. When they rounded a bend, her breath whooshed out of her.

She dashed beneath the tree line, keeping to the deepest shadows as she made her way towards the tower. Distant voices became louder as more guards started to search for her.

Go to the side door.

She knew where it was. Kira had shown her one day. It was an entrance the Royals used when the crowds were too large on the public side of the tower. She darted between bushes and jumped over several hedgerows. Sticky sweat trickled along her spine, feeling like tiny insects walking over her skin.

Luckily, the door was well hidden between a line of carefully tended hedges that framed the back of the tower. A shout from nearby had her clinging to the trunk of the nearest tree.

They are getting closer. Donotwaste time.

Licking her dry lips, she darted through the slight gap between the shrubs, her trembling fingers finding the panel on the wall. She slammed her palm to it, guiltily thanking Kira for plugging in her handprint, and the door slid silently open. She slipped through into darkness.

Go up the stairs to the top room. You will touch the crystal.

Stumbling in the darkness, Lucie pictured the spiral staircase in her mind. She traced her hand along the wall, taking shaky steps in the direction of the stairs. Her toes found the first step. She clutched the wall with one hand and the banister with the other and slowly made her way up the sharp incline. It was like climbing the stairs in a lighthouse. They were steep and went around in a tight spiral leading ever upwards.

The absolute dark gave way to grays as light filtered into the top room through magnificent floor-to-ceiling windows. In the pictures of the tower, the windows let the light of the now-dead crystal shine in all directions, like a massively powerful glow stick. No, however, the crystal remained dark in its cradle on a plinth in its holder in the middle of the circular room.

She crept up to the plinth. The holder the crystal rested in was a magnificent work of art. The design was intricate and made from a delicate filigree of shining gold. She thought she heard a whisper of a voice close by, but she wasn’t sure if it was real or if it was the voice in her head. Sometimes she heard things that weren’t there. Whispers in the dark she couldn’t quite catch. Sounds and not words. She was slowly going crazy, if she wasn’t there already.

Take the crystal in hand. Do it. Now!

The voice was sharper. Clearer. There was a heavy presence nearby and she cringed away.

I will hurt them if you do not take the crystal. I will not hesitate!

Dragging in a shaking breath, she undid the glass door to the crystal’s encasement. It was right there. All she had to do was reach out and touch it and then everything would be better. She would get to go home. There would be no more voices. The brothers—her mates—would be free of her to find their true match. Someone good enough without all the excess baggage she came with. This was all for the best.

She reached forward, her fingers curving around the gem. The overhead lights blasted on, soaking the chamber in vivid harshness.

“Lucie! Don’t!”

Gasping, she spun to see Kyel, Zaen, and Juliran emerging from the hidden doorway into the room. Their three huge bodies filled the space. The air seemed to be sucked right out of her lungs. Heat prickled her skin as her heart pummeled empty veins.

She’d been found.

Chapter Two

Kyel

Lucie’s brown eyes widened in a face that seemed too small to hold them. A tremor ran through her too-thin body, her fingers twitching around the Erion crystal. They seemed to reach for it while she did her best to pull away.

He stepped forward. Another shudder worked through her body. She was like a skittish Standon, cornered and caught in the wild. That had been their Lucie since they’d first laid eyes on her. Even after weeks of trying to calm her, she was yet to tame. Something held her back. He was still waiting to discover what that was.

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