Page 60 of Blue Embers
“She’s always worried. She’s too caring for her own good,” he said with a faint smile. “She knows you’re confused and she asked me to talk to you.”
“Why you?” I asked.
“Because I know Valentyne better than anyone here. We were friends on Kumir. We fought together during the second contact war when we first arrived here. We have history.”
“So are you going to tell me some story to help me understand why he’s acting like he is? Honestly, you don’t have to. I can get past whatever this is if he wants nothing to do with me.”
“I’m going to tell you anyway because I’ve been talking to Valentyne these past few days and I can assure you he wants everything to do with you.”
Surprised by the straight forward statement, I gave Lukan my full attention.
“Valentyne lost a wife on Kumir,” he began. “A lot of us lost mates. The destruction of that world took everything from us. When we came here, it was as if we’d just jumped from one war to the next. There were no breaks. We were already angry. Driven. Bitter.
“Somehow, twenty years into the conflict, Valentyne found someone. A woman. Her name was Annette. She was the daughter of a general we were trying to kill. Long story short, they fell in love. Those two were part of the reason we started entering peace talks with humans.
“Five years later, there were still rebellions, but we were starting to coexist. Things were starting to calm down. Valentyne and Annette had a son. He was one of the first born here on Earth after the second wave. Again, his relationship with her aided in making strides toward peace.
“When the boy was three years old, Valentyne was away fulfilling his duties as a member of the Draakir. At the time, the idea of sectors was just coming into light since resistance groups were still a problem. People wanted to feel protected. So did Draak. Valentyne returned home with the intention to move his family into more secure areas. Areas richer with Draak populations. Back then, humans hated us. They took out their hatred on supporters, not just on us Draak, so Annette and her son were in danger if things didn’t change. He knew that, but when he arrived home, a small band of rebels had invaded his home and held his wife and son hostage while they made demands over land and laws. In the end, both of them were killed.”
My heart sank. As I recalled the visions I had my first night in the cabin, I wondered if they were memories. Killian’s memories, perhaps. The pain and sorrow I’d felt certainly matched the story Lukan was telling.
“Valentyne described their deaths like being skinned alive. When an Ashling dies, Draak feel it. It’s like being torn down the middle. Something in us is left empty and cold. We both felt it before when we lost our mates on Kumir. Nothing ever fills the hole. We give part of ourselves away when we mark someone and when they’re gone, so is that part of us. It took a long time to fight past it, but when he lost Annette and his son, he said the pain was a hundred times worse.”
“What did he do?”
“He was unhinged. We’ve all been there in our own ways. You live as long as us and you find yourself falling apart many times. He disappeared for a while and even if no one wanted to say it, we all knew he had gone on a killing spree. He was gone for years and in that time the sectors were established, separating the outer territories so that people had a choice whether or not to reside with Draak, under our laws. A few years later, the human councils were voted in and the Order was established. When Killian finally came back, he refused to talk about Annette or his son. He refused to say what he did out there in his absence. He continued to be part of the Draakir, rose in ranks and wealth, then left the Draakir when he decided it wasn’t the life he wanted. Now he’s the man you know today.”
“I never would have known that--”
“No one ever does. He hides his past under charm and seduction and material things. I have no idea how he really feels about you. That’s for the two of you to figure out. What I do know is that you’re the third woman to bear his mark and he knows the pain of losing a mate far too well to go about this lightly.”
“So he’s deciding not to talk to me?” I raised a brow.
“I think he’s coping with the idea that he cares about you. We’re nearly invincible, you see. You? Keera? Everly? You have no idea the fear we feel every day knowing you’re not.”
Lukan let the words stew in my head for a while in silence. Everything he’d said made perfect sense, but I didn’t feel comforted. I felt heavy with sorrow and regret.
As the quiet stretched on, Killian’s Bugatti came rolling up the narrow dirt road toward the cabin and parked beside Saxon’s truck. I watched as his elegant form stepped out of the car and started toward the cabin. He glimpsed my way, his step barely hesitating when he saw me sitting with Lukan.
“Lukan,” he called out, continuing toward the door. “We need to talk.”
As he disappeared inside, I wrinkled my brows with suspicion and looked at Lukan, hoping he’d provide some insight. He started to get up with a grunt.
“Think he’s on to me?” he said.
I rose with him, pulling the sleeves of my coat over my hands.
“Maybe,” I said.
“Come on,” Lukan beckoned, leading me toward the cabin as the sun was sinking further toward the horizon. “Keera will have a fit if I don’t come back inside with you.”
Inside, everyone was gathered in the front room again with the exception of Saxon, who’d been sent off the previous day to look for my niece. Even Keera and Everly were there, eager to hear what Killian had to say.
“So?” Draven said. “What’s happening?”
“We have a problem,” Killian said, taking off his gloves and setting them on the ledge above the fireplace. “The Order in Onen just made a deal with the resistance and they did it very openly. Phyre Glass bullets are being sold now. Legally.”
“Lupin is the regent in Onen,” Draven said, his jaw tense with obvious aggravation. “He wouldn’t let this stand.”
