The Night House Page 21

  In Arkavia, they gave every son in the direct line a family ring in case any of them got taken out, but it made sense that this ring got passed down to the oldest son. There was only one.

  Her brother stared at it.

  Dad opened his hand, rolling the ring to sit on his palm.

  Tommy sighed and plucked it from his hand. He glanced at Taya. “Sorry, sis.”

  She shrugged. “I got swords that shoot lightning. We’re good.”

  Her brother laughed and slipped the ring on his finger. It fit perfectly.

  Her dad nodded at Tommy and nudged the journal toward her.

  “Can you summarize it?”

  Tommy chuckled.

  Her dad shook his head, not in refusal but in exasperation. “Izar was the fourth son of Aello. He was never supposed to lead the family and instead was sent to the Tarkavian Order to study magic so he could be useful to the family cause. He lost all three of his brothers and his father in a war for a realm the Arkavians invaded, eventually dominated and subsequently sucked dry. He became disenchanted with the Arkavian way of life and suspected someone from a powerful house used the portal his father opened for personal gain. He couldn’t prove it. He didn’t have any spies and his knowledge of house politics was weak as he only had rudimentary training on the inner workings. When the houses approached him and asked him to pick up his father’s mantle and open a new portal, he agreed. He was supposed to use his advanced Tarka training to scout the compatibility of Earth and return with the information. With no family or attachments to Arkavia left, he took his father’s portal-opening notes and left. He liked Earth. He fell in love. He started a family. He also feared the return of Arkavia and ensured his knowledge was passed down through the generations. He’d lost access to his powers when he shut the portal, but he trained his children how to fight and made them promise to do the same when they had children. He wanted us prepared.”

  “He didn’t prepare us for a blue death wave,” Taya said. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh.

  “No.” Dad sighed. “From what I gather, that’s a relatively new development. I don’t think they did that for previous takeovers.”

  “And that’s probably why he lost all his brothers and father,” she said. And probably why the House of Jericho decided to make a pre-emptive strike. She flinched.

  “This Thane. Is he a cruel man?” Dad asked.

  “No,” she answered without thinking.

  He nodded as if she answered more than one question.

  God she used to hate when he did that. Instead, she just wanted to hug him again. She pushed away from the table. “I need to get my horse.”

  Both men raised their eyebrows.

  “You’ll understand when you meet her. I can’t leave her.”

  “She’s not going to fit on a kayak,” Tommy said.

  She frowned. Her brother had a point.

  “She’s not going on a kayak, Tom,” Dad said.

  She wasn’t?

  “She’s going on the boat,” he continued. “With us.”

  Her brother and father stood.

  “We just found you,” Dad said.

  “Technically, I found you…”

  Tommy grunted.

  “We’re not losing you again,” Dad said.

  Although she’d taken care of herself since the Arkavian apocalypse destroyed their world and survived, his words sent warmth rushing through her body. She wasn’t alone. Her family was here. She was loved.

  Yet…

  Yet a pit in her stomach told her what her heart already knew. She was still missing something. Someone.

  Thane.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Tumbleweeds Needed

  Sugar nickered when Taya approached the shed. The sun dipped behind the trees and cast her into a world of shadows. The cold condensed her breath in little puffs of air, and the sharp pine and ocean scent burned her nose. Her dad and brother waited on the sailboat, not wanting some “dog fucker” to steal the fully loaded vessel.

  Her dad had the oddest sayings sometimes and now it all made sense. He was a descendent of Arkavia, like her. An alien.

  She clucked her tongue. Sugar stomped her hooves a couple of times and settled.

  Taya smiled and unlatched the shed door.

  “I knew you’d return for that stupid horse,” Julian said.

  Taya whipped around.

  Thane’s brother stepped from the dark shadows between two identical storage sheds, swords drawn.

  She pulled her magic close and her shield snapped in place.

  “Thane finally detached himself from his shadow and we didn’t have to do a thing,” he said.

  “Why are you here?” Taya unsheathed her swords. Lightning danced along the blades and their power screeched for blood. They demanded she quench their thirst. She merged her magic with theirs and promised them victory.

  “That should be obvious.”

  Three more Arkavian soldiers stepped from the shadows. Julian must’ve shielded them. She would’ve sensed them otherwise. She recognized the men—Orrin, Chadwick and Steele—Julian’s henchmen. They followed him around like evil, lost puppies and did his bidding whenever the jobs were too dirty for even Julian to carry out.

  They weren’t friends of hers.

  The men stepped forward.

  “I know what you plan to do,” she said. She was earthen, not stupid. “I want to know why.”

  “You killed Lord Gale. He was important to house business,” Julian said.

  If they knew her actions, they must know who ordered them. Her lungs constricted. Pain streaked across her chest. The thought of losing Thane cut deep. “Did you kill Thane?”

  “No.”

  She nearly staggered in relief, but this was not the time or place to show weakness. Thane was alive. Everything would be okay.

  Julian continued as if he had no idea how much that single word affected her. “Thane will live and remain ignorant, but you must pay.”

  Ah, they didn’t know she already knew about the connection between Raiden and Jericho. Nor did they realize she’d told Thane all about it. They were in for a big surprise, unless…

  Unless Thane didn’t confront them.

  Her stomach sunk. Thane wasn’t a coward…was he?

  “Are you sure you’re not trying to kill me because you don’t want Thane to get too powerful and realize how much weaker you and your father are?”

  Julian snarled and leapt forward. She met Julian’s attack. Metal clanged, sparks flew. She danced between the men and she parried, blocked, and dodged their attacks. A sharp edge caught her midsection. She spun away and slashed out. Orrin groaned and fell back.

  A shadow loomed over her. She turned too late to block Steele’s attack.

  The shed door slammed open, smacking Steele in the face. Bone crunched. Steele crumpled to the ground. Sugar charged out of the shed and reared up, kicking her front legs out.

  “Good girl.” She turned toward Julian. His sword swung down. Light reflected off the blade.

  Someone barrelled into Julian before his sword connected. The two men rolled away from her.

  Tommy!

  Chadwick surged forward and attacked her. They exchanged a whirlwind of blows and strikes. She turned and sank her blade deep into his gut and pulled the sword free. He collapsed forward with a groan. Blood spurted from the lethal wound and Chadwick fell to the ground.

  The fight doesn’t often last long enough to go to the ground when sharp edges are involved, Thane said.

  She turned to her brother. Julian staggered to his feet, blood dripping down his face. Her brother lay prone at his feet.

  No!

  Julian studied her brother and his gaze snagged on something—the ring.

  “The House of Ilta,” Julian growled. “I should’ve known.”

  She jogged toward them.

  Julian held his hand out, palm toward her. His magic clamped on her body like a vise. Dark and twisted, it pressed
against her shield, and tried to crush her.

  Taya snarled and pumped more energy into the barrier protecting her mind. Sweat dripped down her face.

  Julian flashed his teeth and the magic clamp intensified, lashing against the shield in wave after corrupted wave.

  A dark shadow moved in the periphery of her vision. Orrin? Steele? They’d stab her in the back.

  Sugar? The horse wouldn’t realize Julian attacked her.

  Dad? Please, no. She couldn’t lose them both.

  Taya couldn’t move. She couldn’t feel. She needed to be strong and break the hold of the magically enhanced dark practitioner of Tarka power. She grit her teeth. Pain erupted behind her eyes. The clamp tightened, crushing her shield.

  Suddenly the pressure released. Startled, she shook her head and stumbled forward.

  A glowing white sword tip protruded from Julian’s chest. His eyes widened. His body slumped forward and fell off the blade with a sickening wet sound.

  Thane stood behind him, expression murderous.

  “You stabbed your brother in the back?”

  “Nothing he and my father haven’t done to me countless times.” Thane flicked blood from his blade. “He didn’t deserve an honourable death.”

  She nodded. He might’ve said more, but she ran to her brother’s side. She slid the final distance to him, spraying dirt against his prone legs. Blood pooled under his body. His breathing was shallow, but present. She brushed his platinum-blond hair slick with sweat off his face, and his eyelids fluttered open.

  “You can’t leave me now,” she said. “We just found each other again.”

  His lips twitched in an attempt at a smile.

  She patted his body to find the wound. Everything was wet and her hands came away soaked with blood.

  Dirt crunched behind her. Thane approached.

  She looked up at his grim expression. “Can you heal him?”

  His expression remained serious. “A life for a life?”

  “What?”

  “Spare my life, and I’ll save his.”

  What the hell? She hadn’t planned to kill him and even if she had, this wasn’t a decision that required any deliberation. “A life for a life,” she agreed.

  Thane nodded and crouched to gather Tommy in his arms. “Your brother?”

  She swallowed. “Yes.”

  Thane closed his eyes and pulled his magic around him. Taya studied the battle scene while he worked. Thane had dispatched Orrin and Steele while she mentally grappled with Julian. He’d saved her life.

  Sugar stood nearby, munching grass, ears pinged forward.

  Footsteps slapped the ground. Her dad sprinted around the corner and skidded to a stop. His gaze scanned the dead bodies littering the area and settled on Thane holding Tommy. “Who’s that?”

  “Thane.”

  “What’s he doing to your brother?”

  “Saving him.”

  Dad sheathed his sword and turned to her, checking her body for injuries. “I guess you can’t kill him anymore.”

  “I guess not.”

  His expression softened and the tension from his shoulders eased away. “You’ll have to forgive him instead.”

  Never question your father, her dad’s voice played in her memory. I’m always right.

  Taya smiled and let the power of her shield flow away. “You might be right.”

  Epilogue

  To New Beginnings

  Taya sat on Sugar and glared at the portal. Thane drew up beside her on Hades and stopped. They sat in silence, letting the sounds of the forest wash over them. She’d left Dad and Tommy in Nanaimo to accompany Thane back to the gate. Her family hadn’t been impressed and argued for half a day with her, but she insisted. She needed to do this alone. Despite the privacy and time with Thane, though, they hadn’t spoken the entire trip. The long days gave her time to think about she wanted. Thane appeared lost in thought, too.

  She slipped from the saddle and walked toward the gate. Gravel crunched under her boots. Thane mirrored her actions and approached. His armour clanking with each step and glinting under the sun.

  “I was never going to kill you,” she said.

  “I wasn’t sure.” His mouth flattened. “I’ve seen your memories, your loyalty, and your love for your friends. Your need for revenge, even in a memory, was palpable.”

  “You expected me to kill you.”

  He clenched his jaw and nodded.

  “And you came anyway.”

  He nodded again.

  “To save me?”

  “You’re everything to me.”

  She swallowed and ran her sweaty palms down her dirty leather pants. When he asked for his life as payment for saving her brother’s, he’d given her an out from her promise to her friends. He’d given her a way to make peace with sparing his life even though she’d already decided she couldn’t live in a world without him. “What is it you want, Thane?”

  “I want to close the gate and stay here with you.”

  She waited, not daring to attempt words.

  “If you want me.”

  She took a deep breath. “Along with all that other stuff, you’ve seen yourself in my memories. How can you doubt how I feel?”

  Something intense flashed through his gaze and he gathered her in his arms. He kissed her and stole her breath away.

  “Um, can you guys maybe hold off on all that lovey-dovey crap until later?” Lokni’s unexpected voice sent Taya jumping from Thane’s arms and reaching for her blade.

  “Wha—?” She spun to face Lokni, Soka, Axel, Bertrand...and Adrianna.

  They grinned at her.

  She dropped her hand from the pommel of her sword. “What are you doing here?”

  “Defecting with our exalted master, of course,” Soka said.

  “Defecting?”

  “Speak for yourself,” Adrianna chimed in. “There’s no house left to defect from. I want to be with my friends…and…”

  Come on, say it.

  She drew herself up in the saddle. “And Lokni. I want to be with Lokni.”

  Wide smiles erupted across everyone’s faces. Lokni swung his arm over Adrianna’s shoulder and leaned over for a kiss.

  “Ugh.” Axel looked away.

  Bertrand scowled.

  Soka shook his head and tugged on the supply mule’s reins. The beast ambled forward, bumping into Lokni’s horse. Lokni drew back, and straightened in his saddle.

  “About time,” Taya said. Though she knew Adrianna had her reasons for keeping silent about her affair with someone not from Arkavian aristocracy, she didn’t need to maintain the lie with them. And not here. Lane couldn’t punish her.

  Wait. Adrianna said the house was finished. Taya turned to Thane, full of questions.

  “I killed my father,” Thane explained like it was no big deal. “And assumed control of the House of Jericho.”

  “It looks like you have a little more to discuss.” Axel slapped Thane on the back. “We’ll go ahead and make camp.”

  The group cleared out and left Taya staring at Thane, mouth gaping open. “You killed him?”

  Thane nodded. “I confronted him and he confessed everything. He expected me to accept it and fall in line. Like every time before. I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. Before he died he told me he killed Adrianna’s father and sent Julian after you as punishment.” Grief clouded his expression. “They’d sent the assassin who interrupted us after the wedding reception.”

  She nodded. “I figured that out. I think Alexis was meant to distract you.”

  Thane scowled, but continued. “When I dropped the body at Julian’s door, they assumed you’d sent them a warning message. The javelin arrow that almost killed me was meant for you, too. After the failed attempts, they decided to wait until they could get you alone. My arrogance and willful ignorance almost killed you.”

  She cupped his square jaw, his stubble rough against her fingers. “You’re not responsible for their actions.”


  “I have no wish to remain in a broken world. I want to build a new one with you.”

  “Here?”

  “You have asked me more than once what I want,” he said. “But what do you want? Will you have me?”

  She licked her dry lips. “Yes.”

  He leaned forward.

  Before she got lost in his dizzying kiss, she needed to tell him something else. “If you close that gate, you will likely lose access to your power. I will lose my power. It happened to my ancestor.”

  He shrugged. “Then I won’t be a Tarka, and neither will you.”

  “What about our bond?”

  His gaze flashed. “Our bond will remain. Nothing can break it. Not even a closed gate. It is more than magic now. It is who we are.”

  His words comforted her. Now that the bond had settled in place, the idea of losing it was almost worth closing the gate from the other side and staying on Arkavia. Almost. One thought of her brother or dad quelled that notion.

  “Why would you purposefully leave yourself vulnerable?” The guy struggled to cross bridges for fuck’s sake.

  He ran his hands up and down her arms, rubbing her woolen shirt against her skin. “I’m more than my magic, Taya. I never let it define me like my brother and father. You of all people should know that.”

  She snapped her mouth shut and folded her arms over her chest.

  He leaned forward, armour creaking. “Or do you only want me for my magic?”

  A smile tugged at her lips, but she refused to let him derail her from her questions. “What about my swords?”

  “They won’t shoot lighting anymore, but a sharp blade is a sharp blade and you’ll still be deadly with them if need be.”

  She nodded, but a small pain punched her in the gut. Losing the ability to merge with her swords was a huge personal loss, but a small price to pay for closing the portal and saving Earth from the Arkavian locusts. “What about next time?”

  “What next time?”

  “The next time evil Arkavians figure out how to open a portal to Earth?”

  “It took us a hundred years to reopen this one.”