#19.
Brayden curled up on his side, his tears slid down
his face to soak into the dirt floor below him. He hated being here. He hated
being away from Quinlan and the boys, his family. To make matters worse Ormand
had taken his father away, and Thayer had yet to be returned to their cell. He
cried even harder as he felt the child within him move for the very first time.
Quinlan should have been present for this moment. How was he supposed to
protect his child if he couldn’t even look after himself? Things needed to
change. He had to be stronger if he wanted to survive this hell he’d been
thrust into.
Yesterday he’d listened as the guards and Ormand talked
outside his door. Ormand was explaining to them just why they couldn’t kill
Brayden—yet. His cousin also spoke of why the abomination he carried inside him
was necessary to carry on with the rest of their plans. How the leaders of
their little revolution had decided if they couldn’t destroy the race of ancient
ones, then they would control them. Brayden's child was the key to not only
ruling the new generation of the ancient ones, but it would also bring Quinlan
and the whole of Panthea under their thumb.
Brayden had to make choices, he could give up and
allow them to take his baby, or he could do the hardest thing he could think of.
Something that would take him away from Quinlan forever, but would save the
people from this new threat. Brayden just didn’t know whether he was strong
enough to go through with such a choice. He didn’t know whether he could leave
Quinlan all alone again, but there was no way Brayden would allow these people
who kidnapped him, to use his child for reproduction with whoever was forced
upon him to build an army of old world sentinels.
Brayden thoughts drifted to Quinlan as he slipped
into a troubled sleep.
**~*~**
Quinlan woke with a start. His heart beat rapidly
as he listened to the noises of the night surrounding him. He lay there trying
to work out just what had woken him. Rubbing his eyes to rid them of any
residual sleep he realised he’d been crying. His chest hurt, like his heart was
breaking in two. Quinlan ran his fingertips over his skin as it slowly dawned
on him that he could feel Brayden’s emotions inside of him. This must mean
Brayden was still alive. Was the informant correct in giving the directions to
the location of where Brayden was being held? If that was the case then he’d
have his heart back within the next two days. He’d already been too long
without his husband in his arms.
Something about this didn’t feel right. Quinlan
winced, it was like Brayden was hurting deep down inside. Panic flooded his
senses at the thought of something being wrong with either Brayden or the baby
he carried within him. His fear deepened, knowing he needed to talk to someone
about this, he got up and made his way over to where Fane was sleeping next to
the camp fire.
Quinlan knelt beside the sleeping man and studied
him for the first time. Fane Dalziel didn’t look as old as Quinlan knew the man
should be. Honestly, thinking back Lord Dalziel looked exactly the same as he
did when Quinlan was young. He wondered briefly why that was so, but had more
pressing matters to attend to right then and there.
“Lord Dalziel,” Quinlan gently shook the sleeping
man’s shoulder. Fane opened his eyes and Quinlan smiled down at him. “I need to
ask you something about being bonded with an Ancient one.”
Fane pushed himself up into a sitting position and
waited expectantly.
“This feeling we have for our mates—the bonding.
Does it let you know what the other is thinking or feeling?”
Fanes eyes widened, “What are you feeling?”
“Despair. I feel like Brayden is giving up the will
to live.” Quinlan pulled up a stalk of grass and held it between his teeth. “If
I can feel him, can Brayden also feel me? What can I do to give him some kind
of hope?”
Sadness filled Fane’s eyes, “I’m not sure. I’ve
also been feeling Thayer, but how’s that even possible?”
“What do you mean?”
“It feels like Thayer is drowsy, as if his system
is full of some sort of drug. I’m not sure I know how to explain. I just know
he’s feeling sad.” Tears glistened in Fane’s eyes. Ï shouldn’t be feeling
anything.”
“Have you ever felt this before?” Quinlan was
trying to work out what it could all mean. There had to be an answer to what
was going on with both him and Fane.
“Only when Thayer first went missing, at the time it
just felt like he was really tired. Though, since starting on this rescue
mission I could almost swear he is still alive and that he was drugged out of
his mind.” Fane’s tears fell. “I miss him so much. I should have died right
along with him. I shouldn’t have been able to survive the severing of our bond.
A life bond binds us body, heart and soul. How did I survive?”
“I don’t know.”
“Perhaps,” a voice came from the darkness and
Quinlan smiled as he recognised Javier’s voice, “is it possibly my father may
still be alive? If the bond was never truly severed, then that could be the
reason you are still alive?”
“What would be the purpose of keeping him alive all
this time if they haven’t used that knowledge against us? Why hold him all
these years?”
Javier shook frowned as if he was in deep thought.
“What if they needed something from him? Maybe it was something they could only
take if he was alive?”
“Like what?” Fane asked in disbelief.
“His seed,” Quinlan said in disgust as the
implications of what Javier had said sunk in. “Whoever took him must know what
he is. My guess is they want to make more of his kind.”
Talon came and sat beside Javier, “And now they
have two of the ancient ones, plus the child Consort Brayden carries within
him.”
Pain tore through Quinlan’s chest. “They can’t have
my husband, or my child. I’ll see every last one of them dead before I allow
that to happen.”
“Do you think it’s possible Thayer is still alive?”
Hope filled Fane’s eyes.
“It’s possible. I mean you still feel the
connection, right?” Talon answered.
Fane let out a shuddering sigh, “Yes.”
**~*~**
Brayden woke to someone standing over him, their toe
nudged him hard in the ribs. “Eat—that thing inside you needs food.”
Brayden stared at the food being offered for but a
moment before picking up the plate and throwing it against the wall. There was
no way in hell he was eating another thing they gave him. He refused to live
just because they wanted him too. This was his choice and he had made it—he was
going to die rather than give in to his captor’s demands.
“Go to hell!” He managed to get out just before a
fist collided with the side of his head and darkness came to claim him.
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