Page 84 of Damien’s Mate

By the time he stumbled upstairs, still carrying the remains of a beer, he was so tired and drunk he was thinking maybe he’d fall asleep without noticing how empty the bed was.

Apparently, he was never going to be that tired, or that drunk. The sheets still smelled of Lila, and the big bed did feel empty without her.

Bring her back to me, he prayed to the God he’d ignored for so long. Just let her come back.

And then he did fall asleep.

And dreamed of her calling his name.

Chapter 34

Until the moment when the Lion Guard soldiers ran through the portal and came straight for her, Lila had clung to the fantasy she’d created from her father’s dreams.

Even then, even when Lieutenant Commander Rodan tried to take the artifacts from her and she’d had to threaten him with the magical protections, she told herself there was still a chance.

That the Lord High Commander would be different. That he’d show her the respect due both to her, and her father.

But deep down inside, it was all crumbling. All her dreams, everything she’d thought was true all her life.

That the Lion Guard was a family. That they’d welcome her home.

While all the time her real home, her real family, had been staring her in the face.

Damien.

And the Wild Bloods.

She’d been marched through the portal into a stone room with walls two feet thick, and then along stone corridors lit by cold glowing spheres of light. All around her were small signs of disrepair—cracks, water stains, bits of crumbling stone.

Apparently standards had deteriorated since her father’s day.

They practically shoved her into an office where a large, fleshy man, with a face lined in a way that said his life had been full of disappointments, was sitting behind a carved wooden desk.

She had a feeling he was about to get one more disappointment.

Lieutenant Commander Rodan said, “This is Harkim Durram, the Lord High Commander of the Lion Guard. Kneel before him.”

He dropped to one knee, as did the soldiers.

Lila did not. Sorry, Father.

One of the soldiers got up and came over, reaching out to push her to her knees. Oh, just try it.

Durram waved him away.

Before he could speak, Lila said, “I’m Lila Mondray, daughter of Kester Mondray of the Lion Guard. My father told me about you.” He had. He’d respected this man, and had raised her to respect him too. She was pretty sure that was about to end. “He said you were a brave soldier, a credit to the Lion Guard.”

“Did he now,” the Lord High Commander said. “How… gratifying.”

Lila went on, “His sole thought, since leaving the Guard, was to find the Calebite Artifacts and return them to King Coram of the Royal House of Makek-Dur, thus clearing our family name of the stain of treason. After his death, I assumed that responsibility and completed his mission. The artifacts are here before you.” She lifted the case slightly.

The Lord High Commander gazed at her, his lip lifting in a sneer. “King Coram is a tyrant, and the House of Makek-Dur is corrupt. They were corrupt twenty years ago, when we sought and failed to bring them down, and they grow more corrupt every day. Now that the Calebite Artifacts have finally been returned, we will be able to complete our mission.”

Lila felt the bottom of her stomach drop out.

“Hold on,” she said, looking from the Lord High Commander to Rodan and back. “You’re trying to tell me that you were part of the rebel forces?” She shook her head. “No way. My father would never have supported the rebel cause.”

“He did not know,” Lieutenant Commander Rodan said. “He was stubborn, and blindly loyal to the throne. It was annoying in a comrade, but it made him the perfect operative to find the artifacts. We knew he’d never give up.”