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An amusement that had haunted him for far too long after their one day and night together. He had been unable to forget awakening from a deep sleep and finding her gone, his bed empty. He’d been angry that she had run away and curious as to why. But common sense had cautioned him not to follow her. And for many months afterward, he had wondered if she had somehow realized who he was—her deadly enemy—and had fled to warn her brothers of a mighty Ansara Dranir’s existence. But neither Dante nor Gideon had hunted him down and sought revenge for taking their sister’s innocence.
She did not know who I was.
Judah gently maneuvered Mercy so that she sat in the SUV’s passenger seat. He lowered the back of the seat until she was half reclining; then he fastened her seat belt. She whimpered. His stomach muscles knotted painfully. He hated the fact that after seven years, he could still remember the sound of her sweet, feminine whimpers when he had taken her the first time. And the second time. And the third…
After starting the Cadillac’s engine, Judah shifted gears, turned the vehicle around and headed back up the country road. He would take Mercy home, leave her there and return to Asheville. He had no desire to stay in the United States any longer than necessary. His place was at Terrebonne, the home of the Ansara for the past two hundred years. Once the jet had landed on the island, he would call a special council meeting. Cael and his followers had to be stopped before their foolish actions endangered the Ansara and destroyed Judah’s future plans to annihilate the Raintree.
Cael wanted to be the Dranir. Everyone knew that his older half brother believed he had been cheated out of the title by a mere chance of birth. Cael was first in line to the throne, a fact that greatly concerned Judah, who by now should have married and fathered a child. But while he could easily protect himself from Cael’s evil machinations, he hesitated to put an innocent child’s life in peril. Once Cael had been dealt with and the Raintree eliminated, Judah would choose an appropriate Dranira and procreate.
Within five minutes of following his instincts and driving toward his destination, the high iron gates protecting the entrance to the Raintree sanctuary came into view. Judah slowed the SUV, then hit the button inside the vehicle that opened the massive gates. Before driving through, he spoke quietly, reciting ancient words, conjuring up a potent magic. With Mercy asleep at his side, he drove onto the private road that wound around and around up the foothills, all the way to the top of the highest hill, where the royal family’s house presided over the valley below, like a king on his high throne.
Lights from the veranda welcomed them, informing Judah that someone inside was waiting for Mercy, possibly concerned for her well-being. A husband? Had she married another from the Raintree clan, or had she chosen a mere human as her mate?
What did it matter? Whoever was now a part of her life—lover or husband or even children—they would all become Ansara targets and would die with Mercy on that fateful day. Judah parked the SUV, got out and rounded the hood. After opening the passenger door, he lifted Mercy up and into his arms. She nestled against him, her actions seeming to be instinctive, as if she believed herself safe and protected.
Judah hardened his heart. He would not allow this beguiling creature to tempt him. She was only a woman, one like so many others. He had bedded her, as he had bedded countless women. She was no better. No different.
Liar, an unwelcome inner voice taunted him.
Cael cursed violently as he tore apart his living room in the seaside villa in Beauport, a place he had called home since Dranir Hadar had acknowledged him as his son. His unwanted, illegitimate son. He was the bastard from an affair the Dranir had had before he’d wed the beloved Dranira Seana. Judah’s sainted mother had died in childbirth, after suffering several miscarriages. Miscarriages caused by a curse put upon Seana by Cael’s mother, Nusi, an enchanting sorceress. Upon learning of her wicked little spells, Hadar had ordered his former mistress’s death—a public execution.
Cael clenched his teeth, anger from his childhood and from the present situation consuming him, his rage threatening to explode from within. How was it possible that Judah had frozen his telepathic abilities? How dare he do such a thing! His brother was far more dangerous than Cael had suspected, his powers far greater. If Judah could cont
rol Cael’s inherited talents, then he had to find a way to protect himself from his younger brother’s machinations.
Growling like a wounded bear, Cael shoved his fist through the wall, tearing apart plaster that shredded as if it were tissue paper.
“Temper, temper,” Alexandria said, her voice mocking.
Cael whipped around and glared at her as she stood in the open double doors leading to the patio. “You’re like a snake, Cousin, slithering silently about, sneaking up on unsuspecting victims.”
Alexandria laughed, the sound even deeper and more throaty than her gruff voice. “You’re not my victim, but from the way you’re acting, I believe you must be the victim of some vile magic the Dranir has conjured up to prevent you from warning Greynell.”
Cael stormed across the room toward his cousin. “What do you know?”
“Oh, dear, dear. Judah really did freeze your powers, didn’t he?”
“He did not!”
“Perhaps only your psychic powers were affected, especially the telepathic ones. You weren’t able to warn Greynell, were you?”
“Have you spoken to Judah?”
“No, I haven’t spoken to him,” Alexandria said. “And there is no official word from him. But Claude received a telepathic message from our revered Dranir, and I just happened to be with him at the time.”
Cael paused, a good three feet separating him from his uninvited guest. “You never just happen to be anywhere.”
Her lips curved in a closed-mouth smile. “I made a point of staying near Claude because I knew that if Judah contacted any one of us, it would be our dear cousin.”
“If you expect me to beg you for the information—”
“Don’t fret. I expect nothing from you now. But when you are Dranir, I expect to rule at your side.”
“As you will.” He closed the gap between them, reached out, circled her neck with one hand and drew her close. Close enough that his lips brushed hers. “You will be my Dranira.”
Sighing contentedly, Alexandria wrapped her arms around Cael’s neck. “Greynell is dead. Judah killed him to prevent him from disposing of Mercy Raintree.”
“Fool. Son of a bitch fool. He destroyed one of his own to save a Raintree. The council will—”
