Page 15 of Taken By Fury
“My father was an archeologist,” she began, staring into the distance. “One day on a dig, in a city discovered in the Amazon, he found bone fragments. Of course, he brought them to me for testing but when I performed the DNA match…” she looked up to meet his dark gaze. “There was nothing in the database. It wasn’t human.”
He dropped to his haunches. “The Amazon, you say?”
She nodded.
“You knew it was a match to your own. Didn’t you?”
Again, she nodded. “I don’t know what made me run the tests. I mean, I knew I was adopted so I would not be a match to my parents, but for some reason I needed to test my own against this mystery DNA.”
“And?”
“It was an exact match. Whoever that female was, she was a very close relative.” This time, when she looked back up at him, the question must have lingered in his gaze. “Close enough to be my grandmother.”
“Well then, I guess the first thing we need to do is figure out who lived in the home you were in earlier. I would even go so far to say that family left here and settled in a village in the rain forest. The very one your father discovered. I would also wager it’s the same one we are looking for.”
“What are we looking for, anyway?” She still didn’t expect him to tell her, but it was worth a try.
“For your own safety, I cannot tell you until we have located it.”
She pushed herself up and faced him. “How about I simply stay here where I can learn more about who I am? That has to be safer than traipsing around the damn jungle where Zolar can find me.”
“Because you are still my prisoner. Do you not understand the implications of everything you did while with Zolar?”
“You mean what I did to survive and hide the fact I was the one he was searching for?” she snapped. “That implication?”
“Doesn’t matter. You knew you were one of us, yet you have refused to tell me anything about your time there and what you learned. I don’t think you realize you have committed treason against your crown, and until we can have a hearing, you go where I go or go back into a cell.”
She wanted to scream at him. Punch him in the face, but there was no arguing with what he’d said. Sheila had sold her soul in order to save her ass all while the man in front of her, along with so many others, had suffered. She had done unspeakable things. She could have tried harder to fight, but she had been scared shitless. Something she doubted Zander would understand. He knew who he was. She was a fake. Had been her entire life and now she had no idea how to fix this or what to do next.
“When do we leave?”
He looked at the windows. “The sun is setting. Get some sleep, as we will depart at sunrise.” He looked back at her. “I assume you can find your way back to your room?”
“You’re allowing me to roam free?”
“It is your world and I’ve already proven you can’t get away from me.” Then he spun and stormed from the room, leaving her cold and empty.
She faced the goddess who sat so quiet and observing on her throne. Sheila wondered if Uuna saw all that happened here.
“I don’t know who I am anymore.” She wept. Wept for the loss of her humanity and everything she knew. Wept for the unknown future that lay before her. She was a demon. A Valarian but had no idea what it even meant. Did she have any powers like she had seen the king, queen, and Zander exhibit? She didn’t feel special. If anything, she felt lost.
Wiping her face, she looked up again and noticed something strange. She pushed to her feet to take a closer look. The stone had changed. Oh, it was still the same blue it had been, but now veins of silver threaded through it. Reaching out, she touched it with her fingertips.
“Why do I feel like this is significant?”
CHAPTER7
Every tear she shed cut at him like a razor thanks to the blood bond he now held. Zander needed to get this trip over with so he could break the bond and hand her over to his brother to decide her fate. Greydon could then extract any information the doctor had because he was done dealing with her.
“You look so furious,” Aimee said as he strode into the library, where she and his brother sat in front of a fire.
“She’s one of us.”
Both his brother and sister-in-law blinked, but it was Greydon who replied.
“Come again?”
“The evil doctor is a full-blooded Valarian.” He poured himself a drink, then sat in a chair opposite his king and queen.
