Page 20 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

Why live in rooms that had been built by Navuh, that had been decorated according to his taste or whatever interior designer he had hired? Now Losham was the king, and he could build his own palace that wasn't haunted by the spirit of the former lord of the island.

"You don't seem upset," Rami observed.

"I'm not. I'm already imagining the new mansion I will build to replace the old one. Something that will reflect my taste rather than my father's. I'm excited by the prospect."

Rami kept his expression unreadable, which was a particular talent of his. The male could be the perfect spy, and sometimes, Losham used him as such. He was quiet, soft-spoken, and in an organization that championed ruthless killers, he went mostly unnoticed.

"They destroyed the mansion to cover their tracks," Rami said. "They took whatever was stored in that chamber and detonated an explosive so no one would know that the treasure inside had been taken."

Losham nodded. "Naturally."

He didn't care that the clan had absconded with the chests. He'd never cared about what was inside them. Let them have their warriors in stasis, or whoever was entombed in those boxes. What he cared about was the other asset they had stolen from him. An asset that hadn't belonged to them and on which they'd had no claim.

Dave was missing in action, and so were the women who'd been reported missing from the enclosure before all hell had been let loose.

Losham didn't give a damn about the women. There were plenty more Dormants at his disposal to continue his father's breeding program, but Dave and the scientists supporting them were irreplaceable.

No ships had left the harbor, which meant that the clan had taken them, and the clan had no right to take what was the Brotherhood's property.

"It must have been the clan," Rami echoed his conclusion.

"Naturally." Losham exhaled. "They deployed an EMP to cover their tracks. It's the only thing that can explain the grid failing island-wide instead of building by building, and the comms going dark all at once."

"The surveillance network didn't work, so they could have done whatever they wanted."

"They also bombed the tunnel so we wouldn't be able to mobilize forces. Although it would seem that they were long gone before we even realized what hit us."

"It was a precaution," Losham said. "In case they didn't manage to get out as cleanly as they did."

"Bastards," Rami hissed.

"Double-crossing bastards," Losham added, and it was all he could add because everything else was blocked by the compulsion the clan compeller had placed on him.

"It was a coordinated operation." Rami spread his hands. "Blind the island, sever it in half, extract what they came for, and vanish before anyone knew there was a fight."

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Somewhere below them a generator hummed on, patient, indifferent to what it was powering.

"They took the dormant breeders," Losham said. "Along with Dave. I checked the records, and most of the women were related to the Eight. The others might have been their friends. I don't care about them, but I care very much about the Eight. The clan had no right to take them. Dave was a very valuable asset to me, and the betrayal stings. I have no idea how they found a way to cooperate with the clan, but they must have."

Rami nodded. "I know what Dave did for you. It will be difficult to keep things from falling apart without them."

Losham stood, because sitting had become intolerable, and crossed to the French doors, looking out at the harbor below. "Bertram's command held because of the Eight's influence. Every officer who might have made trouble was handled by Dave, and now they're not here to do that." He turned from the window. "They pulled the rug out from under me, and I'm left standing on the bare floor to face the opposition by myself. Every commander who was ever quietly nudged into compliance is now free to remember exactly how he felt before the nudging started."

A knock sounded on the door, halting their conversation, and Hakum leaned partway through the opening without fully entering.

"My apologies for interrupting, my lord, but Mazlen is in the lobby, and he's asking for an audience."

"Of course, he is." Losham didn't turn around. "Get rid of him."

"He says it's urgent."

"Everything is urgent to Mazlen." Losham finally faced the secretary, and his expression made Hakum retreat a step. "Rami will handle it."

"I will?" Rami lifted a brow.

"Yes, you will. Tell him I'm occupied, and if his concern is so urgent, he can put it in writing. Take two guards with you."

"Why?"