Deserted (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 4)

When we reached the huge tent, all of the princeps were in attendance, along with many powerful families from various dynasties. Except, of course, for Tsuma and whoever else was already in a vessel on their way to the Delfora.

We all met in the middle of the dance floor; the sand-bound prisoners positioned above our heads. ‘Why have you summoned us?’ a male from Fret dynasty demanded, hands on his hips as he glared in Reece’s direction.

The response was a whoosh of energy as Reece withdrew his power from around the captives, allowing them to tumble to the floor. A few of them groaned as they sprawled on the hard surface, but Zena and Dally wasted no time, bouncing to their feet, ready to fight again. That was until they realized they were surrounded by powerful dynasty members.

‘We were ambushed by these traitors tonight,’ Reece said calmly, even while red sands whipped around him in a heated frenzy. ‘And while interrogating them, we uncovered a plan to raise the ancients’ gods in the sacred lands.’

More like confirmed what we’d already expected, but these leaders didn’t know that.

The silence after his statement was heavy.

‘Impossible,’ the Yemin princeps finally spluttered, rubbing a hand across the chest of his orange tunic. He was a tall, thin man with a completely bald head and arresting golden eyes. I’d met him once, but his name was evading me at the moment. ‘Those gods cannot be woken. No one can even make it past the securities, not without a massive source of energy, and since the most powerful of us are all here”—he waved a hand around— “who else could there be?”

When Reece focused his full attention on the princeps, the Yemin male took a step back. ‘Nothing is impossible with the right planning,” Reece said, his tone indicating he was about done explaining facts to stupid fucks. “This entire gathering was a plan to tap into the collective dynastic powers and use them to set this all in motion. They’ve already sent this power toward the Delfora, and it will keep building until”—his voice lowered ominously—“the power moon.”

There were gasps all around, but Reece didn’t let that deter him. “In half a dozen new-moons, a twin will form, and with that, there will be more than enough power to wake the ancients.’

Panic and disbelief were now the most prominent expressions, but no one argued again, knowing that Reece was not only not prone to exaggeration, he also had a connection to the Delfora.

“Tsuma was the one to suggest this meeting,” Yemin finally said, his body drooping, “after decades of staying out of our politics.”

Color us all surprised by that revelation.

‘So, where are they now? Why are you here and not stopping them?’ Those questions came from a tall, voluptuous Crani female whose gorgeous brown skin was highlighted by the gold of her dynasty. She crossed her arms over her ample chest as she glared at Zena. ‘Have you interrogated these traitors fully?”

‘We have enough information,” Reece said quickly, “and we are about to take off after Tsuma to hopefully make it to the Delfora before they do. There’s no point tracking them along the river they’ve chosen, because their gathered energy is shrouding their path. It would be a waste of time to follow them. Our only shot now is to take the fastest vessel we have and get into the East River.”

I had no idea of the dynamics on this world these days, but it stood to reason that many Desertlandians in this tent were not allies. And almost all of them could be stubborn bastards for no reason other than they were powerful enough to do what they wanted. With that in mind, I was prepared for the sort of backlash and refusals and arguments that could take hours to resolve. Hours we did not have.

‘We cast a vote,’ the Crani princeps said, her voice rising up. ‘Those who agree to Reece’s plan, raise your hand now.’

To my utter shock, almost every hand I could see went into the air.

Crani nodded. ‘That’s a majority. Do you need anything else?’

“Supplies—” Reece started to say before a familiar male stepped to the front of the leaders, all but interrupting.

Darin’s eyes were more intensely green than they’d been when we danced. He bore no obvious injuries from whatever had happened between him and Reece earlier, but with advance healing, that didn’t mean much.

“Did you want something?” Reece asked shortly. “We’re on a tight schedule here, what with trying to save the damn worlds.”

Darin’s lips tightened, but he didn’t bite. “As the princeps of the Guardians, I request that I and my Desertlandians be allowed to go on this journey also.’

‘No,’ Reece said in a hard snap of that one word. ‘I trust my family only.” He waved a hand toward one of the prisoners, who was standing with the others, waiting for their punishment. “We were attacked tonight by a Guardian.’

Darin’s brows bunched heavily as his expression grew darker. ‘They will be dealt with in the harshest of punishments. But don’t tar us all with the same brush. Rohami stand with the traitors as well.”

Reece’s expression indicated that he’d kind of hoped Darin wouldn’t notice that.

“We are Guardians,” the princeps continued, “and generally the ones who stand between the sacred lands and the rest of the worlds. I won’t fail at that again. You don’t know what you’re up against. You need us.’

Reece barked out a harsh laugh. ‘I could kick your ass all day every day and you know it. This is not my first battle in the Delfora, and no doubt it won’t be my last. We do not need your assistance.’

Darin’s let out a curse in their native tongue. ‘The sacred lands are our responsibility,’ he repeated.

Reece shook his head, and it was clear he would not budge on this.

“What if I take another vessel?” Darin changed tact. ‘We would stay behind yours and be backup only. You can’t argue with that.’

Reece wanted to, but with all the princeps and Desertlandians watching him—not to mention the metaphorical countdown clock ticking—he must have decided to try and be a team player. ‘Do not get in my way,’ he warned Darin. ‘And if you betray me in any way, I’ll wipe out your entire dynasty.’

A few gasps and whispered words followed that threat, but Reece and Darin were too busy locking eyes to notice any of it. At this point I was the one ready to kick some asses because we were wasting time in this redundant pissing contest.

‘I accept your terms,’ Darin finally said, breaking the tension by turning to a redheaded female beside him. ‘Ready our vessel and warriors. We set sail immediately.”

Without a glance our way, she hurried off, followed by the other Guardians who’d been in attendance. “I’ll meet you at the East River,” Darin said, and as his gaze met mine, I wondered if this princeps was playing games or not.

He didn’t wait for a response, striding after the others from his dynasty. “You should hurry too,” the Crani female said. “We cannot allow this to come to pass.”

“We’ll need supplies at the docks,” Reece said, before jerking his head toward the traitors. “And if you get any new information from this lot, send word on the sands.”

‘We will,’ she murmured, her pink lips tilting in a harsh smile. ‘There’ll be no more secrets between them by the time I’m done.’

This satisfied Reece, and then it was time for us to leave. The rest of us hadn’t spoken during the impromptu Desertlandian council meeting, and that silence continued once we were outside. With the warm winds having picked up a little, I felt the power surging much stronger than it had been when we first entered.

We needed to get to those docks as soon as possible.

Reece led us to the northern point of the Ostealon, toward the largest docking stations and our best chance of a speedy vessel.

‘Will they have the ship and supplies already?’ Mera asked, finally breaking this silence we’d been in.

At this point we’d reached the glass fences of the yards, the security at the helm of the gates opening them for us without question. Someone had sent word already, making it all much easier.

‘We will take whatever ship we deem the best,’ Reece said. ‘And I assume the supplies will make their way onboard at some point.” Despite his words from before, he clearly trusted the Desertlandian council to follow through on this promise.

As we passed through the gates, the guards dressed in ochre tunics, saluted Reece with the traditional fist to chest and then out in front. He returned the gesture, and from here, we were in the shipping yard with its sand bay—the quieter stream before the river systems.

This was the point Mera lost her shit. ‘Oh my fucking demons,’ she cried, grinding to a halt and clutching her stomach.

‘Sunshine!’ Shadow barked, reaching out to snatch her into his arms, but she sidestepped him before he could.

‘No, no, no no,’ she said in a rush, waving him off. ‘I’m not in labor, I’m seeing sands move like water for the first time.’

Shadow, who appeared to be having a stroke, if the pulsing vein near his temple was any indication, let out a rumble loud enough to shake the ground.

Mera realized at that point that she’d actually scared her mate half to death. ‘Sorry, babe,’ she whispered, stepping back to hug him. ‘I got caught up in the moment.’

The beast was beyond words as he held onto her like she was his life raft in the streams of sand. “We’ll meet you at the ship,” Reece called since these two—about to be separated during a dangerous time—clearly needed a second.

The rest of us made our way onto the docks. The ochre and gold sands swirled and pulsed about three feet below our platform. It had been a long time since I’d seen a sand river, and as I stared into the tumultuous depths, I felt a ridiculous sense of home.

‘Missed it?’ Reece’s warm drawl reminded me that he was the bastard who’d stolen this stream from me. For a beat I was tempted to push him in, only there was no time for pettiness.

‘Not for a second,’ I said baldly, meaning not one word.

He called me out straight away. ‘Liar. The circle around your iris darkens to a deep pink when you’re sad. No matter how well you’ve schooled your face, I can always tell.’

Dammit. This fucker. ‘You don’t know me anymore,’ I snapped, feeling trapped. ‘Don’t presume you do.’

I strode away, but I heard his last words. ‘I know everything about you, Lale. Everything.’

Whether that was true or not, the real question was… how the hell could I survive multiple moons on this ship with him?