Alterant (Belador #2)(32)
Tzader couldn’t enter Brina’s realm without an invitation and had to leave if she rescinded it.
She answered, You are welcome to enter, Tzader Burke.
And there he was . . . in hologram form. Still, Tzader’s presence overpowered the vast room, intimidating and protective all at the same time.
Black-brown eyes sharp with intelligence and a warrior’s keen gaze peered from a face so rich a shade of brown that his skin rivaled varnished mahogany. She missed running her fingers over his smooth bald head. He wore his usual black jeans and a gray short-sleeved T-shirt over muscular arms that hung loose at his sides with barely contained power. His fingertips dangled near the sentient blades hooked in his belt, but none of that could touch her when he was hologram.
His worry touched her, though.
For any hope of succeeding at Macha’s challenge, Brina couldn’t let Tzader know how much she missed him. She sucked her emotions in deep where Tzader wouldn’t discern them with those gorgeous eyes that took in everything.
Thankfully, neither he nor Macha could lift her thoughts.
She couldn’t read his either. Not since he’d become immortal as well.
Brina turned her back on him, stepping over to warm her hands by the fire. “What brings you here today?”
His confusion whipped around her, brushing her skin. She managed not to flinch when he said, “Aren’t you glad to see me?”
To empty her voice of any emotion, she drew on the frustration she felt each time Macha visited her. “Depends on if you’re bringing me a new problem or not.”
The hairs on her neck rippled at his silence.
Had she angered him? She kept her head turned away, afraid to see hurt in his eyes instead of anger.
When he spoke again, he asked, “What happened to Evalle?”
She allowed the flicker of jealousy over Evalle’s bond with Tzader to aid her, even though she knew Tzader’s interest in Evalle was no more intimate than Quinn’s. Brina drew herself up and turned slowly, determined to rip the bandage quickly and get this done one time and limit the pain.
She met his eyes with a passive gaze born of years practicing in front of Macha. “I can’t share any details of the Tribunal meeting with you, and Evalle is not your problem. I don’t wish to hear her name brought up again unless it’s to explain why Alterants are overrunning the human world.”
Her heart broke as all happiness to see her fled his face.
TEN
Stunned speechless, Tzader searched for the meaning behind Brina’s caustic attitude.
She acted as if this visit imposed upon her time. Why wasn’t she thrilled to see him when they hadn’t been alone like this in . . . months? He could only enter her castle in holographic form, but he was here, dammit, and had busted his back end to free up this much time.
And what had gotten under her skin about Evalle? Returning to his point, he argued, “Evalle is my problem. Where is she?”
When Brina spoke, her words tumbled out as flat and lifeless as the expression on her face. “As the North American Maistir, you have higher priorities than one Alterant, especially with close to a hundred more beasts having shifted, as of the last count I received.”
Tzader started to snap back at her but stopped. Brina had a temper, too. He wouldn’t find out what was going on with her by putting her on the defensive. “I have teams out investigating the humans that are shifting into beasts. I know my position and duties, neither of which is more stressful than yours. What’s wrong? Talk to me, muirnin.”
Her gorgeous green eyes quivered at his endearment. There was his girl, the woman he loved beyond all reason.
The brief emotion vanished from her gaze just before her face shuttered again. She pulled her shoulders back in the rigid stance she normally took to address her warriors. “Since you know your job, you shouldn’t waste your time—or mine—unless you have something more important to discuss.”
This couldn’t be happening. Not one to dance around a target, he finally asked, “Have your feelings for me changed?”
Waiting for her answer took an eternity according to his heart, which slowed to a painful thump . . . thump . . . thump.
She looked through him and plainly stated, “You can’t pass through this warding and I can’t risk leaving. We have . . . no future.”
What had crawled up her backside since the last time they’d talked? “We have nothing but future. We’re immortals. We have forever to figure a way around the obstacles our parents accidentally put in our way. They wanted us together. I want us together.” He stared at her, willing her to show him more than that dead gaze. “Do you still want us together?”
The question hit a nerve, if the tiny muscle that jumped in her neck was any indication, but her words held no emotion for him. “You have time to wait, but I must produce an heir—”
“Not right this minute,” he muttered.
“—to ensure the future of our tribe,” she finished. “You want to know what the Tribunal said? That Evalle is not to contact you or anyone else. As for doing your duty, you should be working harder to find the traitor.”
First she rags him about the Alterants shifting and now the traitor? She was just pissing him off. He didn’t need anyone to remind him of his duties. “We are working to find the traitor.”