Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(83)
“Macha won’t get involved unless there’s a battle between the Kujoo and the Beladors. I’m telling you there’s not going to be a conflict in our world.”
“Oh, sure, you want me to believe the Kujoo are going to return to their time eight hundred years ago without first coming after the Beladors for revenge?”
“They have a better plan.”
She took in his relaxed air and matter-of-fact tone. His body language spoke of confidence. He was telling her the truth. “And you don’t want revenge for what Brina did to you?”
“Oh, I’ll have my day of reckoning the minute I get that stone. But payback won’t come from my hand, and Macha won’t act until she has reason. By the time that happens, the Beladors will no longer be a problem for me. A witch is already making plans for moving into Brina’s castle the minute she’s gone.”
“Why would you believe a Medb witch?” Now things started to make sense, but in a way that had her skin crawling. The Medb coven was behind the Noirre majik and must have been the power that had opened a portal to bring the Kujoo forward. Thus, the Medb were orchestrating the Common Enemy Syndrome of joining the Kujoo and Tristan against the Beladors.
“Why shouldn’t I believe the Medb witch? She got the Kujoo here and helped them figure out how to free me when Brina locked me away for no reason.”
Evalle really hated to stand up for Brina on this, but right was right. “You can’t blame Brina for sending you away after your shifting into a beast and killing people.”
His eyes thinned with fury. “I never changed into a beast or killed anyone until after I was sent away. Even then, I killed only as a matter of survival.”
“That can’t be right. I heard—”
“Only what Brina wanted you to hear. So before you get all high and mighty on Brina’s behalf, get your facts straight, babe. Makes you wonder what else you’ve been told that were lies, doesn’t it?”
If he was speaking the truth, then it did make Evalle wonder.
Tristan’s eyes took in her face. He dropped the snarl and said in a calmer voice, “I might be just like you if I’d been the only one free all this time, but I would know the truth when I heard it. Ask Brina if you don’t believe me. Her honor will force her to tell you the truth.”
“I plan to ask her, but you’re not helping the Alterants’ cause by trying to take the Ngak Stone.”
“I’m doing more for Alterants right now by going after that stone than you’ve done the whole time you’ve been free. When you get tired of being a lied-to misfit tagging along with the Beladors, come over to my side. I could use someone with your abilities, and you’ll be safe from everyone with me.” His voice softened when he added, “I’d treat you like the jewel that you are.”
She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit the idea of being safe forever had a certain appeal, but not with this lunatic. She’d given a vow to the Beladors and hadn’t taken that lightly. But Tristan was obviously leaving her alive because he believed she might help him gain the stone, and his offer opened the door for her to find out how to reach him. “If I do consider coming to you, how would I find you?”
“Put word out with the Nightstalkers you’re looking for me. I’ll find you. Otherwise, stay out of my way and don’t stand too close to a Belador once I have the stone. I’ll find you when they’re gone.”
“Thought you said you weren’t going after vengeance. The Kujoo would take care of that.” She didn’t hold many kind feelings about Brina, but Evalle would protect her warrior queen just like any other Belador would, and she’d lay down her life for Tzader or Quinn without hesitation. Tristan’s confidence in the Kujoo doing his dirty work troubled her.
“I’m not spending any energy on vengeance. The Kujoo will do worse than I could on my own,” Tristan said.
“Going to be a little hard to accomplish that if they go home the minute you get the rock, isn’t it?”
His smile was full of secrets. “The Kujoo have a plan to destroy the Beladors, and it has nothing to do with them touching the rock or with me battling Beladors, which keeps Shiva and Macha out of the picture. They’ve created a brilliant strategy with the Medb that will wipe every Belador from the earth, including their ancestors.”
Was he jerking her around, trying to convince her he was all-powerful, or was he really telling the truth? She saw a flaw in his proclamation of victory. “You can’t let them kill all the Beladors. You carry Belador blood. You’d die, too.”
“That’s finally the positive side of being half-breeds. The worst that will happen to us is to feel a weakening of our powers for a brief time, but Alterants will survive. Once I have the Ngak Stone, I’ll share my strength with our new clan of Alterants. We will survive and prosper.”
Why was he telling her this? He had to know she’d tell the Beladors as soon as she got free. Did he want her to tell the Beladors so her tribe would attack the Kujoo?
Did he really think that just because he was an Alterant she’d join his side if he was part of the annihilation of everything that mattered to her? “Brina won’t sit quietly while you do this.”
“By all means, tell her. Tell all the Beladors. The more the merrier. The Medb will be waiting.”