Night Study (Soulfinders #2)(32)

“Don’t you want to freshen up first?” Leif asked.

A film of dirt covered Esau’s clothes. His shoulder-length gray hair hung in greasy layers.

He waved a hand. “There’s time for that later. I’ve spent the last fifteen days just imagining this invention.”

Leif led his father to the glass structure.

Esau exclaimed over the construction as he circled it. “Amazing. Wish I thought of it. The ability to grow the jungle anywhere. Marvelous.” Then he sobered. “Too bad it was used to grow Curare.” He ducked his head. “Wish I never found that blighted vine.”

Leif suppressed a sigh over the old argument. “The good uses outweigh the bad, Father. You know that.” No matter how many examples Leif and Yelena cited of the drug helping others, their father clung to his guilt like a child clung to a security blanket.

They entered the house.

Esau paused and drew in a deep breath. “It doesn’t quite smell like the jungle. What’s that sweet odor?”

“White coal to keep it hot.”

“Genius!” Esau walked among the plants, naming them aloud.

The Curare vine with its emerald heart-shaped leaves twisted through the greenery. Underneath the bushy canopy, the Theobroma trees grew. Their thin, brownish-gray trunks blended in, along with their long oval leaves. Tiny white flowers clung to the bark. Once pollinated, these blooms would produce pods filled with beans that would be dried, fermented and roasted, transforming them into Theobroma.

“Nice to see some medicinal ones in here.” Esau crawled through the brush with his nose close to the ground.

Memories of accompanying his father on one of his jungle expeditions flashed. Hiking through the underbrush, sweating in the humid air, climbing trees, collecting samples, Leif had trailed after his indefatigable father, who questioned him on the uses and names of every bit of greenery they encountered. And Leif had done nothing but complain of being hot and tired while scratching numerous bug bites. What a brat.

Leif had his father to thank for his knowledge of healing recipes. Those teas and poultices had saved lives and helped others. But he wouldn’t tell his father that everyone called Esau’s most prized and useful discovery “wet-dog tea.”

It didn’t take Esau long to find the crossbred plants in the hothouse.

“Odd. Very odd,” Esau muttered. He broke off a leaf, sniffed the sap and nibbled on the end.

“Do you know what plants they combined? What they were trying to do?” Leif asked.

“Not yet. It’s going to take a while.”

“Then I’ll see to the horses and fetch you some food.”

“Yes...yes...fine.” Esau scratched the stem with a fingernail and peered at the wound.

Leaving his father to his investigation, Leif groomed the horses, filled their water and grain buckets and checked the tack for wear. When he returned with a tray of fruit and meats, Esau sat cross-legged in the middle of the house. He stared in shock at the branch in his hands.

Leif rushed to his side. “What’s the matter?”

“This.” His father held it up.

“What about it?”

“It’s a cross between the Curare vine and the Theobroma tree.”

It took a moment for it to sink in. “You mean—”

“These people are trying to create Theobroma-resistant Curare!”





10


YELENA


Shocked into silence, I stared at Valek’s bleeding chest. His question bounced around my mind, searching for a place to settle. The deep cut resembled a heart—one half carved by the Commander and the other by Valek, creating a symbol of his love for me. Valek had chosen me over the Commander. A warm sensation swept through my body, turning my insides to goo.

“Yelena?” A hitch cracked his voice. He remained on his knees, waiting for my answer.

Valek’s face had paled to bone white. I’d never seen him so vulnerable.

Sliding from my chair, I knelt in front of him. I took his knife—still wet with his blood—from his hand and sliced my tunic open. Then I pressed the tip into the flesh in the center of my chest. Pain buzzed like an annoying fly. I ignored it as I carved a fist-sized heart shape directly over my thumping heart and between my breasts. “Yes, Valek. I will marry you.”

His tight expression transformed as joy sparked in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close as his lips found mine. Red-hot spikes of sensation shot down to my toes. My muscles shivered and my skin caught fire. The need to run my hands over his lean, powerful body pulsated over every inch of my being.

Far too soon he stopped. Before I could protest at the interruption, he pressed his chest to mine. My wound burned with the contact and with the sting of his blood mixing with mine.

“Till death. I do swear, love.” Valek whispered in my ear.

“Beyond death. My vow to you,” I said.

He drew back to meet my gaze. “So we shall be. Forever united.”

“We shall be,” I agreed.

This time his kiss vibrated to the very core of my soul. Our pledge solidified our connection, creating an unbreakable bond.

“Clothes...off...” I said between kisses.

The speed of our disrobement took what little breath I had away. But then breathing no longer mattered. My senses filled with the intoxicating smell, feel and touch of Valek as he lowered my shoulders to the floor. Nothing in life compared to being linked with him. Together we were one.