Rise of the Gryphon (Belador #4)(88)

“You’re not interrupting,” Macha cooed. “How are the wedding plans coming?”

Wedding? This was more than a phony engagement.

Macha rattled on as if every word didn’t shove a knife deeper in his heart. “Ask Allyn’s mother to help. What mother of the groom wouldn’t want to play a role in his wedding?”

Tzader’s mouth dried up. He couldn’t look at Allyn without lunging through the ward to kill him, and he couldn’t look at Brina without admitting he’d never stop loving her.

Mumbling that he had to talk with Quinn and the other Beladors guarding the island, Tzader stepped away, careful not to fall when his vision blurred.



Brina gripped the door frame so tightly that her fingers were white. She had to hold on to something to keep from running down Treoir’s steps after Tzader. All the fury she’d bottled up for weeks while she’d waited patiently for Tzader to fight for her she now turned on Macha. “How could you do that to him?”

“About the wedding? He knows.”

Brina had intended to tell Tzader, at the right time, as part of her plan to outmaneuver Macha so that she could be with Tzader, the only man she’d ever love. But Macha had interfered, as usual. What exactly had she told Tzader? Brina shoved a furious gaze at the goddess. “You might have consulted me first before announcin’ my engagement.”

Macha lost all lightheartedness. “What are you waiting on? It’s not as though you have other suitors besides Allyn coming to the door, now, is it?”

“We had an agreement. I am upholdin’ my part. There was no reason to be forcin’ my hand, as I still have time.” Brina had foolishly thought Macha would help her and Tzader find a way to be together in spite of the warding, but the conversation had backfired when Macha had accused Brina of not allowing Tzader to move on.

Macha thought Tzader would turn his back on the love he and Brina had shared since their teens, but Brina believed in him. In her heart, she was sure Tzader would never give her up without a fight, even with their impossible situation with the ward on the castle.

Shrugging off any concern over Brina’s anger, Macha said, “You might as well plan your wedding, since I don’t see Tzader interfering.”

Under no circumstances could Brina step outside the castle and risk dying, but Macha had allowed a loophole in her agreement with Brina. The only way to take advantage of that loophole had been to devise a strategy that was a high-stakes gamble, but Brina would risk all for a chance to be with Tzader.

She’d convinced Allyn to act as her new romantic interest to push Tzader along more quickly since she’d been forbidden from telling Tzader about her agreement with Macha. The Goddess contended that Tzader had too much honor to tell Brina the truth if he wanted to break off the doomed relationship. He would never hurt her that way.

Much as it had pained Brina, she had admitted that he deserved a fair chance to make that decision. That’s when Macha had twisted the situation around on Brina, gaining an agreement that had cut her heart into pieces only Tzader could put back together. What a tangled situation that had gotten out of hand.

Brina had put all her hopes on Tzader not being able to walk away. But he just had. He’d said nothing at hearing she would wed another man.

No reaction of anger or hurt. Could Macha be right after all?

For the first time since agreeing to do her part in the breakup, Brina felt true fear of losing Tzader. He was her life.

How would she breathe without him?





THIRTY-THREE





The woman he loved more than life was going to marry someone else.

Tzader stood off to the side, waiting as Quinn gave directions to three patrols. Treoir Castle loomed a quarter mile away. Until now, this had been the land of his childhood. A place he’d expected to call home at some point only if Brina had to live here.

He didn’t want a damn castle.

He wanted Brina.

“Who kicked you in the proverbial jewels?” Quinn asked in his clipped British accent.

“Life.” Rather than answer the curiosity in his friend’s question, Tzader moved on to yet another problem. He was ruining everyone’s day. “Evalle’s missing.”

“What happened to her?”

Tzader caught Quinn up on the beast championship. “Macha’s ready to declare Evalle the enemy, but I know she didn’t willfully join the Medb.”

Quinn was quiet, staring off at the horizon. The man who defined style on casual days looked out of place in a long-sleeved dark-green pullover and jungle camouflage pants. He’d climbed out of a Russian gutter to become a financial genius and powerful Belador with mind locking ability like no other.

Releasing a stream of air, Quinn raked his hair. “How are we going to get her back?”

“I don’t know, but there’s another problem. Lanna.”

“What’s the brat done now? Destroyed Evalle’s apartment?” Before Tzader could reply, Quinn lifted a hand. “Tell Evalle to put her in VIPER lockdown. I told Lanna I would put her there if she caused any more problems. She’ll be safe until I can get to her.”

“I don’t know what she did, but she’s missing.”

Quinn’s face warped into that of a dangerous warrior. “Bloody hell, that wizard has her.”