Reap (Scarred Souls, #2)(54)

Talia shuffled beside me and I turned to her. “Why are you nervous?” I asked. Talia stilled and her brown eyes looked to me.

“I’m waiting for my brother and his wife to get here. They should arrive any minute.” Talia then looked up and met the gazes of her guards. The men were looking at her back, concerned.

The guards did not like me. They would stare at me with narrowed eyes and curled lips. I didn’t give a f*ck. I didn’t like them either. They were guards. All guards I had ever met were weak and unfeeling. They punished for their own enjoyment.

Though they seemed to like Talia. They tried to protect her. From what, I did not know. She never talked about her life with me. She never told me anything. I realized that since she had freed me from the basement we hadn’t talked of much at all. We had f*cked. I’d held her in my arms, but not much else.

I didn’t understand why.

I opened my mouth to ask Talia again why her brother freed me. Just as I did, a bell sounded. I lurched forward at the sound and the guards left the room.

When Talia and I were left alone, I reached for her arm and turned her to face me. I narrowed my eyes. “You are afraid. Why?”

Talia’s eyes darted to the side. Unable to stand it, I picked her up and placed her on my lap. I placed my palms on her cheeks and made her look up. Her bottom lip trembled. Unwilling to see her upset, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers. She whimpered into my mouth, her hands wrapping into my hair. Pulling away, I held her against me, the heat in her cheeks warming my palm.

“Talia—”

“Talia?”

I jerked at a male voice calling her name and jumped to my feet. I eyed up the male standing before me. He looked familiar. His hair, his eyes, his build.

The male glared at Talia. My hands fisted at my sides. My chest rose and fell. Suddenly, a female entered the room. Her eyes looked to me, then the man, and finally to Talia.

The female’s eyes widened when Talia’s hand fell on my arm. The male’s eyes narrowed and his head tilted to the side.

Why did I know him?

“Zaal,” Talia’s soft voice called. I pulled my gaze from the male’s stare to look into her face. She lifted onto her toes and pressed her hand against my face. She looked pale and my heart dropped. I didn’t understand why she was so worried. I didn’t understand what I’d done wrong.

“This is my brother, Luka.” Talia pointed at the male who had been glaring. “He’s the person who freed you,” she explained.

My eyes widened. My attention was naturally drawn back to the male. Talia’s fingers stroked down my cheek. I moved my gaze back to her. “Zaal, my brother, Luka, he is like you.”

I frowned and Talia edged closer. She placed her other hand on my cheek, cupping my face. I leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. I could feel her lips trembling. Her hands were shaking on my cheeks, but I felt every part of that kiss. Felt her intense sadness.

She was sad for me.

My stomach sank. It was as if her kiss was telling me that something bad was about to happen. As Talia broke away, she ran her hand down my neck, over my chest and down to grip my hand. Feeling eyes watching, Talia turned us to face her brother.

Talia brought us forward. Every cell in my body was alert as the man stared at me. He was dressed in a shirt and pants like Master. He looked like Master. The female behind him, the female with the bright blue eyes moved closer to the male who looked like Master.

Talia brought us to a long seat and urged me to sit. I followed her lead, but my eyes never left the male. He was tall, broad, and strong. He had scars on his face and arms. I looked down at my arms. They were like mine.

Talia’s brother and the female slowly sat on the seat opposite us. The room was filled with tension and silence. It made me want to get up and leave.

The male watched me, then turned to Talia. “How long?”

I tensed when the question came from his lips. Talia flushed red and bowed her head. “Awhile.”

The male’s face hardened and his jaw clenched. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

Talia was silent. The finger wrapped around mine tightened. The female next to her reached over and got the male’s attention. She shook her head at him. The male’s eyes focused back on me. His hard eyes flickered to Talia, but not for long.

I pulled on Talia’s hand and her head lifted. Brown eyes met mine and I stroked my free hand down her face to make sure she was okay. Talia cast me a small smile and turned back to her brother.

“Luka,” she said quietly, her voice timid as though she was afraid of what he might say, “Zaal has been free of the drug for weeks. He has been gaining strength each day.” Her eyes fell, then fluttered nervously back up. “That’s why he is out of the basement. He changed when the drug left him. I have … I’ve been caring for him.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve been with him.”

Talia glanced up at me and brought our joined hands to her mouth, her lips pressing a kiss to the back of my hand.

“Talia,” the female opposite whispered as though she was shocked, attracting my attention. She smiled sadly at her friend and then smiled across at me. But I watched the male. I watched his unmoving expression.

“Luka,” Talia said, her voice suddenly seeming more powerful than before, “I asked you to come here today because Zaal has started having dreams, flashes of people and pictures he can’t explain. He wants to know why you freed him from Jakhua. He wants to know where he’s from. He wants to know who he is.” Talia’s voice never wavered, and she added, “I know some, but not much. I thought this would be best coming from you. That’s why I called you here today. It wasn’t for any other reason.”