Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(50)
"Until I reunite with my gift, it is not safe for her to be out in the world. She will have her freedom one day. She understands that."
"She hates you for it, but she loves you enough to allow you to have your way. She will eventually tire of it." Livia shook her head in disgust.
“I believe you have a mission to plan, daughter.”
“Of course, Father.”
“Then I will see you when you get back. Call in any of the reserves you need. My resources are at your disposal, as always. Jayesh has just completed a mission for the Senate, in some godforsaken corner of Africa. He’ll be back home soon. You two can make quick work of this problem if you’ll stop bickering like spoiled siblings long enough to work together. I expect to see the queen back where she belongs. Immediately.”
Quinn and Santi sat in stunned silence for a long time after the ancient left the building, clinging together as they watched Livia resumed her stance at the punching bag. She drew on Quinn’s power until he was a breath away from losing control. Santi’s constant murmurs of encouragement kept him grounded.
With a last resounding kick, Livia burst the bag, the sandy contents running out like time from an hourglass, falling to the pristine white floor. Her shoulders sagged and she let out a deep breath, releasing her hold on Quinn for the moment.
His breath rattled in his chest, and Santi had to help him up.
“So now you know,” Livia muttered as they joined her. “I’m just as trapped as you are. But my father is deluded enough to think that because he doesn’t brand me with his mark that it doesn’t make me his slave. Come with me; we need to meet with my team to discuss our plan. I’ll need you both for this mission. We leave tomorrow night.”
~~~
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Sasha: Summer
The Chola Valley Temple
“Stubborn, arrogant ass!” Sasha paced along the edge of the fountain, waiting for Mother Raghavan to join her for their evening walk through her private gardens.
“What has you so frustrated this evening, Sasha El Sadawii?” the mother asked, surprising Sasha with her silent footsteps. “No doubt, Jayesh again?”
“The man is impossible to work with, mother.” Sasha sighed. “Every time it seems we are making progress, he pulls away and we’re back at square one again. I’ve tried, mother. I’ve really tried to make this work, but I’m afraid we’re just spinning our wheels.”
“Come, child. Let’s walk in silence for a while. When you find you can again see the beauty of this world, rather than the turmoil of your own thoughts, we will talk.”
Most of her evenings with Mother Raghavan began this way. Sasha linked her arm through the mother’s and walked beside her. Fuming.
For a moment, she’d thought she and Jayesh were finally getting somewhere. And then he freaked out on me when I missed the shot. And then I freaked out on him. Since then, he’d kept his distance. Even during their shared training sessions, he was distant and aloof.
“We’re going nowhere fast.”
“Still not seeing the beauty of the garden?” The mother chuckled softly. “So caught up in your own mind.”
Mother Raghavan’s private garden was a veritable Eden on earth. Sasha knew she should be focused on the flowers blooming with their fragrant perfumes. The colorful fish in the murky ponds. The ancient statues capturing the most impossible of the kalari forms. The majestic trees towering over them. The squish of the moss-covered stones beneath her feet. This oasis should be the one place where she could leave all thoughts of Jayesh behind.
But still she itched to wrap her hands around his throat.
With her next step, Sasha took a breath, exhaling deeply, focusing only on the act of breathing. She felt her pulse return to its normal rate and the tension finally left her body.
“Much better,” Mother Raghavan said, patting Sasha’s hand where it lay tucked against the crook of her elbow.
“I am sorry, mother. I should not bring my tension and anger into this sacred place of peace.”
“Nonsense. This is what our evenings together are for, Sasha. You do not need me to tell you how well you are doing with the physical aspect of meithari. You are a born martial artist. You’ve trained all your life. This is all second nature to you.”
“Then why are we still stuck in phase one? I’m going crazy with the sameness of every day.”
“Meithari is the most important phase of your training here, child. It is the first stage because in some ways it is the hardest. The rest will come in time, but you will never succeed without meithari.”
“Maybe I’m just not getting the lesson, mother.”
“Perhaps you should try to see things from his point of view, rather than your own,” the mother suggested as they walked.
“He treats me like a child.”
“You are a child, dear. As much as it might seem like an insult, it is not. It is simply the truth.”
“Then what am I missing?”
“Jayesh has never known the kind of life you have. A family who loves you. Wealth. Status. Friends. Stability. Jayesh’s life has never really belonged to him. I believe he struggles to communicate with you because he simply does not understand how to talk to you. He’s made assumptions about who you are because your life is completely foreign to him.”