Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(84)

Quinn looked down at the drawing of a map. He saw a house at the end of a winding drive. A beach cottage along the lake. “The orchard,” Quinn whispered, tracing the lines of the roughly sketched barn. “This is Imogen’s house in New York.”

“This confrontation you’re talking about forcing between Livia and your family,” James said. “It could happen in this place in just a few weeks. Your redheaded friend is already dreaming of it. She will figure it out and she’ll react. Do nothing and it will still happen. But it will be somewhere else. Maybe in a few months, or even a few years. And it will most likely happen at your home. My prophetic gut tells me forcing this version now will yield the better outcome than waiting it out.”

“Allie would help them prepare,” Quinn murmured. It was all coming together despite his reservations. It could work. If he trusted himself enough. If he trusted Allie to figure it out in time.

“You can do this, Quinn,” Santi whispered. “We’ll lead Livia there. She’ll have absolutely no reason to suspect they might be prepared.”

“When will this happen?”

“I see a blood moon every time I close my eyes,” James said. “This is about so much more than your escape. It’s about Livia and Allie coming to a head. It’s going to happen no matter what you do. But you can use this to our advantage. The next blood moon is in two weeks.”

“When we leave for New York, you get Lennox out of here and you two head for Cleveland as fast as you can,” Quinn said. “If everything goes right, you’ll never even feel the pull of your brands.”

“How do I find you once we’re there?”

“Go to the docks at Edgewater Park. Our sentries will find you.”

“Are we doing this?” Santi asked.

“I think we have to,” Quinn said. “When this is all over, I’m going to need you to pull me back. It’s never easy for a broken Immortal to come back. It could take years until I’m myself again, but it’s worth it to get us all out of here and put an end to this.”

“We’ll take it one moment at a time.” Santi stared up at him, her touch a soothing balm to his racing heart. “One breath at a time.” She took a step back, holding his hands.

“We better go,” Quinn said. “We have a lot of planning to do.”

“I trust you’ll keep me in the loop on a need-to-know basis?” James kicked the dirt over his drawing and made his way along the path through the woods. He would wander into his own dreams and wake in the morning remembering every detail of their conversations here.

“We begin tomorrow,” Santi said as she drifted back to her own dreamscape.

Quinn set off to his library to plan until it was time to wake. I am not Livia’s slave. I’m no one’s slave. It was time to take a risk. Lennox deserved a chance at life with a family that loved her. If we can get Lennox out of here, I’m going to see to it she gets a family of her own. And he had just the family in mind.

~~~





CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE





Sasha: Summer


The Chola Valley


“Going somewhere?” Mother Raghavan asked, stepping from the shadows of the northern gatehouse. Jayesh and Sasha had made it through the temple and across the entire complex without seeing a single soul.

Of course she would know our plans. Sasha gave the mother a bow of respect.

“You don’t miss anything.” Jay smiled. “It is time, mother. Don’t you agree?”

“It is time. But no one leaves my valley like a thief in the night.” She whacked him with her cane. “Least of all you, dear boy. Come give Mother Raghavan a kiss.”

“Thank you, mother.” Jayesh bowed. “For everything.” He bent to kiss her cheek.

“You have finally gotten the lesson this time, yes? You remember what must be done now?”

“Yes, mother. I will not be making the same old mistakes again. I will do the right thing.”

“If you don’t, I’ll bring you back here as Brother Jayesh.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He pulled her into a bear hug and Mother Raghavan giggled like a young girl.

“And you, Sasha El Sadawii. I am proud of the work you’ve done here. But I don’t want to see you in my valley again. You have important work to do, child. Go and do it, Senate be damned. Just remember no one expects you to be perfect except you and that hard head of yours.” She tapped her cane against Sasha’s forehead. “So forgive yourself for your mistakes. Learn from them and do better next time.”

“I will, mother.” Sasha bent to kiss the mother’s cheek. “Thank you for everything you’ve taught me. You’ve changed me for the better.”

“You changed yourself, dear girl. My valley is but a tool to help you do it. You best leave now. It’s a long way through the mountains.”

Sasha took Jayesh’s hand as they passed through the outer gates and into the sweeping grasslands of the Chola Valley.

~~~

“Quiet,” Sasha whispered as she crouched low along the hilltop in the growing darkness. Gen’s weave of protection had grown hot over the last several minutes; the henna-like patterns burned as a warning that danger lurked just ahead of them.