Gold: A Bandia Novel Part 13

"You two seem close."

Blake stands. "I'm not going to have this conversation with you."

"Why not? We're not together. You can see who you want."

His eyes get hard. "Is it that easy?"

"You don't get to care how I feel, Blake. Anyway, I have bigger problems than who you're hooking up with at the moment." My chest flutters with panic. If Portia is a Seventh Daughter and Blake is sleeping with her, have they bonded? The jealousy I thought I'd set aside is there at once, a parasite sucking my life's blood. But no, we almost bonded yesterday. I'm sure of it. He couldn't bond with both of us. I take a breath.

"The Sons landed in Dublin this morning," Blake says. "You have to leave."

"I'm aligned with the Sons."

"Not anymore."

"Now more than ever. It's Portia I'm not so sure about."

Blake's dimpled smile is there in an instant. It's mean to distract me. To mask the lie that follows. "Why? She's the daughter of our leader."

"She burnt down your house." I enjoy saying this way more than I should. It wasn't me.

His smile falters. I stare at him, daring him to deny it. He looks at the ground, running a hand through his hair. "What?"

"Portia is a bandia."

When Blake looks up at me, his poker face is back in place. "How did you figure it out?"

He already knows about Portia? He knows it wasn't me. He knows I didn't start the fire at Mallory's party. He knows and he wasn't planning on telling me.

I'm totally lost now. "You knew? You knew it was Portia who burned down your house?"

"Not until last week. After you left, I couldn't stop thinking about what you said. You were so adamant that it wasn't you. Then I remembered what you told the Sons during your induction, that you were a carrier of the Killian gene through Brom. And they never figured it out on their own. There could be others, right?"

It was exactly what I thought when I realized what Portia was. Blake is one step ahead of me. But it doesn't excuse the fact that Blake has known that it wasn't me who started that fire for over a week. Was he just going to keep letting me think that he still thought it was me? Or did he even care how I felt? Was he going to tell the Sons? Were they still hunting me?

Blake keeps talking. "Everyone at Mal's party was a breeder, and it made sense to start with the people who were there when the fire broke out. I got Dr. McKay to show me the tests for each of the breeders. There are only a few first generations, and of those, Portia is the only girl."

"So Portia was the only possible Seventh Daughter among the breeders."

"Right. Plus both her parents were seventh generation under Killian, which meant that she could've received the Killian gene from her mother's side too."

"And if Portia's mother got her Killian gene through Brom, as opposed to one of Killian's other children, then she was a sixth generation daughter of Danu."

Mystery solved. Portia started the fire. Why didn't he tell me?

"Exactly. But it wasn't enough. I had to get closer."

My mouth is dry. Is he trying to tell me that he is only dating Portia to find out the truth? "You've been spying on her?"

He looks at the floor. "I'm trying to help you. I still need proof."

"So you were just going to hook up with Portia until when? You got proof?" I feel sick. "And you weren't planning on telling me?"

"Because I knew you would freak out like this. And the less people who know the better. I need for Portia to trust me. If she knew I was here talking to you-"

I stand to face him. "So you're worried about her feelings? You let me think I burned down your house. You let me think you didn't trust me." I wish I had my powers right now. I've never wanted to strike him down more than I do right now.

Blake's eyes are dark. "I didn't."

Wow. It's nothing more than what I already knew. Still, it's like being hit with a flaming arrow straight through the heart and then having Blake rip it back out while I lay bleeding out in front of him.

The door opens with a bang. Austin stands in the doorway, his chest rising and falling with quick breaths. Two deep lines form at the bridge of his nose before he can mask it with a practiced look of haughty indifference. He turns to me. "Are you okay?"

Blake looks from Austin to me and back again. "What's he doing here?"

"He lives here."

The vein on Blake's neck throbs so hard it looks like it's about to burst. "You brought him back? I leave you alone for two f.u.c.king weeks and you brought this b.a.s.t.a.r.d back from the underworld so you could move in with him?"

"I didn't bring him back." The only person I brought back was you. And look how well that's turned out.

"Then how is he here?"

Austin raises an eyebrow at Blake. "Magic."

"Spare me." Blake's lip curls into a sneer when he turns toward me. "Looks like your hero is here to whisk you away. Or make sure you kill me. I can't be sure which."

"Stop it. Austin is helping me. You weren't here to do it. You're the one who sent me away."

"So I could find the other bandia," Blake growls. "So you could sleep with her."

Austin leans back against the wall, a smile playing on the corner of his lips.

Blake collapses on the couch. "You have no idea what you're even talking about. You don't know Portia. She doesn't trust anyone. It's no wonder, given the secret she's been carrying. I had to get close to her in a hurry, okay?"

I can't believe he's trying to justify this. "I know exactly what you're doing. It's the same thing you did to me."

Blake's face goes white. "It's not."

I actually feel sorry for Portia. Blake is using her in the same way he used me, to gain information for the Sons. Maybe without the artificial closeness of the bond, Portia will see through him. I hope for her sake, she does.

Austin steps toward Blake. "What secret is Portia carrying?"

Blake looks at me, fear in his eyes. "You can't tell him."

"I trust Austin." I realize it's true. I don't know how it happened, but I trust him with this. Austin is on my side.

"Him?" Blake's green eyes flash with silver. "Have you lost your mind? You know what he's capable of. What he's done."

"I do." I also know that Austin would never deliberately hurt me. Not now.

"I knew it." Blake punches a pillow. "You always wanted him. I could feel it when we were bonded."

Austin raises his eyebrows at me as if this is news to him.

"It's not like that." It sounds half-hearted, even to me. I wanted Austin in his office. No matter how I try and justify it.

"Isn't it?" Blake reaches for my wrist, sending a shock of heat up my arm before I can break the contact. "So you're on his side now?"

Austin closes the distance between him and Blake. "You are such a b.l.o.o.d.y idiot."

"For trying to help someone who would jump into bed with the guy who orchestrated my death the first time we have a fight?"

"For s.h.i.tting on everything that Brianna has given you."

Blake lifts his chin. "I could take her back. Maybe you haven't noticed, but our souls can't leave each other alone."

"Speak for yourself." We both know that yesterday I had been the one to walk away. "Go back to Portia. See if you can find out what side she's planning to stand with at the Gathering." I don't tell him that I intend to do some digging on my own.

"The Gathering?" Blake looks confused.

"The G.o.d of the underworld has opened the gateway here," I say. "He'll call the Sons and the bandia to the gateway, bringing them all together in one place."

"How can you trust him?" Blake points at Austin. "There's only one reason to bring all the Sons and Seventh Daughters in one place. He's trying to start a war."

"It wasn't me," Austin says.

"There's a new G.o.d of the underworld." I finger the horseshoe charm on my bracelet.

"How?" Blake asks.

"That's none of your concern," Austin says. "The better question is who."

"Who then?"

"A twisted, untrustworthy p.r.i.c.k who is not as patient as I was."

"His name is Liam," I add. "He's putting together an army to take out the Sons."

"An army of two?" Blake looks from me to Austin.

I should be used to Blake's distrust by now, but it still feels like a noose tightening around my throat. It's hard to breathe.

Blake has no idea how ineffectual our little army is, and I'm not about to explain how Austin's powers are diminishing every day. Or in my case, just gone. I straighten my shoulders. "Joe's going to arrange a meeting with Rush. We'll tell you everything then. For now, it's enough to know that Liam is recruiting, and we're trying to stop him."

"You can't tell Rush about Portia," Blake says. "He'll freak."

"What about Portia?" Austin repeats the question.

"She's a Seventh Daughter," I say. It's not only Blake's secret to share.

Blake glares at me with eyes that glow silver.

"Someone has to tell Rush." Austin's voice is quiet. "He needs to be prepared for the possibility that he'll have to fight his own daughter."

"Maybe not." Blake looks past me now, at the wall. "I could convince her to fight with us."

My knees shake. This is too close to what Blake told Rush about me not so long ago.

She's in love with me.

She'll lead us to the others.

I finally feel the anger I should have felt when I saw Portia and Blake together this morning. Only I'm not angry at Portia. I'm angry for her.

I bite down on the inside of my cheek, fighting to keep a tirade from spilling out.

Austin just nods. "Do what you have to. We'll need all the help we can get."

He's right about that. We need a bandia on our side. And I no longer qualify.

TWENTY-FOUR.

After Blake leaves, I go down to the stable and ask Malcolm for a brush. I climb into Panda's stall and groom her until she gleams.

"Going for a ride?" Austin hangs over the stall. "I could join you."

"You ride?"

"Autos are still a relatively new invention." He reaches out to stroke Panda's neck. "I've spent centuries in the saddle. After thousands of years of service, the horse is obsolete to many."

"Like you. A creature that has lost its purpose."

Austin studies my face. "Or found it."

I feel myself blush. I concentrate on combing a cowlick below Panda's mane. "A ride would be nice."

Austin takes out a bay gelding named Samson. Panda has to lengthen her stride to keep up, but seems to enjoy the challenge. At the end of the field, Austin turns Samson up the trail through the trees on the opposite side from the ocean.

"If we stay on the trail, we'll find the ruin."

"The ruin?" My breathing speeds up a little.

Does he know I saw him in the past? With Gwyn? Austin nods. "It's not as exciting as it sounds. A pile of rocks, really."

We ride for a half an hour before we crest the small hill. The stack of large squared stones looks smaller in sunlight, some crumbling, others still clinging to their shape. The stack is six feet all at the highest point, three feet at its lowest. It stretches for about fifteen feet before turning a corner and going about five feet further.

"What was it?"