Page 11 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)

"I named him Darien." She stared at the fountain, unable to meet Elias's eyes. "He was beautiful. Such a happy baby, always laughing." Her voice caught. "He was nine months old when they took him."

"Nine months?" The pain in his voice matched what she'd felt all those centuries ago.

"Lord Navuh is generous," she said bitterly. "Some boys are taken earlier. I had nine months to fall in love with Darien. Just long enough to memorize every expression, every sound."

"You never heard from him?"

She shook her head. "If he survived the training, if he survived the wars, he'd be a commander by now, perhaps leading raids or running operations. He might have passed through this very compound, and I wouldn't know him."

"The cruelty of it..."

"It's for the boys' own safety," she said, keeping her head down and her hair cascading down her sides so no one could read her lips.

"The lord claimed him as his son, like he does with all the boys born to the immortal ladies of his harem, but since none of his sons know who their mothers are, none can claim superiority.

Otherwise, they would kill each other. Or at least that is what Lord Navuh claims." She took a shuddering breath.

"I was just grateful that I didn't have a daughter.

At least my son had a chance at some kind of life, even if it wasn't with me. "

"It must have been so difficult for you."

"It was, but even Lady Areana suffered the same fate, with her two boys taken away from her as babies.

She convinced me that it was for their own good, and that in a brutal organization like the Brotherhood, whoever Navuh favored, the others would try to eliminate.

That's why he ignored even his own sons.

He treats them all the same, as if he doesn't care for them.

If he were to show favoritism, it would be like signing their death sentences. "

"I can see the wisdom in that," Elias said. "It's cruel, but sometimes we have to choose the lesser evil. There is a good chance that your son is alive." He offered her an encouraging smile. "I'll keep an eye out for a gorgeous man with dark hair and incredible blue eyes."

She nodded. "If you find him, tell him that his mother loves him very much, and that she still misses him."

"I will," he promised.

A door slammed somewhere, making them both tense, and she realized that the gardener who'd been watching them had disappeared.

When had that happened? The absence of surveillance should have been a relief, but instead it made her nervous.

In Navuh's world, being unwatched usually meant something worse was coming.

"We should discuss safer topics," she said, trying to recapture their earlier cautious distance. "Tell me about life in the hotel. How are the servants managing?"

"Well enough." He accepted the redirect, though she could see he wanted to pursue their previous conversation. "Many are treating it as an unexpected vacation. The children, especially, seem thrilled with the beach access."

"I envy them," she said. "To be so close to the ocean and unable to touch it is just another form of torture. Lady Areana is planning to ask the lord to allow us a beach outing. That would be fun."

"Yes. I wish I could go with you so we can enjoy the experience together. "

"Me too." Tamira glanced around once more, then lowered her head to hide her lips. "I wonder what's in those chests the guards retrieved. What was Navuh hiding beneath our feet all these years?"

He tilted his head. "That was a random change of subject. What made you think about the chests when you were talking about the beach?"

She frowned. Elias was right. It had been random. She'd thought of feeling sand under her feet, and for some reason, the memory of those chests had emerged.

"I don't know why I thought of them," she admitted. "Something about sand reminded me of the guards who carried them out. They were all wet and had breathing apparatus hanging around their necks. Or perhaps that was constantly on my mind. It's the mystery, I guess."

Elias glanced around, confirming that they were still alone. "Whatever was in those chests was important enough to build special storage for and important enough to risk soldiers' lives to retrieve it during the flood."

"Gold? Jewels?" She shook her head even as she suggested it. "Those wouldn't require such careful storage. Or such urgent retrieval."

"Documents, perhaps. Blackmail material. Evidence of his various operations."

"Not likely," she said. "He doesn't need to hide that. Everyone knows what the brothel is for. Whatever was in those chests was fragile. Did you see how carefully they carried them? Like they were afraid of damaging the contents."

"Or afraid of the contents themselves," Elias murmured.

A chill ran down her spine despite the oppressive heat. "What could Navuh possess that his own guards would fear?"

"Perhaps artifacts, devices, or materials from a long time ago. Perhaps whatever was in those chests was radioactive." He stood abruptly, extending a hand to help her up. "We've been out here too long. People will talk."

She accepted his assistance, trying not to cling to his hand longer than necessary. "People always talk. It's the only entertainment they have."

"Still," he said, but she heard what he wasn't saying.

They couldn't afford the attention. Their relationship balanced on a knife's edge, tolerated for now because it served Navuh's purposes, but not to the extent that it could expose the carefully maintained secret of the parentage of most of his sons.

"When will I see you again?" she asked as they reached the door.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Lord Navuh's summonses are quite predictable by now, but that doesn't mean that he will allow me to see you each time he calls for me."

"I hate this," she murmured, keeping her head down. "I hate every moment of separation. "

"I know." He reached out as if to touch her face, then let his hand fall. "Be patient. This situation won't last forever."

The door opened, revealing one of the household servants. "Lady Tamira," the woman said with a slight bow. "Lady Areana is looking for you."

"Of course." She turned back to Elias, forcing her expression into polite neutrality. "Thank you for the lesson, Elias."

"I remain at your service, my lady," he replied with equal formality.

She walked away without looking back, though every instinct screamed at her to run into his arms and to hell with the consequences.

The servant led her through hallways that were dotted with art pieces, but Tamira barely noticed them, her mind replaying every word, every careful touch she'd shared with Elias.

The chests haunted her thoughts. What secrets lay hidden in them?

She thought of Elias's visions, the betrayal he'd seen coming. Change was in the air, as palpable as the humidity that clung to everything on this accursed island.

The memory of her lost son ached like a fresh wound, reopened by her confession. Hopefully, somewhere on this island, Darien lived and breathed and fought, never knowing the mother who'd loved him with every fiber of her being.