Page 2 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)

TAMIRA

T he morning heat was already oppressive, and it wasn't even nine o'clock yet.

Not that Tamira was affected by it inside the lord's air-conditioned mansion, but she could feel the heat on her palm as she held it to her bedroom window.

Outside, the gardeners scurried across the manicured lawn like ants following invisible trails,.

Just like the household staff, they seemed to be part of an elaborate surveillance network that spied on every move she and the other ladies made.

It should make her feel important. If Lord Navuh believed that she was worthy of such scrutiny, he must value her greatly. But all it did was add to the suffocating sensation that had been her companion ever since she'd arrived at the mansion.

With a sigh, Tamira let the curtain fall back into place and turned around to look at her new prison cell.

The room was modern and sleek, all clean lines and sharp angles that made her long for the soft curves and warm colors of her quarters in the harem.

Everything here was black, white, red, or chrome.

Even the bed, with its leather headboard and crisp black and white linens, didn't feel inviting.

It looked more like a mausoleum than a place anyone would want to sleep in.

Then again, the alien feeling could have more to do with Elias's absence than the decor. It had been just one day since he had been taken to the hotel with Tony, and already Tamira felt like there was a gaping hole in her chest that only he could fill with his warmth and intellect.

How was it possible to miss someone so acutely after knowing them for such a short time?

A knock at her door interrupted her brooding. "Tamira? Are you ready?" Liliat's voice carried through the wood—if that was what the door was made of. Tamira wasn't sure. It could have been metal or a composite material.

It was red, like the bolsters dotting the white couch, and like the painting depicting nothing that hung over the bed.

"Coming," she called.

Smoothing a hand over the side of the too-short dress, she resisted the urge to tug on it to make it longer and opened the door.

Liliat stood in the hallway, looking just as uncomfortable in a linen dress that looked like something a maid would wear. "We are heading out to the garden. Do you want to join? "

"Of course." It was the only place where they could breathe freely without feeling like they were being dissected.

Tamira closed the door behind her and threaded her arm through Liliat's. "I miss our morning walks in the harem."

Liliat sighed. "So do I. Here we have to walk in circles around the backyard just to get some exercise."

The corridors they passed smelled of lemon polish and fresh paint. Everything was aggressively clean and perfectly maintained. Not a speck of dust anywhere or even a grain of sand, although the beach was mere meters away.

Would Lord Navuh allow them to enjoy it?

The harem overlooked the ocean, and they had a nice vantage point with a couple of stone benches, but they couldn't wade into the water or feel the sand between their toes. Perhaps Lady Areana could arrange an outing for them.

"I hate it here," Liliat said quietly as they descended the stairs. "I know that sounds ungrateful, considering the alternative was drowning, but I'd rather sleep in a tent without air-conditioning on the harem grounds than stay here until our quarters are restored."

"I know. I feel the same." Tamira laughed. "Isn't it funny that when we are finally freed from our cage, all we want to do is go back?"

"We weren't freed." Liliat patted her hand. "We were moved from one cage to another one that is less comfortable and more restrictive. "

They emerged into the blazing sunshine, and Tamira immediately felt sweat beading on her forehead.

The garden, if it could be called that, was another study in modern minimalism.

Geometric hedges, gravel paths, and a few sculptured trees that provided no shade whatsoever.

The only relief came from the fountain at its center—a contemporary monstrosity of twisted metal and cascading water.

The other ladies had already claimed spots around the fountain's edge, letting the spray mist over them.

Raviki had her feet in the water, shoes discarded on the gravel beside her.

Sarah sat with a book in her lap, though Tamira noticed that she was gazing into the distance instead of reading.

Beulah and Rolenna were engaged in conversation, but they were not as animated as they usually were when they got into discussing something both were passionate about.

Tula, though, seemed the most distraught of the bunch, which was odd. The female was usually a pillar of strength who provided support to Lady Areana, but now it seemed that the roles had reversed. There was something fragile about Tula's posture that went beyond her missing Tony.

"Finally," Raviki said. "We were starting to think you'd gotten lost in that maze of a house."

Tamira chuckled. "It's not that complicated.

" She sat on the fountain's edge. The stone was hot from the sun, but the water's spray provided a blessed relief.

"It's the eyes that follow us around that are distracting.

I was thinking about searching for hidden passages.

I bet our lord had some built into the structure. "

There must be a tunnel that leads from his house to the harem, and it has to be big enough for a vehicle because there was no way Navuh was walking several kilometers each way every day. And if there was a tunnel, there was also a hidden passage leading to it directly from his rooms.

"I miss the harem," Beulah said. "At least there, we knew every corner. Every hidden nook."

"Spoken like someone who's forgotten what it's like to live underground." Sarah laughed.

They all understood the irony; they'd spent centuries dreaming of escape, and now all they wanted was to go back to their familiar cage.

As Areana emerged from the house, the gardeners seemed to track her movements. Two of them immediately changed positions so they could be closer to the fountain.

"Hello, my dears," Areana said as she joined them. "I hope you're finding some comfort out here."

"As much comfort as one can find while being slowly roasted," Rolenna said. "There is barely any shade out here. I miss our gazebo in the harem."

"When do you think we'll be able to return?" Sarah asked.

Areana sighed. "Nothing has changed since we had the same discussion over breakfast. They are still pumping out the water, and once that's done, they'll need to assess the structural damage and begin repairs. Lord Navuh estimates a few weeks, perhaps a month. "

A month seemed like an eternity, which was ironic coming from a female who had lived for thousands of years.

"Have you heard anything from the hotel?" Tula asked suddenly. It was the first time she'd spoken since they'd gathered around the fountain. "How are the servants managing?"

"They're enjoying a wonderful vacation," Areana assured her. "The hotel is a serious upgrade from their accommodations in the harem, and they don't have to do anything. They can spend their days on the beach if they want."

"Can we do that?" Tamira asked. "I don't remember how it feels to dip my toes in the sand or the ocean, and given that we live on an island, that kind of sums up our limited existence here.

It would be nice to feel like normal people again.

" She snorted. "Not that I remember what that's like either. "

"Yeah. Me neither," Tula said.

Areana's gaze flickered to her, and there was sympathy in her expression. There was definitely something going on beyond Tula missing Tony. Something that the rest of them weren't privy to.

"I miss my books," Sarah said with a sigh. "I had just received a new shipment before the flood. Texts on quantum mechanics that I was eager to dive into."

"Your books are likely ruined," Liliat pointed out. "Water and paper don't mix well. "

"Don't remind me," Sarah groaned. "Thousands of years of collecting most likely destroyed. All those irreplaceable ancient scrolls gone."

"Not necessarily," Areana said. "The water might not have reached the library. We will know more on Monday. Perhaps I can even arrange a visit to the site."

That got everyone's attention, and even Tula seemed encouraged. "If the water didn't reach the library, our rooms might be okay to move back into."

Areana cast her a sad glance. "Even if that's true, the air-conditioning and other systems are offline. We can't move back until all of that is fixed."

"We should be thankful that we're all safe," Beulah said, ever the voice of reason. "And so is everyone else. Things can be replaced. Lives cannot."

"We would have been fine." Tula dipped her hand in the water.

"We are immortal. But I am thankful for the lives of all the servants that got spared, and not thanks to our lord.

He valued possessions more than lives, but then that shouldn't come as a surprise.

" She looked at Areana. "No offense, my lady, but I'm just saying things the way they are. "

Areana nodded. "I know. We all have our good and bad sides." She rose to her feet. "Would you walk with me, Tula? I think some movement might do you good."

"Yeah, you are right." Tula rose. "Nothing will make me feel better than circling round the backyard of our jailer like prisoners do in movies. "

Tamira watched them head toward the walkway, Areana's hand resting lightly on Tula's back.

"She's been acting so strange lately," Rolenna murmured once they were out of earshot. "I don't know what's gotten into her."

"Maybe it's the shock of what happened to our home," Sarah suggested.

"She probably misses Tony," Beulah said, but she didn't sound convinced.

"We all miss things." Liliat sighed. "But this seems different. She barely ate at breakfast, and I heard her being sick this morning."

The pieces suddenly clicked into place for Tamira with shocking clarity.

The nausea, the mood swings, the way Areana watched Tula with such careful concern.

But surely not. Tula didn't want to conceive, and they all knew how to prevent it from happening, even though Navuh forbade them to use contraceptives.

Still, things happened.

"You don't think…" Sarah began, apparently reaching the same conclusion.

"Don't," Raviki said sharply. "Whatever you are thinking, don't voice it." She tilted her head slightly toward where a gardener was pruning a hedge that didn't need pruning, positioned perfectly to eavesdrop on their group.

When they fell silent, Tamira's thoughts wandered to Elias again, wondering what he was doing. Had Navuh summoned him today?

The lord had called for Elias almost daily back in the harem. Whatever service Elias provided, it was clearly important to Navuh. Perhaps that meant she would see him today, and the thought made her heart race in a way that should have been alarming.

How had this happened?

How had a man she'd known for such a short time become so essential to her? Tamira had had countless lovers over her long life. Some she'd cared for, others had been mere diversions to break the monotony of eternal life, but none had affected her like Elias.

It wasn't just his touch, though that had been revelatory. It wasn't just his mind, though their conversations had engaged her in ways she'd forgotten were possible. It was something deeper, a connection that defied her attempts to categorize or dismiss it.

"You're missing Elias," Sarah stated quietly.

Tamira looked up, startled. "Why do you say that?"

"You get this look when you're thinking about him. Like you're trying to solve a puzzle that keeps changing shape."

"That's not a bad description of how he makes me feel," Tamira admitted.

"Getting attached to a human is not smart," Liliat said. "You know how this ends. "

"I know." Tamira dipped her fingers in the fountain, letting the cool water run over her wrist. "Believe me, I've given myself every logical argument and stern talking-to against it.

He'll age. He'll die. I'll be left with nothing but memories and regret.

But logic doesn't work for me in Elias's case.

" She shook her head. "It's difficult to explain.

It's like he's awakened something in me that's been dormant for centuries.

When I'm with him, I feel alive. My life before him seems like one long, meaningless dream. "

"That's scary," Rolenna said. "And beautiful."

"Both," Tamira agreed. "Definitely both."

As Areana and Tula returned, their expressions were neutral, guarded, but there was a tightness around Areana's eyes, and Tula's shoulders were slumped.

"I should go rest," Tula said. "If you'll excuse me."

She fled before anyone could respond, practically running back to the house. Tamira caught Areana's arm as she moved to follow.

"Is she all right?" she asked quietly.

Areana's smile was sad. "As all right as any of us can be under the circumstances. Don't worry about Tula. She's strong."

It wasn't really an answer, but Tamira knew better than to push.

They all had their secrets, their private pains.

If Tula was indeed pregnant, as Tamira suspected, then she was facing a possible heartbreak no female should endure.

Unless she had a daughter, her child would be taken from her like all the others.

In the beginning, daughters had been taken as well and placed in the Dormants' enclave to become breeders for Navuh's army, but Areana had managed to negotiate with Navuh for the girls to remain in the harem.

They still weren't allowed to turn immortal, but at least they didn't have to endure the abuse the breeders were subjected to.

"I think I'll go in as well," Tamira said. "The heat is getting to me."

It was an excuse, and they all knew it, but no one called her out on it.

She made her way back to the house, noting how the servants seemed to shift positions to maintain their surveillance. In the harem, they'd at least had the illusion of privacy. Here, every movement was tracked, every conversation potentially reported.

Back in her room, she lay on the bed with its black and white linens, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about how different this was from her quarters in the harem. There, she'd had her books, her personal treasures, and the lingering scent of Elias on her pillows.

Here, she had nothing but memories and the aching hope that she might see him tonight.

She closed her eyes and tried to recall every detail of their last night together. The way his hands had moved over her skin. The words he'd whispered in the darkness. The promises they'd made that they both knew might be impossible to keep.