Page 46 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)

"Tell me something good," she said, looking up at him. "Anything. A story, a memory, something to take our minds off what's happening out there."

Elias was quiet for a moment, and she could feel him gathering his thoughts. When he spoke, his voice took on the cadence of a storyteller, the rhythm she'd come to love during their nights together.

"Once, a long time ago, I knew a man who claimed he could speak to birds," he said. "Everyone thought he was mad, of course. He would stand in the market square, surrounded by pigeons and sparrows, carrying on what appeared to be one-sided conversations."

Despite everything that was going on around them, Tamira was drawn into the story. The others leaned in to listen as well, desperate for the distraction from the chaos above.

"One day," Elias continued, "the king's prized falcon escaped from the palace. It was worth a fortune, irreplaceable, trained from birth to hunt. The king offered a reward that would make any man rich for life. Hunters and trackers searched for weeks, but the falcon had vanished. "

Another explosion interrupted, but Elias kept talking, his voice steady and calm.

"The bird-speaker heard about the reward and went to the palace. The guards laughed at him, but he insisted he could find the falcon. Having exhausted all other options, the king agreed to give him a chance."

"Did he find it?" one of the maids asked, caught up in the tale.

Elias smiled. "He stood in the palace courtyard and began to sing, not in words, but in bird sounds. Chirps and whistles and trills that made no sense to human ears. The courtiers mocked him, but he continued for hours, until his throat was raw and his voice nearly gone."

Tamira held her breath even though she knew it was a story meant to distract them.

"Just as the sun was setting," Elias said, "a shadow passed overhead.

The falcon circled once, twice, then landed on the bird-speaker's outstretched arm.

It turned out the bird had been nesting in the palace towers all along, too frightened by its unfamiliar freedom to venture far.

The bird-speaker had simply been telling it, in its own language, that it was safe to come home. "

"That's nice," Tula said.

"It's also true," Elias said, and something in his voice made Tamira believe him. "Sometimes the thing we fear most is the very thing that will save us. The falcon thought freedom meant danger, and it found safety by returning to what it knew. "

The metaphor wasn't lost on any of them. They'd all dreamed of freedom from their captivity, but now, faced with the chaos that freedom might bring, they huddled in fear, hoping their captor would prevail so they could return to where it was safe.

"Tell us another one," Beulah requested. "Please."

But before Elias could respond, another explosion thundered. Dust rained down more heavily, and somewhere in the darkness beyond their circle of light, something cracked ominously.

"How long can the mansion withstand this?" Tamira asked quietly.

"It's heavily reinforced," Elias answered. "It would take more than these explosions to bring it down."

But they both knew that wasn't really what she was asking. How long before the rebels breached the defenses?

How long before enhanced soldiers stormed through the mansion, claiming whatever they wanted?

How long before her worst nightmares became reality?

"I wish—" she began, then stopped.

"What?" Elias asked gently.

"I wish we'd had more time," she whispered. "In our sanctuary. Just the two of us, pretending the world didn't exist."

His arm tightened around her. "We'll have more nights like that. When this is over?— "

"Don't," she interrupted. "Don't make promises about a future that might not exist. Just hold me."

He pulled her closer, and she buried her face against his chest, breathing in his familiar scent.

Around them, the others found their own comfort.

Tula and Tony would have been wrapped in each other's arms if they were here together, but now Tula sat with Sarah, their hands clasped. The servants huddled in groups.

Tamira closed her eyes and tried to remember the feeling of safety she'd once taken for granted.

"Whatever happens, I won't let them take you," Elias murmured against her hair. "I promise you that much."

She knew what he meant. If the worst came to pass, if the rebels breached their sanctuary, he would give her the death she'd asked for rather than let her fall into their hands. It should have been comforting, but all she felt was deep, aching sorrow for the future they might have had.

The basement shook again, and somewhere above them, she heard the distinctive sound of gunfire. Not distant anymore, but close. Perhaps even within the mansion itself.

"They're here," someone whispered, and the fear in the basement became a living thing, thick and suffocating.

Tamira pressed closer to Elias and tried to believe Areana's words that Navuh would prevail, that his loyal forces would persevere.

She wanted to believe it.

She had to believe it.

Because the alternative was too terrible to contemplate.