Page 46 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure (The Children Of The Gods #98)

AREANA

T here was only one thing that Areana valued enough to put in her purse before evacuating her suite, leaving everything else for her staff to decide on.

The hidden communication device was her most prized possession, and the one thing she had kept hidden from her mate for years.

Well, there had been some inconsequential harem shenanigans that she'd kept from him to protect people she cared about, but he probably preferred her keeping those to herself.

Communicating with her sister and their sons was a different matter, and if Navuh ever found out, it would push him over the edge he had been teetering over for thousands of years.

It was such a monumental effort to prevent him from falling over into complete madness, and sometimes Areana felt like she was losing the battle, but she had to keep trying even though it was exhausting.

Navuh was extremely powerful, and the amount of damage he could inflict on the world if she wasn't there to hold him afloat was staggering and terrifying.

Still, the ability to talk to Annani, Kalugal, and on occasion Lokan, was her lifeline, and she couldn't give it up even given the tremendous risk involved.

The problem was that she had to be close to the cliff for the communicator to work, and if they were relocated to somewhere else on the island, somewhere far from the cliff where the device couldn't reach its hidden amplifier, she wouldn't be able to maintain contact.

The thought of losing that lifeline, that single thread connecting her to the outside world, made her throat constrict and tears prickle the backs of her eyes, but she couldn't allow herself to show the emotional turmoil that she couldn't explain even by the disaster that they had barely managed to avert.

Areana was so grateful to the young shaman who had saved many who otherwise might not have made it, and to the Fates who had sent him to them.

She offered them a silent prayer of gratitude.

Navuh did not like it when she prayed to the Fates, so she never did that in his presence, praying in silence instead.

Despite his love and devotion for her, it was not a good idea to butt heads with her mate, especially not in public, but after witnessing what the guards had come back with, she was tempted to give him a piece of her mind.

He had implied that they had been sent to help rescue people, and instead they had rescued things, emerging with his salvaged treasures.

Ten immortal warriors, strong enough to carry multiple humans to safety, had been sent to retrieve possessions instead. What could possibly be so important that it warranted prioritizing over lives?

In their five millennia together, she and Navuh had made their peace with keeping secrets from each other.

It was the only way their relationship could function—him with his endless schemes for power, her with her small acts of mercy and rebellion.

But why hide treasures beneath the harem without telling her?

Did he think she would steal them? Tell someone about them?

The bitter irony almost made her laugh. Tell whom?

No one left the harem alive. Even Carol, Lokan's brave mate who'd risked everything to try to rescue her and helped her establish communication with Annani, was believed dead.

They had staged a suicide, Carol supposedly jumping off the cliff because of a broken heart, and Navuh had believed it.

Anger would serve no purpose now, though, and Areana forced herself to look away from the guards and their burdens. Instead, she turned her mind to gratitude, thanking the merciful Fates for granting them so much grace in this disaster.

Ninety-eight servants and twenty-two children were all alive and accounted for. Her ladies, shaken but unharmed. It was miraculous that in such chaos, with water rising and panic spreading, everyone had made it out.

She watched the guards loading the retrieved chests into waiting trucks, treating them with more consideration than the humans who stood shivering in the rain. The ladies remained under the tarp with as many children as they could shelter, but they were all soaked through as well.

The servants didn't even have that.

And yet, the treasure chests took priority.

Finally, three black SUVs arrived. The drivers emerged, each holding several umbrellas. They passed through the gates of the double fences surrounding the harem and headed toward the two tarps sheltering their lord and the ladies.

As one of the drivers offered an umbrella to Elias and Tamira, Navuh shook his head. "The shaman can travel with the servants."

"If it is not too much trouble, my lord, Elias should ride with us," Areana said. "He saved so many people, and I feel like rewarding him with a hot cup of tea."

Navuh turned to her, eyebrow raised. "My mansion doesn't have enough bedrooms to host him. He will have to stay with the others."

She had forgotten about the need to keep up appearances. Outside the harem, Elias couldn't share Tamira's bed. The ladies were supposed to be Navuh's concubines.

Areana smiled sweetly. "After I treat him to a warm meal and a change of clothes, he can be taken to where the other servants will be staying. Unless we can find him a bed in the servants' quarters."

Navuh nodded. "We can worry about accommodations later. Right now, he can ride with us and receive the royal treatment for saving so many lives."

"Can Tony come with us as well?" she asked. "You know how amusing I find him."

Navuh's jaw tightened, but he gave a dismissive wave. "As you wish. But he can't stay with us either."

They would have to figure out a solution for the two males, but she had a feeling they wouldn't be allowed to stay in Navuh's home. This would start rumors that her mate had worked very hard to avoid.

When Navuh turned to her personal staff who were huddled around them, Areana knew what was coming before he opened his mouth.

"Listen carefully," he said, his voice carrying that particular quality that meant he was using his gift. "You will speak to no one about the harem and what transpires within its walls. Privacy will be maintained."

Areana watched as the compulsion took hold. She could see it in the subtle relaxation of shoulders, the slight glazing of eyes.

Navuh grabbed an umbrella from one of the drivers and walked to the tarp that the ladies were huddling under. He repeated the commands in so many words, including Tony and Elias in his compulsion.

Navuh moved on to the servants next, repeating his commands to each group. He was so powerful that compelling over a hundred people, adults and children alike, was nothing for him.

Her mate was the most powerful immortal in the world, and he could have done so much good if he hadn't had his mind poisoned a long time ago.

Her hand found her purse again. At least she had this. For now.

"My lady," one of the drivers said as he walked over with an umbrella. "Your vehicle is ready."

She allowed herself to be escorted to the large car, settling into the leather seat with a grace born of millennia of practice. The interior smelled of expensive leather and subtle cologne, the opulence a stark contrast to the miserable deluge outside.

Navuh finished his rounds and joined her, water droplets still clinging to his dark hair. He looked oddly satisfied for a man who'd just incurred a substantial loss. It was going to cost him a fortune to restore the structure.

"Where are you planning to shelter the servants?" she asked as the vehicle pulled away.

"They will be taken to the resort's main hotel." He leaned back in the seat. "We don't have many guests during the monsoon season, and we can move the few who are there now to the bungalows to make room for the servants. I don't want them interacting with the guests."

Areana knew that the visitors to the tourist side of the island were not attracted by the weather.

She was well aware that her mate dealt in sex tourism and extortion, luring prominent politicians and businessmen to the island with the promise of fulfilling their fantasies, no matter how dark and depraved.

She just tried not to think about it too often.

"For how long?" she asked. "Can you get the pyramid fixed before the end of the monsoon season?"

Areana held her breath as she waited for his answer. She needed access to that cliff, and that meant that she needed to get back to the harem.

He glanced at her. "After the storm is over, we will assess the damage and see what needs to be done. The repairs shouldn't take more than a few weeks."

She let out a breath and nodded. "I hope the books in the library survived. It would be such a hassle to replace them. Some of them are probably irreplaceable."

"I know how important those books are to you, my love." Navuh draped his arm around her and kissed her temple. "I promise that everything will be restored to its former glory."

"Thank you." She leaned against his shoulder, enjoying the closeness.

In moments like these, she could almost forget about all the things that were wrong about their relationship and focus on all the things that were absolutely perfect.

The drive continued through the storm-lashed darkness. Without landmarks visible through the rain, Areana couldn't tell where they were going until the vehicle began to climb. Up, away from the coast, into the hills and then down again.

When they finally stopped, she looked at the sprawling mansion that loomed before them.

It was everything that the harem wasn't. Instead of being hidden underground, this structure proclaimed its strength openly.

High walls and guard towers at regular intervals, manned despite the weather.

Gates that would stop anything short of a tank.

She was sure that there were cameras tracking every movement even though she couldn't see them in the rain.

They passed through multiple checkpoints to reach the main entrance. Guards saluted as Navuh passed, their eyes carefully avoiding her. She wondered what they'd been told about the evacuation, about the women they would now be guarding.

When they stopped in front of the main entrance, the driver got out and opened the door for Navuh.

Her mate stepped out and opened the door for her himself, offering her a hand down while the driver held the umbrella over their heads. "Welcome to your temporary home."

"It's impressive," she said as she took his hand.

He smiled, pleased by what he took as a compliment. "The security here is as tight as that in the harem. You'll be perfectly safe."

Safe. As if that had ever been her primary concern.

The interior was modern and cold, all glass and steel and sharp angles. No warmth here, no attempt to create even the illusion of a home. This was a fortress, nothing more.

Still, she paid him compliments as they passed by the living room. He led her up the stairs and then through a hallway. "I hope the master suite is to your liking."

"I'm sure it is as elegant as the rest of the house."

He laughed. "I know that you don't like the modernist style. You don't have to pretend that you do."

"I'm surprised that you like it, my love. I always thought of you as a traditionalist."

"I am." He opened the door to a suite that was actually not as bad as she'd expected. "This was an experiment that I'm starting to regret, but I'll give it a few more months before I order the decorators to return everything to the way it was."

He'd never consulted her opinion about decorating his other residence, and it stung. She didn't expect him to consult her about the wars he was instigating, but he could have at least asked her opinion about furniture.

"I do not know how it looked before, but I prefer our residence in the pyramid. I hope we can return there soon."

Something flickered in his eyes—understanding, perhaps, or pity.

"I'll have the engineers assess the damage as soon as the storm passes.

If the structure is sound, and the water can be somehow diverted elsewhere, renovations will start right away.

You will have your palace back within weeks. A few months at most."

Months .

Annani would worry when their scheduled call didn't happen. She would assume that something had happened to Areana and might even mount another rescue attempt.

Fates, she hoped her sister wouldn't do that. It would only end in disaster.

"Thank you." She put her hand on Navuh's arm. "We should shower and change and then have a hot cup of tea."