Catastrophic Attraction by Eve Langlais

Author:Eve Langlais [Langlais, Eve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eve Langlais

Chapter 12

“I’m going to need more details,” Casey demanded.

Admit his shame? His shoulders slumped. “I met Theona by accident in the Marsh.”

Accident? Not quite. But he didn’t know that until much later, after he’d analyzed every moment that led to the betrayal.

He’d come across Theona while on a return trip from the port city. He’d gone to see his brother, a man he’d found out only by accident when Darius came looking for a father that was no longer alive.

The paths back to the marshes were many and varied. Back in those days, they were wilder, too, with the Enclave having chosen to concentrate their protection more on the area around the city. Since the game was plentiful, and his grumbly vehicle more than capable of lugging a beast, when he saw some promising tracks, he chose to stop and hunt.

Roark perched in a gnarled tree, bow at the ready, when he heard the sounds of a battle. Snarls and screams. Human screams.

He’d never been one to stand by idly. Not after what happened to his father.

When he came across the ruins of a caravan that had been torn into by something with cruel claws, he’d meant to strip it of valuables and move on. Only he heard a noise.

Inside the crushed cabin of a tipped-over vehicle, he found Theona of the long platinum hair, the sweetest, soft smile. Her shy demeanor intrigued Roark. He did his best to coax her out of the bashful shell she hid behind.

Given she was terrified and abandoned, sobbing that her parents died in the attack, he’d brought her back to his home via a dangerous circuitous route that involved her being partially blindfolded along the way. Because being besotted with the pretty woman didn’t mean he was completely stupid. Only once they were in sight of Eden—a name he’d chosen because of some ancient text that called it paradise—did he remove the binding around her eyes.

“This is where I live,” he’d declared, sweeping his arm at the ruins he’d begun reclaiming a few years ago.

Inside the wall they’d hastily patched, the buildings jutted, jagged sets of teeth overgrown with vines and, in some cases, tumbled-down chunks of stone. Once upon a time the ruins had been a great city. He’d found a painting of it sealed away in a room along with a few other treasures. He’d taken over one of the most untouched buildings in the heart of it. Over the last few years, others had joined him. Like Jonas, who could fish like no one’s business, and his wife who did incredible things when she cooked it.

Then there was Anita’s father, Maurice, a gruff man who’d lost an eye in a mad wizard attack. The mad part being the fate of those who didn’t learn to control their gift. And even then, it was said the strongest disciplined sometimes succumbed the hardest.

People joined him. Believers like Roark who saw the same potential he did when he looked upon the remains. Planned how they could rebuild.

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