Drums in the Rain by J. C. Owens

Author:J. C. Owens
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 978-1-949719-28-4
Publisher: Etopia Press
Published: 2019-08-21T16:00:00+00:00

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Hredeen

Hredeen woke abruptly, as he always did, motionless. Some instinct, some faint memory insisted he was not safe, wherever he was.

He listened. There was the sound of his breathing, along with two other people.

He was lying upon someone’s chest, which rose and fell steadily in sleep, and the bed felt so familiar…

His senses went on high alert, and he drew a discreet breath, trying to scent his surroundings. He had always had an almost mystic ability to distinguish smells, most that no one around him could even begin to detect. He had used it to advantage more than once on his missions.

He hurt. The pain made no sense…

Memories came, harsh, inescapable, Taldan’s face twisted into madness, malice…

His breath froze, his body stiffening despite his training. It took every bit of will not to move, to strike out.

The scents he could detect confused him. He could definitely identify Taldan, but it was not the emperor who held him, who cradled him, holding him as though he were precious.

The scent was softer, almost familiar.

Raine.

His head hurt. Confusion reigned.

It was like the memories were some horrible nightmare, yet the pain his body bore proved that it was all too real.

What part was Raine playing in this? He was here. Did this mean he approved of Taldan’s actions?

Hredeen swallowed hard, then slowly, cautiously, opened his eyes.

The familiar surroundings made his chest ache.

Taldan’s room. A place of such happiness.

At least it had been.

The mere act of breathing hurt, and he fought back a moan as he tried to discreetly move his left arm. The ache within his wrist was no longer biting, harsh, but faintly throbbing, and movement set it to dull pain.

His wrist. Memory blurred as he considered how it had been injured. He tried to bring it up to where he could see it. He remembered it breaking, the unbelievable pain—now it seemed it was bandaged, the sharp, biting pain down to a dull throbbing. It felt almost…healed.

How…?

He lay there, trying to get his senses back. He had to leave, had to get away before Taldan did something incredibly foolish.

This had to be Hredeen’s fault. Something about him had driven his prince—his emperor—quite mad. What it was made no sense, but if Taldan could not act, then Hredeen would.

He forced himself to roll slowly away from Raine’s loose embrace, managed to sit up on the edge of the bed, blackness teasing at the edges of his consciousness. He cradled the injured wrist close, then gritted his teeth and slid off the high mattress, having to lean on the bed to stay vertical.

He cursed his weakness. This was little enough in comparison to the past tortures he had undergone. Yet something about this stole his strength, his will, leaving him broken more than the War Guild had ever managed.

Hredeen braced himself for that first step.

“Hredeen.”

That beloved voice, though harsh and cracked, was so familiar, so missed, yet now it sent a bolt of fear through him.

His gaze darted across the sleeping figure of Raine to meet Taldan’s haunted blue eyes.

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