Alex Wales: Promise

her entourage, wouldn’t make any difference to Elroy.

“Will she be okay?” Levi asked, approaching from the other side of the darkened corridor, interrupting his thoughts.

Damon shrugged as he turned around. “I’m not sure.”

“What happened to her?”

“She didn’t go into specifics.” Damon tucked the key into his pocket and stared at the young man who still looked frazzled. “I’m sorry that we didn’t get a chance to go check out the area, but I will soon.”

“It’s okay, I understand. Though, I don’t think Elroy will be as forgiving. He wants to see you. The Priestess would like to know what you read off the girl, if anything.”

“I realize that, but I’m not leaving Alex alone in this room. Not when-”

“I thought as much,” a familiar voice called, a second before Elroy stepped out of the shadows of the corridor. “So, I decided to come and see you myself.”

“What do you want now, Elroy?” Damon ran a hand over his face. He really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of Elroy’s accusations at the moment. He knew what was at stake, was well aware that two more of their people had been mauled and eaten, and he hadn’t gone over to check it out, because Alex had taken precedence over everything. He had agreed to watch her, and that included taking care of her when she didn’t feel well.

Besides, he had no idea of how to tackle the strong and very violent images he’d read from Laurie’s mind. He intended to speak to Aleena about it and seek counsel from her. Not only was the animal out of place, but he wasn’t sure if Laurie would make it out of this unscathed. The young girl hadn’t responded to his healing via the arcane, and he was definitely worried about the consequences.

Elroy glanced at the closed door and scowled. “I need to talk to the space traveler.”

“Her name is Alex. Can’t you call her by her name?”

He stepped past Levi, until he stood directly across from Damon and the door. “Unlike you, I don’t wish to get close and personal with her, so referring to her as a ‘space traveler’ suits me justfine. I’ve already told you to watch yourself around her.” Elroy paused, narrowing his eyes. “You should stop acting like a lost idiot around her and see just how much she threatens our way of life.”

“Did Aleena get close and personal with you?”

At the question, Elroy winced.

Damon suspected Elroy had probably been whipped, literally. Elroy was the only person who ever pushed Aleena far enough to receive such a punishment. Although, rumor had it that whips and chains were a usual part of their bedroom activities.

“Don’t ask what doesn’t concern you.” He peered at him with narrowed eyes. “Unless you’re jealous. Is that it? You wish the Priestess would take notice of you? ”

Damon almost gagged. He’d only ever seen Aleena as a mother figure, not as a possible sexual partner. Sure, she’d offered herself up many times, but how could he take a woman to bed who symbolized what a mother was supposed to be? He was an orphan, but she’d become his surrogate parent. Sleeping with her was out of the question, even if she desperately wanted to have his offspring.

Aleena was obsessed with his magical ability and wanted him to procreate, so there could be more like him within their society, since he was the only one. She didn’t even care if it was with other females, as long as he produced babies with them. He always refused, though. Having sex wasn’t the problem. He enjoyed that part, and it was enough for now. He just hadn’t felt the need to produce a child with any of the women in Eden, Aleena included.

“That’s really sick. You knowhow I see our Priestess,” Damon finally said. “Now, just tell me whatever the hell you’ve come here to say.”

“What I’d like to do is arrest the intruder.”

“On what grounds?”

Elroy snorted. “Isn’t it enough that a token of hers was found near the dead couple Milo showed me?”

“Do you have it with you?”

“No. Idon’t, but I’m sure youknow exactly where it is.” Elroy looked at Levi for a second, before returning his cold stare to Damon. He held out his palm. “Give it to me.”

Damon crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t make this hard on yourself, Damon,” he spat.

“Even if I did know where this mysterious token was, I sure as hell wouldn’t hand it over to you, so you can use it to pin false accusations on Alex.”

Elroy closed the distance between them. He might be a skinny runt compared to Damon, but they stood at the same height. So, when he overstepped his personal boundaries, Damon didn’t move an inch. Instead, he looked him in the eye and couldn’t help but smirk and feel smug, because the key was burning a hole in his pocket.

“Listen to me, Damon,” he hissed, some spittle hitting him in the shoulder. “I know you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to protect her, but I will get my hands on the bloody necklace. I’ll prove this traveler cannot be trusted, and I’ll make sure everyone knows about it. Do you hear me?”

His smile broadened. “I hope that wasn’t a threat, because you know what I can do to you with my ability.”

“Your witchcraft doesn’t scare or impress me. Do you understand?”

“I don’t care what does. I just need you to get the hell out of here and go do your job. Put extra security in the gardens, and ensure no one else sneaks past the barriers we placed. Isn’t that what you should’ve done in the first place to ensure it didn’t happen, again?” Damon paused for a second. “If anyone should be blamed for what happened, it should be you. Your preoccupation with Alex is clouding your common sense.”

Elroy snickered. “That’s rich. Don’t you try to spin this in a way that makes her look like an innocent bystander. Have you asked yourself why something belonging to her was there in the first place? Are you really willing to risk more of your own people because of some strange woman? What could the whore offer you that the many women we have here can’t?”

He didn’t even think about it before striking Elroy with his fist. This time, he didn’t put any magical force behind it, just delivered a hard whack to his jaw.

Elroy wiped the side of his mouth before blood dribbled from it. “Don’t you think it’s a little odd that some sort of wild animal is suddenly within our walls? We’ve never had such a problem before, not until she got here.”

“Don’t you get it? She’s been accompanied by someone every single moment she’s been here. She didn’t do it.”

“Maybe not directly, but who knows where she comes from, or who else travelled with her? Have you never heard of people who shift from human to animal?”

As ridiculous as the notion sounded, Damon had to give the suggestion a little credibility. Even if he hadn’t considered Alex would be travelling with someone. She’d seemed to be alone and hadn’t mentioned any crew or passengers.

“Did you search her ship?”

Damon shook his head.

“You’re going to be sorry you hit me, again.” Elroy turned around but looked over his shoulder to add, “Don’t think for a moment that this is over. When I’m done with her, you’re both going to wish she’d died when her ship crashed.”

Damon made another move toward him, but Levi stepped up and grabbed a hold of his forearm.