Raintree Read online

  Mercy sensed a frightening truth when she caught a momentary glimpse into Judah’s mind. The instant he realized she had invaded his thoughts, he cloaked them entirely, shutting her out. But not before she saw her own death. Death at the hands of her child’s father.

  “If you kill me, Dante and Gideon—”

  “Dante and Gideon are the least of my worries at the moment.”

  Puzzled by his statement, she glowered at him. “If you harm me, if you try to take Eve, my brothers will fight you to the death.”

  “The time is not right for others to know of Eve’s existence.” He grasped Mercy’s shoulders and shook her none too gently. “I have an enemy who would kill Eve if he knew she was my child. And many others who would take her life simply because she is a mixed-breed.”

  With his hands on Mercy’s body, he passed currents from within him into her, a physical and mental awareness that he could not prevent.

  “The protective cloak I’ve kept around Eve since before she was born has been penetrated,” Mercy said. “This was your doing. If you truly wish to keep her safe, you have to help me form a stronger barrier around her. Now that she is aware of you and you of her, it will take both of us to protect her. Will you help me?”

  “Do you actually trust me to protect her?” Judah ran his hands up and down Mercy’s arms, then released her. “After all, she is half Raintree and the Ansara have sworn an oath to destroy such children.”

  “She is also half Ansara, and yet I love her with all my heart and would protect her with my own life.”

  “What makes you think that I would do the same?”

  Mercy saw past the exterior steel crust to the center of Judah’s soul. Not a soft or pliable soul, not one easily touched by the pain and suffering of others, but a male soul. Strong, fierce, loyal, protective and possessive. He had been unable to hide that truth from her seven years ago, and he still could not.

  “Blood calls to blood,” Mercy said. “It is true of mankind, but even truer of the Raintree and the Ansara.”

  “If you knew I wouldn’t harm Eve, why keep her a secret from me all these years?”

  Mercy hesitated. She felt Judah probing, trying to invade her thoughts again.

  “I was afraid that you would try to take her from me,” she said. “I couldn’t allow that. If you had tried—if you try now—Dante and Gideon will join forces with me and stop you from taking her.”

  “They might try, but…”

  Mercy realized that Judah had seen beyond the obvious.

  Judah’s lips curved downward into a speculative frown. “Dante and Gideon don’t know that Eve is Ansara, do they? You were afraid of how they would react, perhaps afraid that they would kill her.”

  “No! My brothers would never harm Eve. The Raintree do not murder innocent children.”

  “Then who were you protecting by hiding the truth from them?”

  “I had hoped to protect Eve from the truth,” Mercy said. “I should have known that she would soon realize she was more than Raintree, and that eventually she would have sought you out and found you.”

  “Blood calls to blood,” Judah repeated her words.

  “Then we are in agreement—we will protect Eve.”

  “We will never be in agreement,” he said. “But for the time being, yes, I will help you keep your secret. It will be difficult, now that Eve knows I am her father. Because she is so young, she doesn’t have complete command of her powers, and that alone puts her in danger. Since she is unable to control her powers, we must do it for her. For her own protection.”

  “You are welcome to try. I’ve managed to subdue her powers from time to time, to keep them partially under control, but…” She hesitated to admit the truth to this man, this Ansara who could try to use their daughter’s unparalleled gifts against the Raintree.

  “Is her power that great?” he asked.

  Mercy kept silent, afraid she had already said too much.

  “Eve has equal measures of Ansara and Raintree power,” Judah said in astonishment. “She inherited your powers and mine, didn’t she? My God, do you realize…? Our child possesses more power than anyone in either clan.”

  “More than you or I.” Mercy bowed her head and silently uttered an ancient incantation.

  Judah grabbed her. She gasped, startled by his actions, not realizing that he had somehow figured out what she was doing.

  “It won’t work,” he told her. “You cannot use your magic on me. Surely you know I won’t allow you to—”

  Mercy focused, sending a sharp mental blow to Judah’s body, hitting him square in the stomach. He groaned as the shock wave hit him, then narrowed his gaze, burning through the shield around Mercy, retaliating with a searing pain that radiated from her belly. She cried out, then vanquished the fire inside her.

  “Do you truly believe you are as strong as I am, that you are capable of defeating me?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  He stared at her, apparently skeptical, unable to believe that her power not only equaled his but might surpass it. As they stood there glaring at each other, neither backing down nor escalating the battle, Judah studied her intently.

  “You’re different,” he told her. “And it’s more than that you’ve matured into the premiere empath that you are today. That was always your destiny.”

  She held her breath, realizing that he was on the verge of understanding a truth that even she herself had not wanted to accept.

  “Having my child changed you,” Judah said. “Giving birth to Eve increased your powers. You, too, are more than Raintree, aren’t you?”

  “No, I am not—”

  “Quiet!” Judah issued the order in a commanding manner. “Control your tongue and your thoughts.”

  “Why? Tell me—what are you so afraid of? Is this enemy of yours powerful enough to threaten your very life?”

  Judah ruled the Ansara, his power unequaled by any other, not even his half brother. He, not Cael, was the superior, the mightiest of all Ansara, but he could control his brother only to a certain extent and only for brief periods of time. Cael was at this very moment fighting the spell that had quieted his telepathic abilities. His fiendish curses were bombarding Judah, who knew he could not deal with Mercy Raintree and Cael Ansara at the same time. Both were powerful creatures, each his enemy.

  Cael’s thoughts converged into a jumbled mass of hysteria and rage, but as he fought Judah’s spell, he revealed more of his inner self than he realized. Cael was determined to escalate the impending war, the final Ansara and Raintree battle, and he had set events into motion that could not be stopped.

  Judah’s head pounded with the knowledge of his brother’s treachery—not only against himself but against the entire tribe. The Ansara were not ready for the final battle. Not yet. If Cael forced them to fight now, they could be defeated. And this time, they could not count on the Raintrees’ benevolence. Two hundred years ago the Raintree had allowed a handful of Ansara to live, one the youngest daughter of the old Dranir. It was through her—Dranira Melisande—that the royal bloodline had survived.

  “Judah?” Mercy called his name again.

  “Silence!”

  Do not issue me orders, she told him telepathically.

  If you wish to keep your child safe, protect not only your spoken words but your thoughts, Judah warned her.

  She stared at him but said nothing. Then he felt a shield lift between them. Even if Mercy knew nothing of Cael, she understood that someone—other than Judah—posed a threat to Eve.

  FOUR

  “That beast is not staying the night here at the sanctuary,” Sidonia said vehemently. “You cannot allow it.”

  “He is staying,” Mercy replied. “Until we can decide how best to protect Eve.”

  Sidonia grabbed Mercy’s arm. “He’s the one you need to protect her from. He is an Ansara, the vilest creature on earth. Pure evil.”

  “Hush up,” Mercy warned.

  “I don’t