Bonded to the Rakian Berserker (Rakian Warrior Mates #3) - Elin Wyn Page 0,53

slid inside the Archive.

A single room, divided by endless spiraling rows of shelves greeted them.

And no one was there.

Desperate for the slightest breath of Esme’s scent, anything that would lead him to her, Gavin shifted again, paced the perimeter.

Nothing.

“It almost seems deserted,” Jormoi said looking around. “For a place this big, running so much power, you’d expect layers of scent trails covering every surface. But…” He took another careful taste of the air. “I’m only picking up one, maybe two old men.”

Gavin shifted back, frowning as he studied the dust covered room. “The official we spoke to made it sound like the Archive was some great center of learning.” His gaze took in the neglected stacks. “But none of that matters right now.”

They both rechecked the coordinates from Kennet.

“This is it. This is what his satellites picked up. But I’m not seeing anything that looks like it would be consuming that much power,” Jormoi said.

“Neither am I,” Gavin answered. “But I can almost hear something.”

Jormoi stopped and they both listened closely, picking out the high pitched whine of electronics that was a constant annoyance on worlds that hadn’t learned to properly buffer their power.

It was there.

“Below us,” Gavin snapped. “It’s coming from underground. Rhela was right, there must be a passage somewhere in here.”

“Then we’ll find it,” Jormoi answered.

But nothing revealed itself to their search.

No tell-tell hollow sounding walls, no hairline cracks in the masonry.

With every delay the band around Gavin’s chest tightened.

He could still feel Esme under his skin.

And now she was scared.

Or he was scared for her, it was impossible to tell the difference any more.

In the depths of his own soul he could admit it.

This wasn’t just fear.

This was sheer terror.

“I’ll start scanning,” Gavin said. “You get back to Kennet, see if he can pull any more details from his satellites.”

He tapped his cuff twice, hoping that the scan would reveal something his senses could not.

And then he froze, mind startled into blankness by what appeared.

A long-haired black-and-white cat blinked into existence before him, tail neatly coiled around his feet.

Jormoi lowered his cuff from where he’d been about to contact Kennet.

“I thought the two of you could use a little help,” said Coracle.

26

Esme flinched as a wave of dizziness swept through her.

She knew that face, but not the long jagged scar that ran from his hairline down his cheek, twisting one side of his face just enough that she might not have recognized the man from her dreams.

But his voice...

That hadn’t changed at all.

The sound of it sent slivers of ice down her spine, until all she could do was shake, pulling her arms tight to her chest to try to control their movements.

“Aren’t you glad to be back with us, Diahann?” That voice crooned, velvet barely concealing the edge beneath.

“I’m not…” The words stuck in her tight throat. She coughed, forced the words to come out stronger, even if she didn’t feel it. “I’m not Diahann. I told you that before.”

The man shook his head slowly, eyes sparkling with malice. “You most definitely are, despite your lies. No matter what the savagery of the world outside, here, in my realm, things are run in a scientific manner.”

He began to pace down the wide aisle between the two rows of cages, to the end of the row and back again. Esme’s eyes followed, unable to look away.

“Did you know that your handprint is different than anyone else’s on this planet?” The man continued, tone suddenly light, as if he was teaching a class of children.

Esme shook her head slowly.

“Of course not. Outside the walls so much basic information has been lost. But here, we remember. Your handprint has been recorded, your footprint stamped. They were taken when you first arrived here, all those years ago. We’ve checked them, confirmed.”

He paused in front of her cage, looming over her.

“But I knew you.”

Esme looked at her hands, they didn’t look any different than they ever had.

The man was mad.

He must be.

Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, and she pushed them back, the familiar ache of her scar flaring into a sharp pain.

Mad… but she was starting to think he was right.

She didn’t remember.

Not enough.

But enough to believe.

Enough to know she needed to know more.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“This is where I’m building the future, and all of you are contributing in your own small ways.” He brought his arms back in an extravagant arc to encompass the room and quickly she forced herself to look away from