Gena Showalter: The Stone Prince

“Then we must talk, Katie,” he said. “I do not have much time.”

She nodded slowly. Yes, they definitely needed to talk. There was a lot they needed to work out, something she needed to tell him, her fear be damned. With every step she took away from him, she felt his gaze bore deeper into her back. In the bathroom, she locked the door and, like a teenager, sneaked out the window. Rain pelted her body the entire time.

Thunder boomed as she strode to the center of the garden. Heather was there already, waiting quietly. Neither of them had bothered with an umbrella, and they were both soaked to the skin in mere seconds.

“This is it,” Heather said.

Katie drew in a breath. Dark clouds hovered over white stone that formed the rounded curves of a woman. She wore an opulent robe, and a large, circular locket hung at her neck. She was beautiful, as beautiful as Jorlan, yet her beauty was breathtakingly feminine.

Katie’s heart raced with a staccato beat, and she wiped the rain from her eyes. “When did this arrive?”

“I’m not exactly sure. I noticed it from the road as we were pulling in the driveway.”

Shielding her gaze, she stared up at the statue, wondering what to do. This stone woman seemed eerily similar and had the same vibration of power Jorlan had had. Should she kiss the blasted thing? Before she could place her foot on the ledge to climb up, Heather gasped, drawing her attention. “What’s wrong?” she asked, even as she realized a strange man stood only a whisper away.

“Percen,” Heather said, conveying all sorts of emotions with that one name. Dread. Happiness. Fear.

The man ignored her; the storm swirled around him, and his pale, unsmiling gaze swept over Katie. Katie knew she should run, should grab Jorlan and demand he protect her, yet she also knew she couldn’t have run if her life depended on it. And it may have. Something cold and hard gleamed in the stranger’s eyes.

“Come to me,” he said, his hand outstretched.

“Percen, don’t do this.” Heather barked the order with a fierce determination she’d never before displayed. “You promised not to do this.”

“I vowed I would not kill her. I said nothing of hurting her. And after I make this concession for you, what do you do to me?” he ground out bitterly. “You choose Jorlan, but then, I knew you would. What woman would help me when she could help Jorlan?” He faced Katie and beckoned her with his fingers. “Come.”

Yes, she thought. Yes. Heedless of anything except his summons, she did as instructed. She was vaguely aware of Heather pulling on her clothes, trying to stop her.

“Katie, listen to me. He’s doing this to destroy Jorlan.”

Katie couldn’t make herself care.

“You will lose me if you do this,” Heather cried to the man. “You will lose me.”

For one second of time, he wavered, and a look of pure torture etched the lines of his mouth. His features hardened. “Did I ever really have you? Go get my brother,” he said, his voice cruel.

A FEMALE SCREAM TORE through the house.

Jorlan reacted immediately. He reached for his weapon and raced from the chamber. Was Katie hurt again? Nay. Nay, he had watched her hawkishly all morn, and right now she was in the bathing chamber perfectly safe.

Just then, a single, terrifying thought suddenly slammed into his mind. What if the lingering effects of his magic had splintered the wood inside the bathing chamber? Fingers of dread clutched at him, chilled his blood, and he cursed himself for allowing Katie a single moment away from him.

At the chamber, a dark wood door barred his entrance.

“Katie,” he shouted.

She didn’t answer.

He kicked the wood with his foot and timber shards went flying. The small room was empty. The window was open, allowing rain to trickle inside. Heather raced through the hallway, then stopped abruptly. Water dripped from her clothing. She whipped around and faced him, her features etched with panic. “Jorlan,” she cried. “You have to help me. Please. Come quick.”

Katie? Where was Katie?

He must have spoken the question aloud because the answer rushed from Heather’s mouth. “Percen has her. He’s going to hurt her if we don’t do something.”

Jorlan clutched his weapon with all his might. There was no time to question how Heather knew of Percen. “Where is she?”

“I’ll take you.” Tears streamed down the girl’s face leaving a glossy trail. “I should have told you sooner, but I wanted him in my life. But he doesn’t deserve me. He doesn’t,” she rambled.

They flew into the garden, and Jorlan welcomed the rain. The cold kept him alert and ready. Yet, in the center, Jorlan stopped midstride, frozen. In a flash as powerful as the lightning above, he realized his mother peered down at him through white stone eyes. Shocked, horrified, he dropped his weapon and sank to his knees. He hadn’t seen her in so long, so very long, and now to see her like this…

“What are you doing?” Heather cried, tugging at his arm. “We have to hurry.”

Jorlan knew ’twas Percen’s doing, for no other sorcerer could perform the stone spell quite so expertly. How could his brother curse their mother to this life that was no life at all? He had to save her, had to help her in some way.

“You helped me, didn’t you?” he asked her. “You helped me save Katie. Now I must save you.” But there was no time. His first duty was the protection of his life-mate.

“Hurry, Jorlan.” Heather’s voice cut into his thoughts. “We have to find them.”

“I am sorry, Mother,” he whispered, slowly standing. “I will come back for you.”

“No need,” a smug voice laughed. Percen materialized a few feet away, Katie just in front of him.

Jorlan’s eyes narrowed. Katie’s clothing was plastered to her body and partially undone. The sorcerer had his hands on her shoulders, stroking her like a kitten. Her amber eyes were glazed with vague detachment. The bastard had entranced her with a spell, Jorlan realized, and he feared if he attempted to snatch her from his brother’s grasp, she would fight him. Still, relief that she was alive washed over him in a crashing tide.

“Release her from your snare.” He longed to rush his brother, to cut the bastard down before he could harm Katie, but in doing so, Jorlan feared he would hurt his life-mate. “Must you hide behind a woman?”

“Nay.” Percen’s lips pursed. “I need not hide. I simply thought you would enjoy watching as I destroy your one chance of gaining freedom.”

“I do not care about myself. I care only for her.”

“Do you speak true? I wonder…” Still grinning, his brother cupped the weight of Katie’s breast, and Katie’s eyes closed in surrender. “Would you still care for her if she gave herself to me?”

Heather gasped at the sight. “Stop! What are you doing?” Tears continued to flow like a river down her cheeks. “I thought you loved me.”

Percen’s angry mask slipped for a moment, revealing devastation and hurt, but then his eyes narrowed and he returned his attention to Jorlan.

“You will die for this,” Jorlan told him. “You realize that, do you not?” All the hatred he felt for his brother surfaced. “If you are brave enough, let us at last end our feud.”

“Percen,” Heather sobbed.

His brother hesitated for a long while. Then he nodded. The fire in his eyes roared to life with molten promise, and he shoved Katie aside. “Aye, ’tis time we at last ended this, and what better way than death.”

Jorlan didn’t give him time to react. With an unholy roar, he sprang into action like a panther who had just spotted his evening meal. Almost too quick for the eye to see, he drew back his elbow and planted a fist into his brother’s jaw. Percen’s head snapped back. Blood trickled from his mouth.