Read Online Tempt Me Eternally by Gena Showalter - Free Book Online Page B

queen. Come back! I’m not saying I believe you, I’m just saying we can talk about this.”
    Breean quickly called together all of the men who had accompanied him. They filled the living room, spilling out into the hallway. As he told them whathe had just learned, they reacted first with panic, as he had. And then the rage set in.
    â€œBastards.”
    â€œMurderers!”
    A couple jumped up to pace, bumping into everyone around them.
    â€œI will leave the decision up to you,” he said. “If you want to leave, we will leave. If you want to stay, we will stay.” Either way, Breean wasn’t letting Aleaha go. He wouldn’t leave her here to face the deadly Schön on her own. Because she was female, she would be one of the first to fall. But knowing her as he thought he did, she would not go easily.
    The debate began.
    â€œWe’ve worked so hard, finally found a home. We can’t just abandon it now.”
    â€œYes, we can. We deserve peace.”
    â€œWill we ever truly know peace? We are outsiders wherever we go. Here, at least, otherworlders aren’t killed on sight.”
    â€œI can’t watch another home be destroyed.”
    â€œAnd what happens when the Schön ruin this planet?” Talon, his second in command, scrubbed a hand down his tired face. “They will move on to another, perhaps the next one we have chosen. We need to destroy them. Now. Finally.”
    Breean agreed. “At least here we know there are medications and technology to combat such a loathsome enemy. That’s why we chose it. Besides, my female told me that AIR defeated the first diseased warriors who came here.”
    â€œThink of it. We can kill the Schön, as we’ve dreamed for so long,” Talon added. “For what they did to us. For what they did to our loved ones.”
    â€œHow are we to kill them? They can make themselves invisible. As we well know, it’s impossible to fight an unseen enemy.”
    That cast a gloomy shadow over the men, memories consuming them.
    â€œAIR obviously knows how to fight them, and there are ways to get the information from them. So tell me.” Breean eyed them one by one. “Leave? Or stay?”
    In the end, it was unanimous. They would stay. They would fight. Or try to. If they died in the process, at least they would die as the soldiers they’d become.
    â€œI am proud of you,” he told them. “Surrender is unacceptable. Once we are established in our new home, we will figure out a plan of action. As for tonight, we have much to do. Go about your duties. I will meet you outside.”
    As they strode off, Breean returned to Aleaha’s room. This time, she was seated at the edge of the bed. Still blond. But, damn, if she didn’t make his heart stop. “Come.” He waved her over.
    â€œDon’t you want to talk?”
    â€œNo.”
    She stood on shaky legs. “Well. Are you sure you’re not going to take off again, leaving me here?”
    â€œI’m sure.”
    â€œWhy did you rush off like that?”
    â€œYou mentioned my greatest enemy.” He saw noreason to lie. Not when he might gain information. “My men needed to know what they will soon be up against.”
    â€œOh. So you really do hate the Schön?”
    â€œYes.” Guess they would talk, after all. “Does AIR have any idea what those bastards can do? I know you told me some were killed, but I just want to make sure you understand the danger.”
    â€œYes. They are infected with a disease that turns people into cannibals.”
    â€œThat disease destroyed my planet. That disease is the reason we are here.”
    â€œOh,” she said again. “I’m—I’m sorry. You aren’t . . . infected, are you? I mean, I know we’ve had this conversation and I know I bit you and tasted your blood and I haven’t experienced any unusual symptoms, but you’ve