Skye's Sanctuary (The Sanctuary Series Book 5) Read online

  “The palace has been under strict quarantine. Only a few are allowed in and out and we must isolate as much as possible. You will be safe in the harem until your husband arrives.”

  Her eyes dim as I mention the harem.

  The first time we met, Taran had been brought to Sanctuary by the same Outsider who sold Skye to our Warlord. The man had thought Silas would want the pair. What he hadn’t counted on was Skye’s ability to ensnare our Warlord, leading to her unlimited access to all parts of the palace and its goings-ons. She’d taken one look at the Outsider who’d sold her into slavery and put a bullet through his head.

  Unbeknownst to the sisters, that had been a proud day for me. The final nail in the coffin of my love for Skye. I was as ensnared as the Warlord.

  “Come.” I place my hand lightly against her back, giving her a small push. “I’ll show you to the harem and arrange for your care.”

  She looks longingly back at her sister, her eyes pools of pain, then she stiffens her shoulders and nods. “For the sake of my child, I will go to the harem.” Her grey, luminous eyes stare up at me. “But please keep me informed of her progress. If she takes a turn for the worse, I want to see her.”

  I nod, then lead her from the room.

  We take the stairs to the harem, since it’s on the floor below the Warlord’s chambers. Taran is slow moving on the stairs but I don’t offer to carry her and she doesn’t ask.

  “How much time do I have until your husband arrives?” I ask as I open the door to the harem and escort her inside.

  She turns to me, her lips stretched in a rueful smile. She knows as well as I that he’ll be arriving on my doorstep at any time. Last time she was taken from the Tucson Sanctuary and brought to ours, Diogo had arrived the same day.

  “Probably only a few hours. I slipped away when he was in a meeting.”

  “What about your son?” As far as I know, she hates leaving her child. It’s why she hasn’t visited our Sanctuary yet. She won’t drag her child across a Primitive laden landscape, yet she can’t stand the idea of leaving him behind.

  I suppose only her sister’s deathbed could force her to leave him.

  At the mention of his name, her eyes dim.

  “I left him with his nanny. He’ll miss me while I’m away, but he’ll be fine.”

  “Did it occur to you that he would have neither parent when you left him to come here? Your husband is going to have your hide.”

  She narrows her eyes at me. “Maybe so, but I would do it again. Skye is worth it.”

  On that, we finally agree.

  I jerk my head in a nod and leave her. I set a guard on the harem and send someone to find Hannah. She can babysit Taran while I sit with Skye.

  Sixteen

  Skye’s fever rages on and by the time Diogo shows up, the palace is in chaos. Someone has been sent to the Mountain People to retrieve a natural, fever-reducing herb they’ve offered us. They’d heard about Skye’s condition and sent word that they had some medicine that could help.

  I don’t have time to deal with the Warlord at my gate. I tell my men that he is to be given access to his wife, but nothing else. His men must remain outside our gates. When I don’t hear from either my men or Diogo, I assume they’re sorting themselves out.

  They could go to war at our gates for all I care. I’m with Skye now, and I won’t be moved.

  It’s the middle of the night and I’m sitting with Skye, holding her hand and despairing of her recovery. She’s following the same path as others who have died of this flu. So far, we’ve lost twenty-eight citizens, though many more have recovered. I don’t understand why my woman isn’t one of them. She was strong when she fell ill. She should be fighting this.

  As I watch her slowly slip away, her breaths growing progressively more shallow, I contemplate a life without her. It will be brief, as I have no intention of living much beyond my woman. Her life is tied to mine. If she goes, I go.

  As I plan our demise, Kingston knocks on the door and announces a visitor. I’m about to tell him to send the visitor away when a voice stops me.

  “Your medicine has arrived. I intercepted the courier so I could get a word in with you.”

  I turn to find the Tucson Warlord looking at me. He’s holding a bunch of flowers in his fist. He looks tired, but not angry, as I was expecting. His face is drawn with grim lines bracketing his mouth and eyes. I imagine I must look similar.

  Two warriors. Two sisters.

  There is likely some irony in there, but I’m too far gone with worry for my woman to think on it.

  “I was told that they should be given in two ways; crushed into a paste and smeared on her chest and back and then brewed in a tea and trickled down her throat.”

  I nod and push away from the bed, reaching for the herbs. He gives them to me, his speculative gaze on Skye’s still form. Despite a sometimes contentious relationship between them, the two had worked together, had battled together and had come up with a plan to distribute the vaccine together. It hadn’t occurred to me before now that Diogo might consider Skye a friend. He might be as upset as his wife to see her in such a fragile condition.

  I use the mortar and pestle that was placed on our wash table for this reason, crushing the herbs into a paste.

  Diogo continues to watch as I smear the medicine on Skye’s chest and back. I don’t care that he’s seeing her naked. My only care is for her survival.

  “She’s a fighter.” I don’t turn as Diogo speaks. “She will pull through this. Have confidence.”

  I wonder when he became sentimental. I expected hellfire and brimstone upon his arrival, not understanding. I tell him as much.

  “I’ve had time with my wife, enough time to calm down,” he admits. “You gave my wife Sanctuary when she arrived at your doors and you allowed her to see her sister, before tucking her safely away from this virus. I am not pleased by her actions, but I can’t fault yours.”

  I grunt. “You’ve become more measured since we last met.”

  He chuckles. “A wife and family will do that to you.”

  I think about his words but conclude that I don’t agree. My heart belongs to Skye, but I am no different than I was when we met. I’m still a lone wolf, riding out the apocalypse in the best way I know how. Only difference is now I have a mate.

  “She’ll pull through,” he says again.

  I ignore him, instead asking, “Do your men need anything? I didn’t want to leave them exposed outside the gates, but I can’t have them inside our quarantine. Only you and Taran. If they need weapons or food, we can supply them.”

  “My men will be fine. They’re used to rough conditions.”

  “How long will you stay?”

  He hesitates, then moves to the other side of the bed, within my line of sight. I lift the blanket to cover Skye’s nudity.

  “We’ll stay until we know…”

  Until we know if Skye lives or dies.

  I nod.

  The risk is on his side, not ours. The longer Diogo and Taran stay within the walls of our Sanctuary, the more likely they are to become sick. Their own Sanctuary had a similar flu run through it, possibly the same variation. They know the risks.

  “You’re welcome for as long as you want to stay. If quarantine lifts while you’re still here, your men will be welcomed within our walls.”

  We talk for a few minutes, discussing the reinforcements Diogo has left to protect his own Sanctuary while he and his wife are absent. I am impressed by how far they have come. Our two Sanctuaries are similar, but ours is still too unstable to be left without a Warlord.

  Finally, with another grim look at the bed, Diogo leaves.

  I take off my shirt and boots and climb into the bed, pulling Skye against me. She moans weakly and tries to fight me, but her strength is almost completely gone. I don’t want to make her hot, but I need to feel her against my body. If I lose her tonight, then I need to know that I held her one last time.

  I will close
my eyes for a few minutes, hold her close, and then I will bundle us both into my car and drive out into the desert where we will both die beneath the stars, the wild world howling around us as we go.

  Though I wish I could have had more time with Skye, I’m grateful for the time we had. I got to kiss her, fuck her, fight with her, and love her. I have had everything and I am not so greedy as to ask for more.

  I close my eyes and tuck my face against her cheek. Despite days of illness, she still smells sweet to my biased nose.

  “I love you,” I whisper before allowing sleep to claim me for a few minutes.

  Seventeen

  The sun is creeping across the bedroom and spilling onto the bed when I wake up. I’ve slept longer than I meant to. I roll on to my side, looking for Skye. I don’t see her immediately and launch myself out of the bed. I search the bedroom, thinking she must’ve fallen off the bed, but come up empty-handed.

  Where the fuck did she go? She wasn’t in any condition to leave on her own, but no one would have removed her from the room without my permission.

  Heedless of my nudity, I stride into the corridor where Kingston is already standing guard, having relieved our night watchman.

  “Skye?” I demand harshly, my heart hammering.

  Kingston jerks his head toward the washroom. “In there - ”

  He continues speaking, but I ignore him, throwing the door to the bathing chamber open.

  Skye, who was leaning with her head against the back of the tub, her eyes closed, sits up and stares at me. The fear on her face dissipates as she recognizes me. Her eyes drop to my cock, then slide away. She blushes, the only colour I’ve seen from her in days.

  “Good morning, Wolfe.” Her voice is weak. Everything about her is weak.

  As I approach the tub, I scan her. Her skin is pale, her lips have a blue tint to them and her hands are shaking, though she tries to hide them beneath the surface of the water.

  “What are you doing?” I demand, stepping closer to the tub.

  She shakes her head. “I’m just taking a bath, no big deal.”

  I lean over the edge and grip her jaw in my hand, engulfing half her face. I have no desire to hurt her, so I don’t squeeze. It's difficult to remember sometimes that her attitude is much bigger than she is and that she can be easily crushed.

  I lean close to her, so she’s forced to look into my ugly face as I growl, “Big. Fucking. Deal.”

  Her lips twitch, then she leans forward and kisses me. As she attempts to pull back, I grip her by the back of the head and hold her still, taking a longer kiss than she meant to give me. If she’s well enough to take a bath, then she’s well enough to take a deeper kiss.

  I release her, but I don’t move back. “Explain yourself.”

  She pouts. “Does the Warlord really have to explain herself?”

  I don’t answer because she already knows that I am the one person she is answerable to.

  She sighs and leans back against the edge of the tub.

  “I woke up in a pool of sweat. The bed smelled like sweat, my body smelled like sweat and I couldn’t stand it.” She drops her gaze. “So, I came in for a bath.”

  “You’re too weak to bathe by yourself.”

  She surprises me by nodding. “I know.”

  I frown down at her. “How long have you been in here?”

  She bites her lip, then mumbles something indecipherable.

  “Louder.”

  She sighs. “Two hours. Once I got in, I couldn’t seem to get back out.”

  “Two hours!” I shout. “You were in here for two fucking hours and you didn’t call for help?” I put my hand in the water, expecting it to be cold, but it’s still warm.

  She answers my unspoken question. “I can reach the plug and the tap so I kept refilling it.” She gives me a wan smile. “On the upside, I probably won’t catch pneumonia.”

  “You’re coming out now.”

  She looks grateful and reaches for me as I step into the tub with her. I bend and pick her up in my arms. She’s definitely lost weight. Her arms are shaking as she wraps them around my neck, clinging as I step back out of the tub.

  I set her on her feet, but she collapses against me, so I ease her down until she’s sitting on the edge of the tub. Reaching for the nearest towel, I wrap it around her shoulders.

  I pick up her hand and shake my head at the pale, water-wrinkled palm and fingers.

  “Why didn’t you call out?” I demand, rubbing the towel over her limbs.

  “I didn’t want any of our men to see my weakness,” she admits. “I thought I could do it myself. I didn’t feel this weak until I was already in the water. By the time I realized I was in trouble, I figured you would come find me.”

  I shake my head and continue drying her until she’s ready to go back to the bedroom. I stand her up and wrap the towel around her body before gathering her in my arms.

  Kingston averts his eyes and says, “Hannah changed the sheets and left breakfast for you. I sent a report on the Warlord’s condition with her down to the harem.”

  Skye twists her head to look at her bodyguard. “Who’s in the harem?” she looks up at me. “We have people in the harem? How long was I sick? Did you replace me already?”

  I ignore Kingston’s chuckle and kick the door shut in his face.

  I’m pleased that Hannah changed the sheets. Now Skye can rest in clean sheets.

  I ease her onto the bed and urge her beneath the covers. Her eyelids flutter shut almost immediately, and she pulls her arm from beneath the blankets to smother a yawn. I capture her hand and sit on the bed next to her.

  “Your sister drove here from Tucson by herself.”

  Skye’s eyes fly open. “My sister is here?”

  I nod.

  “By herself?”

  “Her husband arrived a few hours after she did.”

  Skye laughs, despite her shock. “Of course, he did.” She shakes her head, the smile dropping away. “She drove all the way here in her condition? I didn’t even know she could drive.”

  “She didn’t until she drove here.”

  Skye winces. “She could have been killed.”

  “I’m sure Diogo has talked to her about that possibility.”

  She laughs again. “No doubt.”

  It’s not difficult to picture the lecture Taran would have received once her husband got his hands on her. Her pregnancy would stop him from becoming physical, but I’m positive the Warlord’s young wife is now aware of her error.

  “She came all the way here to see me,” Skye whispers wonderingly. “She loves me that much.”

  The bond between the sisters has been an unbreakable one, but it was tested repeatedly as the two women were torn apart. I hadn’t thought about it before, but it must have been an excruciating decision for Skye to leave her sister behind, to go on the road and distribute the vaccine. I wonder if she did it to protect her sister from being the one to spread the word. The job was dangerous, especially once the Sanctuaries she travelled to realized the antibodies involved in the making of the vaccine belonged to Skye.

  One day I will ask her about it, but not today. Today, her only job is to rest.

  “I want to see my sister.” Though her expression is pleading, she doesn’t attempt to move from the bed, which tells me she knows what my answer will be.

  “No.”

  She sighs and narrows her eyes at me. “You think I should recover first.”

  I don’t answer but put my hand against her shoulder and push her back onto the pillows. Reaching for a glass filled with water, I place it to her lips and hold it while she drinks thirstily.

  When she’s finished, she leans back and allows her eyelids to fall shut.

  “One little nap, then I want to see Taran.” Her eyes snap open and her stormy grey eyes lock onto my face. “You will take me to her when I wake up.”

  I dip my head in a nod, but I don’t agree. She’ll be spending more time in this bed before s
he gets back to work.

  She continues to glare, then closes her eyes and snuggles lower into the blankets. “I’ll be strong enough.”

  She falls asleep almost instantly, exhaustion taking her into unconsciousness.

  I brush a few strands of hair from her face and lean to kiss her forehead.

  I should put some clothes on and check on our Sanctuary, make sure everything is as it should be. Get a report on the flu situation. Now that Skye is out of the woods, I should make sure the rest of Sanctuary is complying with quarantine rules. Make sure the number of sick citizens is falling instead of rising. Talk to the doctor about the efficacy of the herb the mountain people gave us and make sure we have enough for her other patients.

  Rather than reach for my clothes, I push the covers back and slide in next to Skye, pulling her into my arms and holding her against my chest. A few more hours won’t matter. The relief of knowing she will survive, of getting to hold her, is the only thing that matters right now.

  Eighteen

  Skye

  It’s been a week since I had the flu. Immediately after recovering, I’d tried to leave the suite and go back to work, but both Wolfe and the doctor wouldn’t allow it. They reminded me I could still be contagious, which is about the only thing that could stop me from doing my job.

  Now, I’m cleared for duty and anxious to get back to work. Though, I must admit, the idle time has allowed me to catch up on some of my favourite activities such as gardening in the solarium, reading and spending time with Wolfe. I feel as though the worries I had prior to my illness have melted away. Of course, there are still many concerns for me to address: the flu raging through Sanctuary, the rogue Outsiders who want to kidnap and sell me, my heavily pregnant sister’s presence in the city. And the list goes on. But I feel better capable of dealing with everything after my convalescence.

  Strength and purpose run through my veins. There’s nothing like a brush with death to put life into perspective. Yes, running a Sanctuary is a big job, but it can be done.