The thought gave him a heady rush, and quickened his pace. After another few minutes of scouring the suite, he found a box tucked beneath a pile of frilly underwear and lingerie he would have preferred never to have seen.
Inside that box was the book he’d been looking for along with a thick envelope. The outside of the envelope was labeled with Gilda’s handwriting, its intent unmistakable.
My Death Wish
Honor required that Joseph do whatever he could to uphold Gilda’s dying wish, so with grief lodged in his throat, he opened the envelope. Inside was a list of valuable items located in her suite. All of them were to be put in the hands of whoever led the Theronai—namely Joseph.
There were also several letters inside the envelope, each one labeled with a different name. The instructions indicated that those sealed letters were to be delivered, and if the intended recipients were dead, Joseph was to burn them.
There was one for each of Gilda’s daughters, plus Angus, Helen and Tynan.
The urge to open and read them burned in his gut, but Joseph shoved his curiosity away. Gilda hadn’t always been the easiest person to live with, but she had always put the needs of the Sentinels above her own desires.
Joseph could learn a lot from her.
He tucked everything back into the box. Later, he would return and clean out their suite himself. Until then, he would lock it up tight and make sure one of the cameras was pointed at the door and monitored twenty-four/seven. There were far too many potential surprises in here, and he didn’t want anyone stumbling upon something they shouldn’t.
On his way back to his office, he took a detour to the Sanguinar wing, to Tynan’s suite. The sooner these letters were delivered, the better.
Though how he was going to deliver Maura’s letter to her, he had no idea. She’d long ago turned on her own people and gone to live with the Synestryn. They’d had only rare glimpses of her over the years, including the night Angus and Gilda had died.
Maura had been there. She’d helped kill her parents. The memories living within Angus’s sword had shown Joseph that much. They’d also shown him the breadth of a parent’s love, which had humbled him and angered him all at the same time.
Maura’s parents had forgiven her for turning against them, but Joseph couldn’t bring himself to do the same. She was their enemy. She deserved to die.
Tynan opened the door of his suite, looking more tired and harried than usual. His hair was a bit long, and a growth of beard shadowed his gaunt jaw. Fatigue rimmed his icy blue eyes, which lit with hunger as soon as he saw Joseph at the door.
He handed the Sanguinar the letter. “I found this in Gilda’s room. Her death wish was for you to have it.”
Tynan’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as he took the letter and opened it. Joseph stayed where he was, not even trying to hide his curiosity as to what it contained.
As Tynan’s gaze scanned the page, a look of shock began to take over his pretty face. He gripped the door frame as if to steady himself, and the letter began to flutter in his hand.
Joseph waited while the man read it again from the top, as if unable to believe what he saw. When Tynan was done, he looked at Joseph, shell-shocked.
“What?” asked Joseph.
“I need you to do something for me.”
If it had something to do with Gilda’s death wish, Joseph’s honor compelled him to agree. “Sure. Name it.”
“Gilda’s wish was for me to distribute a cure for Theronai sterility across the planet. Without asking for payment in blood. If I manufacture it, can you distribute it and get the men to take it?”
Joseph’s mind was reeling. “You’re going to give it away? No blood price?”
“That was her wish. I feel obligated to fulfill it.”
“Yeah, okay. If that’s what she wanted, I’m sure the men will comply.”
“She wanted them all to accept the cure, Joseph. That means everyone. No exceptions.”
Something was off here, but Joseph couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Perhaps it was simply that Tynan was upset about all the blood he was going to miss out on because of what Gilda had done. The Sanguinar had poured months of time and energy into a cure, and he’d nearly killed himself finding it. And while Joseph would uphold Gilda’s wish, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t offer Tynan payment.
“You can have my blood.”
“Even though Gilda asked me to give the cure away?”
Joseph shrugged. “She was looking out for us, but it’s my job to look out for you, too. I’m sure some of the men will see things my way.”
Tynan nodded, sagging in gratitude. “I thank you. I have a lot of work to do if I’m to manufacture enough serum for all of the Theronai across the earth.”
“Can I offer any help?”
“I could use a small team of Gerai, as well as supplies: syringes, vials, packing material.”
“Whatever you need. Just send me a list.” And as much as Joseph disliked the idea of giving Tynan access to his blood—of risking weakness and allowing Tynan the chance to screw with his head—he lifted his arm in offering.
Tynan’s eyes flared with internal light for a second. “I will give you the serum first. So no one can say I forced you to offer your blood.”
“Fair enough.”
The Sanguinar stepped aside to let Joseph in. “Have a seat. This won’t take long.”
* * *
Tynan escaped to his lab with the excuse of fetching a dose of the fertility serum.
Not that he needed it.