Temperance

  She was an unfamiliar vision as she lay there under him. Her breasts were heaving against the flimsy cloth that covered her, and her legs were now covered with dirt and leaves from the ground. She looked like some kind of woodland nymph.

  He ran his gaze down her frame and reminded himself that he wasn’t an animal. He wasn’t the kind of man who couldn’t control himself even though he silently admired her and wished he could touch.

  He reached out to remove a twig from her hair, and when she flinched away, he realized that it didn’t matter what he did or didn’t do. She already thought the worst anyhow.

  Rising to his feet, he held out a hand and watched the way she scrutinized it before glancing back at him.

  “I’m not going to hurt you. You have my word.”

  She said nothing as she once again looked at his hand.

  “Take it. Or lie there and risk the kleptors alone.”

  That seemed to gain some kind of reaction as she sat up and asked softly, “The…what?”

  Kai looked over his shoulder as the wind started to shift and the shadows grew impossibly darker. The leaves on the ground began to swirl in a circular fashion as they were picked up and moved along to a new destination.

  The Empress was starting to stir. They needed to get moving—now.

  He thrust his hand closer to where she sat and said, “We must hurry. Before they come.”

  Something in his tone must have relayed the seriousness of his claim, because she timidly slipped her palm into his. He wrapped his large hand around hers and pulled her to her feet.

  When she was finally standing in front of him, she asked, “Who comes?”

  But before he could answer, a shrill cry echoed through the forest.

  They were too late.

  * * *

  The high-pitched sound from the first night was back. Before Naeve had a chance to cover her ears, the intimidating figure that was holding her arm dragged her out of the open space and into the thick foliage.

  He spun them around so his back was pressed to the trunk of a tree and hers to his chest. Then, pulling her down to a crouch, he grabbed his thick black cape, and threw it over the both of them.

  “Shh…” he whispered, but he didn’t have to tell her twice.

  The sound that was echoing all around them was the more horrifying option between him and it, so she remained huddled against the huge wall of a man behind her. The shivers that had been racking her body earlier were back as the noise continued to repeat over and over throughout the darkness.

  What the hell is that?

  Naeve wanted to ask, but he’d told her to stay quiet and she didn’t want to draw its attention—whatever it was. As she strained to see through the cape, she realized it was no use. The material was thick and she might as well have had her eyes closed for all she could see.

  As his hot breath ghosted against her hair, she stayed motionless in his arms, and after what seemed like hours instead of minutes, the sound stopped and all she could hear was her breathing…and his. Why that was comforting, she had no idea.

  Choosing to ignore that insane emotion, she asked, “What was that?”

  The man behind her didn’t drop the material he’d draped over them, but he answered in a voice that was low and certain, “A kleptor.”

  Naeve tried to imagine for even a second what that could be but came up with nothing. “What is a…kleptor?” She waited silently for his response in the stillness that had closed in and surrounded them,

  Then he answered gravely, “A watcher.”

  She wasn’t sure if he would elaborate, and honestly, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to. After all, a man in a black-death warrior’s uniform hardly seemed like the best local tour guide.

  “This is the Taise Forest. The kleptors are the Empress Seraphine’s eyes. They show her what she wants to see when she is not physically here. They guard the forest.”

  She tried to digest all of that and make some kind of sense from it. But before she could help herself, she was asking question after question. “What do you mean they are her eyes? What are they? And why do they make such a horrible noise?”

  “Quiet,” he demanded, and Naeve immediately shut her mouth. “We don’t have time for your questions. Their reappearance means she is regaining strength. That is not part of the plan. We need to find your other sister and get out of this cursed place.”

  When he removed the cape from around them, she realized she wasn’t quite ready to move. She might have been frightened of him at first, but right in that moment, he felt like the safest option.

  “You need to move. Or you can stay here with your plump arse pressed against my—”

  Quick as a flash, Naeve was on her feet and stepping away, reminded that he was not a safe option.

  “Thought that might get you up.”

  She decided right then that, if this scary-looking guy wasn’t going to hurt her, she wanted some answers, and the only way to get those was to ask. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself against what she would see when she turned, but it still didn’t quite prepare her for the full impact of him.

  The first thing she really took in was his size.

  “You’re massive.” She hadn’t realized she was going to say the words until they’d just tumbled out.

  “And you’re not. Remember that and we’ll get along just fine.”

  Determined not to be dissuaded, Naeve raised her chin and added, “You’re not very nice either.”

  “So I’ve been told.”

  She heard a low chuckle, and the noise made her thighs clench even as she told herself her reaction was completely inappropriate.

  “Who are you?”

  “Feeling brave all of a sudden, little rabbit?”

  “Rabbit?”

  “Yes,” he agreed and walked closer to her.

  Naeve bunched her fists by her sides and told herself not to move an inch. The only way he would believe she wasn’t intimidated was if she stood her ground. But when a man like that came towards you, it was hard to make such a stand.

  He stopped when the tip of his boots touched hers, and he was so close that she could smell the leather of his clothes. Then he bent at the waist and lowered his face until it hovered above her own.

  “You ran like a frightened little rabbit.”

  For some reason, his words didn’t scare her. They actually had the opposite effect—they totally pissed her off.

  “Well, if you hadn’t pointed a knife at me, I wouldn’t have been frightened. Would I?”

  “No. I don’t suppose you would have.”

  She could feel her chest rise and fall in aggravation, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off the ones she could finally see focused on her. Like her, this man had blue eyes. But where she’d always been told hers were bright as the sky, his were a dark, stormy grey.

  Refusing to back down, she licked her lips and decided to keep going. “What’s your name?”

  She could have sworn she saw his eyes narrow slightly as if he were smiling behind the thing he had across his mouth.

  “You are feeling brave.”

  “You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “So I did.”

  “Then what’s your name?”

  He straightened up to his full, overwhelming height and then finally gave her an answer. “Kai.”

  “Just Kai?”

  “Should there be more?”

  She thought back to her conversation with Bastian and how he’d said his full name was Si’Bastian. “No. Thank you for telling me.”

  When he said nothing, she internally chastised her own stupidity for having been so polite as he checked the path to their left and then their right, making sure it was clear.

  “Are you done with all of your questions?”

  “Yes,” she answered, figuring that, if she thought of more, she could ask later—after they’d found her sisters. “Don’t you want to know my name?”

  “No,” he told he
r and reached out again to take her arm. “A hunter never names its prey.”

  And just like that, any sense of safety she’d felt disappeared as he started marching away, dragging her—his prey—behind him.

  You still have not located the fourth. It wasn’t a question, more a statement, as Kai felt Bastian intrude on his mind.

  Bastian, you could try asking before you invade one’s thoughts, you know?

  With his hand still firmly wrapped around the woman’s tiny wrist, Kai continued searching the woods looking for the fourth sister.

  But where’s the fun in that? And don’t act as though you aren't of a similar disposition, Mala'Kai. We would be bored if we had no one to torment.

  Knowing the statement to be true, Kai kept his mind purposefully blank. As a boy he'd discovered how much that irritated Bastian.

  You're merely proving my point, not your own, the wily voice taunted.

  Kai continued the silent treatment as he started up a small hill. The woman stumbled slightly, causing him to look back over his shoulder. When she righted her footing and aimed an indignant look his way, he figured that was as good a sign as any that she was okay to continue.

  What do you think of Naeve?

  Brought back to the fact that Bastian was still there, Kai thought, Who?

  The woman you are dragging behind you like a stuck pig. Very gallant, by the way.

  Kai stopped in his tracks and Naeve ran into his back with a soft, “Oompf.”

  I thought I was sent to bring her back to L’Mere. Not to court her.

  “Why did we stop?”

  He turned to look down at the woman who had quietly voiced her concern. “Because someone keeps interrupting me.”

  Her lips pinched into a tight moue, and Kai found himself fascinated by the flush that reddened her cheeks.

  “I haven’t said one word since you started dragging me through the forest like some kind of animal.”

  He brought her in close to himself, finding that he liked having her there. “I was not referring to you. Someone is in my head—”

  “Bastian?”

  The hopeful sound in her voice displeased him in a way he couldn't quite explain.

  “Yes.”

  “He can get inside your mind too?”

  Just about done with the questions, Kai bit out sharply, “He can get inside anyone’s.”

  “But you can’t?”

  The way she’d said it had made it sound like a deficiency, and it prompted a response in him to defend himself. Taking each of her arms in his hands, he lifted her up until her feet were dangling off the ground. Her blue eyes widened, and he felt a perverse sense of satisfaction when he saw her breathing quicken.

  “Unlike that skinny sensualeer, I don’t need to read your mind to know exactly what you are thinking.”

  His eyes shifted to her throat, where her pulse beat rapidly. It was easy to sense her apprehension, but just under that seemed to be something else. For a moment, he really wished he could read her thoughts.

  Oh, Kai. Don’t feel threatened. Just because I’m not as brawny as you doesn’t mean you should be ashamed that I am by far the more powerful of the two.

  Gods above, Bastian. Get lost.

  Temper, temper...

  Kai gritted his teeth and waited for him to leave, but right before there was silence, he heard, She likes your eyes.

  And that he never would have suspected.

  * * *

  Naeve waited for the man she now knew as Kai to put her down.

  She didn’t fear for her life anymore—not from him. But she was still intimidated by the strength and size of him. The man lifted her as though she weighed nothing more than a feather to him, and for that reason, she knew she had to be careful.

  The other thing that made her wary was that she still hadn’t seen his face.

  Nothing except for his eyes, and while they certainly weren’t kind, they did at least prove he wasn't the devil.

  As she studied what she could see of him, she wished he would take off his mask, and that thought disturbed her. Almost as much as the fact that she had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten there.

  “Put me down,” she demanded and then waited to see what he would do.

  It could have gone either way, good or bad, but when he lowered her to her feet, Naeve held on to the hope that he really would keep his word and not hurt her.

  “We need to find your sister,” he muttered.

  “Siobhan?”

  She watched his broad shoulders move as he shrugged and answered, “I told you. I wasn’t recruited to learn your names. I’m to bring you to the Commander. That is all.”

  Naeve thought back to what Bastian had told them and remembered when he’d mentioned men coming to bring them back to—

  “Castle L’Mere. That’s where we’re going, isn’t it?”

  Taking her wrist again, he started walking, roughly pulling her along behind him. “Yes,” he answered. “The sooner the better as far as I’m concerned.”

  Caught up in her own head, she let him lead her as she thought about everything she’d been told. New worlds, magical people, scary hunters, and now…a castle? It was starting to feel like a twisted kind of fairytale—one she wanted to wake the heck up from.

  Tugging on her hand, she pulled it free and demanded, “Stop. Just stop for a minute, would you?”

  He stopped all right. Then he turned, and as she stared at him in rapt fascination, he did the one thing she’d been waiting for. He reached up and removed the mask from across his face.

  As a slightly crooked nose came into view, she studied the dark stubble lining his lips and jaw and felt an overwhelming urge to reach out and touch them with her fingers. She hadn’t been prepared for the face behind that mask, and Naeve realized that it had been way easier to believe he might kill her when she hadn’t known how dangerously attractive he was.

  That was the least of her concerns, however, as he opened his mouth and spoke.

  “I don't have the time or the inclination to stop every few feet and answer the questions of some confused woman. Especially one that is dressed as you are.”

  Shocked by both his words and tone, Naeve looked down at her dress. She had to admit that it did look pretty bad right now, but that wasn’t her fault.

  “There’s nothing wrong with what I’m wearing. Or there wasn’t until you started chasing me and I fell in the dirt.”

  “I was not referring to the dirt. If anything, that at least adds some modesty to your ensemble.”

  Naeve felt her mouth fall open. Not only was this the most he’d said since holding a knife to her throat, but she now had the distinct feeling he was insulting her outfit.

  “Time to go. Unless you would like me to examine your choice of clothing from a much closer perspective.”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she decided that ignoring him would be her best option.

  “Now that's a shame. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a woman. I was hoping you’d take me up on the offer.”

  “Well, at least the women of this…Arcania are smart.” Yeah, so much for ignoring.

  “No,” he stated bluntly. “They’re just deadly. Now stop talking and start walking. We have a long night ahead of us.”

  As they started to move through the forest again, she thought over what he’d said. Two things stood out to her. He’d called Bastian a sensualeer. What is that? And he’d said that the women here were deadly. How could a woman be deadly to him?

  She observed the way he moved up ahead of her. He was so stealthy for someone his size. Where she made the branches snap and could hear her own breathing, from him, she heard nothing. He had huge, thick boots, but they made no sound when he walked, and even though he was hauling what looked like an arsenal of weapons, she still couldn’t hear a thing.

  This man was dangerous. He’d proven that when they’d first met.

  But what was most alarming was how drawn to him she f
elt. It was as though the more he spoke, and the more he revealed, the more she wanted to know. He made her forget where she was and how she was there. Instead, he had her wondering about this place and what it would feel like to touch that hard-looking face.

  And what a face it is.

  All she’d seen were his eyes, nose, and mouth, yet the thought of them made her more aware of her body than she'd ever been.

  It was insanity. It was unreal.

  And if this was a dream, she wasn’t quite ready to wake up.

  * * *

  Ry’Ker followed the West bank to the top of the Falls, where he’d instructed his men to assemble within the hour. As he drew closer to the group, he noticed they were gathered in a circular fashion around whatever was in the center of them, and he knew it had to be the two sisters.

  When Li’Am had first told him of his plan, he’d been skeptical. But after he’d listened to reason and understood the roles these four women played, it made sense that Li’Am would not want them anywhere near Seraphine. After all, it was their mother who had ignited her wrath of destruction in the first place. It made sense that they could somehow be the end to it also.

  He looked around his men and realized that Li’Am’s son was nowhere to be found.

  Where is he?

  “I'm right here.”

  Ry’Ker felt his heart jumpstart when the sensualeer appeared beside him.

  Li’Am had informed him that Si’Bastian had recently exhibited a new talent—one where he could seamlessly fade in and out on a whim. He had not appeared happy about this new development at all. In fact, he’d ordered Ry’Ker to watch him while outside the castle. Something that proved difficult when one party could disappear.

  “Why are you no longer with the women?” he asked, his voice stern, not allowing room for any deviation.

  “One of the sisters…”

  When Si’Bastian trailed off, he prodded, “Yes?”

  “She provoked me.”