Page 13 of Veiled Fate
“Are you sure? You said you thought Fate was free, but you couldn’t feel her. How do we know he’s vulnerable now? What if he isn’t?”
“He is. That’s not what worries me, though.”
“What does?”
“Fate, as you said. Where is she? Why can’t we feel her.”
I frowned. “Maybe she’s weak? Hiding? Only one of eight shards of her is free. Perhaps we need to destroy more stones.”
“Perhaps,” Kiel said, falling silent as Arcadia faded behind us.
I watched it go. Although I wasn’t born in the city proper, I was an Arcadian by blood. It had been my home. The home of my pack. Former pack? I wasn’t sure, but I knew I would never be welcomed back as long as Arcadus sat on the throne.
So, was I homeless?
Kiel’s arm settled around my shoulders as he came around my side, still holding me firm to him. Andi was there, too, standing at the stern railing, watching.
No, maybe not homeless after all.
“Come,” Kiel said suddenly in a very different tone. “We’re going below.”
“We are? Why?” I glanced up at him.
His eyes were hard. “We have to talk.”
Chapter Seven
Andi grunted something unintelligible and left, striking up a conversation with the nearest deckhand she could find. I couldn’t blame her, either.
“About what?” It was an obvious ploy to stall. We both damn well knew what he wanted to talk about.
“Jada.” There was a hint of warning in his voice.
I stepped out of his embrace and up to the rail, my fingers running over the wood, feeling the grains, the uneven surface of the toughfilmoretree used in its construction. The original paint was well-worn and chipped in many places, indicative of the heavy use the ship saw daily.
“We’re going below,” Kiel said, his voice dark and rumbling, like the thunder that would soon follow the ominous clouds growing on the southern horizon. Did he have any lightning in him as well?
That was preposterous. I culled the thought seconds after having it. There was no reason for Kiel to be mad at me. Yet worry still niggled away, trying to breach the barrier I dropped around it. Was it just casual insecurity causing the thoughts, or was there something deeper, something more worrisome?
Was Kiel afraid of me, of how I was somehow still alive?
“Fine,” I said, forcing myself to confront those worries head-on. Better to rip the bandage off and get it over with instead of trying to delay the inevitable. Kiel would force the conversation, one way or another, so it would be better to lead instead of follow. “Let’s go.”
I led the way to amidships and the stairs that led to the hold, the galley, and the sleeping quarters. Only the hold had an actual wall between it and the rest of the ship. All the other rooms, even the captain’s quarters, were only separated by a blanket. Still, at the rear of the ship, with everyone above deck, it was as close to complete privacy as we would get.
Pulling the heavy blanket aside, I stepped into the tiny room. Kiel followed, his bulk blocking off everything beyond him. The only light came from the single porthole above the desk at the foot of the bed, the one addition the captain's room had over the general sleeping compartment.
“How in the name of Fate are you alive, Jada?”
I backed up a step at the intensity of his question and the glow in his eyes.
Noting my reaction, he took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry. That was more aggressive than I intended. But I need to know. How are you alive? Not just alive, buthealed? It’s not been an hour since the Nehringi stabbed you through the stomach! Yet, now?”
Kiel reached forward and pulled up my shirt to expose the blood-stained but otherwise unmarred skin. The swim had cleaned much of the blood off me, but not all. Feeling more like a freak than a person, I pulled the shirt out of his grip and tugged it back into place. The gaping hole the sword had created ruined the illusion, but it still had the intended effect, causing Kiel to step back.
“Jada,” he said.
My head came up at the slight wavering tone in his voice.
