Page 21 of The King's Weapon

On that first night, she hadn't noticed it because his head was down, his hair falling in front of his face. He had hidden it well. Over the man's left eye, a long, pale scar stretched from above his left eyebrow all the way to the bottom of his ear. She wondered what had happened, what had caused the scar. The white jagged mark was stark against his tanned, olive skin.

Without the mark, he might have been handsome. But at the same time, Kallie thought, hewashandsome. And possibly because of it. It brought attention to his strong, piercing eyes. Rather than hiding the scar though, his dark hair sat an inch above his collar and was shorter near the front, forming a halo of darkness around his face. He was, from an objective standpoint, attractive. But he possessed the sort of beauty that meant danger was near.

And the two blades glistening on either side of his hip reinforced that sentiment. The two scimitars that belonged to the man who had killed Polin, crushed her fingers, and stolen her dagger.

Kallie’s gaze bounced from his eyes to the scar to the scimitars.

But she had ignorantly taken her gaze away from the weapon aimed at her. His lips twitched, quirking upward as he let the arrow fly.

And Kallie's heart stopped.

Chapter8

Time slowedas Kallie waited for the blow. But it never came. She was alive.

From behind her, a soft breath released and she pried her eyes open one at a time. She looked at the mountain lion and the head of a second arrow protruded out of its chest. The light within the glowing eyes that screamed murder was now a muted yellow.

"It's cruel to leave an animal in pain, wouldn't you agree?"Kallie turned to the sultry voice. The man lowered his bow, but Kallie did not relax.

"If only you treated humans with the same respect, Gray," a female voice said from the trees.

The man, Gray,scoffed in response. The woman walked out of the trees and her gait was unmistakable, a person born to make others bleed. This was the woman Kallie had fought, and without the hood hiding her features, Kallie knew it was the same woman from the garden as well.

More footsteps crunched behind the woman, and two more figures walked into the moonlight. Kallie instantly recognized the shoulder-length locks and the cocky swagger. Fynn looked over at the unfamiliar figure who accompanied him and tipped his head in Kallie and Myra's direction. "Moris," he said, his tone authoritative and clear.

Without another word, Moris approached Myra who stood frozen in place. Kallie could do little but watch as Moris hoisted Myra over his shoulder as if she weighed no more than a small sack of potatoes.

Kallie wanted to reach out, to strike the man. To do something. But she couldn't for her body betrayed her. She stood as still as the dead carcass behind her. Paralyzed, helpless as she was forced to watch her friend be taken from her. Again.

Once Moris had returned to the shadows of the forest and his footsteps were little more than a ruffle of leaves, Fynn stepped toward Kallie. The left corner of his mouth tipped upward. "No more running, Princess."

And that's when the blood rushed back into her body and the control over her limbs returned. She took a shaky step back putting distance between herself and Fynn.

"Don't make this any harder than it needs to be." Fynn slowed his steps as if he were approaching a wounded animal. "Terin."

"On it, brother," a man's voice from just behind her said.

Startled, Kallie spun around and found the twin approaching her. He had completed her command. She had escaped the campsite. He was free to do as he wished, the goal of the compulsion having been met.

Before Kallie could make a move, the twin's arms wrapped around her and her vision went hazy.

She had never failed twice in a row, but this group was different. They always seemed one step ahead of her. Kallie searched the faces in front of her, trying to find a way out. She reached for her gift as her vision began to go in and out. The strands of her ability lifted and fell sluggishly. Heavy.

Then the crushing of leaves grew louder. A pair of hands entered her vision.

Fynn's voice floated toward her. "It's the only way . . ." His voice was faint and sounded far away.

"No . . . Not again." She didn't know if she said it out loud or if she spoke the words only in her head.

Her panic rose. Then her vision went black against her will for the second time.

* * *

When Kallie regained consciousness,she first heard the crackling of a fire as the wood popped, the smoke tickling her nose. Then came the hushed voices behind her. She remained still and kept her breathing slow as she listened to their conversation. She didn't know how they kept knocking her out cold, but she would find out. She would find out everything.

"—should have killed him when I had the chance," said a man who Kallie was keen to believe was Fynn despite the absent lightness in his voice.

"Trust me. I know and we will, but—as you have always told me—we have to follow the plan first, Fynn. " This second voice matched that of Gray, the man with the scar on his face. It was unmistakable.

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