Page 64 of Blood and Fate

Kais shot Teague a long-suffering look. “What about me would ever make her, or more importantly, her father, add me to that list?”

Now it was Teague’s turn to share an exasperated look. Of course Kais knew what might get him on the list. But he didn’t want to play that card, not with her. Did he want her? He did. He’d wanted her since the moment he saw her at her castle. Did he want her to choose him based on her desire and not preconceived circumstances? Yes, he did.

“Kais!”

Teague leaned around the tent toward the sound of the voice; when he looked back at Kais, his brows were up near his hairline, his mouth twisted into a grimace. “Incoming.”

Kais squared his shoulders. He knew this moment had been coming; it was practically a ritual with her. That didn’t stop him from hoping they could skip it just once, or at least push it off. No matter how much he thought he had gotten over the past, her presence always brought the hurt freshly to his mind. It was painful, and the constant rehash was exhausting.

From around the tent, the woman stormed. Her hair was tied at the base of her neck, but flyaways escaped everywhere as though she had put in a hard day’s work. That or she had been pacing and flailing in her home, spouting about his presence. At least Bug still loved him.

Kais recognized the bundle in her hands as she approached. He shot a look at Teague, the other man having leaned back to rest against a tent pole as though settling in for the inevitable.

She stormed up to him, stopping mere feet away, and tossed the folded bundle at his feet. “Why do you come here?”

Kais looked from her to the blanket on the ground and back up. Gesturing to the blanket, he said, “That’s why I came here.”

“We have our own blankets.”

“Lena, are you really angry with me for bringing you supplies for the winter? If you don’t want to use them, don’t. But that shouldn’t deprive everyone else.” He shifted his weight. “Adalyn shouldn’t suffer because you don’t want to see me.”

“If Adalyn understood, she wouldn’t want to see you, either.” The woman’s voice dripped with venom, but Kais could see the hurt behind her gaze.

He pulled in a deep breath. Her comment had done its job, stabbing at him with the truth of it. But he was so tired of apologizing to this woman. She wasn’t the only one to experience loss here.

“If it makes you feel better, we won’t be staying long. Just a few days for the men to relax, and then we’re off. I have a stop to make before I go home.”

“Yes, the Princess. I heard,” Lena nearly sneered. “I figured she was a conquest, spoils of war, and all that.”

A spark of anger ignited, and he curled his hand into a fist before quickly releasing it, flexing his fingers and cracking a knuckle. “She is no such thing.”

A surprised expression appeared on Lena’s mocking face. “Touchy, Kais. Calm down. We all know you can have anyone you want. You really should choose, already. Maybe you’ll earn some respect.”

“I’m fairly well respected, Lena,” he quipped. “Except by you.”

She shook her head dismissively. “They don’t know you like I do. I don’t care who you are. You’ll only ever be one person to me.”

“Not that it will matter, but I am sorry, Lena.”

Hurt stung his lungs, and he needed to be away. She would never forgive him, but her constant hatred made it hard for him to forgive himself. Memories crowded into his head, causing a dull ache.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me.” With a nod toward Teague, which the other man returned, Kais stepped over the bundle at his feet and around Lena, walking away.

Before he was out of earshot, he heard Teague say, “He doesn’t deserve that. In fact, he deserves quite the opposite.”

“Shut up, Teague,” Lena snapped back.

Then Kais was away, heading in no specific direction. He just needed quiet. He felt her before he saw her. The warmth washed over him, and he stopped walking, closing his eyes and allowing the feeling of comfort to envelope him. He took one long slow breath in and blew it out equally as slowly. Did she know how she made him feel? How, when she was close by, his cares seemed less? His tension dissipated? When he opened his eyes, she was there, standing only yards in front of him, watching him.

He said nothing, holding her gaze for just a moment longer than might have been comfortable.

She stepped toward him. “Are you alright?”

Physically? Emotionally? Which? And was he? Physically he was well, so that’s how he answered.

“I’m fine.”

She took another step, her eyes darting to the ground and back up. “I . . . I didn’t mean to, but I heard. Are you sure you’re alright?”

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