Page 27 of Blood and Fate

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

KAIS

Kais ran a thumb slowly, absently, over his bottom lip. His eyes studied the surface of his desk, analyzing a dark knot in the wood, its edges coming to a point. The tent flap opened and closed again, but he ignored whoever had entered.

She’d been alone. He had felt the panic rise, felt it as though it were his own. The feeling of being cornered with nowhere to go, danger imminent. He was sure someone had been in there. But when he had burst in, knife drawn, he’d found her alone, and his presence had not had a reassuring effect.

“I know that look.” Teague strolled across the tent to the drink cart and helped himself.

He filled two small glasses with dark liquid, bringing them to Kais’ desk and setting one in front of him. The heavy glass thunking onto the wood drew his attention first to the drink and then to Teague who stood, swirling his drink and looking at Kais with a question in his gaze.

“What?”

Teague shrugged, taking a small sip. “You aren’t usually this distracted.”

Kais acknowledged the other man with a quick lift of his brow. It was the truth. Distraction wasn’t really his thing. He was focused. He had to be. He was responsible for a lot of men and a lot of people in general, and he couldn’t afford distractions. So what was going on with this girl?

Ifshe was just some pretty female, he could ignore it. Or do something about it and then ignore it. But Satori.... she was different. There was something almost supernatural about the effect her presence had on him. Even now, as he sat in his tent, he could feel her, yards away, still scared. Of him.

She had nothing to be afraid of with him. He wished he could make her believe that, if only to give her some peace while she was in the camp, to let her know she was safe. And why couldn’t she tell? Why could he feel her emotions as though they were his own, and she couldn’t seem to feel anything about him? She only seemed to panic when he was around. If she could feel his sincerity, it would help them both. Of course, charging into her tent with a drawn weapon probably hadn’t helped. Maybe her panic drowned out all other senses?

The term “blood mates” pushed its way into his consciousness again, and he physically shook his head, trying to rid the idea. Blood mates was a myth, or at least something reserved only for Shala and Miram and maybe one or two other ancient couples. He hadn’t heard of the phenomenon in his lifetime or the lifetime of his recent ancestors. And again, it wouldn’t be only one-sided. It had to be some sort of cruel punishment from Shala for something he had done. What else could it be?

“Kay?”

His eyes snapped back to Teague, and he realized he’d been lost in his thoughts for far too long. He rolled his eyes at the other man and lifted the glass to his lips, downing the contents. He would need another one of those.

Maybe changing the subject would help. “Everyone settled?”

Teague gave him a look that said he knew that wasn’t anywhere close to what was actually on his mind, but he answered anyway. “They are.” He set his glass on the edge of the desk, pulled off his coat, and slid into the small chair on the opposite side of Kais. “Some of them are curious about our destination... If we’re detouring to take the Princess home or if we’re going on.”

“We’re going on.”

That was one thing Kais knew for sure. He would take Satori back to her father and her castle, but not before he finished the task at hand.

Teague nodded once, then appeared to be considering his next words. He pulled in a breath, squinting slightly around another sip of his drink. “And what route will we be taking?”

Kais had known this question was coming; he was surprised it hadn’t come sooner. Obviously, the presence of the Princess in their camp had been a distraction to more than just himself. He moved his glass to take another drink and remembered it was empty. He could really use a refill.

As though he read Kais’ mind, Teague stood without a sound. Instead of taking Kais’ glass to refill it, he opted to retrieve the bottle of alcohol and bring it back to the desk. He filled Kais’ glass and topped off his own before retaking his seat, eyes on Kais expectantly.

Kais swirled the drink and met Teague’s gaze. The other man’s blue eyes bored into his own. He would have preferred not to answer while looking him in the eye, but that seemed cowardly.

“We’re taking the crossing.”

To his credit, Teague’s reaction was nonexistent. He simply stared back for a moment before he spoke, “It’s not going to sit well with some of the men.”

Some of the men. Kais knew very well it would be more than some of the men who would take issue with his choice. It was a dangerous game to play, pitting men against the river. But it was necessary.

“Taking the crossing will shave days, a week or more, off our journey. The faster we get to Burnell, the faster we can get the Princess back to her home.”

And he needed to get the Princess back. He needed her away, out of his camp, and not having nervous breakdowns next door to his tent that kept him awake at night.

Teague placed his glass on the desk and slid it away from the edge. “At the expense of lives?”

“It doesn’t have to be at the expense of lives. People cross all the time without dying.” The words tasted bitter even as he spoke them.

It was dangerous, extremely dangerous. But there were people who needed him and he had no intention of letting them down. If he chose to take the Princess home first, he might not have the opportunity to get to Burnell before the weather turned.

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