Page 32 of Blood and Fate

“This advisor, will you choose him?”

Satori pressed her lips together, though she felt the color drain from her face. She would never, never choose Henrik. She would die first.

“I haven’t decided. I have options, as you know.”

She needed to change the subject. Whatever was rolling off of Kais was disconcerting, to say the least. Mildly frightening, to say more.

“So, you’re taking the crossing. Why is it that you’re in so much of a hurry as to ignore your men’s warnings?”

Kais sat slowly back in his chair, placing his fork neatly on the edge of his plate. Clearly he wasn’t eager to revisit the subject, but she had to stop thinking about Henrik. A shudder passed through her and he leaned forward slightly, his eyes sharpening.

Please, please, she silently begged. Please, I need to talk about something else.

Kais relaxed back into his seat again. “I already told you, I have something to deliver.”

His voice had lost its edge and regained a conversational tone, but she thought she still felt a tension in him. Whether in his words or his posture, she couldn’t tell, but it was there.

“When?”

“We’ll stay one more night here and then pack up in the morning.” He took a sip of the water that the cook, Jed, had delivered. “Tomorrow we’ll stop for the night but without tents.”

No tents? She looked up to see if she’d heard him correctly.

He answered her unspoken question, “It’s only one night and not worth the trouble. We sleep on the ground.”

The prospect was certainly not appealing to her. She didn’t even like the tents.

“Apologies. We don’t usually have a Princess along with us.”

“Clearly.” She took a moment to breathe, resigning herself to sleeping on the ground. “So, what are you delivering? You never told me.”

“Supplies.” He swirled his glass but didn’t drink. “There’s a village up above the Vardan. Winter arrives earlier there and fiercer. I’m taking them some extra things to see them through.”

Winter supplies. He’d traded winter supplies for her on the road. “The supplies that you traded to those men, for me, they were for this village.”

His chin dipped slightly, his gaze leveling on her. “They were.”

Guilt hit her. She was rescued at the expense of someone’s protection for the winter.

“There’s still plenty for the village,” Kais assured her, once again seemingly reading her thoughts. “As long as I can get them there before the weather hits.”

“And that’s why you’re taking the crossing.”

“Yes.”

She took a moment to study him. His features were dark, his frame lean but muscular. But in his eyes sat a weight. It could just be the responsibility of all these men, but there could be more. Was there someone special in this village? Was it his village? No doubt there were a number of towns along the way where he could dump off goods and supplies and appease his conscience.

Finally, after the silence had stretched on for a beat too long, Kais spoke, “Well, Princess, forgive me, but I must go.” He stood, taking a final drink of the water and placing the glass back on the table. “There are things to see to.”

He paused as he appeared to be having a silent conversation with himself. His head dipped and his tongue ran over his teeth. Finally, he looked back up at her, seeming to have come to a decision.

He cleared his throat slightly. “Teague and I are going into the small town close by. If you’re interested in getting away from the camp, you’re welcome to join us. I promise you’ll be safe.”

His sincerity washed over her, at odds with her own mistrust of the man. Though, for some reason, she did trust Teague, and the thought of being alone in the camp without him there made her uneasy.

“Thank you.”

Kais’ eyes widened slightly at her words, but he quickly schooled his features. If it weren’t for the fact that she could feel his surprise, she might have thought she had imagined it.

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