CHAPTER 14

Her jaw was tight and her hands were balled into tight fists. In any other circumstances I would have laughed, but her wrath was directed at me.

"If you were going to cheat on me, you could have at least had the decency to do it in private and not at the entrance to the Fireworld," she ground out.

"I –" I began, but she interrupted me.

"And why did you even bother to keep up the facade? Why didn't you just run away with your girlfriend before Brielle was born?"

"I –" I tried again. She didn't let me finish.

"God! I can't believe I fell for your stupid lies! And to think I actually mothered your child!" Yelena shuddered in revulsion. "I'm such an idiot!" She put her face into her hands and started sobbing.

I stood and glared at Prudence. Then I put my arms around Yelena. She shoved on my chest, trying to get away from me. "Don't even bother," she said.

"I wasn't cheating on you," I attempted to explain. "She's the one who kissed me." I pulled her closer and gave Prudence a death glare over Yelena's shoulder.

Yelena leaned away from me and started to move towards Prudence. I grabbed her arms to stop her. "I'll kill you," she vowed.

Prudence completely ignored her and said to me, "I can see why they say she's a good match for you." I gave her a full power death glare. She looked away, intimidated.

"Why?" Yelena demanded.

"Why, what?" Prudence said, complete innocence coloring her tone. Slight confusion was evident there too. I can't say I blame her. Even I wondered what Yelena was asking about. Was she talking about her body or the fact that Prudence had just forcefully kissed me?

"Why did you take it?" Yelena asked. She had changed the subject, but I knew I was going to suffer for what Prudence had done later. I gulped internally at the very thought. Even I, a master assassin, feared Yelena's wrath.

"I told you already," Prudence sighed. "Because of Leonard," she said, exasperated. We had been going over this for an hour now and the same question kept coming back over and again.

"Yes, I know that. But what does he want with my body? I mean, he doesn't even know me and I'm guessing the only reason he 'joined' " she made quotes in the air with her fingers. " is because he thinks he is going to get a shot at Valek."

"Look I have no idea!" Prudence finally yelled. "The only thing I know is that he's on their side. I don't even know how I'm going to explain all of this to Ambrose."

It was my turn to sigh now. The Commander would believe Prudence, not my father. There was no question about that. How could she doubt that? "Prudence, Ambrose is going to believe you. Besides, what's he going to do; ask the enemy for their opinion? That's idiotic."

"I think you should go see your father," Yelena said in a quiet voice. "It would help. Who else will he listen to if not his own son?"

I gaped. "My father hates me. He'll kill me if I even set foot on his land," I objected.

"Kill you?" Yelena laughed. "You're not five Valek. What's he going to do; spank you?"

"Worse," Prudence said. "Shove a stick up his ass," Prudence said, snickering.

I ground my teeth together and stomped away before I hurt anyone. I sat down on a large mass of rock somewhere deeper in the forest, throwing pebbles at the vital points of any animal stupid enough to cross me when I was this frustrated.

"I hate you!" I yelled at no one in particular, chucking one last rock at a jittery squirrel that just happened to fall from a tree, startled by my sudden outburst.

My rage still not quenched, I threw off my shirt and dived into a nearby stream. I swam laps up and down its length, trying to wear off my anger-induced energy.

The rustling of leaves caused me to jump. I looked around; ready to kill whoever was enough of an imbecile to stalk me, Valek, the infamous assassin of the late King of Ixia.

Yelena stepped timidly out from the bushes, avoiding my first few attempts to ward her off. I was an emotional wreck. I was unable to think straight, let alone hit someone. Her green eyes were slightly darkened with some emotion, but she hid it well.

"We're leaving," she announced. There was no trace of anger in her voice, but I knew she was mad. Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked away, back in the direction she'd come from. My first thought was to let her go, but then I remembered we only had one horse for the both of us. Slipping back into my shirt, I sprinted after her through the woods.

When I emerged in the clearing I had been in before, I found both Prudence and Yelena on saddled horses. Prudence had been manacled to hers and the reins were tied to Emerald. My horse was stiff under Yelena's posture. Without warning, I climbed onto the horse and, sitting down behind her, I broke her grasp on the reins.

"I'm leading," I told her. She sighed and started to dismount so she could sit behind me. I blocked her way with my arm. She harrumphed and leaned back into my chest. I released one arm from the reins and wrapped it around her waist. She struggled against my grip stubbornly. Prudence snickered behind us. She had obviously known that the chain of events that had taken place would lead to a similar situation.

During the trip back to Leif and Mara's house, I mostly tired to win Yelena back and Prudence mostly laughed at me.

One night, Yelena fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the days travel. Prudence had already dozed off, so I decided to take a chance. Quietly, I rolled over to Yelena's side. My arm bumped hers and she stirred. I stiffened and waited for her to still again. Then, ever so gently, I wrapped an arm around Yelena's waist and pulled her close. Yelena's eyes opened almost immediately and met mine. She opened her mouth to say something, but I silenced her with a kiss. She shoved against my chest until I moved away. She slapped me, hard. My cheek stung and I knew it was going to leave a mark. I could almost hear Janco laughing at her stubbornness.

"What was that for?" I asked stupidly.

Yelena didn't answer; she just tried to get away from me. I chuckled while she squirmed. Soon enough though, I was forced to stand us both up so I could keep a solid grip on her. After a while, the girl in my arms seemed to realize that I was much stronger than her and that I wasn't planning on letting her go anywhere.

"Beg for forgiveness," she ordered, pointing to the ground at her feet. I got onto my knees in front of her without hesitation, keeping an unbreakable grasp on her hips. I lifted her shirt with one hand to expose her flat stomach. Running my lips across the skin there, I looked up at her from underneath my eyelashes. I felt her shiver in my arms.

"So, you think –" I interrupted her, running my hands over her thighs. "– That you can kiss your way –" I stopped her again by moving my hands upwards underneath her shirt. "– Out of this?" she finally gasped, shivering again as my fingertips traced her bare skin.

I stood and continued to kiss her passionately. She whimpered against my lips and I whispered into her ear darkly, "I think I just did."

"Can you two keep it down?" Prudence's voice cut through my perfect moment. "I'm trying to get some beauty sleep here."

"I didn't know ugliness was a curable disease," I teased, but also trying to make it clear that I didn't share any of her feelings.

Her face fell a bit when she understood what I was hinting, but instead of elaborating on the embarrassing subject she just said, "Shut up, assassin. At least I don't need anger management."

"I wouldn't be throwing insults if I were handcuffed to a tree," I taunted her again, gesturing to her chains. Even though she had changed sides, Yelena still didn't trust her. I think part of the reason why was that she had kissed me.

She glared at me, tugging at her solid restraints.

"Yes you would," Yelena cut in.

I shrugged, "You know me."

"Too bad you're immune to magic, or I would have zapped your head off already," Prudence pouted.

"It doesn't work. I've tried," Yelena laughed. Were all females so annoying?

Even if I had been susceptible to magic, they wouldn't be able to get a clear shot at me, thanks to my assassin skills. I took a deep breath and rolled over, hugging my soul mate and drifting off into a light slumber.

I awoke the next morning to Yelena drawing designs lightly on my chest with her fingertips.

"I thought you were mad at me," I said.

"I was. You kissed your way out of it."