Hey everyone!
Sorry for the delay in chapters-I just moved across the country and couldn't write very much while I was on the road. Thank you to all of you who took the time to read and review the latest chapters! I'll try to respond to each of your comments as quickly as possible. Hope you enjoy the new update!
Pain was a familiar sensation and helped shove back the panic and nausea of her past back into the darkness of her memories. The blow had come from behind her and clipped her hard enough to send her stumbling into a pile of discarded ash and soot. Kali staggered and pressed fingers gingerly to the bleeding gash on the back of her head with a wince, shaking her head to clear the fuzzy edges of her vision.
Sound was muffled, distant and it felt like it rooms her years to push herself shakily to her feet. Blood and the dark smear of soot blended into a color that reminded her of the dark red fabric Amarantha favored in her private quarters.
Rhône had his teeth bared in a silent snarl that matched the naked blade in his hand. His eyes were narrowed on the two fae attempting to ambush him, but he kept looking toward her with a worried expression each time he broke free from them. The group used their numbers to their advantage, forcing Rhone away from Kali and too busy to use his power to help her.
She shook her head again and the familiar sounds of battle came crashing into focus, reminding her to pull her mental shields into position.
Gritting her teeth, she straightened her knees and reached clumsily for her knives. A whistle of air warned her of the next blow and she managed to catch the axe handle in the shoulder instead of her head and let out a grunt of pain.
Instead of acknowledging the pain that made her want to curl into a ball and vomit, Kali caught the wooden handle wielded by a helmeted fae and used the momentum to slam him into the wall with a bone rattling crunch. He cursed and she gave him a feral grin, spitting blood from her chewed lip onto the ground.
"Now we're even," she said and wiped away the remnants of blood from her lips.
Rough hands wrapped around her upper arms, dragging her further away from Rhone despite her struggles. It was clear they wanted to seperate the two of them and get her into a secondary location where they could hold her more easily. The first male grappled for her legs and she lashed out wildly, managing to the connect with the male holding her's nose in a move that made the wound on her head throb and him howl with pain. Cursing, the fae threw her across the alleyway into the brick wall where she slid to the ground in a heap.
"Kali!" Rhone cried in alarm and she felt the warm rush of his power seep into her skin like the first rays of dawn.
Her power curled through her eagerly, amplified by Rhône and feeding on her pain to spread it outward until the two males attempting to hem her in staggered and fell back in confusion. Temptation built and the monster within her flexed eager muscles, calling for blood. For agony.
One look at the pale haired prince stilled the siren's call of her empathy and she choked off her magic with clenched teeth. If Rhone found out what kind of monster she was, her chances of completing the mate bond would disappear. Something within her gave a gutteral twist at the thought. She wasn't ready to let her tiny spark of hope disappear yet.
So she reached for the smallest thread of magic that circled the core of her sole. Her birthright and the constant reminder of the life she'd lost before she'd drawn her first breath.
With a clumsy gesture, Kali summoned droplets of water from the early morning air around them, letting it twine around her body like a semi-translucent snake. The two fae slowed, eyeing her warily as she got to her feet and rolled a kink out of her neck. Gesturing in a silent 'come on,' she crouched in a fighting stance, pulling her knives free from their holsters.
They came in a rush of violent promise and Kali could feel her sluggish body struggling to keep up. Further down the street she caught glimpses of Rhone taking on the remaining thugs in flashes of muscle and ice. Ducking the swing of a meaty arm, her blade bit deep into the side of the first while her water slammed into the other's face, flowing into his throat and lungs and choking the breath from him.
Without losing her rhythm, she tossed one of her knives into the back of one of the mercenaries sneaking up on Rhone and watched it land with a sick squelch high on his back. She took a blow to her ribs for the effort but twisted so it didn't land as hard as it should have. Her ears were still ringing and her knees wobbled threateningly, urging her to sit down and sleep.
Her vision narrowed to the movement of her opponent, each parry and blindingly fast attack. Instead of attempting to dodge each strike, she let him control the fight, only shifting the smallest fractions to keep each attack from landing as solidly as he intended. Anger helped dull the pain in her head and helped her focus on the fight.
The body had been a setup, by the mercenaries or Stryker she wasn't sure, but word must have gotten out that she was searching for evidence of the plot to use Amarantha's spellbook. They knew her true name, she thought with a sick feeling. She thought the last of fae who knew the truth of her background were dead, but clearly she had more enemies than she expected.
It occurred to her then that the smartest thing to do would be to run. To disappear before this became any more complicated and put distance between these manacled corpses andher princeling. It would be safer for them all, but…
But she wasn't ready to give up on this fragile peace just yet.
The thought gave her the strength to push awards the next attack and sink her blade deep into her opponents gullet, then again in the corded veins of his neck.
He slumped heavily to the ground and only a quick hold on a leaning door kept her from following. A few moments later the sounds of fighting nearby slowed, then halted entirely. Warm, comforting arms wrapped around her, gingerly carding the silver strands of her hair to examine the injury at her nape.
"Are you hurt?" Rhône breath tasted like the sweet bread they'd eaten for breakfast and his concern rubbed against her rattled nerves like the warm heat of a fire. She closed her eyes, nodding absently at his question.
"I'll be alright," she murmured, shrugging off the touch and tightening her fist around the piece of paper. "We need to get out of here before more show up."
She was halfway down the alley when Rhone called out, "Who is Calypso?"
The name felt like a slap in the face and she whirled on him. "No one."
"She must be someone for you to be acting this way."
Kali started walking again. "She's dead."
Rhone didn't respond, just fell into step beside her and she was grateful that he didn't press her for more answers though his need for them curled around her like a tangible thing. Her head throbbed painfully in time with each step. Although he would have been helpful in the fight, she was grateful that Stryker hadn't followed them to the body-he wouldn't have let her leave without more answers.
Calypso. Calypso. Calypso.
The name was an inescapable rhythm and pulse in her blood and she pressed the heel of her hand to her eyes to try to chase it away. It had been years since she'd heard it and it bothered her more than she was willing to admit that someone was bringing it into the light once more. It belonged in the dark shadows Under the Mountain, not in the frozen air of the Winter Court.
Something was bothering her about the way the mercenaries from Hybern seemed to know when she and Rhône moved through the city. The thought sat in her mind like an itch she couldn't scratch. She had to be missing something, some vital piece of this puzzle.
How were they tracking them?
If they had some way to know where she was, Kali had no doubt that she would already be languishing in some gods forsaken pit.
Had Stryker been selling them out to the highest bidder? That too didn't sit right. The spymaster certainly could track them through his network, but he had been adamant that no one was to harm Rhône. Plus, he could have easily slaughtered her one of the many nights she'd gone to the Warren alone.
A dark thought made its way into her mind as she eyed the big male prowling at her side, weapons glinting in the early morning light. Unlike her, Rhone was remarkably untouched by their recent fight with Hybern mercenaries-a fact she'd attributed to skill but was beginning to reconsider. Had he been playing her all along? Each time they'd been ambushed had been after one of Rhone's little trip back to the palace for 'business.' And each time, he walked away from the fight unscathed.
In an instant, old instinct had her hands closing around the knife hidden in the folds of her shirt and she pressed the gleaming metal against the muscles of his neck.
Rhone froze.
"Who are you working with?" Kali bit out, surprised at the level of fury she felt at the thought.
"What are you talking about, thief?" he asked slowly, as if she were a horse ready to spook.
She pressed the knife more firmly against his neck and felt the muscles move as he swallowed. "You may have fooled me initially, but I'm not an idiot," she said, nudging him with her blade until they were off the street and into one of the alleys behind a bustling restaurant. "Each time those mercenaries found me it was only after you showed up. Somehow you always come out of these fights with little more than scratches...it's almost as if they don't want to hurt you." Each word fell like a blow that she felt accumulating like a thundercloud on his affronted face.
"Kali-" he began, but she cut him off with a prick.
"Don't-" she snarled, hands shaking slightly, "-don't pretend you're my friend. Who did you tell about me?"
"I'm trying to be patient here, but if you touch me with your knife one more time I will make you regret it," he growled back and Kali could feel the warm heat of his anger wash over her shields. It restored some of her balance. It was good for him to be angry. Anger she understood far better than the beginnings of betrayal in his eyes. "I haven't told anyone about our deal."
She stilled, her heart twisting in a familiar pain that she wished would go away at the reminder of their deal. That's all this was after all, a deal for her freedom and for him to return the spellbook to his family. Then they would go their separate ways. He'd forget about her as soon as he returned to his normal life.
"How can I believe you?"
"If I wanted to kill you, don't you think I've had enough opportunities to do it? You've slept in my bed. By the Mother, you even asked me to hold you while you slept!"
A hot flush curled up her neck to stain her cheeks. Shame and embarrassment churned within her at the reminder of her weakness. He was right, of course. She'd been far too willing to let this male who might be her mate past her defenses. The note in her hand was burning through the fragile facade of normalcy she'd been building over the last few days with him. Slowly, Kali pulled the knife away and took a step back, moving out of his range and deeper into the shadows.
"That means there's a spy working in the palace. How else would they be able to track your movements so easily?"
Rhone rubbed the red line on his neck, looking troubled and still annoyed with her. His eyes were still wary. Good. He needed to be reminded that she was not some new pet for him to keep. "I can have the servants questioned," he replied.
"It may be someone higher up."
"Are you implying that one of my family members is setting me up?" he asked sharply and Kali hesitated, suddenly unsure of her theory. She thought of the pale haired family in the picture from his living room. Of the love and pride that shone in their parent's eyes.
"I hope not," she whispered and faded away into the crowd to begin hunting for answers and to put some much needed distance between them.