Kindred Souls Complete Series: Books 1-4

Chapter Six

My strings almost snappedbeneath my fingers. I grasped my ukulele and raced for the back exit. The bartender moved out of my way, instead of blocking me like I expected.

One of the guards seized the back of my cloak, but I kicked back at him, smashing him right in the knee with the heel of my boot. He screamed in pain and I ripped away from him, barreling through the back door and sprinting for the woods where I hid my pack.

Someone grabbed me around the waist and yanked me into a body carrying a familiar scent. Sunshine and blueberries.

Sky.

I relaxed against him, the assassins less of a threat than the royal guards, the constant ache disappearing at his touch. The void filled back up. Damn this connection. Damn it straight to hell.

“You plan to knock me out again, doll?” He whispered the question into my ear.

“Not at the moment. I have bigger problems.” I fought against my body’s desire to press back into him.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Saber and Whist are handling it.”

He set me down and spun me around. I winced at the dried blood and swelling on the side of his face.

“Sorry.” I did mean it. And not just because of how much it hurt me.

“You can make it up to me later.” His eyes smoldered at me and I tried to hide my shivery reaction. It was ridiculous how my body responded to him, to all three of them.

With more of an effort than I would ever admit to, I pulled away from him. “I need to get my pack.”

“Where is it?”

I gestured behind me. “I hid it in the woods.”

“Lead on, doll.”

After taking stock of our surroundings, I headed toward my hiding spot. I still didn’t want to hide away with three assassins, but I was also not interested in being arrested and taken to the palace. Maybe lying low with them for a while was a good idea. They were clearly not going to leave me alone. And I couldn’t run from them and the royal guard.

“You can’t run from us again. We can’t keep you safe if you keep performing like this.” Sky’s words echoed my thoughts.

Which did nothing but bring out my contrariness. “I don’t need you to keep me safe.”

He rolled his eyes as he held back a low-hanging branch for me. “Sure. You’re doing great on your own. But now that Saber and Whist have dealt with the guards, word will get back to the king faster than we wanted. We’re blown, and that makes things even hotter for you. We’re your best chance at getting through this alive.”

I blew out a sigh as I dug out my pack. He had a point. If I hid out for a bit, maybe things would calm down and the king would forget about me. I was just some bard, not a threat to the country. It wasn’t like I was the leader of some uprising.

But if I stayed with the assassins, I could lose myself in them. I didn’t know how long I’d be able to hold out against the feelings they brought out in me. I didn’t know what to do.

“Fine. I’ll stay with you three. For now.”

Sky took my arm. “Come on. We need to put some distance between us and this town.”

I stumbled in his wake. “What about the others?”

He steadied me and slowed his pace. “We have a rendezvous spot planned. They’ll meet us there.”

“What if more guards come?”

Sky laughed, loud and long and hard.

“What’s so amusing?” My voice was sharp with annoyance. Did he take anything seriously?

“The thought of those two not being able to handle a few guards. Hell, a few dozen guards won’t be a problem. We’re assassins, doll.”

I hopped over a small fallen tree. “Exactly. You’re not soldiers. You sneak around in shadows and alleys and kill people before they even know you’re there.”

He chuckled. “You’ve been reading too many novels. Granted, we do handle it that way sometimes, we’re also trained in battle. Don’t worry, they’ll be just fine.”

The sun dipped toward the horizon, the days already growing shorter. Dark would be on us in less than two hours

“Maybe I should hope for the opposite. That way there’s only you to deal with and then I’m two steps closer to being free.” The words tasted wrong in my mouth, but I said them anyway. Maybe if I resisted loudly and often, I would convince myself.

He yanked me closer until all I could smell was him. “You don’t mean that, doll. It’s a lot to wrap your mind around. Believe me I understand.”

“I don’t think you do.” I tried to catch my bearings, but Sky had lead and turned me in so many different directions, I was completely turned around.

“Why don’t you explain it to me then? Why are you so against kindred souls?”

“I’m not really against them. I believe they’re real. And I even believe they work out happily for some people. But I don’t believe we should be forced together. And I don’t believe you should only be allowed to marry and have a family with kindreds. We should have choices and opportunities to decide for ourselves. So many people don’t even find their kindreds and they’re forced to spend their lives alone, never having children. It’s bullshit.”

“But what about people who find their kindreds later in life? What if they’re married and have a family? What happens then?”

I shrugged. “Multiple mates are common. They can make it work.”

“But a kindred connection is much more powerful than a relationship without it. It would overshadow it.” There was something I couldn’t read or understand in his expression. Something hopeful? Excited? Relieved? I wasn’t sure. But I was beginning to think my views made him happy.

“Perhaps. Perhaps they could make it work. But it would be their choice. They could choose to wait and search for their kindred or they could choose to accept love when they find it.”

“Maybe you’re right. But doll, I have to tell you. If you were already in a relationship with someone, I’d want to kill him. Not share you with him. I’m already going to have to share you with my best mates.”

I scowled, tired of repeating myself. “I haven’t decided to give in to the connection. You can’t force me.”

All signs of humor disappear from his face. “We’d never force you. Ever.”

“Good. I’d kill anyone who tried.”

A huge smile lit up his face, his eyes sparkling with delight. “Oh, doll. I completely understand how we’re kindred.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He means you’re just as blood-thirsty as us and he likes it.”

I jumped, whirling around at the voice behind me.