Kindred Souls Complete Series: Books 1-4

Chapter Twenty-Five

The assassins leaptto their feet, chairs falling to the floor behind them.

Whist whipped a fork at the face of the royal guard in the doorway. “Sky. Get Rhapsody out of here. You know where to meet. We’re blown.”

Sky picked me up out of my chair while Whist and Saber unearthed weapons out of thin air. Where the fuck were they hiding all those? Sky hustled me towards the back door.

I struggled against his grip. “Wait. My pack. My ukulele.”

Sky didn’t stop. “There’s no time. We have to move.”

A sob caught in my throat, panic clawing at me. I couldn’t lose Papa’s ukulele. It would shatter me. “It’s the only thing I have left, Sky. Please.”

“I’m so sorry, doll. We’ll try to come back for it. I swear. But there are more than just that one lug and Saber and Whist will be distracted if they have to worry about you. Please, Rhapsody.”

Another sob tore from my throat, but I let Sky drag me away, no longer fighting, but not helping either. Outside, four guards waited for us. And based on the crashing noises inside, more had joined Saber and Whist.

We were trapped.

Sky shoved me behind him and the air rang with the scrape of steel as he drew his sword. “You’re a burr on my ass, got it?”

I sniffed and nodded. “Yeah.”

He squeezed my arm and then he was moving, spinning, slicing, cutting, killing. It was like a dance. I could almost hear the music. Shock kept me frozen and I could do nothing but watch.

A song came together in my mind — this one crying out my grief and burgeoning love for my assassins. One about the agony of choices, but the freedom in having them. The lyrics were still a jumble, but the music was crystal clear.

Could Sky hear it? He moved perfectly to the beat in my head. Perhaps I was adjusting the beat to him. There was such a strange beauty in his killing, stark and harsh. His body swelled in protection. His movements calm and certain. His eyes burning with a sort of holy vengeance.

If I could paint, I would have painted him. Just like this.

I hated waiting on the sidelines, unable to help for fear of getting in the way. Two lessons did not turn me into a fighter. I’d always fought with my words, with my music. Only occasionally had I used my dagger and only as a last resort.

Maybe it was time for me to take up a sword.

Sky stumbled and the remaining guard raised his sword to strike. Before my brain caught up, I belted out a song as loud as I could. The guard jerked with surprise and his eyes darted over to me. It gave Sky the opening he needed to smash the hilt of his sword into the guard’s face and knock him unconscious to the ground.

Sky’s wide eyes met mine. “You just saved my life. With song.”

I stuttered a little before I could push words out of my stiff lips. “I guess I did.”

He wrapped me in his arms, breathing in the scent of my hair. “That’s definitely a first for me.”

“Hopefully a last.”

He set me back on the ground and pulled me away from the house. “Keep it in your arsenal just in case. I’m willing to wager it would work again.”

I dug in my heels. “Wait. What about Saber and Whist?”

He tugged on my arm. “I have my orders and they’re to get you out of here.”

“But they might need help.” I cast a desperate, fearful glance over my shoulder, hoping for a glimpse of the others.

“Trust me. They’ll be fine. More guards will be on the way. We have to go.”

Before I could argue further, the other two assassins tumbled through the door, Whist holding up a bleeding Saber who held my ukulele in his arms.

I rushed over to them, ignoring the instrument, and reached out, my hand hovering over the slice on Saber’s arm. “What happened?”

“He went after your ukulele and got a sword to the arm for his trouble.” Whist shook his head.

My mouth dropped in horror as I relieved him of my most precious possession. “Saber, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for you to put yourself in danger for that.”

Saber’s uninjured arm reached out to run his hand along my shoulder. “It was your father’s. You need it.”

“I need you more.” The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them. But I meant every one.

Whist nudged us towards the woods. “We need to get out of here. More will be coming and the closest safe house is half a day away.”

“Why don’t we steal the guards’ horses? They might make the trip faster.” I wasn’t a confident rider, but I knew how. And I wanted them far away from danger.

Sky grinned. “You’d make a decent assassin, doll. Just wait until you two hear how Rhapsody here saved my life.”

I rolled my eyes and remained close to Saber’s side. “He needs to be stitched up.”

“I’m fine, love. Once we get away from here, we’ll stop and you can tend to me, all right?” Saber patted my hand.

“Fine.” Avoiding his wound, I raised up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “And thank you.”

“Anytime, love.”

I scowled and shook my head so hard my braid whipped me in the face. “No. Not again. Nothing is more precious than your life.”

“It was worth it just to see you smile.”

“I think the blood loss is making you cheesy. You’re usually smoother than that.” I ignored how even cheesy, his words made me melt.

He smiled. “I’ll do better next time.”

Whist broke up the moment by leading over two horses. “Rhapsody, you’re with me. Sky, you take Saber.”

“Splitting up or staying together?” Sky asked.

“Split up. Circular route and meet in the middle.” Whist’s words made no sense to me, but Sky seemed to understand them.

“See you in about an hour.”

“We’ll probably beat you there so we’ll wait.” Whist tossed me into the saddle and leapt up behind me, his hands coming around to grasp the reins.

I still clutched the ukulele to my chest, some of Saber’s blood splattered across it. My heart clenched at what could have happened just because Saber wanted to make me happy. Why did he do that for someone he’d only known a few days, kindred or not?

I didn’t understand.