Kindred Souls Complete Series: Books 1-4

Chapter Two

Sky insisted it washis turn with me, so I ended up basically in his lap on the back of the horse. He was worse than Whist with his teasing touches and whispered dirty words.

We were on the way to a new country. My breath caught and my stomach rolled.

It was scary, but exciting at the same time. No longer living a life constantly on the move, finally able to have a home, put down roots, create a family. I was sure Havisam had some laws I could protest against.

We hadn’t discussed what our new lives would be like yet; the assassins said we’d figure it out. They had enough money squirreled away to get us set up. It burned not being able to contribute. Once we arrived, I’d find a way. I certainly would not sit back and let them take care of me.

“You still haven’t told me much about your past.”

Sky jerked at my words. We’d been riding in silence for a while. “What do you want to know?”

“Who are you leaving behind?” The guilt refused to let go, popping up over and over again.

His arms tightened around my middle. “Still worrying about this, doll?”

“Of course I am. You have to leave the country because of me.”

“Not because of you. Because of the king. The only one leaving anyone behind who matters is Whist. And we’ll figure out a way to get her out of there.”

“Won’t the king use her against him?” I asked.

Sky’s fingers tripped down my thigh. “We told you, she’s a favorite of the princesses and the prince. She’ll be safe until we can smuggle her to Havisam.”

“What about you and Saber’s families?”

“We don’t have any.” His usual merry tone was flat and hard.

My stomach lurched. “What happened?”

“Saber’s parents died when he was young and I was given to the orphanage as soon as I was born. It’s how we met. We decided to become soldiers so we could stay together.”

My brows furrowed and my heart hurt for the both of them. “Why haven’t I heard this before?”

“Because it’s depressing as fuck and we’ve been a bit busy the last couple weeks.” He chuckled in my ear and slid his hand under my shirt.

But I wanted to get to know more than their bodies. I wanted to know them. I wanted them to know me.

We had given up everything for each other and I felt like we’d barely scratched the surface.

Sky nipped my ear. “What’s going on in that head of yours, doll?”

“I just feel like we don’t know each other very well.” My eyes focused on Saber and Whist’s backs as they rode in front of us, occasionally exchanging quiet words too low for me to hear.

“Little late for second thoughts.” He pushed my hair over my shoulder to tease the back of my neck with his lips.

I shook my head and patted his leg. “Not second thoughts. I just want to know you.”

“You will, doll. It takes time. We don’t have to force it.”

“You sound like Saber.” I leaned back against him, my head in the crook of his neck.

“I hear that a lot. And you haven’t told us much about your past either, you know. We know your parents weren’t kindreds. We know you moved around your entire life. We know you spent the last few years traveling around as a bard making an enemy of the king. And that’s about it.”

“Fair enough.” I pursed my lips.

“Let’s get somewhere safe and settled. We’ll have time for it. And we do know some things about you. Things like how brave you are, how strong, how stubborn, how fierce, how talented, how beautiful. And you know some things about us. Like how handsome and dashing and mysterious we are.”

I snorted. But he wasn’t wrong. I did know enough about them to know they were good men, dangerous men, my men. I knew they fit me like a missing puzzle piece, I knew they brought out sides of me I didn’t know I had, I knew I was falling for them.

Sky was right. We had time. Determined to turn my mind off, I snuggled back into Sky’s chest. He pressed a kiss onto the top of my head, making me smile.

Right as I began to nod off safe in his arms, our horse whinnied and reared. Sky kept me from falling and yanked the horse to a stop. He tossed me to the ground into Saber’s arms before leaping to the ground and drawing his sword. Saber set me on my feet and shoved me behind him.

We were surrounded by royal guards.