Kindred Souls Complete Series: Books 1-4

Chapter Sixteen

There was no sign ofIndigo and Elora when Whist, Aster, and I joined Bastian in the sitting room. He paced before the fireplace, frustration pouring off him in waves, stopping at our entrance, his eyes shuttered, his expression blank.

Aster sprawled out on one of the couches and tugged me down beside him, half on his lap. I curled into him, glad to finally be able to give in to the urge to touch him without fighting myself. He looked down at me with a soft smile and pressed a kiss to my forehead, then squeezed me so tight it made me squeak.

Whist perched on the arm of the couch and glared at Bastian. “You’re Rhapsody’s fifth kindred?”

Bastian paused his pacing and met Whist’s glare with one of his own. “It seems so.”

“And you aren’t interested in completing the bond?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?” Whist asked. “We have no objections and feel confident enough to speak for the other two that they’ll feel the same.”

Bastian’s eyes widened a bit before he covered his reaction. “I was not concerned over your feelings or objections.”

Aster adjusted me until I was plastered against him. “You know, it would be a smart political move if you did join us. For both countries.”

Bastian raised a brow. “If we decide to help you. Which we haven’t yet.”

“May I ask why you are uninterested in the bond?” Aster asked. He sounded almost offended on my behalf.

It was sweet, but it wasn’t helping, it just made everything more difficult.

“It’s none of your business. If you need to know that badly, Rhapsody can fill you in. I explained it all to her.”

“I saw the way you watched her. You want her. You’re fighting it.” Whist snorted. “You two make an excellent match. She always fights it too.”

I scowled at him, but kept my mouth shut. Mainly because he was right.

Bastian shook his head and tightened his jaw. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just the bond trying to force us together. It’ll pass once the lot of you are back in Faligrey.”

I rubbed my chest, the dull ache pulsing at his words denying our bond. Now that I had the support of Aster and Whist, I found myself more tempted by Bastian. He noticed my movement, and an apology shone from his eyes.

I elbowed Aster since Whist was too far away. “Leave him alone. He has his reasons. You’re not going to bully him into accepting it.”

“Is that what they did to you?” Bastian asked, a growl in his voice.

Whist stiffened and jerked to his feet with a snarl, but Aster’s laughter kept him from moving farther.

“Have you not spent any time with this woman at all? She can’t be bullied or cajoled into anything. And we aren’t complete dicks. We would never try to force the bond on anyone.”

Bastian’s scowl didn’t lessen. “Your king’s laws make it that way.”

“Laws we’re trying to change. But we can’t do that until my father is out of power.”

A thoughtful expression took over the anger. “Why haven’t you simply killed him? You have assassins on your side, I’m sure you could make it look like an accident.”

“We don’t want to steal the throne through bloodshed and rebellion. It could spark a civil war. He still has many followers who would gather in his name if anyone ever suspected.” Aster grunted as Whist sat back down and took me from him.

I rolled my eyes and wriggled until I was between both of them, uninterested in being the rope in their game of tug of war.

Bastian’s brow furrowed. “And how do you plan to convince him to step down?”

Aster gave a lazy shrug, every inch the careless prince. “My sister plans to explain it all when we meet with your assembly again. But basically, if we can gather allies in other countries along with our own council, we can prove to him his reign is over. And with his actions towards Rhapsody, we have proof of him breaking his own laws.”

Bastian sighed and sat in a chair across from the couch. “Trying to have his son, the prince’s kindred killed is certainly against his laws.”

Aster straightened, his charming facade dropping away. “There are precedents, we just need enough backing to keep him from declaring war.”

“You need so much backing, you’re looking from it in other countries?”

“Partly. We aren’t sure who to trust in Faligrey past a select few. And Indigo is looking farther into the future than dealing with our father. She wants to build trade and peace between the countries surrounding Faligrey instead of the silence and closed borders.”

Bastian leaned back. “Interesting. She’ll have her work cut out for her convincing the Assembly to open our borders.”

“What are your thoughts?” I asked, curious and wanting him to keep talking so Whist and Aster could get to know him a bit.

“I’m not against it, but I’m not completely for it either. It depends what she offers. And don’t look to me to sway them. I get a vote, but they will probably believe Rhapsody is affecting my choices if I vote for it.”

“And is she?” Aster asked. “Effecting your choices?”

Bastian scowled. “No. I wouldn’t let something like that change my mind. I’m a historian. Opening our borders and taking part in overthrowing a king of a bordering country would make history. I’d be willing to try it just out of curiosity. But my people come first. We will only agree if it’s best for them. If I were you, I’d discuss this with your sister before the meeting later and make sure you have enough incentive.”

Bastian nodded at me and then strode from the room, closing the door behind with with a firm click. Whist cursed and ran his hand through his red curls.

“We expected this. Indigo knows what she’s doing. And after seeing what little we’ve seen of their home, I’m more confident.” Aster turned to me. “Tell me about their food.”

“It’s good, especially their meat and bread, but their fruits and vegetables aren’t fresh or plentiful. I don’t think things grow well in this climate and type of soil. I’ve seen signs of fresh herbs and lemons, but that’s it. Everything else was tinned.”

“Good. This is good. Tell me everything you’ve noticed about them since you’ve been here.”

All I wanted was to curl up with the two of them in bed, but I knew how important this alliance was and I wanted to do whatever I could to help bring it to life. So instead of dragging them back into the bedroom to fuck for another hour or so, I spent it giving them every little detail I could think of, including the things I”d read in the books I borrowed from Bastian”s study. Indigo and Elora came in halfway through the discussion and added their own questions and thoughts.

At the end, we had a decent plan in place for how to win the dragons over to our side.

“I don’t think I should be there at the meeting,” I said.

“Why?” Indigo asked. “You’re the prince’s kindred. You’ll be involved in these sort of meetings for the rest of your life.”

“And that’s fine, but since I’m also Bastian’s kindred, it splits focus.”

“You said they are hoping you and Bastian complete the bond, right?” Indigo’s mind whirled behind her eyes as she thought it through.

I nodded. “Yeah. Before they found out I’m connected to the prince of another country. It was one thing when my kindreds were unnamed regular people who could easily move here. It’s quite another to find out they’re a prince and three assassins. I highly doubt they’ll want us to relocate and make our homes here even if we were willing.”

Indigo stilled. “Would you be?”

My forehead wrinkled in confusion and surprise. “What?”

“Would you be against living here?” Indigo asked.

“I don’t understand.” I glanced over at Whist and Aster, but their blank faces were no help.

“If you and Bastian are able to overcome your fears and complete the bond, would you be willing to live here with him and your other kindreds? Aster, Whist, would you be willing?”

“What are you thinking?” Aster asked.

Indigo crossed her legs. “If we want to truly ally with the dragons, what better way than to prove it by combining our families? But I will not suggest it without your agreement. Think about it and let me know. I won’t bring it up today.”

“How long do you expect the talks to last?” Elora asked.

“They won’t agree right away. They’ll want to hold off and see how much I’ll offer and how much I’ll ask for. But we can’t stay for more than three days or our father will grow suspicious.” She turned to Whist. “Whist, will you stay with Rhapsody while we go to the Assembly?”

“Of course. Elora is more than capable of keeping you safe if the situation calls for it.”

Indigo grinned over at her kindred. “That she is.”

Bastian swept into the room. “It’s time.”