Kindred Souls Complete Series: Books 1-4

Chapter Two

The guards swept openthe doors and held them open for us to walk through. The king and queen sat on their throne, staring at us without expression. The queen’s hands tightened on her knees, but it was the only reaction she gave. I still had trouble reading her. She didn’t respect her husband at all—I’d seen it on her face a few times before she could smother the disgust and fury.

Would she help us? I needed to question Aster about her, there hadn’t been time before now and they’d never mentioned it in all our discussions and plans. They hardly spoke about her, their attention solely on the king.

The king who didn’t have a hint of surprise at seeing me alive.

A charming smile that reminded me too much of Aster’s spread across his lips. “Welcome home, my children. I see your vacation took an interested turn.”

Indigo bowed. “Yes, Majesty. We succeeded in finding Aster’s kindred.”

He refused to even look in my direction. “I see that. And where did you find her?”

“The dragon lands.”

The king’s brows shot high on his head, his jaw clenching. “You went to the dragon lands?”

Indigo nodded, her hands clasped behind her back. “We did. They welcomed her and healed her wounds from the villains who stole her. When Sky and Saber picked up her trail, they sent word to us and we were welcomed as well.”

“And you didn’t think of the danger in that choice? Both of my children letting themselves fall into the hands of an enemy country?” His voice grew louder with each word.

“They aren’t our enemies. We aren’t at war with them. And we could be allies.”

The king shook his head. “Never. We can’t trust them. We know nothing about them because they plot and hide in secret. Absolutely not.”

“If we did, more Faligreans could find their kindreds. Our laws make it impossible for people to find happiness with anyone other than their kindreds, so shouldn’t we do everything we can to help our people?” Indigo set the trap, waiting for the king to set his foot between the teeth.

The king scoffed, and the trap closed around his ankle with a snap. “No Faligrean citizen would be paired with those monsters.”

“Awkward.” Sky muttered the word low under his breath.

I barely held back a snort.

Indigo gave a disappointed shake of her head. “I’m sorry to hear you say that.”

The king’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Because I was looking forward to introducing you to my new kindred.”

“You have a third kindred?”

“Yes. His name is Darius. And he’s a dragon.” She reached back for Darius’s hand and tugged him into place beside her.

A cold silence filled the room, making me shiver.

“You have a dragon for a kindred?” There was a dangerous edge to the king’s tone, one that made me shiver.

“I do. It proves my words. Think of how many kindreds might be there.”

The king’s eyes finally looked my way, focusing on Bastian. “Who is this other man? You said one kindred.”

I blew out a short, quiet breath. “He’s mine.”