Chapter 30
Calypsta
Somewhere in the Jungle
Shortly after Reyne and Kendra broke camp, the trail merged with a small crumbling stone structure, with three partial walls covered in thick clinging vines. Reyne halted and dropped his pack. “Stay here, I want to check the area.” He disappeared behind the ruins.
Kendra plopped down on an overturned pillar to wait for his return.
She couldn’t stop thinking about last night and this morning.
A sigh of contentment escaped her. What she and Reyne had shared had been amazing.
She couldn’t wait to kiss him again, run her palms across his chest and dig her fingers into his silky hair.
Reyne returned several moments later. “There is a small stream about fifty paces, that way.” He pointed towards the vegetation behind the building.
“We have water,” she pointed out with a slight frown. “We filled the canteen before we left the lagoon.”
“I know.” He yanked the dagger from his boot.
“Have you ever used a dagger before?” The blade spun around his wrist until the spine braced against his forearm.
With a flick of his wrist, the blade spun and returned to a forward grip position.
He tossed the blade to his other hand and repeated the motions.
Kendra’s gaze darted between the blade and Reyne.
Something about his expression gave her pause. Earlier, he had smiled and kissed her while they packed up and had their morning jerky. They had even laughed together when she had coaxed him to dip his feet in the lagoon and let the little fish nibble his ankles.
Now he seemed pensive, tense. “No. Why?”
“I’m going to give you a quick lesson on how to use one. Which hand is dominant?”
Kendra considered him and his strange question; a twinge of unease snaked her spine. “My right, I guess. What is going on Reyne?”
He thrust the hilt into her hand, then moved behind her. Covering her hand with his larger one, he said. “Now spread your legs a bit.” He nudged one foot with his boot, spreading her lower limbs further apart. “This will give you better control and balance.”
“This isn’t necessary,” she said over her shoulder. Kendra would much rather turn around, throw her arms around his neck and press her lips to his, than learn to use a dagger. What purpose would it serve anyway? She doubted she would have access to one once they reached the rendezvous point.
“It is necessary,” he insisted without further explanation.
“This is a combat dagger. The spine is blunted except for the false tip. The other side has a sharp edge. This is a forehand grip and the most basic. Make sure the sharp edge is facing you.” Light gleamed off the tip as he pointed out the deadly side.
“There is a backhand grip and a reverse grip, but we will focus on this one.”
“Why?”
He let loose a deep audible sigh. “Because I can’t take you back to Talear, to Mordrick. I’m leaving you here and it’s essential you know how to protect yourself.”
Leave her here? She blanched as her stomach flipped in dread. The dagger slipped from her grasp, falling to the earth with a soft thud. She spun in his arms and searched his features for any sign he was jesting. The intensity in his steel gaze confirmed his seriousness.
She shook her head. “No way, Reyne. You are not leaving me here. I’ll never survive here without you. We both know that.”
“Kendra, listen to me.” The pleading in his tone sounded almost desperate.
“It will only be for a day, maybe two at most. You can stay here.” He gestured towards the ruined building.
“This will offer some shelter and protection. There is plenty of jerky and a good water supply. I’ll contact Armathea and give them your coordinates. I trust Odin will come for you.”
Odin would come for her, she knew that. If he could be reached, which he couldn’t. “You can’t communicate with Armathea when she is cloaked. Not without an access code to our secure communication channel.”
“What is the access code?” He gripped her upper arms, squeezing.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “Only Odin, Tia, Garrett, and Quinn, maybe a handful of others know it.”
“Then I will come back for you. I’ll advise Mordrick that you perished in the crash. I’ll show him the moonstones I took from the temple and say I’m returning to gather more. They are worth a fortune and Mordrick’s greed is endless. I doubt he will protest.”
She blinked.
He truly planned to leave her here. Just like that. Part of her wanted to rejoice. After all, he offered her freedom. Indeed, she should embrace it. But his easy dismissal hurt, especially after the intimacy they just shared.
No. She wanted to fight with him, to be by his side. Always.
Anger, that started as a simmer, began to boil. “You listen to me, Reyne.” She placed her palms on his chest and shoved him with all her might. “You. Will. Not. Leave. Me. Here. I would rather face Mordrick than be left here to fend for myself against who knows what.”
Reyne scraped a hand over his bearded jaw and through his hair, creating a tousled mess. “Please, Kendra,” he implored her with an intense gaze. “I’ll be powerless on Talear. Even with my rank, I won’t be able to protect you.”
“What if he doesn’t believe you?” she argued. “Or what if he punishes you again? Or worse? I saw that awful white chamber. I witnessed how he tortured you. Only a monster would do that to his own nephew. No. I refuse to allow that to happen to you again.”
“Think Kendra. If he did that to me, just think what he could do to you? His sworn enemy. He murdered your entire family in cold blood just to gain control of Valeria. No, I can’t sit back while he hurts you, or worse. I won’t. I’ll chain you to a tree if that’s what it takes to keep you safe.”
“You wouldn’t,” she gasped in outrage.
“I would.” He cupped her cheek and caressed her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. “I would do anything to keep you safe. Anything.”
As if trying to prove it, he moved from her to dig into his pack. She watched in horror as he retrieved the shackle and chain he had stuffed into the pack days ago. With intentional slowness, he wrapped the length of the chain around his elbow and thumb.
His expression was so devoid of emotions she couldn’t tell if he was jesting or dead serious.
Buzz. Reyne’s pack began to vibrate.
“Fuck.” With a skyward glance, Reyne expelled a long breath.
When he turned to face her, his entire demeanor changed.
His features once again held a hardened edge.
Jaw clenched, he stalked towards her with a menacing glare, shackle held in a tight grip, while he released the chain, letting it scrape the ground.
Her mind flashed back to the cargo bay. When he had knocked her to the ground with skillful ease. It seemed a lifetime ago, considering what they had shared. But she must not forget what he was capable of.
Thinking only of self-preservation, Kendra snatched up his discarded dagger and held it out in front of her, mimicking the way Reyne had wielded it yesterday.
“Drop the dagger,” he demanded with a harshness that sent a shiver of warning down her spine. There was no humor in his darkened gaze, just sheer determination.
“Drop the chain,” she shot back, refusing to cower. She slashed the dagger in the air in a back-and-forth motion.
Reyne lunged, seizing her wrist with such speed and force, she let loose a startled shriek. The dagger fell to the ground. A beat later, her spine collided with crumbling stone, his length pressing against her.
“Please, Reyne don’t.”
“Shh.” His lips captured hers in a fiery kiss that stole her breath. Kendra melted against him and wrapped her arm around his neck, deepening the kiss. When he eventually jerked away, she was left panting.
“Listen to me Kendra, I need you to trust me.” He snatched her wrist and pressed a lingering kiss to her knuckles. “Indiferent ce spun sau fac. Ai ?ncredere ?n mine, iubirea mea.” No matter what I say or do. Trust in me, my love.
The burning question on her tongue died when she felt the pinch of cold metal and heard a slight click. The heavy shackle clasping her wrist jarred her, and she realized with clarity that Reyne had tricked her.
He kissed her senseless, then betrayed her trust.
Reyne retreated, releasing the chain until it stretched between them.
“Please don’t leave me here.”
His booming laughter held a bitter edge. “Now, why would I do that, princess?” The yank on the wrist was so forceful, the unexpected jolt propelled her forward. Losing her balance, she stumbled and her knee plunged into the unforgiving earth. Her accusing gaze lifted to his as pain shot up her leg.
He glanced away, refusing to make eye contact.
Kendra wanted to rail at him and demand answers, but words clogged her throat. Tears blurred her vision.
At first, she didn’t understand what had changed, then the rustle of male voices in the distance carried into their small clearing.
“We have a signal lock.”
“They are this way.”
“Let’s move.”
Then she knew.
The Taleari were here.