Chapter 4
We go our separate ways for the afternoon.
Farrah is still recovering both emotionally and physically from everything she went through in the battle against the king.
I get antsy after a few hours and find myself back in the forest near Rysden’s home.
I don’t make it far into the trees when a black jaguar suddenly shows up in front of me.
I go very still. “Jespar?” I whisper. I mean I figure it’s him, but I’ve only seen him one time.
I take a hesitant step backwards. He stalks towards me, and I don’t know what to do.
“He won’t hurt you.”
The voice behind me startles me, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
I turn so that I can keep an eye on both the jaguar and the jaguar king.
Kaldar stands a few feet away from me, and I watch as Jespar moves towards him.
He stops next to Kaldar and faces me. I take in the imposing picture that they make standing side by side.
I fumble around for what I’m supposed to say.
“Your majesty.” I give a small nod of respect. “I didn’t hear you approach.”
His eyes meet mine, and I suck in a breath. Bright green eyes meet mine. I glance down at Jespar. “He has the same eyes as you.”
“Kinsley, right?” I nod and try to remember how to breathe. “The people in our kingdom mostly have eyes the golden yellow color of their spirit jaguar. Jespar and I are the exception to that rule. My eyes used to be more blue, but they’ve turned green now.”
I don’t have a clue what to say to him, and suddenly, I want out of these woods and far away from the jaguar king. “That’s great. Well, it was nice to officially meet you.” I hurry past him and Jespar. I’m several feet away from him when he says, “I have a feeling your eyes will do the same.”
I freeze, and my heart pounds in my chest. Certainly, he doesn’t know, right?
He can’t know. I debate if I should just keep walking or turn around and talk to him.
Manners win out, and I turn around slowly.
Those green eyes are locked on me, and I fight the impulse to take a step backwards.
“You think my eyes will change color?” I ask lightly, trying to keep my voice even.
“Yes. Veyra’s eyes are green as well. Hers are a lighter shade than Jespar’s. I imagine yours will be similar.”
I swallow. Hard. And my chest feels like it’s going to cave in. I finally meet his eyes and don’t glance away. “You know.” He nods. “When did you figure it out?”
He smiles, and I swear my heartbeat picks up. “Right away.”
“Really? How? I thought for sure you thought it was Harper.”
He chuckles, and the warm sound rolls through me. “No. Jespar told me immediately that it was you.”
My jaw drops, and it clicks. “Veyra told him, didn’t she?” Again, he nods. I shake my head. “I can’t believe you knew this whole time. You should have said something.”
“And ruin all your fun?” His lips quirk into a half smile, and my heart takes notice. Again. “Couldn't have that.”
I want to smile, but my lips feel frozen.
I have no idea what to say to him now. He’s King of the Jaguar Kingdom.
He’s tall and gorgeous and has broad shoulders and.
..No. Kinsley. Bad, Kinsley. “I’m going to head back to the house.
” I don’t meet his eyes when I walk past him, but I do notice he gives me a wide berth.
He even goes as far as to take a few steps back.
I try not to take it personally, but it kind of bothers me.
I’m going back inside, I send to Veyra. Will you stay outside overnight?
Yes.
I feel a tug of loneliness wind through me, and I push it away. I don’t look behind me to see if Kaldar is following. If he is, he’s quiet. When I get inside, I head right up the stairs and to the room I share with Harper. “What’s wrong with you?” Harper asks after I drop onto the bed.
“He figured it out.”
“That it’s you and not me?” she asks, pressing in.
“Yeah.”
“How’d he figure it out?” she asks. There’s a quick knock at the door. “Come in, Farrah,” Harper calls out. We both know her knock by now. “Kinsley’s cranky because he figured it out.”
“I can’t imagine how with your fine acting skills,” Farrah says dryly.
“Hey, I did a good job,” Harper defends herself.
“Not really,” Farrah argues. “Come on. Let's eat, and then Kaldar wants to talk.”
That pulls me up short. “About what?”
“The weather,” Harper quips. “What do you mean about what? He’s probably going to talk to you about going back to his kingdom.”
Instant panic sets in. “Is that what he wants to talk about?” I ask Farrah.
“Not exactly.”
Her answer catches both my and Harper’s attention. “What?” I ask. Farrah gives us a blank look. “You know something.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says in response.
Harper snorts. “You’re really good at a lot of things. Lying? Not so much.”
She bites her lip. “Just hear him out. Okay?”
My eyes widen. “What are you talking about?”
“Farrah?” Rysden’s voice comes through the open door, and he appears a moment later. “Ready to eat?”
“Hey,” Farrah says brightly. “Yes.”
We make our way downstairs to the dining area.
“If you walk any slower, you’ll be walking backwards,” Harper says from beside me.
I ignore her and eye the room. I spot Kaldar right away.
Not that it’s hard; he’s the tallest person in the room.
I take note of the chair he’s standing behind and make a beeline for a chair as far from him as possible.
When I look up, Kaldar’s bright green eyes are on mine.
I jerk my gaze away and decide to see if Hector needs any help.
“Hey, Hector, I’m sorry I’m just now offering my help.
I should have come in here earlier.” He turns towards me and hands me a heavy platter of meat.
“Uh, right. I’ll take this out.” I carry it out to the table, and Lox intercepts me and takes it from me.
I grab the wooden tray with a loaf of bread and a knife and carry it to the table next.
After one last trip into the kitchen, I find my seat.
Dinner is a lively affair with lots of good-natured banter, but I don’t partake in it.
My mind runs a million miles an hour wondering what Kaldar wants to speak to me about.
I know the conversation we’re eventually going to have to have.
I’m bonded to the mate of the jaguar he’s bonded with.
There’s no escaping this. Panic claws at me at my future being taken away from me.
Just last night, we learned that the banished would finally be allowed to live in safety within the walls of the kingdom.
And before I’ve even had a chance to celebrate that, I’m facing an entirely different future all together.
As soon as it doesn’t seem rude, I pick up my dishes and take them into the sink and begin to wash them as well as the other dishes from dinner prep.
“Yo, Kins.” Harper appears suddenly. “Let’s go.
It’s time to talk about your future.” I turn to her, and she puts her hands up.
“Don’t shoot the messenger.” I finish drying a large bowl and put it back on the shelf.
I take a deep breath. I know I can’t avoid this forever.
Might as well get it over with. I turn towards Harper, who hasn’t moved. She eyes me. “You gonna be okay?”
I shrug. “Does it matter?”
She frowns. “Yes. Of course, it matters.”
“I’ll be fine.”
She stares at me a moment “Okay, listen. If things get crazy, and you need an escape, just give me a nod or something.”
“And then what?” I ask, truly curious as to what she’s thinking. I mean, she’s Harper. She could be thinking literally anything.
“We’ll leave.”
I blink. “We’ll leave? And go where?”
It’s her turn to shrug. “Wherever. Anywhere. We’ll find a place to lay low for a time until things die down, and then we’ll continue to live our lives. If there’s one thing we know, it’s how to survive.”
“And you’d just,” I motion to the room. “Leave all this and go into hiding with me?”
“Yeah.”
“You can’t do that,” I protest.
“Sure, I can.”
“Harper,” I start, but she cuts me off.
“I’m not saying it’s ideal; I’m just saying it’s a plan, should we need it.” I blink a few times, and her eyes narrow. “You’re not going to cry, right?”
“I might.”
Her face scrunches in disgust. “Don’t.” I can’t help my laugh. I swipe at my eyes and lean forward to give her a tight squeeze. “What are we doing?”
“This is called hugging.”
I hear her sigh. “I know that. Why are we hugging?”
“Because you’re one of my best friends. And I love you, Harper.”
She’s quiet a moment. “I love you too, Kinsley.” Her words suck the air from my chest. She’s never said that before.
I’ve always known she loves me, but she doesn’t ever say it.
She’s not generous with hugs or anything touchy feely.
Somehow, her words catch me now. Maybe it’s because of the imminent threat of having to leave here and leave her and Farrah; maybe it’s everything we’ve been through.
But it all feels like too much. Another tear drips from the corner of my eye.
She pulls out of my hug and steps back. When she sees the tears, she stops and studies my face.
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Pack a bag. We’ll leave tonight. ”
“What?!” We both turn at the sound of Farrah’s voice. She looks between the two of us. When she sees the tears on my face, she walks quickly towards us. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I manage to get out at the same time Harper speaks.
“We’re leaving here tonight.” Farrah’s eyes widen, and she looks between the two of us. “We’re not giving our friend away just because some guy comes here and says so,” Harper finishes.
Farrah glances at me. “Okay. What’s the plan?”
Harper doesn’t hesitate. “We will leave during the night and get as far from here as possible. Will you come with us, so we can ride a horse to the city walls. It will be faster that way, and then you can bring our horse back here.”
“No. If you’re leaving, then I’m going with you.”
“Farrah, you can’t go with us. You have Rysden now,” I remind her. “And a life here. I’m not going to let you give that up for me.”
“I would,” she says, and I can see she means it.
My waterworks start up again, and I swallow hard.
“Oh Kinsley.” She hugs me tightly, and I squeeze her right back.
I wonder if this is the last time I’ll see her.
If Harper and I really do this, I won’t be able to come back.
She steps back and squeezes my hand. “I’ll help you with anything you need.
But right now, you need to come out here and talk or the guys are going to know something’s up. ”
“Rysden will as soon as he sees you,” Harper says accusingly.
Farrah wipes her eyes and scowls at Harper. “No, he won’t. I’ll get my emotions under control.”
When we walk out a few minutes later, I paste a smile on my face.
For all of Farrah’s confidence, one look at her has Rysden rising out of his seat with a look of concern on his face.
I smile in spite of myself. He’s one of the good ones.
It helps ease the ache in my chest. I haven’t really let myself dwell on the fact of what is going to happen.
But the facts can’t be denied. Veyra is mated to Jespar, who’s bonded to the king of the jaguars.
I’m pretty sure there’s no getting out of leaving here and moving to the jaguar kingdom and living with people I’ve never met, no matter what Harper says .