39. Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Kya
“ W ho was it?” I asked.
He stared at me for several moments with a cold expression. “An assassin. Hired by Jymar.”
The Lord of Gaol. Filthy scum.
“Do you know why?” I asked.
He gave me a knowing look.
I pursed my lips and nodded slowly. “Am I really that much of a threat to him?”
“Not just him. All of the Worthy.”
“But why didn’t they come after you too? Why only me if it’s the mating they’re worried about?” I tilted my head to the side.
“I’ve been a Worthy for centuries and I’ve mastered my magic.
You haven’t. You’d be much easier to defeat.
Last night only proved that. Not to mention, you’re more of a threat to them in the future because, by all rights, you could challenge them.
You have no Nation that you’d be risking or leaving unprotected.
” His words were calm and without judgement.
“I’m not going to do that.” I shook my head.
“I know that. But they don’t.”
We remained quiet for several moments. I could feel the tension emanating from him. He was angry and enraged. My life was threatened. I almost died. What it must have been like for him to come back and find me unconscious…
“How did he even get in the palace? I can feel security all along the perimeter.”
Ryker’s jaw clenched. “On the lower level of the palace there are refugees, welcomed in after their home was destroyed by the Glaev. The male posed as one of them, biding his time until the opportune moment.”
My lips parted slightly in a soft gasp. That made sense now, why I had felt so many down there.
Ryker’s mouth twisted into a sneer, displaying his teeth like fangs.
“That fucking bastard lied and snuck his way in, slept in my home, and had the nerve to come after my mate.” He was nearly snarling the words.
“I didn’t protect you, and I won’t make that mistake again.
I won’t have any threat to you in my home.
The refugees will be taken somewhere else. ”
“Ryker, don’t. Don’t punish everyone because of one bad person.” I reached out and grabbed his hand. He was shaking with wrath.
“I will not risk your safety.” His hand reached up as if to go for my throat, but he hesitated. My stomach fluttered and I didn’t know what made me step into his gentle grasp with acceptance.
“You have a duty to protect them,” I said firmly.
“I have a duty to protect you .” His thumb grazed along my jaw before he dropped his hand to his side.
Conflict flickered in his eyes—bound to both me and his Nation, by the Gods. But I wouldn’t make him choose. His people came first, even if I had to be the one to do it.
“As evidenced, I don’t need your protection as much as they do. I can handle myself and when I can’t, Odarum will guard me as is his duty.” I lifted my chin.
“And that doesn’t ease my worries any less.” His words held a bite.
What would?
I leaned back from him and held his stare. “I’ll stay with you, by your side. But you will not relocate the refugees,” I commanded.
He stilled and I could see something swirling in his eyes before he gave a slow nod. I relaxed a little, feeling a small sense of triumph.
“Can you tell me what happened?” I asked as I looked into his ire filled eyes.
I reached for our bond, caressing it gently.
His breaths grew heavy and harsh. “You’ll have to ask Odarum for a firsthand account.
But when I got back, I instantly felt something wrong with you.
When I got to your room, water was pouring out from under the door.
” His jaw clenched. “Odarum was standing there, on top of your attacker with a hoof buried in his chest. And you…” He squeezed my hand tightly.
“You were laying on the floor unconscious, soaked and bleeding from your neck.”
My shadow came for me.
I didn’t move as he reached up and gently pressed his fingers to my throat, trailing them along the marks.
“I did that,” I whispered.
“I know.” His hand moved up to hold my face. His thumb brushed against my cheek. “I brought you here and got you dry and warm until you stopped shaking.”
“But then you left,” I whispered.
“I did.” He nodded slowly. “But Odarum stayed with you while I dealt with the male. He almost took you from me.”
“But he didn’t. What did you do to him?”
He hesitated for several moments, holding my gaze with a cold expression.
“I had him taken to a cell while I was tending to you. Then went down there and invaded his mind and found out who he was, how he got in here, and who sent him after you. Then I tore him apart, limb from limb. If any part of my control has ever snapped, it was then.”
“You didn’t come back.”
“I wasn’t sure that you would want me to.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure either, but now I am. It bothered me when I woke up alone.” Woke up without him there. I wasn’t sure if it was just the bond pulling me to want to be with him, or something else…
Ryker’s mouth tilted up into a grin. “You want me to be near?” He stepped closer and his hand moved to the back of my neck.
Did I?
“Yes.” My immediate answer surprised me.
“Even when you’re upset with me?” He pressed his body even closer, nearly touching mine.
I tilted my head back to look up at him. “Yes,” I breathed.
“Alright, little gem.” He reached around to the small of my back and pulled me against him, my hands on his waist. I leaned into him. I hadn’t forgotten what he’d done—pushing me off the cliff—but I’d forgiven him.
His arm tightened around me. Our breathing quickened as he brought his face closer to mine.
Heat began to settle in my lower belly and I bit my lip.
He eyed the motion and his pupils dilated slightly.
His lips parted. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to taste him.
To feel his lips against mine, have our tongues clashing, teeth scraping.
As much as it pained me, I pulled away and he released me. “I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself,” I whispered.
“Me either.” His voice rumbled from his chest. “But it’s all I can think about.” He swept the pad of his finger over my bottom lip, and my breath caught. “To feel my lips against yours. To touch and taste every inch of you. To finally take what belongs to me.”
My legs trembled, and my core began to ache with what I wanted him to take. I was tired of waiting. “Let’s go find a way for you to finally claim me, shadow.”
Ryker and I were both highly motivated and determined to stop the threat of the Glaev.
I didn’t give a shit about the council or the other Worthy.
They could try to take me from my mate and regret it.
The Glaev was the real threat. It had already killed hundreds just as a warning, cut off an entire pass, and encircled a small town.
Ryker updated me on the recent Glaev outbreak as we went down to the dining hall to meet up with Nikan and Malina for a bite to eat.
“Ryker,” I said to him as he was finishing off his eggs next to me.
He looked up from his fork, sliding it into his mouth and slowly pulling it out, groaning at the delectable taste. I never knew that eating eggs could be so damn sexy.
“I…um… I mean, do you know where the book is? You said you ‘sort of knew’.”
“I do,” he said, straightening in his seat.
“What book? The book?” Malina asked from across the table as she plopped a berry in her mouth.
Ryker nodded.
“What does ‘sort of’ mean?” Nikan asked, with genuine curiosity in his voice rather than the bite I’d expected. Hopefully, our conversation earlier had some effect on him.
“At the time, I wasn’t sure. But I know for certain now.” He reached into my lap and took my hand in his, resting on my thigh.
“Well, where?” I demanded.
Ryker chuckled. “Finish your food, little gem, and I’ll take you to it.” I gave his hand a squeeze and I finished off my toast and sausage, washing it down with juice.
Once we had eaten enough, Ryker led us out of the palace through the front entrance and down the gravel walkway that lead to the city.
Nikan grumbled something about the cold temperatures, but I didn’t pay much attention to him.
Ryker and I walked side by side, our hands occasionally stealing subtle touches.
I would notice him glance at me from the corner of his eye.
When I looked at him from the corner of mine, the side of his mouth twitched up.
About halfway down the path, Ryker veered right and continued down another path around the mountain base.
We came around the bend to a massive area filled with small buildings and sparring rings and training centers.
Ryker left to speak with someone at one of the barracks.
There were so many people, wielders of all kinds practicing with their abilities or weapons.
Water wielders whipped the translucent fluid through the air as fire wielders counterattacked with their flames, snuffing it out in a spray of steam.
Terbis manipulators flung large rocks as air wielders shifted the wind around them to deflect.
I had never seen so many wielders in one place, all using their abilities to train with one another as we passed between the different rings of fighters.
I wanted to jump into one of those rings, transfer the weight of my problems and channel it into aggression.
Glancing behind me at Malina who gave me a look that told me she did too.
We hadn’t had a good spar in a while, not with anyone worthwhile anyway.
And Malina battled just as many internal demons—though you would never know it, she hid it behind a mask of a perky personality.
Malina and I stopped in front of one of the sparring arenas and watched a match between two warriors, an air wielder and a water wielder.
They were using decently advanced maneuvers, pushing against each other with their elements clashing in a most ungraceful way.
Sure, they were strong, but they lacked strategy and tactic, relying on force alone to take down their opponent.