6
Krystal
* * *
Had someone sent him to kill us? Take us back to Everis? “Are you a bounty hunter?” Please say no. Please, please, please say no.
“No.”
Thank god. “Then why are you here?”
He lifted his hand and just barely touched the skin of my cheek with his fingertips. “Because I can’t stay away. I feared that claiming you would mean ignoring my mission, my duty?—”
“What mission?” I interrupted. My fantasy Viking said mission like he wasn’t here for Brody. Maybe he didn’t know about Brody’s past, or his dead parents, or the literal fortune my nephew would inherit if he ever went back to Everis.
Don’t be stupid. Of course he knows. How the fuck else did he end up in your backyard? He had to be watching us. Spying on us. And all I had done since he invaded our home was say his name and fantasize about riding him like a wild cowgirl.
Fucking idiot. I was lucky we both weren’t dead already.
No more drinking. Ever.
I shoved at his side, trying to free myself from the cage his arms formed around me where I sat on the edge of the countertop. Tried even harder to ignore the heat of his skin under my hands. Failed at both. “Move. Let me go.” I might as well have been trying to shove a granite boulder. “There are laws against stalking, you know.”
“Not stalking. Protecting. I am watching over you. My beast demands it.” He sounded sincere. Did I dare believe him? I wasn’t dead yet. That was a point in his favor. And god knew he could snap me in half without even trying. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it already. Right? Unless he needed me alive to help control Brody.
“Why are you watching over us?” As far as I knew, we had no friends in the Coalition. No one on Everis had offered to help us. All they wanted was control. Over me. Over Brody.
Over Brody’s birthright, his bloodline, his future.
Iven took his sweet time drawing air into his lungs before responding. “I came to Grays Harbor to find someone. To protect him.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. “Did you find whoever you’re looking for?”
“I did, the moment I saw the Hokiax.”
“The what?”
“The great Everian hunting cat you were petting earlier. They are famous for their intelligence, loyalty, and ability to communicate with their keepers.” He grinned, as if pleased. “An excellent choice for the boy. The Hokiax?—”
“His name is Alexander the Great.”
“Alexander, the Great Hokiax, will protect your home while you are away. Ensure the boy’s safety at night while you both sleep and alert you to any intruders.”
I swallowed, hard, remembering the failed assassination attempt a few weeks ago. I’d only woken because the damn cat was howling like a bloodhound on a wild boar hunt. The cat had saved our lives at least once already. “I love that cat.”
“The cat is an asset. But I am here now.”
I shook my head, staring into eyes that couldn’t possibly be as sincere, as interested, as possessive, as I thought they were. None of this made sense. “I don’t understand. You’re Atlan, not Everian. Why are you here? Will the Everians give you Brody’s money? His titles, or whatever the hell he has? Did someone hire you to find us?” I swallowed over the massive lump of terror building in my throat. We’d survived the last attack by running, not fighting. Brody was asleep down the hall. I was facing one of the most feared—and revered—fighters in the entire Coalition Fleet. There would be no running from an Atlan Warlord. No escape. “Please don’t hurt Brody.”
A low, angry growl emanated from him and I jumped.
“Never. I would never hurt a child.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I came here to protect you, and the boy. A noblewoman from Everis came to Earth and recruited me when you went into hiding. She believes more assassins will come for you and your nephew.”
“They will.” Staring into Iven’s eyes felt like drowning. “Who recruited you? What’s her name?”
