“Fucking gods above,” I whisper, feeling Kai grow tense beneath my hand.
He walks out of the crowd to two males standing at the side and begins to give orders. The palace staff stare at the body, some crying while others curse out in anger. How did the rebels have the opportunity to string up an entire body on the first floor with no one noticing?
I search for Kai as the guards begin to disperse the crowd, calling more in to help with the body, and find him leaving the palace, his tall frame moving down the stairs quickly.
“He’s going to his brooding place before he tears the palace down,” Jahlee says as she comes to stand beside me, sadness and shock heavy in her voice.
I take notice of the way she grips the fabric of her skirt in her hands, her normally golden tan skin looking wan. “Are you alright?” I ask, casting a wary glance around us.
“I’m fine. I worry about him though.”
“Me, too.” I swallow my surprise at those words, at how true they are.
“He does not deserve this,” she says softly.
I nod my head in response, and for reasons I cannot explain, I decide to follow him.
The summer sun burns above in a cloudless sky, the light making me squint as I keep a sensible distance between the shifter king and myself. He must know I’m following him—if his heightened sense of smell hasn’t given me away, then I assume his hearing has. However, he doesn’t order me to leave.
We walk for a while, following a faintly worn path in the thick of the jungle before Kai slows his steps, the plants thinning out as he comes to the edge of a cliff.
Looming in front of us is a large waterfall. The light blue water is stunning as it cascades down from an even higher cliff. Surrounding the water, dark rock and bright green foliage taint the air with the distinct scent of the vegetation and earth.
Kai sits, his elbow propped on one bent knee, the other leg dangling over the ledge. “You should go,” he snaps angrily, his head hanging between his shoulders. “I’m in no mood to hear of all the ways I am failing.”
Taking a seat a few feet away, I look out over the beautiful scenery, listening to the sounds of the water and the birds chirping overhead in the trees. “I do not think you are failing, Kai, and I have no intention of doing anything but sitting with you. But if you’d still like me to leave, then I will.”
Kai doesn’t respond. I observe the way his tumultuous energy is swirling within him, but I don’t try to speak again. There are no words of encouragement that could help anyway. Regardless of who that shifter is, she died in order for a message to be sent to Kai. The rebels murdered an innocent female to punish this male at my side. Rage and sadness writhe together, my fingers twitching with the urge to dosomething. I may have come to the Shifter Kingdom with the intention of helping with their blight, but that mission has turned into so much more. Taking down the rebels and helping Kai in his role as king feels just as important as fixing the magic.
But for now, I’ll be for him what I wish I had for myself—someone to sit in the silence with.
Chapter Forty-Six: Bahira
It’s late into theevening when we make our way back to the palace, Kai walking at my side this time. I try not to hold my breath as we climb the steps leading to the foyer where the body was found hanging. Thankfully, there’s no hint of the brutal display left by the rebels beyond the scent of iron still lingering in the air.
Kai’s steps shorten as we near the staircase, and when he speaks, he keeps his gaze fixed ahead. “I need to check in with the staff to make sure everyone is alright before I speak withTua.” I nod my head at his dismissal, already heading towards the stairs when he softly calls out my name. My gaze meets his over my shoulder as he speaks softly, “Thank you. For earlier.”
The corner of my mouth lifts as I dip my chin. “You’re welcome.”
My climb up to my room is slow. As I walk, my hand presses against my thigh and onto the key to the experiment room in the pocket of my skirt. It’s likely too early to check and see if the petals have reacted to our blood yet, and with the exhaustion of the day now creeping up on me, I decide to take a shower and head to bed.
My door creaks as I open it, the room beyond blanketed in darkness.Odd,there is always a flame gem uncovered for when night falls.Pushing the door open farther to let in the light from the hallway, the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I freeze where I am, clenching my jaw as I study my darkened room. Air stirs to my right, and I instinctively drop down to the floor, sweeping one of my legs around in a kick. I connect with someone in the shadows, their grunt and a solid thud telling me they’ve hit the ground. Leaping onto the bed, I climb across it to grab where my spear should be resting against the wall. Stretching out, I reach for it and find empty space instead before the intruder’s hand grips my ankle and pulls me backward.
“You better hope that you kill me, or this will be the last thing you ever do,” I grit out.
They jerk my body closer, and my hand collides with their chest. Gripping onto their tunic, I yank hard until their body crashes against mine.
“I heard you were an eager fuck, but I never expected you’d be this easy,” a male voice says against my ear.
I lock my leg around his hip and buck, throwing us off the edge of the bed. We land on our sides with a grunt, and I quickly climb onto his back, forcing his chest to meet the floor as I pin anarm behind him, dragging one of my knees so that it’s positioned in between his legs. “Who are you?”
“One of many,” he murmurs beneath me.
I draw his arm farther back and lean down over him. “Are you a rebel?”
“I suppose that’s what the bastard calls us, isn’t it?Rebels.”
“It’s what youare. Kai is your king, and you openly defy his rule.”
