“Why the defection?”
Azura paused at the obvious question that had yet to occur to her. “You may have a point.”
“Of course, I do. And unlike you, I’m not overreacting.”
Those words irritated her. As if he wasn’t known for throwing his own tantrums. Most of them far bloodier than anything she’d ever conceived.
Noir approached her purposefully. “Think about it. You have one of our most vicious soldiers who suddenly stops fighting. Then, he shows up years later on the side of our enemies. What does that sound like to you?”
“Stupid?”
He rolled his eyes at her. “Sounds like … love,” he sneered the word. “Obviously, someone tamed our favorite animal. We just need to find out who.”
“Then destroy them.”
“Exactly.”
6
Caleb sighed as he followed Lil from the bedroom into the kitchen. “Please listen to me, Lil. I think it’s a bad idea. Let’s stay home tonight.”
“It’s solstice. You know how important this is to me.”
“The war’s getting worse.”
“Then they’ll need protection and you’ll be there to help again if there’s any trouble.”
Caleb growled in frustration. Why was she being so impossible? “Please, Lil. I have a bad feeling.”
She paused to give him a sweet smile. “You always have bad feelings. Why is this different?”
Because it was. His gut was knotted, and he couldn’t explain it. But he understood her point. He’d had misgivings in the past and had acted on them.
And been wrong.
This was different. It was as if every part of his being screamed out in protest. “I really think we should stay home.”
“Caleb… don’t.”
And that finished that. As much as he wanted to argue, he knew it was useless. She owned him. Lock, stock, and barrel.
He could deny her nothing. As much as he wanted to put her in a closet and keep her away from the world, he could never hurt her. Not even her feelings. He’d rather be gutted than harm her in any way.
So when she put her foot down, he had no choice other than to cave.
Damn it.
At least he knew Myone and Xev would be there. He could rely on them to help guard the only thing that mattered in his life.
Please don’t let me regret this.
He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if anything happened to her because he failed to protect her.
So, he prepared for a celebration he really didn’t want to attend. And tried to focus on the fact that it made her happy and the last thing he wanted to do was dull her smile in any way.
They waited until the sun had fallen before they made their way to the village. Strange how this place had become home. There had been a time, not that long ago when he would have burned this place to the ground and not cared.
Humans…
