Page 7 of A Cruel Kindness

“Bellamy,” General Iroko said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You have one minute to greet your fans, then we are going inside.”

“I understand the urgency of this matter.” My smile was as stiff as iron now. I really wanted to tell him to fuck off, but that would be unbecoming. Especially in public. “Lead the way,” I said, with a subtle jerk of my chin towards the towering steel doors. They’d replaced the solid gold, artfully designed doors that had once protected this temple.

When it was stripped for parts and turned into the gateway to Muliterra, they’d conveniently chosen the most beautiful parts to melt away. Now it was all ugly gray functionality.

General Iroko turned with a scoff and headed towards the doors, barking an order for someone to open them.

With his back turned, I snuck quickly off to the side, where there was a little girl waiting with tears building in her wide blue eyes, and grabbed her outstretched hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

Her mother, clearly either staff or drafted herself, was also tearing up. They all knew what this was, how likely it was that I’d die out here.

Having to ignore her reaction beyond a kind smile, lest it open the floodgates to my own feelings about the matter, I straightened and followed the soldiers through the doors, finally facing my fate.

My eyes rose up to the vaulted ceilings as we walked through, following the carved panels as they curved up to the point of the dome. Among the wires and lights cemented into the plaster, you could see the remnants of the paintings that once decorated the dome, fading and graying.

If this was how the smaller dome, reserved just for the entrance looked, I didn’t want to know what the main one looked like.

We still had plenty of temples that were cared for, protected and cherished. But those were in the cities. In countrysides that provided no strategic advantages.

A collective gasp stole my attention, forcing my eyes back down in front of me. The soldiers guarding the door had all sucked in a breath at my arrival, though I was sure they’d been warned.

“Dear God,” I heard General Iroko mutter under his breath. He really didn’t care for subtlety.

“Yes?” I said, tilting my head in feigned ignorance.

The general’s frown deepened, and he snapped at everyone to keep following him. I could see a massive, white light at the end of the corridor, and despite its brilliance, I knew it only would invite pain.

Solemn and stiff, the group walked through the dark hallway towards that white light, General Iroko at the front, and the rest of the group flanking me on all sides. It was sweet that they stayed so protective while they could. Soon enough, it would be me at the helm.

As we walked, we passed a few people inching down the hallway, most of which plastered themselves to the wall like little bugs to get out of our way. Only one woman, who looked about my age, just gracefully stepped out of the way, keeping her eyes on the floor.

Before I could give any thought to the careful, sly way she’d moved, light blasted me in the face.

And the room erupted.

I could barely blink fast enough to adjust my eyes to the light, to see that the main hall, once reserved for worship, had been converted into a great hall of sorts, flanked with televisions and other technology with long tables in the center, before the voices in the room threatened to steal all my attention.

Threatened because there was something else that commanded it more.

As General Iroko stepped to the side, I came face to face with my Mark, plastered on the very muscled, very bare back of my Soul Mate. It looked different on him, the strong branches of the tree more prominent, whereas the leaves and whispy, thin vines stood out on mine.

I watched those branches tense as he seemed to realize my presence. The entire room went still as a taller, stern man with a strong brow that covered warm brown eyes, placed a hand on his shoulder, beckoning him to turn around.

As he did, my breath seized in my throat, fear pulsing heavy through my limbs. No amount of forethought could have prepared me for this moment.

He turned and our eyes slammed together like magnets.

Oh God, help me. He looked much different than the twenty-year-old I’d last been confronted with. Six years later, and too much had changed. His once floppy hair was shaved into a clean buzz, making the already unnaturally light blonde stand out more prominently.

His eyes were an ice blue so stark it sent a chill down my spine, as cold as the sharp planes of his features. A cutting jaw. A strong, straight nose. A nose I now realized was home to a thin, silver ring.

If that wasn’t bad enough, he seemed to have doubled in size. He was already a full head taller than me, but now the thick muscle coursing over his limbs made him so imposing the sight made my stomach flip.

My thoughts were stolen away for a moment when he took a step towards me and my chest felt like it was caving in.

I sucked in a breath, which only made the feeling worse, because what was that smell? It was unlike anything I’d ever smelled before. Deep and rich and warm, closer to home than that of my childhood bedroom. I would bathe in that scent if I could.

My breaths came in faster and faster pants, as if my body was helpless but to soak up as much of that scent as I possibly could, lest it was ripped away from me before I could get my fill.