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Kane laughs. “I wish. You’ll meet him when you’re older.”
And before I can blink, they’re fighting. Ten-year-old me moves fast and exact, swinging her leg out, barely missing his head as Kane drops to the dirt.
No fucking way.
I sit back against the tree in shock. She’s—I’m—amazing. Skilled. A trained warrior at the age of ten. Was he really training me as a small child?
It hits me. The time Dessin tried to teach me how to defend myself and give a good “right hook.” He must have been testing me. Seeing if I remembered what Kane taught me all of those years ago.
“Skylittle,” Kane huffs in frustration. “If you’re not strong enough, and they succeed in breaking your mind the way they broke mine, then you’ll become like all the others!”
Skylenna crosses her arms stubbornly. “What happened to the others?”
“Female subjects became catatonic. Suicidal. Do you know what that means?”
She shakes her head.
“Unresponsive. Like being awake and in a coma at the same time. And…” He runs a hand through his hair. “Desperate to end their lives.”
“I don’t like to hurt people,” she mumbles, kicking at the dirt.
That statement has always been true. My entire life, I would rather be hurt than hurt someone. I didn’t know Kane knew it, too; from an early age, he’s been trying to strengthen me, shape me to fit the harsh world we live in. Demechnef. The experiment. My father. And one day, Aurick.
Kane furrows his brow. “What if you need to protect me one day? Or DaiSzek?” He signals a hand to where a young, skinnier version of DaiSzek is sleeping in the shade. I jolt upright, not having noticed him before. “Would you fight for us?”
“Yes.” She doesn’t hesitate. “I would.”
Like watching a drop of ink spread through water, the memory clears. I’m suddenly on my feet, following a six-year-old Skylenna and nine-year-old Kane running through the Red Oaks. A straight path, sprinting with purpose.
“Over there!” Little Kane points to a tree next to a rabbit hole. “It’s getting louder.”
I strain to hear whatever they’re running toward. A subtle whine. High pitched.
Skylenna makes it to the tree first, gasping as she gazes down into the rabbit hole. Kane falls to his knees to get a better look. The soft whimpering sounds get clearer as I hover above them.
“Oh, Kane,” Skylenna coos. “A puppy!”
Kane scoops a small, black mass of fur from the hole, dusting it off and cleaning mud from its snout.
My jaw drops. Not just black fur. But russet red covers his chest, snout, and all four paws. Little rain boots. I fall to my knees.
Baby DaiSzek.
It’s true, then. We found him together. He was always loyal to us both. Never to Dessin more than me.
“Not a puppy,” Kane says cautiously, looking around. “He’s a RottWeilen.”
Skylenna continues to make sweet, baby noises to the little ball of beast in her arms, not concerned with what the name RottWeilen means.
“Can we keep him?”
“No. Put him down. If the mother comes back and finds humans touching her baby, we’re toast.” Kane scans the forest frantically.
Skylenna makes a face. “No, he was crying.”
And, Jesus, I can see it all over his ten-year-old face. The way his expression melts at her pout. The sigh his chest moves to. He would do anything for this little girl. For me.
“Let me scope out the area and see if I can find her tracks. Stay here.”
