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‘It’s the only way I know,’ she said.
‘You’ll let me know before you blade her.’ His rumble of a growl was a demand, not even a question.
She bristled. ‘If I were doing your bidding, perhaps I’d get your approval first. However, in case you didn’t realise, I am an independent operative,’ she interjected to his annoyance, which flashed in those silver eyes.
She ignored it and went on. ‘Meanwhile, I’ll avoid all other trouble by keeping busy in the arena.’
Killen studied Sana’a for a beat and nodded as if coming to an internal decision.
‘Do that.’
She narrowed her eyes, glanced at his pulsing hawkstone, and twisted her lips. ‘A man used to getting his way. Not with me, though. I bite. But for now, I’ll let this sab?r rattling between us play out.’
He huffed and jerked his chin at her. ‘You’d know. I enjoyed watching you fight. You have a rare sort of talent.’
‘Oh?’ she asked, intrigued by his sustained interest in her craft.
‘You and your blades are one. You move them with a natural grace and flow. I’ve never seen anything like it.’
‘Like I said before, it seems you haven’t gone out much,’ Sana’a said with a small smile.
‘Still think of me as country bumpkin?’
He said with a low growl, like thunder raking over a flaming desert. It was as if a fierce and consuming blaze lay dormant within him, waiting to be unleashed. ‘I call it as I see it.’
‘I can tell I’m not included in your good books, my lady.’
‘Nada. If you were even attempting to do so, I’d burn down my library.’
He sat back in his chair with an enigmatic smile. ‘Why is it Sana’a, that every time we speak, there’s always a battle of wits?’
‘Because there’s so much enjoyment to be gained from such conflict. In our last encounter, all your wits but one went limping off.’
‘I’d say you were the one that limped away without your prize.’
She looked away, biting her tongue, her eyes dancing. ‘I’m surprised that you’re still talking, sire. Your beak keeps flapping, but no one is listening.’
‘Oh, you’re all ears, alright. Especially when I tell you what I want from you.’
She surpassed another smile. ‘Are you sure? Even after my attempt on you?’
Killen continued to stare at Sana’a, his eyes dark as he weighed her. ‘Nada, for I recognise that you are a force to be reckoned with.’
‘Is that so?’ Sana’a turned to face him, challenging him.
‘Naam,’ he said, tapping the glowing lodestone on his forehead. ‘My trusty hawkstone has convinced me to ask you for one favour.’
‘You do not approve of its wisdom?’
‘I have doubts, given you are formidable and will carry an oath to its conclusion, so I dare say I never want to be in your crosshairs. Also, you’re the kind of woman who can speak in daggers and every word stabs.’
‘Didn’t think you were a man mired in fear.’
‘I’m not, for my lodestone tells me if I’m in mortal danger.’
‘What does it say about me now?’
‘It isn’t sending alarms out, so that’s something. Here’s my proposition.’
