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Molten lust slid through her blood.
“You blush, hari Tehdra, which is so rare I have never witnessed it in another hari.” His voice had returned to his previous smooth and toneless inflection.
She wondered if that was what distrust sounded like.
“Guard yourself.”
He did not attack with the same vigor Xian had. He was stronger, but more silent and graceful. The dance of parry and thrust transported Tehdra to another world and time. He moved with her in a rhythmic, predatory dance that was simply enthralling. Sweat beaded down her back, and her muscles burned. Yet, she did not ask him to relent. They sparred for what seemed like hours before he stopped.
“You improve, Tehdra.”
Out of breath, she stumbled at Gavyn’s voice.
An audience of ten males stood in loose formation a few feet behind them. She did not need her darkness to ascertain she stood in the presence of danger. Something about them made her hackles rise, and not in a good way.
“Her form is that of a warrior; she has the speed and grace to be a master swordswoman.”
Pleasure suffused Tehdra at Ajali’s praise. The smile burst from her face before she could halt it, and she touched his arm. His stillness was not natural. His intent stare seared her, and her body pulsed in answering arousal. The obvious clearing of a throat broke the spell his gaze had her under, and she turned to Gavyn.
The narrow-eye glare from Gavyn was hard to decipher, but it was not a pleasant one. The rest of the men regarded her with hard suspicion.
Ajali pulled her to his side, and her heart jolted. She tried to ignore the instinct whispering that her mate needed to touch her. More likely it was simply a ploy to get his enemy to move against him. He was not in the least riveted by her.
“These are my blades.”
She lurched back when all simply appeared in front of her. They had flashed so fast she had not seen them move. Impressive.
“Gavyn of the house of Westk’arr, Triton of the house of Walkhyer, Acheron of the house of Thessaly, Alexis of the house of Tyrieon, Atreus of the house of Reyd, Cadmus of the house of Assia, Solomon of the house of Tremayne, Quinn of the house of Thalame, Julius of the house of Wylliam and Andres of the house of Cathal. They are high dukes in my kingdom and my personal blades.”
Dislike darkened their gazes. In Acheron, the contempt seemed to lash at her.
“My Lords.” She bowed gracefully and paid them the homage their titles demanded.
“We do not agree, my king.” Acheron’s tone was raspy, as if it had been damaged beyond repair.
“You question my order?” Ajali practically purred, the question low and smooth, but heavy with threat. A deep silence ensued. She was missing something. A warning prickled along her spine. Where the foreboding rose from, and its exact nature, she couldn’t ascertain, but she was threatened. She saw it in the wintry gazes of his blades.
Also, something hard and cruel glinted in Gavyn’s glare—a mistrust that had not been present the day before. She shifted to get a better grip on her sword but paused to consider the satisfaction that flashed in Acheron’s eyes. All of Ajali’s blades mirrored the same gratification.
They wanted her on the defensive. If she even twitched her hand they would attack her. The king must know but did nothing, simply observed.
The stillness in the air had her sinking inside of herself to that dark place where her essence normally lay. It was absent, but coldness still spread through her being. It licked at her insides and swirled to show out of her eyes. She let the iciness shine through as she looked at his blades.
The sword in her hand could have sliced the tension in the air, its thickness was overpowering. It was broken by Acheron himself.
“My king,” he said with a slight bow. “I would never question your orders, but we, as your blades, feel we must shadow your moves today.”
Something was definitely amiss; she did not like it at all.
Tehdra gasped as hands clamped her waist and moved with her. The speed at which Ajali flashed was admirable. She could barely make out the scenery they charged past. He finally halted at what appeared to be the entrance to a cave.
“Now we are alone,” he said on a chuckle as he released her.
She allowed an unconcerned smile to touch her lips. “Did I miss something?”
“My blades object to me leaving the city without any of them or any palace guards.”
“Leaving the city?” she parroted. This she had not expected.
