Page 18 of Revealing Fate

Kal grinned. “Particularly when pleasing unpredictably foolish grown women.”

Felíne sniffed. “How unfortunate. I don’t know anyone who fits that description.”

“Shame,” Kal said as he led them after Penn. “I happen to know someone who’s got a thing for hot baths and soft beds.”

Felíne’s trepidation grew with every additional step she took through the thickening trees of Stillwater Wood, her earlier gaiety long since sobered. Had she been exploring on her own, she’d have found the forest charming. It teemed with life. Birds with vibrant plumes twittered excitedly in the treetops. Squirrels flashing bushy tails launched from branches, dazzling them with their aerial acrobatics as they chased fellow rodents. The earthen smell of rich soil and fallen foliage hung in the air like a sweet fog, punctuated only by a fragrant breeze that hinted at nearby freshwater. It was a magical place.

Yet Felíne felt as though she were marching through a haunted glen to her own funeral pyre. Her jaw clenched, limbs stiff as she trudged after Kal and young Penn. She zipped her gold coin along the chain around her neck distractedly. When that failed to ease her worry, she busied her fingers by combing through Sig’s coarse crimson mane to stop their trembling. The great horse pressed his velvet nose to her hair and gave her a soft whuff.

Kal glanced back at her. The filtered light softened the hard planes of his handsome face, but his brow remained heavy, eyes black as pitch. They landed on her with concern. “Alright, Kitty?”

No. Felíne cleared her throat. “Fine. A little sick is all.”

It wasn’t a lie. But she wasn’t referencing the nearly disastrous concoction of poisonous herbs she’d ingested the previous night. Her stomach roiled with the uncertainty of what she would face when they reached the Cozened stronghold. With what would happen when she came face to face with her so-called brother, Rask. When he looked upon her with confusion that turned to understanding that morphed to anger as he realized she was not his sister, Railah.

When Kal’s tentative affection, a thing she’d unwillingly begun to crave, transformed into the icy bite of betrayal as he learned she’d been lying to him this whole time.

Felíne stumbled, the toe of her boot catching on a hidden branch. Her knees hit the soft, leafy forest floor. Sig jerked at the sudden movement but stopped, lowering his head to blow hot, horsey breath in her face. Emotion choked her, and she blinked away tears.

Then Kal was there, kneeling before her.

“Hey,” he said, gently taking her hand. He turned it over, brushing away a fleck of mud that caked her palm.

Felíne’s lip trembled, and she bit down on it. Pull it together, she chided herself. She couldn’t fall apart now.

Kal removed his leather glove and swept a wave of hair out of her face with the whisper of his strong fingers. His touch slid from her temple to her chin, slowly angling it until she had no choice but to look at him. The churning dark sea in his eyes pulled her in like an anchorless buoy caught in a rip tide.

“Hey,” he said again, deep voice quiet and sincere. “Talk to me, Kitty girl.”

Felíne swallowed thickly. She tried to look away, but his bottomless gaze held her fast. “Penn will lose us,” she attempted lamely.

Kal remained steadfast, unyielding. “Let us be lost. I know the way.”

“But…”

“I’ve got you, Kitty,” he said. “Do you trust that? Can you trust me?”

Felíne couldn’t stop the tears welling. She did. She trusted Kal. She was the untrustworthy one, and that knowledge unraveled her. His kindness, closeness, and compassion…it was wasted on her. Felíne could never have him.

Kal searched her face, and she didn’t know what he found there. “Talk to me,” he urged.

Could she? Could she bring herself to tell him? To truly trust him and trust that he would safeguard the damning truth about her? He was extending an invitation, whether he knew its depths or not. Was he capable of looking past her title and the atrocities committed by her blood? Felíne wasn’t sure.

“I’m afraid…”

The dark sea churned, a glimmer of gold breaking the surface, the monster beneath stirring. Kal’s lips were a breath away from her own. The warmth from his lungs suffused hers, sending a rolling wave of heat into her chest, down her limbs.

“Give me your fears, Kitty,” he breathed. “I’ve got you.”

Then Kal’s lips touched hers. It was tentative. Soft. Inquisitive.

Felíne sighed, her worry leaving her on an exhale, and Kal took it in, true to his word. She pressed closer to him, selfishly eager, answering.

It was all the encouragement he needed. Kal’s hand cupped her face, his fingers weaving into the thick of her hair, pulling her in. His tongue touched her lips, and she opened them on a gasp. He swept inside, hungry to taste her.

Felíne’s blood ignited. What started as a pleasant warmth turned to liquid fire pounding through her chest, her belly, her legs. She squeezed her thighs together as heat washed over her, pooling in forbidden places.

Kal’s other hand gripped her waist, and they knelt there, knees in the golden leaves, bodies pressed together. Felíne felt something firm shove against her belly, and her body flushed with a strange sensation as she realized what it was.