Page 81 of Revealing Fate

What was wrong with him? How could he be so nonchalant? “And we’re just traipsing through its territory?”

Kal turned to resume their trek. “It’s not a problem. Come on.”

Oh, no he didn’t. Not again. “This is a problem!” she hissed. She had a difficult time believing that a grimalkin could perpetrate this level of destruction. That meant a creature even more fearsome made its home here. “You might not be worried, but whatever recently brutalized this section of the forest could kill me!”

He deadpanned over his shoulder. “It certainly could.”

Felíne did not appreciate his tone.

“Perhaps if you keep pestering, it might be pushed to violence once more.”

What? “Kalevar Barringer Kaine.”

Kal’s progress halted at the sound of his full name.

“What happened here? What did this?”

Kal’s hands flexed at his sides. He unhinged his jaw. “I did.”

Felíne turned wide eyes to the wreckage, then returned them to study the carefully calm man standing before her.

“Now that your curiosity has been satisfied, can we please continue? Or does the lady require a demonstration?”

An image of Kal in second form, tearing through the forest in a murderous rage, flashed in her mind’s eye. He must have done this the day he’d stolen her from the arena. After he’d learned who she was.

With you, there is no control. Only chaos.

How close had he come to losing that control? She surveyed the ruin beyond their path. Within a hair’s breadth. This section of woodland had taken the punishment for her betrayal.

“That won’t be necessary,” Felíne said, voice surprisingly smooth. “Please. Lead the way.”

Kal nodded and continued.

Chapter 31

MOTIVATION

“AGAIN.”

“I can’t,” Felíne complained. If she raised Daybreak over her head one more time, her arm would detach at the shoulder.

“Yes, you can,” Kal said.

Felíne’s arm dropped to her side, the axe’s handle barely dangling from her weakened grip. They’d been at this for over two hours. Once they’d passed the section of Stillwater Wood that Kal had violently redecorated, he’d led her into another sizeable clearing, this one a tranquil paradise in comparison.

Or rather, it would have been, if the expansive meadow weren’t outfitted as Kal’s personal training ground. Racks of weapons lined one edge of the forest. A fenced arena stood at the opposite end for sparring, the ground at its center packed from the feet of an untold number of opponents. The oblong field boasted an archery range, wooden dummies for swordplay, and targets spaced at varying intervals for thrown weapons practice.

They stood several paces from one such target, the face of which was marred with a pitiful scattering of gouges, evidence of Felíne’s blatant inaccuracy. The grassy area surrounding the target, on the other hand, had been pockmarked with impacts from her terrible aim.

Felíne dropped the axe and crumpled to the ground. She lay on her back, shoulders aching equally: the left from the grim’s claws, the right from overuse.

Kal’s stern, handsome face appeared upside down above her. “Get up.”

She squinted up at him, his umber curls falling forward. Whatever sun had risen earlier in the day had retreated behind a thick gray blanket of cloud cover. Shining blue fragments of clear sky peeked through as the clouds rolled lazily overhead, winking at her. “No, I think I’ll lie here a while.”

Kal’s face disappeared, and Felíne’s eyelids drifted closed. The meadow was quiet. The air smelled humid and clean, and she filled her lungs with the ambrosian breeze. Birdsong from a dozen different species melded into a symphonic melody, twining with her image of the wood, lulling her. Fine blades of grass tickled her palms at her sides.

A moment later, a deluge of icy water cascaded down onto her chest. Felíne gasped and shot forward. She whirled.