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Kael was quite an intuitive Drakonian, though the entire race was known for it. But he had refined his gut feelings for years for the sake of his place as Commander. What that essentially meant was that very little went over his head. He could sniff out a traitor like a bloodhound.
Aric hadn’t done anything tangible yet, which made him immeasurably more frustrating. But Kael knew, through his own intuition, there was something brewing in him. An anticipatory betrayal, perhaps.
But Kael didn’t want to think about Aric anymore. He tried to cast his work woes out of his mind when he returned home to the musical sound of something he hadn’t heard in years.
He stopped at the door, leaving it ajar, having thought he was hearing false things or, at the very least, was dreaming.
But astonishingly, he found that he was, indeed, awake.
Suki ran down the steps, laughing until she hunched over to grip her stomach. Kael couldn’t believe his eyes and ears.
“Suki, are you all right?” Kael said cautiously, simultaneously questioning whether or not his daughter was delusional.
“Dad!” she said, then threw herself against his legs. “I’m so glad you’re home. Sarah and I missed you.”
She curled around him like an octopus, squeezing him tightly. Sarah followed after her, and he tried not to stare at her breasts bouncing as she sprinted down the steps in the same jeans and pullover she had been wearing earlier.
It was shapely and complimentary to her figure. It felt like a vulgar observation given the context, but her eyes were burning into him as she jostled down, smiling ear to ear.
It was dangerous how attractive she was. It was something he felt he shouldn’t be thinking about at all.
“Oh! You’re back early,” she said, still grinning and out of breath. “Suki and I were playing tag. It’s a human game where…"
“You have to touch a person and say, ‘Tag! You’re it!’ Then they try to chase you and say the same thing,” Suki said, giggling against her father. “It's very silly but very fun.”
Kael smiled and ruffled his daughter’s hair. It was no longer straggly and unkempt but glossy and healthy, pulled back into her signature ponytail. Sarah stood with her hands on her hip, with the Commander accidentally catching her eye.
“How was today?” she asked.
“It was average,” Kael replied curtly, then guided Suki aside. “Get dressed and ready for dinner. I’m sure Allan has something nice prepared for us and our guest.”
The rosy-cheeked smile on Suki’s face melted away, which made Kael feel like a bit of an asshole. She did as he asked, though, running back upstairs without a word.
Sarah shot daggers at him. Her blond hair had lightened in the Drakonian sun, with strands mirroring the golden luster of Petal’s.
His Petal. The name wounded him, even to think of it.
“You can’t do that,” Sarah said.
“Do what? Speak to my own daughter?”
“We were having a nice day, and you spoke to her the way you speak to her all the time. That has to change if you want her to open up.”
Kael was ready to tell Sarah that she didn’t know her ass from a hole in the ground. But then something in him stopped him, casting a hook into his chest and yanking him backward.
Maybe because he knew she was right. He couldn’t keep treating her like one of his men.
He took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose, needing to look away from Sarah’s bold, accusing eyes.
“I know, you’re right,” he said in a sheepish voice. “I have to stop being so hard on her.”
Sarah’s expression dissipated and was replaced with something much more playful and tranquil. It made her even more beautiful to him.
“What?” he blurted out.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” she said, fingers tracing her shirt collar. “So, thank you.”
They stood there awkwardly until Kael decided he should see to dinner. He slipped past Sarah, catching a whiff of her perfumed essence. It was fruity and exotic, likely citrus.
