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“What happened after you found the rebel stronghold?” She gave me a pointed look that told me it was my turn to answer questions now.
I laughed softly as I pushed back my wet hair and thought back on what had occurred after I’d discovered the rebel base. “Well,” I began, conscious of how close we stood in the water and how much closer we could get if either of us were so inclined. “They tried to flee, and we stopped them. I ended up capturing three. One of them is the leader’s son.” I said casually, watching her reactions.
She didn’t react, instead making a non-committal noise in her throat as she turned away from me, going underwater.
“No Striker, I presume?” She asked after surfacing.
“Is that a question?” I swam closer, circling her once more. “Because I’ll need payment.”
“No.” She looked at me with disdain. “What will happen to them?”
“They’re to be interrogated,” I answered carefully. I watched her, looking for a sign that she was part of the rebels, but there was nothing there. She remained still and silent, waiting for me to continue. “And then Rhazien will execute them for treason.”
She nodded but didn’t react.
“My turn,” I said, swimming up close to her once more until I could make out the beads of water on her spiky lashes. “Why do you care what happens to them?”
She stared at me for a long moment, so long that I didn’t think she’d respond. “Because they’re like me, trapped in a prison of another’s making.” She stepped into my space, uncaring that her breasts grazed my ribs and my cock pressed against her stomach. “The real question is, why don’t you?”
The moment hung between us, my lack of significance painfully clear. I wanted to pull her closer, to feel her skin against mine and kiss her until her rage blazed into passion, so I could ignore what she was attempting to make me face.
But I couldn’t.
Instead, before I could do something foolish, she moved away and waded to the edge of the pool. My gaze followed her as she stepped out onto the stone, water dripping from every inch of her nude body as if she were a goddess stepping forth from a lake. Her curves were emphasized by the rivulets of water that skipped down over each one, making me want her even more than before.
I shook my head to clear it of such thoughts and told myself to focus on the task at hand—capturing Striker—but no matter how hard I tried, my gaze still returned to Kael’s figure as she dried herself off with a white towel that had been left for swimmers. She didn’t look at me as I emerged from the water this time, and I had the strangest sensation that I’d let her down somehow. We didn’t speak again as we made our way back to my suite. Mirijana had food waiting, but my stomach was hollow.
“Stay with Kael,” I told Mirijana, who looked around in confusion before she realized I was referring to the silver-haired concubine glowering at me once more.
“Oh! Are you leaving again, Lord Marshal?”
I jerked my chin in assent. “I have some rebels to interrogate.”
Kael scowled at me, her expression dark as I turned and fled from her presence, and the confusing feelings she inspired in me.
Chapter 12
Kael
Ipacedthesuite,still waiting for Theron to return. It had been hours; the moons drifting across Ydonja’s stars as Rhaedos’ moon forever chased the mate he’d never found. Where was Theron? Was Gavril still alive? He had to be, right? Theron had said that Rhazien would execute them, no doubt making a big show of it to the slaves. I could save my brother if I could figure out where Theron was holding them. My gaze stopped on Mirijana, whose eyes kept fluttering closed despite resting her chin in her palm.
“Mirijana,” I began, keeping my voice light. “How much longer do you think Theron will be?”
She yawned, pressing the back of her hand against her mouth. “Not too long, my lady. It’s almost dawn.”
The sun had yet to make it over the mountains, the range so tall that it shaded Adraedor in darkness longer than the rest of the world each day. Time was running out if I was going to save Gavril.
“Is the dungeon far away? Is that what’s taking him so long?” My whiny voice was foreign to my own ears, but it worked on her.
“Not far at all. It’s by the royal guard’s barracks.” She patted my hand with a weary smile. “He’ll be back soon.”
I pressed my lips together, my mind whirring. We’d passed the barracks on the way in from the Colosseum. It was close to where those wretched vanira were stabled. “Perhaps I’ll just take a nap then and wait.”
“Of course,” she made to rise, and I gestured for her to stay seated. “Don’t worry, I can get it.”
I grabbed the blanket on the chair, passing it to her before grabbing one myself.
“Thank you,” she shot me a relieved smile and a twinge of guilt hit me. If they caught me, Mirijana would be punished, possibly even executed. But if I did nothing, Gavril and whoever else they’d captured would be killed. I hardened my resolve. Haemir and I had both lost too much already. I refused to lose more family.
