Kitten growls, but before she can move, Killian wraps an arm around her waist and hauls her back. Setting her down on his left – far away from either of the women.
“Stay,” he orders.
She crosses her arms over her chest, looking pissed off.
He pats the top of her head. “Good doggy.”
She lets him, her gaze remaining on Jada.
The afternoon is getting late, with hints of the pinks and oranges of a brilliant sunset on its way. It’s giving the afternoon a kind of yellow glow. Off to the side, the fire has been brought to life and the deer carcass is hanging in the rising heat. It would take hours to cook like that, but we’ll carve layers from the outside to let the inside cook quicker – and with Thane demanding more control, Pax will likely be stealing his as raw as possible.
I step to the left and interrupt Kitten’s view of Jada. She wouldn’t be feeling this possessive if she could just confirm her bond with Pax – and get away from the rest of us. But with me inside her bubble, feeling secure in her place with us is impossible. Allure breaks the rules of love. Even the most loyal people can be tempted to love another when my power brushes over them – and I don’t even need to do anything. It can be amusing to watch.
“If you’re leaving under cover of darkness, you should eat first – if you’re comfortable with that,” Pax says.
By comfortable Pax is referring to the non-existent seal on her hand. Nothing more than a shadow of the power that was allowing her to be this far from the White Castle.
“Yes, Commander,” Rose says before going into a long description of the towns she thinks her team can cover on their way back to the White Castle.
Pax holds his hand out, and I pass him the map. Rose stops long enough to help him unroll it and put a rock on each corner. Jada even gets up off her perch to pass a few rocks over.
“Eliijah and his team are going to keep patrolling the forest until you’re ready, then you should ride out together,” Pax says.
“Eliijah needs to eat,” Rose says.
“They have supplies, and they’ve been close to the border for a few hours, not a few days, unlike you.”
As soon as the vivid image is flat, Kitten kneels beside it, running her fingers over Seth’s drawing of the big sequoia tree and the sheer cliff of stone. The chalk smudges a little, but no one moves to stop her.
“This map looks amazing. Where did you get it?” she gasps.
Seth clears his throat, rolling up on the balls of his feet before turning and walking off. “I’m going to deal with our clothes,” he announces.
Which leaves Kitten looking over her shoulder and watching him leave. She points and raises an eyebrow. So I nod.
Yep – Aeons, Seth can draw. He’d never admit that his recall when it comes to the things he’s seen is almost as good as mine. He just likes to wait and see what will happen if he doesn’t recall something.
Pax is frowning at the map, and Rose kneels to get a closer look herself. It won’t take them long to realize the map doesn’t help us at all.
There’s a list of priorities for Pax, and he’s been running over them in pieces with each team. Leaving out large chunks of information. Pressing upon each person that they must trust him – that no one person will know the full plan.
That they can’t know the full plan – it’s just too dangerous.
But Kitten is still a secret. The man has a stone cold game face, and he’s giving nothing away – so long as we can keep her out of his meetings. We should have kept her out of the first one, but people respect Rose, and in the end it worked out to our advantage. We just need to keep that advantage.
On that note I call back over my shoulder, “Seth.”
He’s not even out of sight yet and ambles back with his brow drawn in a frown and a clear distaste for whatever he thinks I’m about to say.
“Kitten,” I say.
His eyes light up.
“Sure thing. Come on, Vexy,” he says, taking her wrist and dragging her out of the muster area.
She lets out an indignant squeak, glaring back at us and looking like she might object.
This is Kitten. Of course, she’s going to object. I make a shooing motion, and Seth tugs her wrist again.
“Clothes – then wine,” he announces before he manages to get her out of sight.
“Shade, Kitten, Vexy. Do you all have names for her?” Jada asks.
Jada steps up next to the map, leveling her gaze on Killian.
The guy grunts, folding his arms over his chest. I’m glad I’m not him right now, I would be turning to leave. He just firms his stance and stares them down.
Rose stands to her full height, and she’s a tall woman, folding her own arms over her chest in a mirror of Killian’s movement – even though Rose isn’t even part of this argument. She has a dried streak of blood across her forehead, and it creases and cracks with her expression as she meets Killian’s challenge with challenge. Jada might want to, but she just can’t compete with that. She’s a strong woman, for sure, but it’s clear her instinct is to pout where Rose’s is to
