Her eyes go wide with tell-tale surprise. The woman has just worked something out, and her jaw drops.
“Oh my moons,” she gasps. “You and her? How is this possible? How are you hiding this? I knew she was a part of your plan. I knew having a mixed-gender Saber team was a brilliant idea. I knew she was going to play some important role because of Aunt Raefiya’s message – but this!”
“You read the letter?” Killian demands.
Jada nods but doesn’t stop her own ranting. “What did you do? A sigil? A potion?”
“Jada,” Pax says, a warning in his tone, and no further details follow.
Kitten grips Killian’s pant leg and uses it to pull herself upright. He grabs his belt and as soon as she’s standing, he snakes an arm out and locks her into place at his back.
“Well, a MateBond has to have been her plan. But a mortal! And you don’t want to know what her final message to me was,” Jada says.
Thane growls, which sets the woman even more on edge.
“Thane?” she asks tentatively.
Pax nods.
She swallows hard.
“What are you keeping from us?” Thane asks.
With false calm, she lifts her free hand and points at her trapped one. “Let me go,” she says softly.
I know Jada – have almost all my life. All of us have.
But Kitten comes first.
Six Paces
Pax doesn’t let her go, and it’s clear she’s hurting as she continues to talk, “I wasn’t keeping anything from you. Your mother ordered me to give you a message when you found your mate.”
Pax’s fingers uncurl, dropping her hand, then immediately slamming shut into a fist. I can see bruises on her flesh, and Killian is practically bristling. Between him acting weird and Roarke acting weird and Pax acting like he’s ready to do damage, I feel like maybe my apple-to-face reaction wasn’t extreme at all.
Jada’s eyes are a light peachy color, and she stares at Pax with the kind of intensity that makes me hate the fruit. Of course, matched with her strawberry blond hair, she is dazzling. But she’d still look better with an apple in her nose.
“Your mother said we’re on our own. The moment you accept your mate is the moment you’ll get your last piece of her advice. Her influence stops with your mate.”
The room goes cold. Pax reaches out, pulling Jada into a tight hug and muttering apologies for grabbing her wrist. Killian’s back is tense against my chest, his breathing nonexistent, and I snake my arms around his waist and hug him. My gaze is still burning into Pax and Jada, though; I can do two things at once.
“Is this bad news?” I whisper into Killian’s shirt.
He makes an ‘mm-hmm’ growl and doesn’t let me go.
I can’t even see Seth – is he tense? Angry? Worried? He clears his throat, and the sound rings with a nervous tickle, but I can’t confirm that.
My nose fills with the scent of cinnamon, not sure why, not sure where from, but I hate cinnamon.
I also hate Pax losing his shit. I wonder if, when I kick Pax in the balls, will Thane feel it too? It will save me a lot of future time if he does.
“I will,” Jada starts, then clears her throat and tries again. “I will do what needs to be done.”
Then, with light footsteps, she leaves the room, and Killian finally takes a deep breath. The kind of deep breath that forces me to step back as his diaphragm expands. Pax grabs my arm and yanks me out from behind his brother, pulling me into his sweet vanilla scent.
His arms are around me, and my arms are around him, like we’re just checking the other is still here – still exists.
“Were you hoping your mother would have other secret weapons hidden?” I ask, my voice muffled by his chest.
I’d rather ask what the hell Jada’s doing here and why the hell she was flirting with him, but this is a much safer question.
Killian taps my shoulder, chuckling lightly, “Not a weapon.”
“Bralls, yes. Did you see me move? I bet you’ve never used an apple as an instrument of death.” I manage to straighten from Pax’s hold enough to see the amused look in Killian’s eyes.
“Yes, I have.”
“Of course you have,” I grumble.
“We need to get to Lithael, incapacitate him, send the souls around his neck through the Veil, and remove his niece and nephew as contenders for the throne. Then we need to earn the Crown back, plus return the inhabitants of Tanakan to their cells and restore the border before both worlds are destroyed. Yes, I was hoping Mother would have a few more bread crumbs laying around for us,” Pax says.
“Well, I only have one thing that I feel I need to inform you of while the moment is fresh.”
Pax’s arms slip to my shoulders, and behind me Killian stiffens like, if I start saying the wrong thing, he’s going to knock me out.
“If you ever grab my wrist in anger and leave bruises on me like you just did with Jada, I’m going to punch you in the balls,” I say. “With an apple.”
Killian exhales, and Pax chuckles – the sound echoing with wolfish depths.
“I mean it, I’m getting the hang of this Allure thing, so my super-Saber-speed fist might actually do damage.”
He nods. He doesn’t believe me – or he doesn’t care.
Balls, I’m utterly delighted to introduce you to pain. Pain meet balls, I think, a mix of satisfaction and regret lacing through me as the guy drops like a rock.
Down.
In pain.
Eyes wide, then glowing, Thane’s growl slipping in amidst Pax’s groan.
“Huh,” I mutter. “One ball shot does hurt both of you. Pity I didn’t have an apple.” I’m resisting the urge to bend down and help him right now because I feel guilty as crap, but I’m pretty sure he’d push me away.
