Suddenly, he leans down and yanks my leg into the air so hard I slip back and land with a thud on the ground. He Allure-speeds the cuff onto my ankle, and I haven’t even finished groaning when he straightens and drops the blade. Just drops it. Doesn’t hand it over or even put the sheath back on. Nope – not Killian. He just drops the thing, and it embeds in the ground right beside my pocket.
I gasp, then realize it missed my skin – though I have no idea how, because he didn’t take the time to aim. I grab it by the handle and yank it free before he can get a hold of it again.
“I don’t make idle threats,” he growls, as if somehow I’ve offended him.
He might be about to say something else, but Pax, with Jada right behind him, ambles into view from the stoned path that leads behind the cottage and steals all of our attention. The six women have settled their horses tied to the pen and gathered together in the square made of logs. That seems to be Pax’s destination.
Teegan and her triune bow, keeping a respectable distance, but Jada pats Pax on the arm on her way past – moving towards the still-hot coals and flickering remains of the fire. Not respectable.
Not okay.
I launch to my feet, only to have Seth grab the waist of my pants and pin me in place. That amuses Killian enough to gentle some of the angry look on his face, if I ignore the little flare to his nostrils, and makes Roarke rub his beard thoughtfully, but none of this is impressing me. In fact, a white-hot need to restore order has rushed up inside me – even though I have no right to choose or enforce an order.
Pax looks up to meet his brothers’ gazes before putting his fingers in his mouth and whistling loud enough to echo off the cottage and the boulders.
“Is whistling how he normally gets your attention?” I ask.
Seth nods, giving me a sidelong smile. “Yeah, things are different when he’s in Commander mode.”
“Different how?”
What does he mean different? I was beginning to understand the group dynamics, and I’m not sure I’m ready for things to change.
Roarke steps back, and Killian moves in next to him. Everyone walks toward the square log-seat setup next to the fire.
Two, Three, and Four in their order.
With me breaking up their perfection.
Pax sits on a log, one log all to himself.
I can stop time. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d be able to say, among other things. Let’s not go into the details on how I don’t exactly know how I did it, or if I would actually be able to do it again in the heat of a deadly moment. I’ve hardly reached mastery level of this new skill.
A Saber triune is on each log, and Jada is standing behind everyone. My guys beeline towards the remaining log.
“Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut,” Killian orders, making my heart race.
Life just got serious again. Like being at the White Castle serious. Even Sabers who are Pax’s allies are still going to be my enemy. There’s little chance Pax is going to explain my possible role in a secret prophecy – so I’m just a parasite on their beloved prince.
Princes – because I’m laying claim to all of them.
Doesn’t mean I want to make Pax’s life harder though, or that I have the strength to get close to Roarke, or the courage to push Killian’s boundaries, or the right words to tell Seth how I feel.
I’m doomed.
“I’m not sitting with you,” I whisper.
We’re probably still far enough away that I could talk without being heard, but my throat is constricting too much for volume.
Roarke looks down, possibly trying to read my expression. “Pax needs us to join this meeting. The others won’t stay long, maybe a few hours – ‘til dark at the latest. He needs to muster his forces. Both command and inspire.”
“Do you all have to sit or can one of you stand?” I ask.
“Why?” Roarke asks.
I nod towards the fire. “I can tend the fire. If I join your meeting, there’s only going to be more questions and more problems.”
“Pax wouldn’t like it,” Killian cuts in.
“You’re his mate. If you’re being oppressed, then he will feel oppressed too,” Roarke explains.
“What’s more important? If I sit with you guys, he’s going to have to work twice as hard to justify my existence,” I say as we step level with the ashes. “Have you forgotten Sabers are assholes?”
Killian grips the neck of my shirt and yanks me to his side.
“You.”
That’s all he says.
Then we’re at the logs. Seth and Roarke take a seat, and Killian steers me to the gap between them. I must resist just hard enough because he relents and gives me a shove in behind them.
I settle on the ground, mostly out of sight, with my head resting against Seth’s back.
For a moment I wonder if Killian does have a heart.
But I’ve seen what’s inside him. I was there, inside both of their powers for a split second, as I tried to concentrate on healing my arm – up until the point where I blacked out. One Seed balancing out the other. Safe with ice-cold perfection. I want to do it again, be there again… is it possible to get addicted to something that quickly?
I don’t wonder if the guy has a heart, I know he does.
Killian keeps standing. He plucks a blade from his belt, links his hands behind his back and toys with the thing, flipping it end over end. Despite not being able to see it, he catches it by the hilt every time.
“I want the White Castle,” Pax says,
