blink a few times to make sure her eyes were in focus, but when he broke into the small clearing there was no question. She looked to find Octavion’s face lit up like a kid at Christmas. Standing next to him was a white Bengal tiger. The best part trailed close behind her-two clumsy little cubs.
“Be still, she is very protective of her babies.” He came closer and sat beside Kira. “Give her a minute and she might let them come to you.”
“Oh, Octavion, they’re so cute.” She stretched her hand out as if she had something to feed them. “Come here little ones,” she coaxed. The mama tiger inched a little closer, but Kira didn’t feel threatened. Mama slowly made her way over and put her nose down to smell Kira’s hand. Kira reached up to rub behind her ear and the tiger began to purr.
“Unbelievable,” Octavion said. “It took me two days to get her to let me within twenty feet of her.” He reached for the cat, but she pulled away.
Kira snickered. “Guess you’re animal skills are rusty. Do you think she’ll let me pet the cubs?”
“You are the expert. You tell me.” He leaned back, put his hands behind him for support and straightened his legs, crossing his ankles. “Give it a try.”
“Do all animals in your world trust people like this?”
“Only the cats. We do not hunt them, it is against Pantherian law and even though we are not in that kingdom, we do not want to anger them. Plus, I think the cats sense we are kin-that our hearts beat with their blood.”
“That makes sense.” She turned to face him. “Thank you. This does wonders for my mood.”
“I thought it might.”
The mama tiger wandered back to her cubs and proceeded to give them a good cleaning. “How old are they?”
“I would guess no more than five weeks. They are getting big and their teeth are coming in.”
She put her hand back out, this time tapping the ground. Once she had their attention she turned her hand over and wiggled her fingers in the air. The movement caught their eyes and both cubs scurried to chase after their imaginary prey. One of them stumbled, rolled a few times and landed, feet up. Mama quickly came to its rescue, turned it over with a gentle nudge of her nose and then picked the cub up by the scruff with her teeth. She brought it over and sat it in front of Kira, her other cub already tangled in her dress. Kira lifted the fabric enough to make the first cub roll off onto the grass. It jumped up and pounced at the hem as Kira tucked it around her legs.
“Now I have a question-something I’ve been wondering about.” Kira pulled her hand back to avoid being attacked by little teeth and claws.
“I am listening,” Octavion said as he sat up and turned to face her.
“Can you tell when Luka is about to appear, or any other Royal for that matter?”
“I know he is coming because I hear his thoughts. Is that what you mean?” He reached out to pet one of the cubs but Mama snarled at him, so he pulled his hand back.
“No, I don’t know how to explain it. The very first time I saw you, right before you appeared in the forest, I felt a strange sensation-like all my senses shutting down. There’s total silence and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. Every time a Royal is about to appear I feel it. I thought it was perfectly normal and everyone felt it, but then Ussay mentioned a woman in the village that experiences a similar feeling and she called her a ‘sensitive’.”
A curious expression crossed his face. “It actually does not surprise me. Do you still have visions, or did you lose that gift when the powers of the Crystor faded?”
Kira shrugged. “I do sometimes, but they’re more like daydreams. Some I’ve seen come true, others are weird images I can’t make sense of. It’s definitely not as strong.”
He leaned over, brushed her hair away from her face and focused intently on her eyes. “You are unique in every way, Kira. You should never fear your gifts. Embrace them.”
She nodded, but said nothing. Their eyes held there for the longest time, then he leaned in to kiss her. Their lips barely touched when a sharp pain shot into her right index finger. One of the cubs playfully sunk its teeth into her skin. Kira squealed. Her sudden outburst scared the cubs and sent them scurrying to their mother, who quickly encouraged them back into the forest with a scolding roar in Kira's direction.
Kira grabbed her finger, jumped to her feet and backed away from Octavion. He was already on his feet, completely transformed. She recognized the primal hunger in his fiery eyes.
“Call Luka! You need to leave, now!”
A deep throaty growl escaped his heaving chest. His shoulder muscles bulged with each breath he took. “I can not leave you alone, Kira. Not here.” He took in a deep breath and turned his head away from the smell of her blood.
Her mind flashed to the memory of him coming at her, chains slamming against the stone walls of his lair. No control. “Octavion!” Kira screamed. “Leave NOW!”
He drew another breath, let out a ferocious roar and disappeared. Instantly, the forest grew quiet and she knew Luka was about to appear-but it wasn’t Luka that suddenly stood before her. Two Royals, their eyes on fire. One she recognized as Draego, who’d caught her scent in the canyon after the battle with Shandira and her men.
“We meet again.” Draego said.
“Been a while since I ate commoner flesh, brother.” The other Royal’s upper lip curled, revealing his sharp feline teeth. “Mind if I take a little
Kira turned to run. Draego appeared in front of her, grabbed her by the front of her dress and pushed her to the ground. Her tender back pressed against the hard packed dirt. She screamed with what little air she had left in her lungs.
Draego pounced on top of her, his face only inches from hers, his putrid breath rushing over her face. All she could think about was fighting back. No way would she be captured again. She grabbed at his face, digging her nails into his cheek. His only reaction a sharp breath.
“I would recognize your stench anywhere.” He smiled, once again baring his teeth. “And I will reap the bounty for taking your life.”
“What do mean? What bounty?” Her stomach rose in her throat as his blood dripped on her face and neck. Why hadn’t Luka come to get her?
“You were a bad little girl, Kira. You killed a prince. And for that, you will die.” His ferocious roar echoed through the trees. He bared his teeth and came at her in a rage. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel the sharp pain of his teeth as they punctured her skin, but instead she felt the weight of his body release her. A sudden rush of warm air washed over her and another terrifying cry rang out through the trees.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Octavion engaged in a vicious battle with Draego. She no more felt the hair on the back of her neck begin to rise than Luka had arrived and pressed the other Royal to the ground. The scene was a blur of wrestling bodies and ferocious snarling. It all happened so fast she could barely tell one from the other.
“Luka, get her out of here,” Octavion yelled.
But Luka continued fighting. When she felt another Royal about to arrive, she grabbed a rock from the ground, preparing to defend herself. She knew she would die, but she’d fight to the end.
“Kira, take my hand,” came a voice from behind her. She spun around to find Cade sitting on the ground, his hand outstretched toward her. She dropped the rock, grabbed his arm and closed her eyes.
“Go!” she screamed.
When she felt the cold stone of the courtyard beneath her, she opened her eyes again. Cade sat next to her with a satisfactory grin on his face.
“That was fun,” he said.
“Fun? Are you insane? I almost died.”
He wrinkled up his nose. “Kira put your hand in the water. It will dilute the blood. I might be a cripple, but I am still a Royal.”
She sprang to her feet and jumped into the fountain. She wasn’t sure if she’d gotten any blood on her clothes, but didn’t want to take a chance. She washed Draego’s blood off her face and hers off her hand. Then turned her attention back to Cade, who now sat on the edge of the fountain-still sporting a smile. He didn’t fool her. She could tell by the way he held himself he was still in pain from his injury.
