Page 12 of A Dream Shrouded in Fury
Kalla swept into the cave, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright.My gaze fell to her mouth, searching for a hint of fang, and I didn’t question myself too hard about why I was so eager to see them.Or the response of my body when the tiniest glimpse of pearlescent white came into view.
I shifted under my blankets to obscure the tent I’d created and watched Kalla make her way to the pot simmering over the low, open flame.
“I found those herbs you described,” she said.“I think.Could end up being poisonous, but are you willing to take a chance?”
Again a chuckle rumbled in my throat.“I’d take death over whatever you served me last night.”
Her laughter, as joyful as a bubbling brook, raised goosebumps on my arms.I shuffled against my pillows to sit up and accepted the bowl when she handed it to me.At the first sip, I was certain she hadn’t killed me, but that was the best I could say for it.
She pressed her lips together to hide a smile.“Still not right?”
“Maybe a bit less next time.”
“Noted.”
Kalla settled on the bed beside me and crossed her legs.“You’re moving more easily.”
“I had a good healer.”
“If only you had a good cook,” she commiserated.
“This world is not for dreamers, Kalla.”
I drained the rest of the bitter, gritty stew with a grimace.
She leaned back on her hands, and I averted my gaze from the way her breasts pressed against her leather shirt.“I was thinking about what you told me,” she said.“About the war.About your king.”
I stiffened, waiting for her to ask the question she’d refused to voice last night.
“Why do you think he wants the alliance?”
My breath escaped me as she again dodged my expectations, and I sagged against my pillows.“Whatever the reason, it won’t benefit anyone other than Leonine.”
Kalla raised an eyebrow.“No?Don’t alliances usually benefit both countries?Shared resources, military support, trade, that sort of thing?”
Her curiosity was as bright as her smile.Addictive, and perhaps just as dangerous.
“He doesn’t believe in relying on anyone else for Soldara’s prosperity.As we discussed yesterday, fae are above everyone else, you see.”She smirked at me, as though we shared a secret neither of our peoples would understand.“And even then, fae from the noble houses stand above those unlucky enough to have been born poor.And even then, fae from the royal houses—”
“I get the idea.”
I shrugged.“So yes, on parchment, it might look like everyone wins, but in the end, the only victor will be Leonine.”
Just like yesterday, I was talking too much, but every question Kalla asked that wasn’t about me and my reasons for being here, or my history, or my pain, was one more reason to be grateful, and I found myself wanting to show my appreciation for her tact.What harm would honesty do me at this point?
“What about now?”she asked, and her pointed stare—the blue so vivid it made me think of the ocean at high tide—made my heart jostle in my chest.Funny.I hadn’t remembered I had one of those.“What are your plans now that she’s out of your reach?”
The sudden turn into my personal intentions sucked my stomach right out of my middle.“I don’t know.”
I was suddenly all too aware that while I was still breathing, so was Brynna.So was Leonine.How long could I afford to sit here when every hour took the princess and my revenge farther away?
If there was any chance I could slip out and continue what I’d started, didn’t it fall on me to do it?
“Hmm,” Kalla said, watching me.Then she smiled, casting away the shadows and shifting the atmosphere in the room so quickly my head spun.“Why don’t we get some fresh air?It has to be better than being cooped up in here.”
Kalla
VIII
