Page 73 of Spirit Rites
Take my power and fight against it.
I feel something almost tangible pushing at the tether between us. I open myself to our bond and feel her power rushing through me. It dulls the burning and makes it more manageable. But it fizzles out quickly, and the burning returns with a vengeance.Jespar is giving me his power.Her voice is breathless.Incoming. It’s powerful; it’s his and his bonded’s combined power.
I hear her words, but they don’t prepare me for the blast of power that hits me. For a moment, I feel like I’m being torn in two different directions. I bite my tongue to keep from crying out, but then the power from Veyra gains momentum and blasts against the burning in my body. Blessed cool follows everywhere it touches, and I feel it work its way through my entire body. My eyes, even when they’ve been watering from the pain, have stayed on Vaelor the entire time. So, I don’t miss when his eyes widen in shock.
There you go,Veyra says in my head.
When the burning has finally died down, and my legs feel like maybe they’ll hold me, I stand to my feet. A hand under my elbow helps me to my feet, and I know without looking it’s Taren. When I’m standing, I stare Vaelor down. “I’m still alive. I believe that says something.”
His eyes are dark with rage, and I know I’ve just made an even bigger enemy. But I can’t help the joy that floods me, relief that somehow, I made it through that experience. Because everything about Vaelor’s response shows me that I wasn’t supposed to. He takes a step towards me, and I lift my chin, refusing to cower. And that’s when his eyes flicker over my shoulder, and he stiffens. For the first time, he shows an ounce of fear. I know with absolute certainty that Kaldar has arrived, and I’ve never known such relief.
“Is there a reason the Jade Ceremony formy matewas called, and I wasn’t invited.” He uses Jespar’s power to project because his voice reverberates through the now silent stadium.
Vaelor lifts his head, all trace of fear gone from his face. “You were called away, my King. I apologize for the inconvenient timing of things. But as you can see, she passed the ceremony.”
“Of course she did,” Kaldar returns, and I can hear the dark edge of anger in his voice. “There was never a doubt in my mind that she is worthy to be my mate. If anything, I am unworthy to be her mate. But I won’t give her up.” His words warm my heart. And then, he finally touches me. My entire body relaxes at his touch. He puts a hand at my waist and leans forward and drops a kiss on my temple. Then he turns us so that we’re facing the crowd. He keeps his hand around waist, and I think he must feel that I’m barely keeping myself on my feet. “My mate has proved herself in all the ways. She passed the Spirit Rites flawlessly, and now she has passed the Jade Ceremony. There is no other need to test her. She has already proven to be an amazing mate, and she will prove herself to be a just queen. Here me when I say this,” he pauses and when he speaks again, his voice is low and dark. “There will be no more testing of my mate. She has done everything expected of her. She is my mate, and she will be your queen. That is my final word. Treat her with the respect she deserves, or there will be consequences.” I finally look at him and notice that he has a jade green robe on his back. It makes him look like the powerful king he is, especially since he’s still wearing the same black pants, shirt, and boots he normally wears with weapons strapped all over him.
“I demand the Reckoning.”
Silence descends so quick and thick, I can practically feel it. I feel Kaldar go still next to me. I have no idea what Vaelor’s words mean, but I appear to be the only one in the entire kingdom that doesn’t. I glance up at Kaldar, but his face is expressionless. Theonly reason I know he’s mad is because I can see the muscle ticking in his jaw. It’s enough to send a chill down my spine. Whatever is about to go down is not going to be good. Kaldar gives a tight nod. Then without a word, he takes my hand. Relief flows through me at the connection, but it doesn’t dull the fear pounding through me. Kaldar leads me towards the stairs and puts a hand on my back. I climb the stairs, focusing on not tripping. As soon as we get to the top, a guard opens the door for us and we step through. Kaldar takes my hand once again, and walks so fast, I can barely keep up with him. I glance behind us and see Taren right behind us. His face is grim, and that doesn’t help my worry. We hurry through the walkway, and Kaldar suddenly tugs me into a small alcove I hadn’t noticed when I walked with Taren. Taren stops a few feet from us and turns his back to us. I stare up at Kaldar, wondering what in the world is going on. Kaldar stares down at me, and I catch my breath at the intensity of his gaze. “Are you okay?” I nod, unable to say anything. “Are you sure? I felt you tug on my power.”
“Yes. There was something wrong with the jade; Veyra told me right away. It burned, but I survived.”
He shakes his head in anger and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t have a lot of time. I need you to listen very carefully.” My heart drops to my toes at those words. His hands come up and frame my face. “First of all, you passed the Jade Ceremony. I knew you would.” He shakes his head. “I’m so proud of you. You just continue to amaze me.”
Chapter 35
He swears softly under his breath as he tucks a hair behind my ear. “I never get more than a few minutes with you. I hate that; I hate everything about this.”
I’ve stayed quiet so far, but now I can’t keep quiet. “Kaldar, what’s happening?”
He takes a deep breath, and then his face changes. “Vaelor has called for the Reckoning.”
“What does that mean?”
“Kal, we gotta go,” Taren says from just a few feet away.
Kaldar’s face tightens, and I watch the muscle in his jaw pop again. “It’s a fight.”
“A fight?” I take this in. “You versus him?”
He smiles softly, and I can tell he’s not telling me something. “Yes.”
“Kaldar,” Taren says again.
Kaldar jerks his head to the side, like he’s trying to crack his neck. A blast of a horn startles me, and he curses again. He takes my hand, and we’re suddenly walking once again. We hit the stairs at almost a full-out run; I can barely keep up with him. He looks behind him as we race down the stairs. “Are you with me?” I know Taren’s behind us, keeping pace. He must agree to whatever Kaldar is asking because Kaldar nods and keeps going. We get to ground level, and he strides past the guards at the door and we walk through the huge entryway into the arena. Kaldar picks up his pace, and now we’re running across the dirt floor. I want to ask questions, but it’s impossible over the roar of the crowd. He walks over to the center of the arena and stops. Vaelor stands just a few feet away with a man that’s huge. He’s got a wicked looking scar on his face and screams dangerous. Ilook up at Kaldar, and he turns to me. There is no expression on his face now. I watch in confusion as he unclasps his jade robe. Without saying a word, he places it around my shoulders and clasps a small golden chain to make it stay on. I stare up at him in confusion and absently notice the entire arena has gone silent again. Then he pushes up his sleeve and unclasps something I’ve never seen before. I meet his eyes, and I see a flicker of something that looks like regret for just a moment before his eyes clear. Then he looks at me and kneels in front of me.
“What are you doing?” I whisper hoarsely.
He picks up my wrist, and I watch him fasten a jade bracelet around my wrist. “I surrender my crown and my rule to Kinsley, my queen,” he projects to the entire arena. I stare at him in horror. He stands to his feet. Then he looks out at the crowd, still holding my hand. “Kinsley is my queen, and she is now yours as well.” Shock ripples through me, and I try to pull my hand from his. His grip tightens almost painfully on mine. “No matter the outcome of this battle,” he pauses and there is nothing but silence. “She will be your queen.”
I hear a cry of outrage from Vaelor, but I ignore it because I can’t look away from Kaldar. He faces me and frames my face once again with his hands. “I love you. I will always love you, whether in this life or in the next.” I open my mouth to protest, but he silences it with his lips. The kiss is far too brief. He pulls back and turns away without another word. I look at Taren, trying to get a feel for what insanity is going on; but he doesn’t look at me. He faces Taelor with the same intensity Kaldar does.
“Taren!” somebody cries out. I watch as Taren’s entire body stiffens, and he turns just in time to catch Mae as she throws herself into his arms. I watch as his arms wrap around her, and he holds her close. He bends and says something to her. When she steps back, he wipes a tear off her cheeks and then takes a step backward. A second later, he steps forward and pulls herinto his arms, kissing her. I look away; somehow, it’s too private a moment to watch.
Kaldar looks back only once and he nods at somebody behind me, because his eyes don’t meet mine. A moment later, Jorren and Reika flank me. I want to demand that they tell me what’s happening, but there’s only silence in the arena.
One of the men that was upstairs in a green robe stands between Vaelor and the giant man next to him and Kaldar and Taren on the other side.
