Page 9 of Spirit Rites
She’s quiet a moment.Hmm. We will change that.
I blink. “What is it?” Farrah asks.
I turn to her and shake my head. “I’m not exactly sure.”
Chapter 4
We go our separate ways for the afternoon. Farrah is still recovering both emotionally and physically from everything she went through in the battle against the king. I get antsy after a few hours and find myself back in the forest near Rysden’s home. I don’t make it far into the trees when a black jaguar suddenly shows up in front of me. I go very still. “Jespar?” I whisper. I mean I figure it’s him, but I’ve only seen him one time. I take a hesitant step backwards. He stalks towards me, and I don’t know what to do.
“He won’t hurt you.”
The voice behind me startles me, and I nearly jump out of my skin. I turn so that I can keep an eye on both the jaguar and the jaguar king. Kaldar stands a few feet away from me, and I watch as Jespar moves towards him. He stops next to Kaldar and faces me. I take in the imposing picture that they make standing side by side. I fumble around for what I’m supposed to say. “Your majesty.” I give a small nod of respect. “I didn’t hear you approach.”
His eyes meet mine, and I suck in a breath. Bright green eyes meet mine. I glance down at Jespar. “He has the same eyes as you.”
“Kinsley, right?” I nod and try to remember how to breathe. “The people in our kingdom mostly have eyes the golden yellow color of their spirit jaguar. Jespar and I are the exception to that rule. My eyes used to be more blue, but they’ve turned green now.”
I don’t have a clue what to say to him, and suddenly, I want out of these woods and far away from the jaguar king. “That’sgreat. Well, it was nice to officially meet you.” I hurry past him and Jespar. I’m several feet away from him when he says, “I have a feeling your eyes will do the same.”
I freeze, and my heart pounds in my chest.Certainly, he doesn’t know, right? He can’t know.I debate if I should just keep walking or turn around and talk to him. Manners win out, and I turn around slowly. Those green eyes are locked on me, and I fight the impulse to take a step backwards. “You think my eyes will change color?” I ask lightly, trying to keep my voice even.
“Yes. Veyra’s eyes are green as well. Hers are a lighter shade than Jespar’s. I imagine yours will be similar.”
I swallow.Hard. And my chest feels like it’s going to cave in. I finally meet his eyes and don’t glance away. “You know.” He nods. “When did you figure it out?”
He smiles, and I swear my heartbeat picks up. “Right away.”
“Really? How? I thought for sure you thought it was Harper.”
He chuckles, and the warm sound rolls through me. “No. Jespar told me immediately that it was you.”
My jaw drops, and it clicks. “Veyra told him, didn’t she?” Again, he nods. I shake my head. “I can’t believe you knew this whole time. You should have said something.”
“And ruin all your fun?” His lips quirk into a half smile, and my heart takes notice. Again. “Couldn't have that.”
I want to smile, but my lips feel frozen. I have no idea what to say to him now. He’s King of the Jaguar Kingdom. He’s tall and gorgeous and has broad shoulders and...No. Kinsley. Bad, Kinsley. “I’m going to head back to the house.” I don’t meet his eyes when I walk past him, but I do notice he gives me a wide berth. He even goes as far as to take a few steps back. I try not to take it personally, but it kind of bothers me.
I’m going back inside,I send to Veyra.Will you stay outside overnight?
Yes.
I feel a tug of loneliness wind through me, and I push it away. I don’t look behind me to see if Kaldar is following. If he is, he’s quiet. When I get inside, I head right up the stairs and to the room I share with Harper. “What’s wrong with you?” Harper asks after I drop onto the bed.
“He figured it out.”
“That it’s you and not me?” she asks, pressing in.
“Yeah.”
“How’d he figure it out?” she asks. There’s a quick knock at the door. “Come in, Farrah,” Harper calls out. We both know her knock by now. “Kinsley’s cranky because he figured it out.”
“I can’t imagine how with your fine acting skills,” Farrah says dryly.
“Hey, I did a good job,” Harper defends herself.
“Not really,” Farrah argues. “Come on. Let's eat, and then Kaldar wants to talk.”
That pulls me up short. “About what?”
