Page 51 of Lake of Sorrow

“We both know that’s not a good idea.”

Later, the beast would have the ability to return.

“One day, we’ll find a way,” he said and kissed her.

“By all the warring gods,” Targon snapped from scant feet behind them, “put your cock away, Vlerion.”

Vlerion broke the kiss but didn’t move away from Kaylina, only turning his head to level a cold, defiant look at his captain.

His mother’s words came to mind, that the beast in him was drawn to the anrokk in Kaylina. Isla had been worried Vlerion might not be able to control himself around her. Maybe she’d been right. Kaylina wasn’t even positive she could control herself fully.

“There are Kar’ruk all over this forest,” Targon added, glaring back as defiantly.

“I know,” Vlerion said. “I killed many of them.”

Some of the men who’d ridden up behind Targon exchanged confused looks with each other.

Had they been to the ruins? Had they seen that claws and fangs, not a sword, had killed those Kar’ruk?

Afraid he would get in a fight with his captain or give away his secret—or both—Kaylina stepped away from Vlerion.

“I’ll find your clothes for you while you men talk,” she said, trying to sound bright and normal.

But as she took a few more steps away and looked for the taybarri, Vlerion stalked off, apparently not interested in talking with his captain. He’d spotted Crenoch at the edge of the valley and headed to hopefully grab his clothes out of his pack.

Targon turned his focus on Kaylina, giving her a baleful you-know-what’s-at-stake glare. Or maybe it was a how-could-you-be-so-stupid-and-you’re-horrible-for-him glare. Just because Targon had looked at her bared skin earlier and had admitted he had uses for her didn’t mean he liked her.

Maybe it hadn’t been wise to kiss Vlerion, but she hated the reproof in Targon’s eyes and lifted her chin. If other men hadn’t been within earshot, men who didn’t know Vlerion’s secret, she would have told Targon that the threat had been low because Vlerion had shifted earlier. If she’d seen that dangerous glint in his eyes, she would have stepped away.

Targon looked like he might say something to her, but he had to be aware of the men too—and that he’d also sworn to keep Vlerion’s secret.

His eyes narrowed with speculation, the way they had when he’d been contemplating using her to further his goals. Maybe this time, he was contemplating her death and how it would make things less dangerous for his ranger subordinate.

Vlerion returned, clothed and with his sword in hand. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Kaylina and went back to glaring at Targon. This time, it seemed less about irritation that the rangers had interrupted and more about protection. Maybe he’d also seen something unsettling in his captain’s eyes.

Targon shook his head. “Jankarr, take the girl someplace the guards and the queen won’t stumble upon her.”

Annoyance flashed in Jankarr’s eyes, but he covered it quickly. He had to be tired of being sent back to the city instead of allowed to fight. Even if he seemed like a nice guy, he couldn’t be pleased with a babysitting duty.

“Vlerion and everyone else,” Targon continued, “we have more Kar’ruk to hunt down. I gather from that bloodbath by the lake that none have been captured for questioning?”

“No,” Vlerion said curtly.

“We’ve got to capture at least one. I want to know how many are in the preserve, what they’re planning, and how in all the altered orchards they sneaked this many Kar’ruk over the mountains and into our lands.”

“Whatever they’re planning, it’s nothing good for the city,” one of the rangers said. “That’s for sure.”

Targon waved for his men to follow him and rode out of the valley without another word for Jankarr.

“Later,” Vlerion told Kaylina, “I’ll find you and help you clear your name. And with anything else you wish.”

The significant look he gave her, his eyes raking down her body, turned her on all over again. By the gods, she wanted to be with him.

But with his words delivered, he mounted his taybarri and took off with the other rangers. He had a duty, and she… she had a mission. She needed to prove her innocence, and she also had honey to try on that plant if she could sneak into the castle again without being spotted.

14

Your destiny may seem a mystery, but clues lie in the shadows along your path.