Page 90 of Blood and Fate

“You?”

She could have him? Have him and their bond, and her kingdom and his kingdom joined together? Have peace? Have Henrik thrown off a cliff?

Kais stepped closer until their toes touched. He released her and lifted his hands to cup her face. Dipping his head, he locked eyes with her.

“There have been things in my life that I’ve been uncertain of, questions that I’ve faced that I didn’t know the answer to. I had to guess at my decisions. But sometimes, I’m handed things to which I know the answer, beyond a shadow of a doubt. You’re one of those things, Satori. I’ve never been more certain of anything than I am of the fact that you and I were meant to be together. I was very literally made for you, and you for me. You are mine, and I am yours. If you’ll have me?” His brows rose with his last words, with hope and fear, his uncertainty filling her.

He was right—nothing had ever felt so right. She nodded her head as a smile spread across her face. “Yes. Yes, of course.”

A grin broke across his face like she had never seen from him before, relief pouring from him, and she responded with one of her own. Then his mouth was on hers, intense at first and then slow and full of passion, and she wanted to melt into him.

He broke off the kiss but kept his forehead pressed to hers. He looked like he was in pain, but Satori felt no pain from him.

He breathed out a deep sigh. “As much as I would like to stay here and forget about everything else, if we take up much more time, we won’t make it to my men by nightfall.”

She closed her eyes again and breathed him in for a moment before stepping back. “Alright then, if you insist.”

His hands closed on her upper arms and squeezed gently. “Trust me, I don’t want to.”

When he released her he held out a hand, and she took it, lacing her fingers into his.

They walked in silence for a bit as Satori’s thoughts turned over and over. Had she agreed too quickly? Was it the right decision? Was this best for their countries?

“That’s a lot of indecision over there,” Kais said quietly, not looking at her. “Are you having second thoughts?”

She snapped her attention to him, squeezing his hand. “No, no, I’m not. It’s just . . . Is this all because of the bond? What would our relationship be like if we didn’t have this thing connecting us?”

“I want to say everything would still be the same. Provided we survived.” Satori chuckled at those words, something she could do, now that it was over. “But I don’t know. On the other hand, why should we be concerned about that? It’s clear this is meant to be, predetermined by something higher than us. Even if we wanted to argue it away and say it wasn’t real.” He shook his head, holding up their joined hands. “It’s in the blood. I’ve never heard or seen anything like what’s between us. There’s no way to explain away the fact that our blood will heal each other. The only way to explain it is that this,” he tightened his grip, “is real and meant to be.”

They lapsed into silence again until she felt something like nervous hesitation from him. “What is it?”

He looked at her with a face that showed concern, his eyes dancing over her face.

“Satori...” He hesitated.

“Yes?” she prompted.

“I want to ask you something, but I don’t want you to feel pressured, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” He paused, inhaling as if bracing himself. “But I feel I need to know. Before I wanted to know, I wanted to know everything about you. I still do. But this is something I need to know.”

Nerves danced low in her stomach as she anticipated his question. She couldn’t be certain, but she had an idea what it was he was going to ask.

“Tell me about your father’s advisor.”

There it was. Even though she’d expected it, her breath still hitched, and a pit still formed in her stomach. She could feel her lip about to tremble and clamped her mouth shut tight to keep it from doing so. She hated to appear weak, and she hated to think about Henrik because he made her feel weak.

Kais stepped in front of her, placing both hands on her face again, compelling her to meet his gaze. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore. You’re with me now. I am yours, and you are mine. Not his. I’ll kill him for you if that’s what you want.”

He wasn’t joking or jesting. There was only seriousness in his words. If she asked, she had no doubt Kais would end Henrik. Is that what she wanted? It gave her pause when she realized she had to think about it.

Kais’ voice quieted to a whisper as his thumbs ran lightly over her jaw. “Tell me.”

“He—“ She drew in a sharp breath and cleared her throat. Then she lifted her head and looked Kais in the eye, siphoning the courage she saw there. “He would come to my room anytime he wished. I had no knowledge or resources to stop him or fight back.” She looked away. “He took what he wanted and left. Whenever he wanted. And he threatened people I loved if I were to tell anyone.”

Anger flared from Kais, a white-hot thing she’d never felt from him before, though when she looked up, she found his expression hadn’t changed. His eyes closed for a moment, and when he opened them again, the anger had ebbed significantly, like it was washing away. Instead, she felt . . . Her eyes widened as she lifted her head to better take in his features as the feeling flowed through her. An ache formed in her throat as she fought to hold the tears at bay. He didn’t say anything at first, but she felt it.

He wrapped his arms around her and drew her to his chest. She pressed her face there, breathing him in. Basking in the warmth and in that one emotion.

He spoke into her hair. “I love you, Satori.”