A Kiss of Fire (A Kiss of Magic #2)(36)

“You’ve promised me other things before,” she said petulantly.

“Yasra…” he scolded.

“But any delay could mean Ariana remains under Sin’s power.”

“After going through so much trouble to get her, I don’t think he will hurt her. She is too valuable to treat badly…no matter how you look at it. If he is smart. And Raja Sin is not a stupid man.”

“No. He is not. He is far too cunning. If he has her…he has thought this through. He did not act on impulse.”

“That’s just it. I think in a way it was impulsive. Actually, compulsive. He couldn’t help himself. Couldn’t control his desire for her. If he has her then he has convinced himself that not having her would be far worse for him than the ramifications of his taking her. He weighed this carefully…then acted.”

“Do you think he’ll…” she trailed off, her eyes wide.

“Raja Sin did not strike me as a rapist. You spent those days across from him as well. Did you see him as such?”

“No. But he’s ruthless. He will not stop until he has what he wants. He will go after her relentlessly until she gives in,” Yasra said.

“She is just as stubborn as he is. She won’t give in easily. Especially if she thinks there’s a chance she could be rescued. Right now she must feel so alone.”

“Except for Mariah. As far as we know, Mariah is with her. But Mariah is young and a non. She won’t be able to do much to help her mistress. In fact, she could be a hindrance. Have you thought of that? Any rescue attempt would have to include Mariah. Ariana is not likely to leave her behind.”

“This is true. We will have to take that into consideration. Good thinking.”

“Thank you. I try.” She reached out and stroked his face in a loving manner. “What will happen if we don’t get Ariana back?”

“I don’t like to think about that. Her sister would inherit her lands and the power that goes with it. It would go straight to her head. She has already been buzzing about Hittite and Felone, inserting herself in as though she were already a part of the triumvirate. Felone and Hittite won’t stand for it. They won’t want a grasper like Gretha as a leader for our people. It will mean civil war. Sarens from her army fighting against Sarens from theirs. That is, if they even follow her. The majority may not in which case it would be over quickly. But with that looming on the horizon…war is the last thing we can afford.”

“Are Hittite and Felone also making moves to protect themselves against Gretha?”

“As we speak they are pulling their armies closer to the city. Ariana’s army—Gretha’s potential army—is quartered half in Capitol Province and half in the Gunterlands. Plus, Ariana’s army has been divided further so that they could be used for peacekeeping methods. It would take Gretha some time to draw them together. That is the time we are using to get Ariana back. Gretha has already begun recalling those troops to Capitol City under the guise of helping Felone and Hittite keep martial law in the wake of Ariana’s disappearance.”

“She’s mad. She can’t possibly stand up against both of the triumvirate’s armies.”

“She is gambling that they won’t want a civil war fought over Capitol City…and she would be right. They would do anything to avoid it. Possibly even let her into the triumvirate.”

“Oh no! They can’t do that!”

“I said possibly. Odds are they won’t. They are hoping that it won’t come to that. But we must get Ariana back.”

“And you must go to get her.” She drew in a panicked breath. “I don’t want you to go! They could kill you!”

“I doubt they’d do that. They’d be more likely to simply boot me out of the country.”

“You can’t know that! You have no idea what they’ll do. If Sin wants her bad enough he might—“

“There’s no sense worrying about this now,” he said quickly when she broke off and winced, pushing at a spot on her belly. “We don’t even know for certain if he has her.”

“You seem pretty certain.”

He was pretty certain. There was no other logical reason for Sin to be in the city unannounced. None that they had found yet anyway. They would be continuing to research that as they waited for the messenger to return from Kilt. But he didn’t want Yasra to worry. He would do anything to see to that.

Yasra suddenly reached out and gripped his hand. She closed her eyes and he felt her probing at his mind.

They were a Gestalt couple. The only one of their kind. To be Gestalt meant they had access to all the houses of majic…not just one as was normal. It also meant they were connected on a visceral level. Even though he was extraordinarily beyond her skill level in the Aspano house of majic, she would have a unique and immediate insight to his thoughts if she worked at it hard enough. Provided he let down his guard enough. And with her he always let down his guard.

“Stop,” he whispered before pressing a compelling kiss onto her lips. Her eyes opened and went wide as he deepened the kiss. His tongue slipped silkily between her lips and caught up hers. Her breathing double-timed and her hands slid onto his shoulders.

He had meant only to distract her, but quickly found himself snared by a web of his own making. And why wouldn’t he? She made his blood boil. She always had. From the moment they had first touched she had been in his blood like a fever that could not be cooled. Her advanced pregnancy had done nothing to calm that. Though she insisted he couldn’t possibly want her when she looked like she was smuggling a hornlet, a small wild pig, under her dress, he consistently proved her wrong.