Chosen (The Warrior Chronicles #1)(22)

Shanti bowed to Junice. “Thank you, this is exactly what I needed.”

Junice patted her on the back. “Just come back when you’re done. I don’t want the Captain angry that you were left unattended…”

“The secret is safe with me,” Shanti said easily.

Junice smiled and wandered away, trusting Shanti to stick to her word.

As Shanti watched the woman leave, a gush of warmth filled her chest. Junice had been nothing but kind and patient, nurturing Shanti back to health while chatting with her like a friend. The woman had opened her home to a complete stranger, proving herself trusting and kind. And she wasn’t the only one who cared.

Molly had popped by a few times as Shanti regained her health, checking up on her, chatting. Even the Captain—whose name Molly had said was Cayan—sent messengers to get updates on her health, and let her know he was available if she needed anything. He hadn’t badgered her about her origins or her business. He hadn’t bullied or pushed. And he hadn’t given her a jailer, as Junice had said. This city was filled with good-natured people, and despite Shanti’s attempts to the opposite, she couldn’t help feeling attached to its charms.

Hating the guilt that settled in her chest because of the danger she was to these people just by being in their city, Shanti meandered between two large trunks, purposely not using the dirt path off to the right. The fresh smell of the forest greeted her, sweet and alive, singing in her blood. Closing her eyes, she kept walking, opening her mind, allowing the life around her to bolster her strength, seep into her Gift. This was the wood she’d needed two weeks ago. The surge of life-force that could quickly replenish what she’d diminished along her route. It would speed health, cutting her time of recovery in half.

Wandering in deep, she found a Grandfather tree that had grown large and strong through generations. She laid her palm on the coarse bark in greeting before sinking to its base. Closing her eyes, she let her mind expand and drift. Reaching. Remembering.

***

“Look at me.”

Shanti opened her eyes, feeling the rough bark on her bare back. She felt his hand in hers, and looked into him with eyes and mind. Felt him. Was at one with him. His eyes were the color of the rich, fertile earth. His breath was sweet. He was love in a handsome smile.

“You are beautiful.”

The birds sang their joyful song high overhead. She looked into the eyes of the person she trusted more than any other she had ever known. “Beauty means nothing.”

“It does when it is your soul. And you are beautiful. To me.”

Shanti felt a smile bud.

“Your grandfather asked that I stay away from you,” he continued, his eyes sad.

“He can’t control me, so he is trying to control you.”

“Yes. I have not given him an answer either way. I thought I would ask you.”

“You know my answer.”

“Your answer is based on your feelings. For me. Not those of your people. Our people. You need to lead them. I am not even a fighter. I am a caregiver. I can offer you nothing.”

Shanti felt his feathery soft hair. “You can offer me yourself. And that is all I will take. Everything else is provided for me. Someone will need to care for the children.”

“I give you less of a chance to have any.”

Shanti shrugged. “You are the Empath. You care more about that than I do. I want you.”

Shining brown eyes closed just before his lips touched hers. She deepened the contact, and let him in. With his type of Gift he could only sense her, but with how much love she felt, it was more than enough. For the first time, she let him in, mind as well as body. Her Grandfather’s meddling be blasted.

***

With a tear rolling down her cheek, Shanti felt the mind coming, interrupting a sweet memory of times lost.

Treading on silent footfalls, he worked his way through birds and other small critters without raising any kind of alarm. The ability bespoke an experienced and accomplished tracker, not to mention someone well versed in sneaking up on people. As he was trying to do now, she had a feeling.

That swirling mind path made its way to within ten feet, without sound, and stopped. He hunkered down, intent and focused, watching. As the minutes ticked away, and the soothing forest air brushed Shanti’s face, that swirling rainbow started to calm. Started to decelerate until it wasn’t much more than a floating wave of colors. It seemed his Gift worked like hers, sucking in the life-force around them to replenish itself. To strengthen.

He had the Old Blood, obviously. It was getting harder and harder to deny that fact. And yet, she hoped beyond anything that she was wrong. That he was some other anomaly that could remain untouched by the Graygual advancement. She’d seen how smoothly his city ran—even through her jail cell of needlepoint. His people were happy, everyone was fed, and no one wanted for anything necessary to life. Yesterday, when she snuck out to the yard to capture some sun on her face, she noticed him striding down the street away from her location, four advisors keeping pace. He’d noticed a child in a yard he was passing and stopped almost immediately, turned toward the yard, and helped the child rescue a ball from a roof. It had taken him half an hour. He’d had to scale a tree and leap onto the roof. He’d turned himself from an enemy jailer into a human leader. To someone with the same trials and tribulations she herself had had.