Chosen (The Warrior Chronicles #1)(67)

Then to her father—she barely remembered the scratchy feel of his chin. His large hand taking hers. The sun shining in his green eyes. She’d inherited those eyes, before the power had singed the color away. She was the spitting image of her mother, except for the eyes. And now all she had was her father’s ring.

As if thunderclouds had rolled through, sullen grey shadowed those happy times. The picture faded, and then bleached. Death showed up, ripping it all away.

Grief blurring the edges, Shanti pushed out past the city limits and out past the sentries. There was no effort to go this far anymore. She was well within her comfort zone, so she went farther still, seeing how far she could travel without strain. When she reached that limit, she drew back in and got more specific. She checked on the minds of the sentries, making sure each was alive and awake. One wasn’t. She gave him a prod.

She found her Honor Guard, knowing their brain signatures. They were sleeping, except for Leilius, who was sneaking around the city trying to catch cats. It was a punishment he was actually enjoying. He hadn’t caught one yet, but he was hopeful. She found Sterling and immediately bounded away—he was in an intimate moment. Hopefully Cayan would notice that that was a breach of privacy. She found Lucius next, who was worried. He probably wondered what kept her and Cayan. She hadn’t told him where they were going.

She pulled everything back in slowly so Cayan would have time to adjust, then gently disengaged. When she opened her moist eyes he was looking at her.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t realize.”

“Oh, Lucius will get over it. I often disappear without telling him.”

“No, about holding hands. I didn’t realize…what it meant to you. Memories it must have called up.”

That was the bad news about sharing a more in-depth mind space while touching. It was harder to keep things to yourself. She brushed it off. “It’s to be expected.”

His large hand squeezed hers gently. His soft gaze held hers. The spicy feeling made her heart race.

“Okay, then. Practice, practice. Good luck.” Shanti jumped up, ripping her hand away from his. She didn’t know what had made her so uncomfortable, but she wasn’t in the mood to find out. Without a backward glance, she was trotting home, eager for her bed. And her fresh sheets.

Chapter 33

Sanders lay in a puddle of himself. They had come to question him again, asking the same ones as the day before. It meant they weren’t getting answers, which meant the other men they’d captured weren’t talking. It was a blessing. He had taken experienced men, but not the top tier, in case the city was attacked again. This crew hadn’t seen the foreign woman fight or heard about her mental abilities, and for the first time, he was thankful for the Captain’s foresight in keeping that information among only those who had seen it. That was just one juicy piece of info on their city, though. There were plenty others.

It was quiet as he lay. He could hear his own rasping breath, raking his burnt lungs. They’d brought in another torturer. Now they had four. He could hear the men screaming down the hall as the day wore on. Or night—he had no concept of time; how long it had been since he was brought in or how long the painful sessions lasted. He did know that each black-suited man didn’t last as long as he used to. They only had one or two good punches before their energy gave out. It was a good sign. Or a terrible one—he would rather they just kill him already.

He counted four different screams. He had counted eight dead before they took him. That left two. It was a slim hope that they had survived to get help. And if they didn’t, it would be too long before the Captain sent someone to look.

“How are you feeling?”

Sanders nearly growled. What a dumb f**king question. He had no strength to lift his head, let alone get up to his chair, and they asked how he was doing.

“I was hoping you would come by. I was beginning to miss our chats,” Sanders ground out.

“I came to inform you that we’ve gotten some information off of one your men. It won’t be long now before we piece it all together.”

“Well whoop-dee-do for you.”

“I also regret to inform you that we have accidently killed one of your men. Casualties are an unfortunate practice in this sort of thing.”

Sanders showed his teeth in a silent laugh. “Don’t have perfect use of the language, huh?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Look, we aren’t friends. I am enjoying a little R&R. Go away.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll see you again in another sun’s turn.”

“I’ll try to fit it into my busy schedule.”

So one more man had lost his life. Sanders wondered what he’d said. He wondered how important it was. He wondered whose family had just lost a loved one. And most of all, he wondered how long it would be before Junice lost one, too.

Chapter 34

The morning after Shanti’s training with Cayan, she and the Guard were gathered in the park for their daily training. She felt refreshed and alive, having had a deep sleep and a better overall grasp on this new well of power. She was still wary of the power she shared with Cayan, but working with him made her feel more secure with it.

“S’ally, something is going on.” Leilius danced in front of her, hopping from foot to foot. Apparently her title was about to change again—which happened whenever Leilius’ brain short-circuited in fear or excitement. When she got used to rarely knowing if he was addressing her, or someone else, it became quite funny. Even now everyone was smirking.