Chapter 23

23

It is easy to be virtuous until temptation appears.

~ Assai, Priestess of Luvana

With the sun peeking through the clouds, numerous people were walking along the river trail, and bicycles and wagons rolled along the streets that crossed it, so Vlerion and Kaylina kept their hoods up. Even with her face hidden, it was foolish to stroll through the city by daylight, but she wanted to ease Vlerion's mind about the plant's vision before leaving to look for the press. The press and… should she try to find an elder taybarri? She had less of an idea about how to do that.

As they walked, they didn't see any guards along the trail or in the streets. Vlerion's gaze roved, and Kaylina knew he was keeping an eye out for her sake.

Though she believed he wanted to speak with her in private about the curse— his curse as well as the castle's—he started their walk by returning the pronged gauntlet to her.

"The blades match the gashes on our dead ranger's throat," he said.

"Does your captain believe you that the Kar'ruk were responsible for all the murders?"

"Yes. I also told him where to find the Kar'ruk I killed. As for everyone else in the city…" Vlerion rocked his open hand in the air. "I don't know if that'll be enough evidence. Unfortunately, the warrior that you and Jankarr captured has been an unreliable source. The kafdari root doesn't work well on their kind, and his answers while under the duress his guards have put him through?—"

"The torture," Kaylina interrupted, looking for a way to hang the gauntlet from her belt without cutting herself.

"Physical duress, yes." Vlerion nodded to acknowledge her statement. "It is not a method of acquiring information that I prefer, but the safety of the city, if not the entire kingdom, is at stake. It is not, however, always effective. Especially on their kind. The Kar'ruk train from an early age to endure pain. Based on the answers he's given us, we think he's lying. He said his people have merely come for a pilgrimage to their holy catacombs. We also believe he doesn't know much, else his superiors would have given him poison and instructed him to take his own life before allowing himself to be captured."

Kaylina nodded, remembering the warrior they'd seen do that.

"The Kar'ruk denied that any of his allies were in the catacombs yet—he didn't know about the one we ran into. Of course, he also emphasized that the catacombs belong to their people. He said this whole area does and that we stole it from them centuries ago."

"There's some truth to that, isn't there?" Kaylina hadn't studied history the way her brother had but assumed the Kar'ruk wouldn't have built catacombs under enemy territory. They must have occupied all this land at one point.

"There is, but it's been almost eight centuries. Also, they've been trying to kill our people and take the land back all this time. This is not a new grievance for them. What is new is that an unknown number have slipped past our rangers patrolling the mountain border." Vlerion gazed toward the jagged peaks. The slightly warmer spring weather hadn't yet melted any gaps in the snow blanketing them. "I should be up there. That's a duty I excel at. And up there, I don't have to worry as much about…"

Maybe he remembered who he was speaking with because he looked at Kaylina and fell silent. They had reached a park with people on the far side, and he stopped in the shadows of a few trees and turned to face the river.

"Lovely and gentle but occasionally exasperating women who bestir your emotions?" She stood beside him, looking toward ducks in the water but watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"And whom I struggle to stay away from." Vlerion shifted toward her, his gaze demanding hers. His eyes grew heated as he stepped closer and rested a hand on her arm.

His attention—his intensity —never failed to heat her body, to make her want to embrace him. And more.

"Did Crenoch really have to sit on you to keep you from coming into the castle to check on me?" Kaylina whispered.

"Yes. And I almost threw the doctor in the river. I was ready to hack that plant to pieces."

"With your sword or with claws?" Kaylina hoped the danger to her hadn't threatened to make him change but feared it might have, especially when he hesitated to answer.

"I did have to hum to myself to regain control. Knowing your brother was with you helped." Vlerion lifted his hand from her arm to her jaw, his fingers brushing her skin.

Her body heated further, her nerves tingling, tightening with longing. "I'm glad you're not off on the border. Maybe it would be good for you and the kingdom, but I can't regret that I met you. Even though you're haughty and order me around." She leaned toward him, knowing they dare not kiss but wanting…

"Even though the druid plant wants you to kill me." Vlerion didn't step back, but he did lower his hand, and she sensed the emotional distance he was attempting to put between them.

Distance would be safer for both of them, but Kaylina hated the idea of the plant being responsible for driving them apart. She stepped closer and clasped his hand as she gazed at him, willing him to understand that she cared, that she wasn't tempted by botanical bargains.

"You know I'm not going to do that. I want you to kiss me." Kaylina wanted him to do more than that to her— with her . "You can't do that if you're dead." She tried a smile.

"I'm aware of what you want." He curled his fingers around hers and looked down at her chest pressed against his arm.

She hadn't intended to mash herself against him, only to keep him from drawing back, but when she was around him, her body acted of its own accord.

"It's what you want too," she stated with certainty. Or what the beast wanted, the beast within him drawn to the anrokk within her.

Targon's words came to mind: If the curse were lifted and his beast element disappeared, he might be indifferent to you .

She didn't want to contemplate that. She wanted to be with him. Even the plant's vision of the beast killing her couldn't change that.

"It is," Vlerion agreed.

"Since we're both clear on that, you shouldn't be concerned about manipulative plants. We'll stay away from the castle until I figure out how to lift the curse."

Too bad pouring the druid honey in the pot hadn't been enough for that. She worried that all she was doing was making the plant stronger. It appeared much healthier than when she'd first climbed into that tower room. And what had it said about it being a sentinel? That implied more than a curse. What if it was there to watch over the druids' interest for all time?

"That may not be enough," Vlerion said. "In the preserve, the magic in that brand drew you to the druid ruins."

"It didn't exactly draw me. I was curious to begin with, and the sensation from it made me think it was a good idea. That I might find something useful in there."

"What we found were vines capable of ensnaring me."

A flush of indignation rose to her face as, for the first time, Kaylina realized he might blame her for that. " You didn't need to come into the ruins. You shouldn't have."

"I believed you were in danger."

She opened her mouth to protest, but Vlerion shifted closer, wrapping his arms around her. His face lowered to rest on the top of her head, his breath warm and appealing as it whispered across her cheek.

The warmth of indignation shifted to the heat of desire, her longing to be close to him returning. It was so intense that she struggled not to wrap both arms around him and capture him forever.

"I will always come when you're in danger," Vlerion murmured, his hand sliding around to her back and lower.

He didn't pull her tight against him, but she sensed that he wanted to. She wanted that too, but…

"Don't say that near the castle," she said, "or the plant might set a trap for you."

"It might force you to attack me at any time."

"That's not going to happen."

"It marked you," he said softly. "It claimed you. And it's powerful. The druids were extremely powerful."

Even as he spoke of her being claimed by the enemies of the rangers, Vlerion rubbed her back through her shirt, fingers occasionally drifting lower, and she remembered his words about rewarding her. By all the craters in the moon, she wanted that, but it wouldn't be safe now that a full day had passed since he'd shifted. It might not have been safe before, when he'd spoken of it, when he'd been thinking of bringing her the pleasure she longed to experience in his arms.

"The brand would have to do a lot more than tingle and itch for me to spring on you with a knife." Kaylina rested her palm against his chest, but he wore his leather armor over his tunic, so she felt none of his warmth. She moved her hand higher, fingers trailing up his strong neck to push into his short hair and rub his scalp. A rumble almost like an animal growl came from him, and his response to her touch made her want to do more, to make him happy, to reward him for the times he'd stood with her. "Even if it somehow could, it's not like it would matter. You'd stop me easily. I'm much better with a sling than a blade."

"I don't doubt that."

"Then what's the problem? Why are we having a private chat? Or did you want an opportunity to rub my butt?"

"I always want that." Vlerion squeezed her, and she hoped he would pull her close. Instead, he released her, stepped back, and took a deep breath as he looked toward the water.

As much as she wanted to close the distance again, she lowered her arms to her sides. She couldn't allow herself to make this hard for him. She understood what was at stake. For both of them. The damn vision had made sure of that.

"Do I have to die at your hand for the plant to help you achieve your dream instead of hindering you?" Vlerion didn't look at her as he asked the question.

"I… what?" An inkling of what he was getting at teased her mind, but she didn't want her guess to be correct.

"Is it enough that I die? Or do you have to be the one to drive the dagger through my heart?"

"I don't know. The plant didn't lay out rules. But you're not going to die. I'm on a quest to end your curse, not your life."

"Even though it is your own life you should be concerned about right now." Vlerion lifted a hand toward her, but he caught himself and lowered it again without touching her.

Gods, how she wanted him to be able to touch her whenever he wanted. Even if he did it presumptuously and pompously like the haughty aristocrat he was.

"I'm not that bright," she said.

"You are what you choose to be."

"Well, then I don't always make good choices."

Vlerion smiled faintly. " That , I'll agree, is true."

"I'm going to find a way to lift your curse, and you're not going to consider… whatever weird thing you were considering when talking about your death." Kaylina frowned at him.

He chuckled. "Not suicide or anything like that. I'm not that dedicated to seeing your meadery become a success."

"Good. Right now, it doesn't even exist."

"I was simply musing that the life of a ranger is always dangerous, and with all that's happening right now, my life is in an even more precarious state than usual. Should a Kar'ruk blade—or druid vine—take me down, it would be nice to die knowing that plant would allow you to start your business."

"You're in a morbid mood today."

"You might need to have the taybarri drag my body to the courtyard so the plant could see it."

" Vlerion . "

"I would not be offended, should I be dead already, if you drove a knife into my chest to make the plant believe you'd been responsible."

Exasperated, Kaylina stepped in and gripped his arm again. Not out of a desire to be close to him this time but because she wanted to shake some sense into him.

"I'm not going to stab you or your dead body with a knife, and I insist you do your best not to die."

"So you presume to give me orders." Vlerion smiled more genuinely than he had at any point in the conversation. Leave it to a ranger to find talk of his own death amusing.

"Yes, I do. You should be honored that I care and have stopped calling you pirate."

"Perhaps so. I might mention that to Targon as an indication that I'm managing to instill reverence in you."

"If you vow to live and give me time to find a way to lift your curse, I'll call you my lord in front of him." Kaylina wished she had a clue about how she might lift his curse. The sad smile he issued whenever she spoke of it promised he didn't believe it was possible.

"Such proof of your reverence would doubtless cause him to pin medals on my chest for my superior training abilities."

Kaylina snorted but also smiled, relieved he was off the morbid subject of his death.

"Oh, Kaylina," Vlerion said softly, his gaze snagging on her smile—on her mouth. He swept her into his arms and pressed his lips to her neck.

Though surprised, she responded automatically, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"It is difficult to be with you." He kissed her neck, then nuzzled her ear. "And it is difficult to be away."

She swallowed, fighting the urge to completely melt into him, to let him kiss whatever he wished, or to dare to kiss him herself. "Because you're worried I'm getting myself in trouble?" she whispered.

A legitimate concern.

"That, yes. And because I want you."

The raw admission made her heart ache. She wanted him too. As he well knew.

"Never before have I struggled so much to keep my distance from a woman."

"Because of my beauty and wit, I presume, not your weird curse being drawn by my weird blood."

"You are beautiful."

"And my wit?" She kept her words light, afraid that if a more serious mood came over her, she would struggle to step back again.

As his hand cupped her, keeping her in his arms, he nipped at her earlobe, sending a jolt of pure arousal through her. "I believe snark is the appropriate term for what you possess."

She caught herself arching into him, bringing her lips to his ear, slipping her tongue out, tasting his warmth. "I think you like it."

"It bothers me less than it should."

"If I were a noble, would it bother you at all?" She sucked on his earlobe, wanting him to think of her as an equal, even if it was a silly thing to desire. It wasn't the reality in the kingdom, neither the law nor the culture suggesting that commoners and aristocrats stood on the same ground. But she wanted him to admit that she was worthwhile, that she was good enough for him. She grazed his ear with her teeth, then dared to nip, as he had, while her fingers curled into the back of his neck.

"You are more than a noble," he rasped, his grip on her tightening. "You have power I don't understand."

She released his ear, whispering, "Power that draws you." Though her body remained heated in his arms, and she longed for them to remove their clothes and fully explore each other, she couldn't help but feel disappointed at the reminder of why he wanted her.

" You draw me." He turned his face to meet her gaze.

She caught the dangerous glint mingling with the lust in his eyes, the promise that the beast lurked under the surface, poised to erupt.

A laugh from somewhere in the park reminded her that they were not alone. Many people could be killed if the beast were freed.

But Vlerion's attention was only for her. He lowered his mouth to hers, claiming her with a kiss filled with desire.

A mistake. She realized she'd made a mistake with her arousing nip. She tried to break the kiss even as her body longed for what he promised to give her. She struggled with her own desire as much as his, but they couldn't allow this to progress.

She planted her hands on his chest. She couldn't— They couldn't.

But his grip was too tight to escape, his desire too hard to deny. Any second, the beast would arise.

A scream of alarm came from the other side of the park.

Confused and captured by Vlerion's grip, Kaylina thought he'd already started to change, that people were screaming as they witnessed it.

But when Vlerion broke the kiss, his breathing heavy, his eyes glazed with lust, he was still human. For the moment.

The people on the other side of the park were looking toward the street, not toward Kaylina and Vlerion.

"Something's wrong," he rasped, then swallowed, trying to collect himself. He looked at Kaylina and stepped back, anguish replacing the glint of the beast in his eyes. "I apologize. I was… I have no excuse."

"Yeah, you do," she whispered.

But he shook his head in denial. "I?—"

Another scream came from the far side of the park.

"I need to check on that." Vlerion stepped farther away from her.

Kaylina nodded, relieved by the distance now. All along, she should have kept it.

"Kar'ruk!" someone cried.

Alarmed, Kaylina spun toward the call. Trees lining the street on the far side of the park partially blocked the view, and it took her a moment to spot the Kar'ruk. Not one or two but twenty of them strode along the cobblestones parallel to the park.

They walked side-by-side in two columns and wore decorative hide tabards instead of the chainmail armor she'd seen on those in the preserve, but deadly axes rode on their shoulders, leaving no doubt that they were warriors. Warriors who didn't like humans. They gazed fiercely at the people in the park. One hefted his axe and pointed it at a man pointing at him, as if declaring he would spring and kill the gawking person.