“No—” The denial lodged in Essa’s throat.
Nazrin was quick, so swift he caught the arrow in one hand. While her heart pounded against her ribs, he flung the arrow to the side, faced her, and ordered, “Shoot me.”
Shock, relief, humiliation, and then anger rushed through her. How dare he mock me. Rage overwhelmed her other emotions, its scorching heat flaring deep inside her mind. Her nails bit into her palms as the other recruits, the bystanders, did nothing to hide their laughter.
Not removing her stare off Nazrin, she nocked her arrow in one fluid movement. The blue flames in her mind spread, manifesting at her hands and lapping up her arms. She aimed and loosed the arrow.
Nazrin might be swift, but she was faster.
His hand shot out to catch her arrow, and his eyes widened. Not in triumph. In defeat. He withdrew his hand from his chest. His ivory tunic stained crimson and her pulse faltered. The tip of her arrow lay embedded in the skin over his heart.
Her pulse sped and she bolted toward him. She hadn’t intended to hurt him. Three steps away from his arms, the look Nazrin sent her stopped her. The dark brown in his depths twisted into black, smoldering with fury. He snatched the arrow from his chest and tossed it to the ground. Her mouth fell open while she searched for words.
“From now on, Lady Essa,” he drawled, his tone low and icy, “you will not challenge me in this place. I am in command. You will obey my orders immediately, and without question.” His perusal drifted behind her, and she shifted to follow it.
Dozens of people watched their interaction.
The blood drained from her body, pooling in her feet. Nazrin was right. Beneath his justifiable anger, she sensed hurt and betrayal. What had she done? Mocked him, in front of everyone. She’d drawn the entire encampment’s attention. Their gawking expressions burned into her. What were they thinking? Shame over her childish behavior constricted her throat, parching her mouth.
Swallowing back tears, she curtsied. “Yes, of course, Lord Nazrin. My apologies.”
“Resume practicing.” He sighed and marched away.
Essa loosed arrow after arrow, yanked them out of the target, and refilled her pail each time it emptied. Thousands, Nazrin had declared. She squared her shoulders and lost herself in the repetition. She would redeem herself.
After a few minutes, most of the audience disappeared, evidently assuming the entertainment had concluded and seeking gossip elsewhere.
A couple of hours later, Nazrin approached her. “Good work.” He nodded at her target. All of her arrows were in the center.
“You’re free until this afternoon, for your duty at the seamstress’s shop.” How did he know? She frowned. Cassie had arranged for her to work with the seamstresses yesterday.
Essa set aside her bow and rubbed her sore hands. They were stiff and aching. Blisters lined her right hand from repeated contact with the string.
“Wait.” Nazrin snared her hand and flipped it in his. Genuine compassion warmed his eyes so the flecks of copper glinted. “Go to the infirmary.” He pointed to a structure on the other side of the square. “Ask for Aedre.”
He released her hand and her heart sank in disappointment. After nodding, she followed the direction he’d indicated.
The infirmary was a simple structure formed of solid stone. A sign above the door with the rod of Asclepius on it, the symbol of the god of healing, creaked in the breeze. The door squeaked as she hauled it open. Inside, a dozen cots lined either side. A heavy wooden countertop dominated the space at the back. Behind it, shelves displayed hundreds of glass jars.
She pinched her nose. A strong medicinal odor stung her nostrils and caused her eyes to water. Although the infirmary was dimly lit, none of the beds were occupied. Because they had the blood of gods in them, descendant species healed rapidly.
“Be right there,” a voice trilled from a room behind the counter. The door opened and a small child skipped toward her. She had dark hair and large blue-green eyes. She was lovely, but that wasn’t why Essa stared. Despite her obvious Water Borne complexion, the child had wings.
“Are you ill?” the girl inquired, bouncing on her heels.
“No, I’m fine.” Essa presented her injury.” I hurt my hand a little.”
“Oh, my mama will fix you.” She tilted her chin in pride.
“I hope so.”
The child’s mother emerged and the girl flew to her. The attractive woman scooped her daughter, squeezed her fiercely, and settled the child against her hip.
She and the girl had the same turquoise eyes, and the mother was clearly a sea maiden. How then did the child possess wings?
“I hope she didn’t bother you. Amaya is curious about the people I treat. Can’t get enough of the strange ailments.” She laughed, a bright, musical chiming. “How can I help you?”
“My name is Essa.” She set her hands on the counter. “Lord Nazrin sent me to see the healer Aedre.”
“Yes, that’s me. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Essa.” Aedre beamed at her, but a wistfulness clouded her features. How odd. Shifting Amaya to her other hip, she waved for Essa’s hand. The woman muttered to herself while she flipped Essa’s hands in hers, and then padded to the back wall. She tapped one finger against her lip as she scanned the shelves, chose a glass jar, and opened it.
“This should help.” The sea maiden applied some of the thick green ointment to Essa’s blisters. The burning ceased and the blisters diminished. “Apply more tonight, and again first thing tomorrow morning.”
She slipped the jar into her bag, but halted in the doorway. “Thank you.” She didn’t intend to pry, but the child’s origins fascinated her. “Is she… I mean, is her father—”
“A Wind Borne? Yes, he is.” Aedre smiled against her daughter’s forehead and bent to kiss her cheek. The girl giggled and squirmed in her mother’s arms. After wiggling down, she scurried off to play in the back room.
She smiled at the scene, her heart aching from never having experienced any such affection from her own mother.
As she quit the infirmary, she brushed her longing aside and another musing drove into the forefront of her mind. Why had Nazrin sent her to Aedre? Because of the child? Did he wish for her to meet Amaya, and the others who were erasing the distance between their worlds?
***
Once again, Nazrin perched at a table, far away from Essa. Not that he wished to be far away. His frustration over the archery incident today dissipated. Deep in his gut, he was impressed. Few could shoot an arrow and actually hit him. It meant she had promise. Her powers simmered below the surface, waiting to be actualized.
She had spirit; she defied him. He wasn’t sure about being challenged by his mate, but he suspected, perhaps, he just might enjoy it. After five centuries of existence, he’d seen, done, and heard everything. Essa surprised him today. What would tomorrow hold?
Kai sauntered toward Essa’s table. He flashed a grin at her, his white teeth gleaming.
Nazrin scowled.
Although they were across the room, his hawk’s hearing was acute enough to catch their conversation as though they rested beside him.
“Evening, Lady Essa. How are you this lovely night?” He planted a kiss on her hand. “Would you accompany me for a swim? I’ll take you out to the ocean. Let you enjoy a real breeze on your skin. It can be so stifling in this valley.”
“I understood we weren’t permitted beyond the borders?” she hedged, flicking a quick glance in his direction.
Good lass. Don’t go with him. His fingers drummed on the table, his raptor edgy.
“Well, not as a general rule, but most rules are made for breaking, are they not?” The bastard smiled mischievously. “Besides, I’ll protect you, ensure you come to no harm. The rules exist to make sure people don’t go wandering off and stumbling into trouble.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re plenty of trouble, Kai.” Essa laughed.
His raptor squawked in rage, the sound muffled by a flute blasting to his right that blocked out the rest of their exchange.
And then his niece, Amaya, raced into his arms. “Uncle Nazrin!” she squealed as he tossed her high. Her wings broke free of her shawl and she glided to a landing.
Before he had the chance to introduce them, Kai led Essa from the dining hall.
Damn him. The mate-thief stole her yet again.
***
Essa was missing. The hour had grown late and she still hadn’t returned to their cabin. Nazrin searched everywhere. Had the fiend escorted her below the surface of the lake? It made sense for Kai to steal her away to somewhere Nazrin couldn’t reach.
Well, didn’t wish to reach.
His raptor squawked in his mind, piercing, splitting.
Essa. Find Essa. Don’t let him thieve her from me. She’s mine. Mine. Mine. On and on he went, to the point where Nazrin couldn’t silence him anymore. Didn’t want to silence him. His pulse raced at the possible scenarios occurring beneath the water between the myrman and his mate.
He leapt into the air and performed a quick scan of the lake.
There. A splash of blue tail. Kai.
Bastard.
It was time to settle this, once and for all.
For the first time in centuries, he let his raptor have control. He swooped as Kai dove under. Plunging after him, Nazrin clinched Kai’s tail in his talons, ignoring the muffled screams of pain the myrman emitted. With a jerk, he flung Kai out of the water and onto the shore. By now, his feathers had absorbed the water, weighing him down. He ignored the burning of his lungs and flapped his wings, kicked his legs, and fought to the surface.
Throwing one arm in front of the other, he crawled toward the myrman lying prostrate on the rocks. Kai’s wheezing served to entice Nazrin’s raptor further. Prey. Weak prey.
While Nazrin struggled to his feet, his wings leaden, Kai flipped over, one arm smeared with blood and crossed protectively over his fin. The putrid stench of fear poured from him, oozing through his pores as his blood stained the rocks.
Although he quivered, he lifted his head and met Nazrin’s stare with dignity.
Damn.
The look of the defeated was one he’d encountered thousands of times on battlefields across the world. Rarely had he ever viewed it mixed with courage. The fury of his raptor’s vision faded and he frowned at his hands. What in Hades had he been about to do? Had he truly been seconds away from striking an innocent man, all because the male had fallen victim to an enchantment involving Nazrin’s mate?
Bloody hell. He raked his hands down his face, ignoring the scrape of his talons into his flesh. He’d never, no matter how enraged, done anything so dishonorable.
When had he decided to let his darker half rule him?
Had he at last become his father? The kind of male Essa would surely despise?
His gut seized and bile rose in his throat. Nay.
He’d always suspected his mate could be the ruin of him, but he’d also hoped she might save him instead. That her existence would tame the darkness inside him, not unleash it.
He regarded the myrman, whose breaths came evenly. What was this madness the Fates had driven them into? He longed to hate the male. More than anything, he yearned for the myrman to be the epitome of evil.
He wasn’t.
For someone who’d lived a fraction of Nazrin’s lifespan, Kai possessed more honor.
Damn him again.
Kai let out a slow whistling breath, as though testing whether his words would evoke another of the raptor’s violent lashings. “I don’t know why you imagine she’s yours, but she doesn’t belong with you.” He grabbed a stone and twisted it through his fingers. “Essa deserves the chance to choose for herself. I may not have that luxury, and neither, would it seem, do you. But she deserves it.” He tossed the stone into the pond, skipping it several times.
Didn’t that gut him. Words of wisdom he should have spoken. His throat was too dry to swallow, let alone produce words, so Nazrin nodded his assent, and sent the words Forgive me into Kai’s mind. Then he rose and stalked away.
I could relinquish her. Fly away from the two of them and never look back.
His raptor keened, flapping its wings in protest. Cannot leave her. Cannot leave her.
Nazrin’s feet led him to his cabin, his hand trembling as he twisted the knob of the door. Kai’s words haunted his mind, but if he left, he’d never find himself lost in pools of malachite again. He’d never take another deep breath. Never live anything but a shadow of his life.
If he stayed? What would a future with Essa in it hold? With a determined grunt, he shoved the door open. He’d find a way to temper the beast, to become worthy of her.
He didn’t comprehend what she meant to him yet, but aye.
By the gods, he’d bloody well remain in Halcyon to find out.