“He did? That’s fantastic, how did he do it?” I was getting excited. I hadn’t read this part in the book. I didn’t know there was a way to undo the bloodbonding.

“He killed the King of Sinnendor.”

My mouth dropped open in shock. When Lake killed the king, he also simultaneously killed the bloodsworn and himself, and that meant that the SwordBrothers were originally from Sinnendor, like my family.

“He freed hundreds of souls and prevented more wars. And because of that one king, the few remaining unsworn SwordBrothers and their families disappeared. They went into hiding, refusing to be bloodsworn again.”

“And that is why, your clan is in hiding to this day. And you think that is what the Septori did to us?”

“I’m not sure. Everything between us feels like I’m bloodsworn to you, but I don’t know how they would have gotten the knowledge to do it. We destroyed all of the books and history when Lake killed the king.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Do you understand now?  I’m free from the Septori but now I’m tied to someone who seems to have some sort of death wish.” He chuckled sardonically.

“Is that why you wanted to kill me?” I asked and understanding finally dawned on me.

“Yes.” He grabbed his head in frustration and stormed around the room and then stopped, dropping his hands in defeat. “And no. I want to go home to my family and friends.”

The word family made me wonder if Kael had a wife back home. He was certainly old enough to marry. A sour feeling hit the bottom of my stomach at the thought of Kael bonded to someone.

“But then I’m scared because I don’t know what would happen to me if you died. Would I die? If I am truly Bloodsworn to you, then I would. But I don’t know if it is the same kind. It feels like it, which makes me wonder. SwordBrothers don’t feel fear.  We are taught that to fear is to hesitate and to hesitate is to die.”

“Maybe there is a way to reverse it,” I said, trying hard to not cry.

“If there was a way to do it, we would have done it hundreds of years ago instead of committing mass suicide. But I don’t know. I had hoped to find the answers with the Adepts. So I presented myself to Adept Pax and he thought of ways to pay me for my services so I could stay close to you and test our boundaries. And then you told me quite emphatically to get lost and that you never wanted to see me again.” He rubbed the back of his head to remind me of our parting ways.

“Yes, I did, didn’t I.” I chewed on the bottom of my lip, feeling terrible.

“Well, you can see how that’s going to be a problem. Not to mention that you decided to go run off to the Shadow Mountains. I didn't even know that you had left the Citadel until the bloodbond kicked in, sending me reeling in pain. I took a horse from the stable and I left the next day.  I followed the pull until I found you, knowing that you would somehow get yourself into trouble again.” He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Only this time, it was some sort of contest in which you were giving yourself away.”

“That reminds me,” I interrupted. “If it was such a stupid contest, why did you enter it?”

“To stop you from having to marry the winner, of course.” He raised his hands palm up and the look on his face bespoke truth. “Why else? If you had to marry the winner, then you would be forced to stay here and get married. I can't let that happen.”

“What do you mean, you can't let that happen?” I argued, feeling my famous temper start to rise at his nonchalant attitude. “What gives you the right to decide my future?”

“Everything,” he yelled out. “Because I am tied to you until we reverse this. So right now, your future includes me. I need you free and not tied down to travel and find a way to break this curse. And once the bloodbond is broken, you can then be free to make whatever stupid mistakes you want to with your own life.”

“What if I don't want to help you?” I said in anger, because I hated that he was deciding my future without even asking me. “What if I want to stay and marry and rule my clan?”

“You want to marry the brute that did this to you?” He said in disbelief, pointing to my face.

My chin jutted out in defiance, and without thinking I blurted out, “It's better than the alternative.”

He snickered. “Ha! I'm not that bad. I'm not even going to marry you. So what if I win, I just delay your plan a little bit. You can have another stupid Kragh Aru tournament in a year, after you've helped me.”

That wasn't the point; he didn't understand my feelings of trying to prove to my family that I was strong enough to run the clan by myself. He didn't even ask me why I had entered the competition. I was too tired to fight with him, and I was getting more annoyed with him every minute; plus I was feeling overwhelmed.

“Well, your plan will only work if you win tomorrow,” I said slowly, trying not to betray my feelings in my voice. He looked at my change in mood with confusion and started walking towards me.

He lifted my chin and saw the tears that I wasn’t able to hide from him. Brushing them away with his thumb, I felt a small jolt of electricity at his touch.

“I don’t like to be tied down.” He then copied the same movement that Joss did weeks ago and ran his roughened thumb over my lips. The spark was undeniable, even if it was obviously only one sided. His eyes narrowed and were void of emotion.

“Please…leave,” my voice had become husky with warring emotions.

“And go where? You’ve imprisoned me,” he whispered.

I turned my face away and he dropped his hand as if I had stung him.  Kael walked to door and let himself out. The door closed with a soft click.

My legs felt like rubber and I slowly collapsed to the floor in front of the fire. I realized that his stealth abilities would let him sneak by anyone downstairs without being caught. In fact, he probably liked the challenge. Lying with my cheek pressed against the soft rug, my fingers grasped hold of it. I stared at the flickering fire and let the tears flow.

I cried silently for the pain that I had seen in Kael’s eyes at his inability to be free of me, I cried the tears that I knew Kael himself would never shed.

Chapter 13

The scream of a horse woke me a few hours after Kael left. This night was bound and determined to never end. I rolled over on the rug by the fire and noticed that it had died down to a mere burning ember. So if my fire had burned out, why was my room still alit with a glow? Then, the scent of burning hay reached my nose and the sound of another horse screaming made me jump up in panic. Something was on fire.

Quickly donning my clothes, I looked outside and could see flames in the distance through the trees, dancing on the rooftop of Aldo's house and barn. My first concern was my horse.

Faraway?

I'm okay, I'm in the field, he responded. I wanted to be near our new friend.

Breathing a sigh of relief that he was safe, I rushed into the hall and half slid, half fell down the steps and caught myself at the last moment, but not before spraining my ankle.

“Father!” I yelled through the house.

“He's not here,” a soft feminine voice echoed from downstairs. “He's already outside helping the others.” The voice became louder as it got closer and Siobhan turned the corner and came into view. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy as if she had been crying. “I've come to help you.”