Page 49 of Blood and War
The growl rumbled through Kellan’s chest, reverberating through her. “You lay so much as a hand on her?—”
“Enough!” Gabriel shouted.
Demitria startled, sitting up at the intensity of his voice. Staring around at the four figures that surrounded her. She took them in. Kellan sat upright beside her, but his hand rested subtly atop the hilt of the sword at his left, that all too familiar animalistic look returning to his eyes. Nobody moved.
“Did I oversleep?” She broke. Kellan’s features softened as he looked down at her. “I apologize.”
“Everyone just woke.” He smiled. “No need to apologize.” She knew he’d lied. The look of his siblings told her enough. They were waiting on her. Again.
“We ride out now.” With a hiss, Eire stalked away, seated atop her mount before Demitria could blink the lingering sleep from her eyes.
She rose to her feet. She felt better. Still tired, but not as weak. Her body stronger than the day before. “Thank you.” She handed the cloak back to Kellan. Grateful for the warmth not only it but he had provided her that night. A repeating occurrence, it seemed. One she was slowly no longer beginning to mind.
Stretching her limbs out, the two of them walked toward the horses waiting patiently nearby. Atlas let out a soft whinny at her arrival, and she couldn’t help the smile that tugged along her lips. She was alive, Atlas was safe, and that was all that mattered. Fuck Eire. Fuck her opinions. Fuck her attitude.Fuck her.
They rode out again through the seemingly endless, vast land. Through the dirt that crunched beneath the hooves of the horses as they pushed on, the blazing sun beating down on them.
Demitria silently wiped the sweat from her brow. It was hot. Too hot. She’d peeled her cloak off hours before, silently wishing for a cold shower. Water. Anything to help quench the heat that was taking hold of her body. Saving her water the other day had been her only smart move since she’d left Solis. Carelessthinking would get you killed in an instant, as was evident with her most recent screw up.
She wondered how far from her home they were, her senses still feeling out of whack since the capture. They’d left the canyon behind the other day, so they must be getting close, at least.
Demitria tested her fingers. Bending and moving each one as she gripped the reins. The bruises along her body were lightening, but she was sure she still looked a mess. Her shirt was still torn in several places, dried blood crusted over making the material itch along her skin. She’d give anything for a shower. To cleanse away whatever the demons had done to her body, and rid herself of their touch.
“Can we talk?” Her head shot up at the voice of the Horseman. Kane had ridden up beside Kellan. They moved around her so easily she barely detected their presence each time. She stared at him, his face blank. Eyes staring into the distance. He wasn’t talking to her, and she cursed herself for thinking otherwise. As if they would truly have any business with her. Demitria pushed Atlas into a trot, leaving the brothers behind a few paces as she rode ahead to give them whatever privacy they needed. Gabriel and Eire still rode strides ahead, taking up the front. She sure as hell wouldn’t be joining them.
She and Atlas took up between the sets of siblings, and if she hadn’t felt useless and out of place before, she did now. Demitria strained her ears, desperately trying to hear the conversation between the two behind her. She could make out pieces. Broken words here and there. Her name. Community.Balance. Always balance, and she was doing the exact opposite of that, it seemed. It was the same thing the others had been saying. She was sure of it. Kane must be trying to piece together the events leading them up to this morning. Trying to piece together his brother. Her.
Kellan had been absent from his siblings for a week before she’d run from Solis. Run fromhim. And since then? How can someone fuck up their life so badly in just over two weeks. The curse left her lips in a harsh whisper. She cursed them all. Every single one of them. Eire, the twins.
“A woman should never speak words as you do.” She met the wise, forest-green eyes of the eldest Horsemen. The power radiated from him, and she nearly flinched at its intensity. He’d heard her curse. Damning his siblings. The residents of her community.Shit.
“I’m not a typical woman.” She answered, gaze unchanging. The laugh rumbled through his chest, and it startled her. Her body begged her to shy away. Avert her gaze. She didn’t. Wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of the fear they so coveted.
“I’ve gathered that much.” His smile never wavered. Never faltered as he stared at her. “Which begs the question. What exactly are you?”
Human. She was inexplicably human. He should know that. She was nothing more. Nothing more than mortal flesh and blood. “I don’t know what you mean?”
“You are different, Demitria Collins.” He spoke, quiet enough that only she could hear. So quiet in fact, she could barely hear him. “Something about you has drawn him in.” She followed the subtle nod of his head. Kellan. He was talking about Kellan. “Drawn him in so deep that he’s lost himself in the process.” Had he? She hadn’t known him as his former self. Gotten glimpses, sure. The deadly warrior that those around had claimed him to be, but never the full extent. He was softer, maybe. But that could just as easily have been because of their mutual understanding of each other, or whatever the hell it was brewing between them. But lost himself? A Horseman couldn’t lose himself in the few weeks that she’d known him.
“Brother.” Kellan growled.
Gabriel knew to take his leave, and with a nod in her direction, he resumed his place at the front.
“What’d he say to you?” Kellan’s eyes never left Gabriel’s back. The challenge in his voice was clear, and Gabriel backed down. A movement that surprised him, she could tell, as it flickered in his eyes. Given their hierarchy, his brother giving in so quickly was nearly unheard of it seemed.
“It was nothing.” She shrugged, glancing over at him. His face hardened, but he continued the fixation on his brothers back. He didn’t believe her. “It’s none of your concern.” She added. Slowly, his eyes met hers. “Tell me, what did Kane have to say?”
“It’s none of your concern.” He mimicked. The amusement danced over his face.Bastard. She cursed him, too. Damning him. She heard the chuckle echo from the Horsemen ahead. Damn himandhis siblings.
They bantered back and forth for hours, and she knew he enjoyed the frustration in her eyes as he grinned down at her. The anger in her face as he won, over and over again. Beating her at her own game. “You’re an ass.” She hissed. Kellan’s smile only grew.
The sky around them paled, the air growing cooler. No one had mentioned the ever growing quiet as they neared their destination. Nothing scurried at their feet, fleeing at their mere presence. Demitria had experienced this once before. The night she’d met the deadly Horseman.
They smelled it before they could see it.
Smoke. The smell filled her lungs. Choked her senses. Clouded every thought as the panic, the pain, surged within. Consumed her.
Fire.
