*Kieran*“Man, do I have a few things to tell you.” I can barely see Blanca in the darkness of the cave. Her eyes are like polished onyx, and even the whites of them are difficult to make out. It’s probably for the best. I don’t really want to see her at the moment, not when I’m so fucking confused about everythig.“What’s going on?” She sinks down across from me. I wish I would’ve had time to pack something–anything–before we left the castle because my stomach is killing me. Another hunger pang flashes through me as I pull a knee up to my chest. “Did you hear anything through the mind-link?”“Oh yes,” I tell her. “I heard plenty. That’s what I wanted to tell you about.” I take a deep breath and consider how best to spew this all out to her. On our way here, the chatter in my mind was almost overwhelming. I could tell when we crossed out of range of the castle because my father’s booming voice stopped rattling my brain.“I’m listening.” Her tone is calm on the surface, but underneath
*Blanca*Before I even open my eyes, I know that something is different. My back hurts, and the bed beneath me feels harder than usual.The pillow beneath my head doesn’t quite feel right either. It’s familiar–but it’s not the paper thin slip of fabric I’m used to resting my head on.When the pillow moves, everything comes back to me. My eyes fly open, and I realize that Kieran and I have shifted our positions in the middle of the night. His eyes are closed, thank the Goddess, and he makes a small murmuring noise as he readjusts on the floor.Somehow, he’s got his head on the backpack I was using as a pillow–and my head was on his chest.“Great googly moogly,” I mumble, barely a whisper. The last thing I want is for him to wake up and look up at me, seeing me hovering this close to him. He’d probably think I was trying to make a move on him again.I remind myself of everything I’ve discovered over the last few days and try to feel slightly more at ease about the horrific discovery we
*Kieran*If I was smart, I’d rest during the day and run at night. But I guess I’m not that smart because the sun is hanging overhead, and Blanca and I have been running for hours. We hug the base of the mountains for shelter to exclude anyone coming up on that side. So far, despite the messages from the warriors in my range that my father is absolutely pissed, none of them have been able to find us. They still trust what I’m telling them and are fanning further away from us. No one is even questioning me.It’s a good thing, too, because there’s no way in hell we’d be able to fight off a group of my father’s warriors. They are the best trained fighters in the world, and there are just two of us. Not even an entire flock of birds would help us with that.Blanca is keeping pace with me, though the narrow, rocky path has her a few steps behind me and not righ next to me. Earlier, we killed a rabbit and ate it in our wolf forms. I could tell by her eyes that it made her sad to do so, but
*Blanca*I’m wrapping strips of my extra skirt around Kieran’s shoulder wishing I had something to disinfect the wound with. Of course, I had nothing like that in my room back in the castle, so it wasn’t like I just forgot it. I had very little. If Kieran would’ve known he was coming with me, he could’ve brought us a lot of supplies, but he didn’t. Sometimes I still can’t believe he came with me. I’m not exactly sure I know why he’s here.“What’s the matter?” His voice is just above a whisper, and I can feel the warmth from his breath on my cheek. I try not to let it affect me. He might not be my brother, but he’s still not thrilled about being my mate.My eyes go to the mark on his shoulder as I think about it, trying to figure out how to answer his question. “Nothing,” I tell him, which isn’t the truth. “I was just thinking it would be nice to disinfect this.”“Yeah, it would be. Oh, well.”He doesn’t say more, and I find myself staring at his mark again. It’s different than mine.
*Kieran*It makes me uncomfortable to admit that she makes me feel comfortable.It seems ironic, but it’s true.She’s not supposed to make me feel this way because, in the crevices of my mind, the ones that haven’t adjusted to the new reality yet, she’s my sister.Even though I know she’s not, and even when I thought she was, I never once treated Blanca like she was a member of my family.Most of the time, I didn’t even treat her like she was a person.Still, with her head on my shoulder like this, I start to think of her in a different light. She is my mate, after all. We are not related. We have never been related. Nothing about her being my mate or what we did during the Haze was wrong, and yet, whenever she touches me, it creates a war in my mind, a chaotic jumble of mixed emotions where I don’t know what’s up and what’s down.I don’t know if I should smile and enjoy the tingling warmth spreading throughout my body and gathering in my groin or push her away and swallow down the fi
*Blanca*My heart thrums in my chest, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I almost died. With Kieran’s arms around me, his muscular chest pressed against me, I don’t even feel the scrapes and cuts I collected slipping down the mountainside. He pulled me back from the darkness, and now, here in his arms, I’m safe.We are both naked, a thin sheen of sweat covering our bodies, and his lips are on mine. I remember his taste from the night of the Haze even if everything else is still hazy. When he runs his hand along my ribcage, I take a deep breath and brace myself for what’s to come.I want him. My body responds to his touch in a way that I can’t comprehend. Even without the Haze, my thoughts are blurry. I’m reacting on pure instinct when I lean up to wrap my arms around his neck and open my mouth wider. I feel a soft tug on the back of my head as he intertwines his fingers through my hair and gives it a tug, eliciting a moan from my mouth.There’s no stopping this. Not only are
*Kieran*Blanca stares at me as if she can’t comprehend what I’ve just said. I don’t blame her; I’m not sure I can comprehend it myself. But then, I’ve said it, and I mean it.“Kill your father?” she repeats.I nod. “That’s right. We need to kill him. Of course, it would be nice to hear him confess to all of his crimes first, but that can come after.”Blanca, who is still sitting on my lap, both of us naked, binks a few times. It’s hard to see her in the darkness. The sun has completely gone down, and very little moonlight reaches us through the cave entryway, even though there are no bushes there this time. I’m not sure what I expect her to say, but since she’s saying nothing, I continue.“Everything he’s ever taught me is a lie. He’s mentioned time and again how he defeated all of these kingdoms around us where people were being mistreated by the royals, but none of that is true. It’s just what he told himself and others in order to get his leaders on board with all of the horrible
*Blanca*Kieran is gone–swallowed up by a tree! I can hardly believe what I’m seeing. The tree simply opened, and now, he’s disappeared. It takes me a moment to comprehend, and I have to wonder if perhaps all trees are capable of this, and my sheltered life has left me thinking otherwise, but then I realize that’s not possible.I gaze into the darkness where Kieran has gone and see a ladder. Instinct tells me to jump in after him, but it’s so deep, I can’t see anything down there. Instead, I take a moment to shift and get dressed. Then, I quickly climb down the ladder, hearing a creak as the tree closes itself above me.Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long to reach the bottom of the ladder, which means Kieran didn’t fall that far, maybe ten feet. Still, I expect to see him lying on the ground unconsscious. Instead, I wheel around to see him standing in his wolf form in front of several people who have sticks in their hands and are taunting him.I want to look around at this place. It