Page 18

Chapter eighteen

Nash

“N ash, your brother’s letter has finally arrived.”

My head snapped up—Kai’s fingers running idly through my hair, braiding the loose strands, were half putting me to sleep. I was in a daze, still half drunk on the feel of our connection like it had happened minutes instead of days ago. I had to pull myself from the warmth of his touch so I could concentrate.

“Perfect.” I started to stand to take it, and Kai’s hands slid around my chest, drawing me back against him.

“I’m not done yet,” he hissed in my ear, tugging on another strand of my hair before he started back to work—the feel of his lips pressing against the back of my head soothed the sting and made me want to give him whatever he asked for. My eyes lifted to Vex, who shook his head as he glanced between us.

“Read it to me?” I asked, because it was clear I was the one being held captive now. Kai’s fingers were gentle as he kept working.

“He was apparently attacked by some of Koth’s men.” Vex’s voice was soft, and I felt my body tense—though I’d half expected something like that to happen. Before I had a chance to ask, my second in command continued on. “Axum is perfectly fine. A few of his men were injured, but all the wounds were superficial. It seems things have been quiet on the front here because Koth went north to recruit any dissenters he could find in an attempt to grow his army.”

“Is Axum taking care of them?”

Vex’s eyes continued to scan the letter, and I leaned back fully against Kai’s warmth. His fingers were still combing and working through my hair, but his thighs were squeezed tight around me now. It was like he could sense that this was something important—he could probably feel the tension running through me, if not through our bond, then through the places our bodies touched. Having him here, having him so close, probably made the news settle better than it would have otherwise.

Before Kai, I would already have been out of my tent and preparing to ride to war against Koth for daring to threaten my family, for even thinking about hurting my brother, even if he hadn’t managed to.

“He’s given you permission to handle the matter however you see fit. Apparently…” Vex’s eyes widened, and I didn’t understand the shock on his face until he spoke. “He’s found a mate.”

My jaw dropped.

“What?”

The grin that broke across Vex’s face was full of delight. “A human mate who came through the portal recently.” Kai’s fingers in my hair stilled, and he leaned forward as I held my hand out for the paper Vex held. He kept reading, though. “I think he gave you the go ahead to handle Koth however you please because he… and I quote, ‘ is busy fucking his human mate.’”

I understood Vex’s mirth—Axum had been my biggest doubter when it came to fated mates, and even more sure that he’d settle down some day with an orc of his choosing who could help him rule.

He’d been adamant about it, and any time I’d brought up the concept of fate and destiny, he’d scoffed.

And now…

“I have permission to go to war and I get to hold this over Axum’s head? Perhaps the day isn’t completely ruined with news of Koth’s attack.”

The knowledge that he’d tried to hurt my family was there, burning in the back of my mind… but obviously if Axum was telling me about his newfound mate, he wasn’t so wounded that his fingers couldn’t admit how wrong he’d been in letter form.

“Everyone’s okay, though?” Kai’s voice behind me wasn’t as amused—his concern was sweet, even a little touching, seeing that he’d never met my brother before.

“There is no mention of casualties in the letter, except the ones we will make when we catch up to Koth and his men.” Behind his amusement, I could see the satisfaction on Vex’s face. Koth had been closest to him… and now…

Well, now he’d probably be by my side when we led the charge to kill him.

I might have felt guilty for it were it not for the fact that I sometimes thought Vex felt remorse for not realizing what was going through Koth’s mind sooner.

“When we settle again, we’ll figure out our next move.” My hand lifted, fingers catching Kai’s where he’d stopped combing through my hair. “Fear not, Little Mate. We’ll move further from the city until I resolve this.” I brought my attention back to Vex. “Tell everyone we’ll be taking the Southern road when we come to it. I’m sure Koth is still close by—I want to stay near, but not so near that everyone is in danger.”

Not so near that Kai would be in danger . I knew why I was pivoting, why I was changing directions. It wasn’t as though I’d been looking forward to being amongst the throng of people that the city offered, but now…

Now, I wanted to hide Kai away in the safest place I could while I went on a warpath to make sure Koth could never hurt anyone I cared about again.

Then I’d see about my brother and his human fated mate.

The thought made me chuckle again, and I was still laughing as Vex left the tent and I heard his voice shouting to the others.

“Do humans come through the portal very often?” Kai asked after a second, and I shook my head.

“It’s somewhat rare. Maybe a few times a year. Do people often go missing from your little town?” There were portals all throughout our world, but the ones directly connecting to my brother’s kingdom were few and far between.

“Not really. There’s been a few stories, but people always chalked it up to runaways. Or bears.” He dropped his chin to my shoulder and nuzzled against my neck. “You’re kinda a bear, I guess.”

“A bear?”

“Big, furry, sharp teeth. Could probably kill you if it wanted.”

I grinned and turned, catching his mouth with mine. “Yes, I suppose I am a bear. Now… come with me. I need to speak with our messenger so I can reply to my brother.”

Kai nodded, his expression a little confused as he stood and we made our way out of the tent.

By the time I’d dictated a response to Axum and sent our messenger, Mol, on his way, the sun was hanging high in the sky.

“Are you hungry, Little Mate?”

Kai shook his head. The expression he wore was odd.

“No. I’m not… I just…” He trailed off, and his frown deepened.

“Are you okay? I can get the healers if—”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” He waved me off and actually pushed my shoulder. “Why don’t you go grab something to eat? I’m going to go back to the tent. My head just… hurts.” The expression he made when he said it looked like he was in pain. “I think I’ve probably been doing a little too much to try to prove myself. Well…” He looked me up and down. “That and I’ve had this big orc pounding me every night, so…”

The soft accusation pulled a laugh from me as I responded. “I’ll bring you something to eat. Go rest.”

He nodded and started to turn—before he did, he leaned back in and pressed a soft kiss to my mouth.

I probably should have realized then that he had something else on his mind as he took off back toward the tent.