Born To Rule by Kacie Ross

Author:Kacie Ross [Ross, Kacie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kacie Ross | Fantasy
Published: 2024-06-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Mira

Ithought Eiresh had been fast when we fled from the black cat, before I learned it was Balis. This was closer to flying. I sat behind the druid, arms wrapped tightly around him, as the forest whipped by in melded shades of green and brown. Thank the gods Eiresh had a smooth gait, or this’d never work.

I clung to Balis’ tunic ‘til my fingers ached, aware of every inch of our body’s pressed together. In my head, I replayed the moment he asked me to stay over and over again. All the years I spent reading people, learning those little nuances that spoke a language of truth and lies, I never came across someone so flawless and enigmatic.

There’d been no hint of deception in that line between his brow when I confessed my fear. Nor in the laugh lines near his eyes when he smiled as I kicked at him. It all seemed so characteristically genuine, which made him infuriatingly irresistible and impossible to say no to. So here I was, ass aching, and two days behind schedule.

Still, it was naïve to think the druid had any genuine interest in me beyond following orders. His charm was nothing more than a clever ruse to manipulate me into returning with him.

My growing attraction to the warrior aside, I had other reasons to be grateful for the delay. Though I held my tongue about it, I had to admit how cruel it would be to leave Eiresh behind. Especially knowing the fate he could face in the human provinces—captured and sold off to gods-knew-who.

Now, that considering look from Balis when he learned Sidelle had gifted me the horse made perfect sense. A wordless bond had settled in my bones—an intuitive connection that told me I’d protect the horse as fiercely as he would me. Maybe it’d been a part of her plan the whole time.

I tugged on Balis’ shirt, and he slowed Eiresh into a walk.

“Where are you taking me?”

Hopefully, it wouldn’t take all day to get there. My ass was already sore from two days of riding.

“It’s a surprise.”

“If this is your attempt at convincing me to stay, you’re off to a terrible start. I hate surprises.”

“Has anyone told you that you have a control problem?”

“No one still breathing,” I quipped.

His laughter, light and contagious, danced beneath my hands. “And you call me insufferable.”

I peered past the few trees that hugged the road, drawn to the wide expanse of the valley unfolding in the distance. A dusting of periwinkle and sunshine flowers dotted the grassy hills. Far beyond that on the horizon’s edge were great, round forested mountains.

“The least you could do is tell me what part of the province we’re in.”

He heaved a loud sigh. “I believe persistent would be a word I’d use to describe you,” he mumbled.

“Persistent. Insistent.” I shrugged. “You decide.”

He glanced at me over his shoulder, an amused spark in his eye.

“We’re in Star Hewn Valley, rider clan territory. This is where I was last assigned before I met Eurok.

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