Defiance Rising by Miles Amy

Author:Miles, Amy [Miles, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-03-07T07:00:00+00:00

Nineteen

I lead as we hike back toward the caves. I shove thick branches out of our way as Bastien lets out an exaggerated sigh. I’ve known he’s been ready to blow for the last thirty minutes, but hoped he would simmer down before we made it back to the cave. Obviously, that’s not going to happen.

I release a branch and let it swing back, slapping Bastien right across the chest. “Hey!” he shouts, rubbing his bruised flesh.

“Well, I had to do something to distract you from your grumpiness.” I turn and face him, holding the strap of my bag tightly across my chest. I don’t want him to see the tremor that continues to ripple through my fingers after our encounter with Kyan an hour ago.

“I’m not grumpy. I’m worried.”

“About what?”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t you find it the least bit odd that Kyan just happened to be waiting to see how you handled yourself back there?”

I offer an indifferent shrug, but even a blind man wouldn’t have been fooled by my pathetic attempt. “I don’t know. Kyan is…mysterious.”

“That’s one word for it. I’ve got a few more if you’d like to hear them.”

I laugh. “You’ve got some serious trust issues, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. He seems too invested in you. Too…protective.”

“Hmm,” I scratch my chin, as if in deep thought. “I wonder if that might describe another near complete stranger that I’ve run across this week.”

Bastien scowls. “That’s not funny.”

“Didn’t intend for it to be.” I close the gap between us and place my hand on his forearm. I try not to think of how wonderful it felt to be wrapped in his embrace. “I don’t think Kyan means to hurt me.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Simple.” I release his arm and reattach my grip on my pack. “He’s let me walk away twice now and I’m still alive.”

I turn away and adopt a determined march. Bastien rushes to catch up to me. “So what do you think about this whole training thing?”

“I don’t know. It could be good.”

His grasps my shoulder and forces me to stop, turning me to face him. “I may still be sort of a stranger, but I know you Illyria. You’re freaking out, but are too darn stubborn to admit it.”

I look down at the ground, unable to meet his gaze. A ring of mud clings to the edge of my boots. “So what? Wouldn’t you be scared if you were me?”

Bastien gently lifts my chin with his finger. “Of course I would be, but not for the reasons you think.”

I purse my lips as he continues. “I think we’ve pretty much established that I’m not a fan of the Caldonians. You know that my parents were killed by the aliens a while back, which is why you found me sewer diving with the rats in those subway tunnels, but I never really told you how they died.”

His face clouds over and he frowns. “My dad was weak, malnourished, at the end. Mom

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