Winter's Kiss (Seasons of Treason Book 1) by H.L. Hines

Author:H.L. Hines [Hines, H.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Keystroke Imaginings
Published: 2022-11-21T16:00:00+00:00

“Then he said”—Lana lowered her voice for her impersonation of Lord Ryker—“I can be no other than what I am today,” she faux growled.

Genie looked over at her with wide eyes, and she could tell she was even more influenced by Ryker. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Lana swung her legs against the empty stable gate she was sitting on. She smiled over at Genie, who had already gotten back to cleaning the stalls.

“That is really powerful, though. I mean, when you think about it,” Genie looked up.

“It’s not powerful, it’s pretentious,” Lana snapped mildly.

“Lana! You never know who’s around the corner. You can’t just say things like that,” Genie scolded her, again.

Though Genie was almost five years her junior, she had a jaded wisdom that outreached Lana. Normally calm and sensible, Genie made a great confidant. Over the past couple of weeks, Lana had turned to Genie, and her brother for companionship thought the family resemblance was strong they were different sides of the same coin.

“I can’t even be bothered to care. What would he do, spank me?” Lana joked. When Genie didn’t reply, she turned to her friend, finding her pressing her lips in a hard line. Once more, Lana had upset the girl who had a resilient loyalty to her Lord Ryker.

Lana had established a routine here already, and she didn’t want to offend Genie, who had a very high opinion of the chain of command. Lana shook her head and lifted her shoulder in a casual apology. Lana didn’t try to smooth things over; she didn’t want to lie to her new friend, so she couldn’t apologize. Lana knew Genie understood her hostility, but Genie adamantly refused to believe that her Lord Ryker would be a party to any of the torment that Sara was creating.

Even though Genie hated to hear anything less than complimentary, she listened to Lana with an open ear and a mostly open mind. Lana knew that even though Genie was fuming over Lana’s insult, she would still meet her at their spot the next day for their morning ride. Lana was grateful for the companionship and honest advice. Though she didn’t understand the girl’s absolute loyalty to higher-ranking officers, she knew it was her own experience that colored her perception. It was something that Lana might have to work on or, at least, acknowledge.

“So, let me get this straight, you run from bounty hunters that have been chasing your family for how long?” Genie finally asked.

“About twenty years,” Lana sighed, already assuming she knew where Genie was headed.

“So, they find your family, you all split and run. Your first mistake, you never should have left your family.”

“I told you, splitting up was the safest way. The king’s men might be able to track me.”

“Because of…” Genie waved over to Lana, who knew she was referring to her metis. “But it was your parents they wanted most.”

“I couldn’t tell you what the king wants most,” Lana added stubbornly.

“He wants the people that allowed the murderer of his family to escape, to be caught and taught a lesson.

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