Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (103 page)

“
I can handle my own
horse,” Emily told him. She didn’t like when others rode her
stallion.

“
I know, but I can’t handle
it on my own, come on,” he said, amused, and she glared at him just
as Chevalier lifted her up and slid her onto the stallion’s back in
front of Kyle.

“
I don’t need a
babysitter,” she grumbled as Kyle took the reins and kicked the
stallion into a canter, followed by the ten guards.

“
Maybe we do, keep us out
of trouble,” Kyle chuckled. Before long, they were up on the hills
outside of the city and the ten guards started racing across the
field.

Emily pulled her sweater off, leaving just a
light camisole and leaned her head back against Kyle’s chest and
shut her eyes, letting the sun soak into her skin and warm her. He
clicked his tongue and led the horse toward the trees, past the
racing guards as they laughed and joked about who was the fastest.
He kept a slow pace and let the horse mosey around the field,
picking at flowers and grass along the way.

Once he reached the trees, he pulled the
horse to the side to skirt the outside of them. Kyle leaned down
and whispered into her ear, “Are you ok?”

Emily nodded, “Just tired all the time.”

“
You would tell me if
someone was doing something to you, right?”

“
Probably”

“
Probably?”

“
Yes, probably.”

Kyle sighed, “Chevalier said the doctor
can’t figure out why you have such a low blood supply, and we’ve
all noticed your scent isn’t very strong.”

“
Are you trying to find out
if someone’s feeding?”

“
Is anyone?”

Emily smiled slightly, “No.”

“
If someone told you that
Chevalier was in danger unless you cooperated… something like Damon
did, would you tell me?”

Emily sat up and turned toward him, “What
aren’t you telling me?”

Kyle smiled, “Relax, I’m not hiding
anything. I’m just checking to see if everything’s ok.”

She hesitated, and then leaned her head back
on his chest again, “No one’s feeding off of me.”

“
You realize we don’t need
a dark abandoned crypt to talk.”

“
I know.”

“
Ok, so let’s talk,” he
said, bringing the stallion to a stop.

“
About what?”

“
Everything, the baby, your
aging, the Ferus, Exavior…”

Emily raised her eyebrows, “Quite the topic
list.”

“
The baby then…”

“
What’s to say… oops? I
can’t seem to keep from getting pregnant, end of story.”

“
Your aging.”

“
Or lack thereof? Did you
know?”

“
No, I thought you were
just aging well.”

“
Are you
surprised?”

Kyle shrugged, “I don’t think any of us
were.”

“
At least no one will try
to turn me now. I’ll live forever on my own,” she said, watching
the guards race across the field.

“
What’s made you so afraid
of turning?”

Emily frowned, “What makes you think I’m
afraid of turning?”

“
Because you are, terrified
of it.”

“
I have my
reasons.”

“
Like what?” Kyle
asked.

“
Like none of your
business.”

“
Fair enough. What about
the Ferus?”

“
It’s none of their
business either.”

Kyle chuckled, “Stop being difficult.”

“
I thought the Ferus were
gone.”

“
They probably are, but no
guarantees. Are you afraid of them?”

“
What’s up with the
psychoanalytical crap?”

“
It’s not psychoanalytical
crap. I’m trying to find out what’s going on with you.”

“
So did Chevalier give you
topics when he called you out to go riding with me, or was he more
vague?”

Kyle grinned, “He was pretty vague.”

“
Let’s see… what’s up with
me? I’m sick all the time, I’m tired constantly, I don’t really
want to have another baby, my kids were kidnapped by a rogue
faction, Exavior’s chained up in the basement along with my oh, so
favorite heku, Damon. Everyone looks at me like I’m about to fall
over dead, and suddenly I feel like I’m getting interrogated about
suspicions that I’m letting someone feed off of me.”

“
Feel better?”

“
No”

“
Is someone?”

“
What?”

“
Feeding off of you,” Kyle
said, suddenly serious.

Emily sighed, “I told you no. What makes you
think I’d let someone do that?”

“
You let Damon.”

Emily glared forward, “Silas!”

Silas turned toward them, and kicked his
horse into a gallop until he was at her side, “Yes?”

“
Em…” Kyle started, but she
slipped off the stallion and motioned for Silas to bring her up
onto his horse.

Silas glanced toward Kyle and then picked
Emily up and put her on the horse in front of him.

“
Take me back,” Emily told
him, and crossed her arms, frustrated.

“
Em, don’t do this. I was
just asking,” Kyle said.

Emily kicked Silas’ horse and he jumped into
a gallop, so Silas led him back toward the stables. The other heku
followed, figuring the fun ride was over. Emily slid off of the
horse and sat down in the stables while the Cavalry put their
horses away.

“
I just wanted to talk to
you,” Kyle said, coming out after finishing with her
horse.

Emily stood up and looked up, “Look… no
bites on my neck.”

This drew the attention of the Cavalry, and
they slowly moved around her.

“
Wrists… no bites,” Emily
said, and slowly turned so they could all see her wrists. “Where
else do you bite?”

“
I believe you,” Kyle said,
frustrated.

“
Where?” Emily asked,
stepping toward Jaron.

“
Umm… upper arm?” Jaron
stammered, not sure if he was supposed to say.

Emily slipped off her shirt, leaving on just
her bra, and showed them all her arms, “No bites… where else?”

“
We believe you,” Kyle
said. “Put your shirt back on.”

“
Where?” Emily yelled at
one of the newer members of the Cavalry.

He glanced at Kyle nervously, and then back
to Emily, “Umm…”

“
Do you feed?” Emily asked
him, taking a step closer.

“
Yes, Ma’am,” he said,
trying to avoid looking at her.

“
Then where’s another
spot?”

“
Erm... thigh?”

Kyle glared at him and he took a step back.
Emily quickly unbutton her jeans and slipped them off, now standing
in just her bra and panties in the stables, “There… see any
bites?”

The guard was looking up at the loft,
“No.”

“
Where else?” Emily asked,
turning so Silas.

“
I think that’s about it,”
he said, watching out the window. “Please get dressed, the Elder
will kill us all.”

She spun toward Kralen, who was watching
her, amused, “Where else?”

Kralen shrugged, “Seriously, I think we’ve
covered them all.”

“
Emily, that’s enough,”
Kyle said. “I get the picture… no one’s feeding off of
you.”

“
What the hell…” Zohn
gasped, walking into the stables. The Cavalry stood tall at
attention, but averted their eyes away from the Elder’s
wife.

“
You wanna check me for
bites?” Emily asked, glaring at him as she crossed her
arms.

Zohn’s eyes grew wide, “No, I don’t.”

“
Fine then,” Emily said,
and quickly slipped on her jeans. She pulled her shirt on just as
she left for the palace.

“
Don’t you all have
something to do?” Zohn growled, and the Cavalry blurred from the
stables.

“
She has quite the temper
today,” Kyle said, turning to Zohn.

“
What was that
about?”

“
I just asked if she would
tell me if someone was feeding off of her, and she got mad and
decided to show us all,” Kyle said, shrugging.

“
What was her answer to
your question?”

“
She said
probably.”

“
Probably?”

“
Yes”

Zohn glanced toward the palace, “Do you
think someone is?”

“
I don’t know. I couldn’t
exactly check either.”

“
I wouldn’t mind checking,”
Zohn said, grinning.

Kyle gasped, “Don’t let Cheval…”

“
I won’t… course… I’m not
the one whose hot wife just stripped in front of the
guards.”

“
If you’ll excuse me… Sir,”
Kyle said, and turned to leave, obviously irritated with the
Elder.

Emily walked up the stairs slowly. The ride
wore her out and all she wanted was to get to the bedroom and lay
down. She was freezing from the stables, and still angry at the
questions Kyle asked her. When she got to the fifth-floor landing,
her guards fell in around her door as she stepped inside and shut
it.

She pulled off her shoes and socks and then
slipped off her jeans, laying them across a chair by the fire. She
sat on the bed and then slowly leaned back, the warmth from the
fires soothing her to sleep.

Chevalier stood by the bed, watching her
sleep. She had a light sweat covering her skin and was dreaming
something that caused her to grip one of the blankets tightly. He
had the chance to look her over. He wanted to check for himself to
make sure no one was feeding from her, though he couldn’t imagine
her letting anyone. The doctor’s comment about her low blood supply
just made him concerned, and then her reaction to Kyle’s questions
furthered his worry that she was holding something from them.

He scanned her soft skin, the smooth curves
of her neck and shoulders, and the tiny dimple where the veins in
her wrist met. He ran his fingers lightly along the inside of her
upper arm, grinning when she squirmed slightly in her sleep. He sat
down softly on the bed beside her and brushed his fingertips along
her inner thigh, smiling when she looked up at him.

“
Nice nap?” he asked,
taking her hand.

Emily nodded, “Yes.”

“
Did you strip in front of
the guards?”

“
Yes”

“
I went to check on a
training schedule, and most of them wouldn’t even look at me,”
Chevalier said, amused. “Might I ask why you stripped?”

“
Kyle insinuated that I was
letting someone feed off of me.”

“
And asked to see?” he
asked, raising an eyebrow.

“
No, I just decided to show
him.”

He ran his fingertips along her exposed
stomach and grinned when she got goose bumps, “Why don’t you try to
refrain from stripping in front of the guards? They all thought I
was going to kill them.”

“
Then tell them to stop
asking me if I’m getting bitten.”

“
Kyle’s just worried. In
our species, that’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone
is low on blood.”

“
What are you going to do
with Damon?”

Chevalier sighed, “We’ll banish him
again.”

“
Why haven’t
you?”

“
He’s been cooperating and
providing enough information that it’s been useful to keep him
alive, for now.”

Emily studied his face, “Are you thinking
about keeping him alive?”

“
No, not after what he did…
he’s apologized for it, but that doesn’t change how wrong it
was.”

“
It must be hard, he was
your friend.”

“
Yes, he was.”

“
Do you forgive
him?”

“
No, I don’t forgive
easily,” Chevalier told her. “What do you want to eat tonight? It’s
getting late.”

“
Did your maker, make
Damon?”

“
No… food, Em.”

“
Medium rare steak,” she
said, and leaned up on her elbow. “Does Zohn want him let
out?”

“
I haven’t asked, it’s not
an option,” he said, and reached over for her pills. He handed her
one with a glass of water and watched as she took it.

“
Does grouchy brown haired
guy on the end want Damon out?”

Chevalier chuckled, “No, Braxter doesn’t
want him out… Em, no one does, he’s not getting out.”

“
I want to talk to
him.”

“
You are allowed down in
the prison, but make it fast. We may banish him again
soon.”

“
Not in the prison, alone,
in a conference room… I don’t want to go to the prison.”

Chevalier frowned, “Why would you want
that?”

“
I have some things I want
to know.”

“
I guess that’s ok, I can
go in with you…”

“
Alone”

“
There’s no way to protect
you if one of us can’t be in there.”

Emily rolled onto her back and put her arm
under her head, “I don’t think he’ll attack me.”

“
We don’t know that…
Enter.”

Emily sat up and covered herself with a
blanket as the servant put a tray on the table, bowed, and then
left, shutting the door behind him. She watched him leave, and then
went to the table and sat down. She lifted the dome from the tray
and sat it down beside the tray.