Runaway Heart (11 page)

Kari walked out to the balcony and leaned against the short wall that rimmed the space. The view was breathtaking, and Kari was sure she would never get tired of it. She watched the seabirds in the distance as they glided over the water. It was so peaceful here that she could almost forget the trouble that might be coming. Almost, but not quite.

Kari heard two soft thumps behind her and turned to see what had made the noise. Before she could complete her turn, a hand clamped over her mouth and something was waived under her nose. As her head spun with dizziness and her vision darkened, she mentally yelled for help, hoping Jaren would hear her through their link.

* * * *

Kari slowly began to regain consciousness. Her first thought was that she was getting really tired of being rendered unconscious. She heard unfamiliar voices and kept her eyes closed, deciding it might be better to find out as much as she could before she let anyone know she was awake. She was lying down on something hard, she thought it might be the ground, and her arm was pinned under her in an uncomfortable position, but she ignored the discomfort and concentrated on trying to find out what was happening around her.

Two men were talking softy nearby, but she couldn’t make out much. She caught snatches of the conversation and heard Jaren’s name mentioned, but whoever said it spat the name out like it disgusted him. She heard steps as someone approached her, then she was nudged hard in the ribs. She forced herself not to react and to keep her eyes closed.

“She’s still out.” The man’s voice wasn’t familiar.

“Of course she is.” That was the man who had spoken Jaren’s name. Whoever he was, Kari definitely didn’t like him.

“Should we tie her up with something in case she wakes up?” said the first voice again.

The other voice scoffed. “What for? She’s just a weak female. Besides, I gave her Daca root. She won’t be waking up at all unless Jaren agrees to my terms.”

Kari didn’t know what Daca root was, but if he thought she was still supposed to be unconscious, then he must not have given her enough. Or maybe it didn’t work on Montoreans. Either way, letting him think she was still asleep sounded like a good plan.

And he thought she was weak, did he? Kari felt indignation flare inside of her. She had been accused of being weak all her life and she was tired of it. Kari decided she might have to set him straight about that if she got the chance.

* * * *

Jaren crouched low to the ground behind a large bush. He could see the entrance to the grotto from his vantage point. It was mostly concealed by vegetation, with thick vines draping down across the gaping mouth of the cavern. But he could see through enough of it to see the bastards inside. Odair. He couldn’t see the other man’s face, but it didn’t matter. He would be dead soon.

He was relieved to feel Kari again through their link. When he had felt her panic and then suddenly nothing, he had feared the worst. Apparently she had only been unconscious. He didn’t detect fear coming from her but, much to his satisfaction, she was feeling particularly defiant at the moment. She was feisty, his
sha-lia
. He liked that.

He motioned to Jaxson, who was hidden behind a nearby tree. Jaxson nodded once and disappeared into the thick vegetation. Kari’s brothers were hidden nearby as well, although Jaren couldn’t see them from his position. They would be taking Jaxson’s cues and moving into position, waiting for his signal to strike. But first, Jaren needed to go in and assess the situation.

He stood and began walking toward the grotto’s entrance, not bothering to hide his presence. The note that had been left on his balcony made it clear he was to approach the grotto alone and unarmed. It made no difference. Odair was no match for Jaren in a fight, whether he was armed or not. Whether by stealth or directness, Odair would die today.

Jaren entered the grotto and his eyes instantly adjusted to the dim light. A man Jaren didn’t recognize was standing off to the side. He was armed with some type of energy weapon Jaren didn’t recognize, but it was of no consequence. He would deal with him soon enough. Odair was unarmed and was standing in front of Kari, who was on the ground, her eyes closed. He would have thought she was still unconscious, but he could easily feel her through their link. She was pretending to be unconscious. So not only was his
sha-lia
feisty, she was cunning as well. Pride built inside Jaren, along with another familiar feeling. Jaren had to tamp down his desire. If he weren’t careful, he would be fully aroused before Odair was even dead.

“What have you done to my
sha-lia
?” Jaren’s voice was deadly calm.

Odair scoffed. “She’s not fit to be a
sha-lia
. She’s not even Aldryssian.”

Jaren growled warningly. “What do you want, Odair?”

His uncle laughed. “Why, I thought that would have been obvious, my juvenile nephew. I want the crown.”

“It will never happen.”

“It will if you want your pathetic little female to live.” Odair’s voice was cold.

Jaren’s eyes narrowed, and his beast wanted to rip the man’s throat out, but Jaren needed more information. “What did you do?”

“Let’s just say that without the proper antidote, your mate will never wake up.”

Jaren could feel Kari pouring reassurance and self-satisfaction to him. Jaren understood and both he and his beast relaxed. Obviously, Odair’s plan hadn’t worked out quite as he expected. Odair just didn’t know it yet.

Jaren crossed his arms over his chest. It was the signal to Jaxson that Jaren had the situation under control. In one fluid motion, Jaren moved sideways and smashed the unknown man’s head backward into the wall, crushing his skull. Jaren returned to his original position in front of Odair before the unknown man had even finished sliding down the wall, his unused weapon dropping to the ground.

Jaren looked down at Kari. She had opened her eyes when Jaren attacked the other man, but Odair didn’t realize it, since he still had his back to her.

“Did that make you feel better, young would-be king?” Odair’s voice was mocking, like he was talking to a child.

Kari’s eyes narrowed at hearing Odair’s ridiculing tone, and Jaren felt a wave of indignation flare from her. With no additional warning, Kari pushed up on her arms and kicked her legs out, sweeping Odair’s legs out from under him. She jumped up and stared down at a stunned Odair, who was struggling to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him when he fell.

“Weak female, huh?” Kari drew her leg back and kicked Odair hard in the ribs. “That’s for drugging me, you bastard. Guess you didn’t expect me to wake up.” She kicked him again. “Maybe you should check biologic compatibility next time.”

“There won’t be a next time.” Jaren knelt down on one knee next to Odair, who was holding his ribs. Jaren was disgusted. His uncle had always been weak, only able to operate by dishonesty and cowardly tactics. “Anything you would like to say before I end this?”

Odair sneered up at him. “At least I have the satisfaction of knowing I killed Tibon.”

Jaren growled. “He’s not dead.”

“Not yet, but he will be.” Unexpectedly, Odair lunged for Kari’s legs. Without standing, Jaren seized him by the head and twisted. Odair was dead before Kari even had a chance to react.

Jaren rose and wrapped Kari in his arms, relief finally flooding through them both.

“I hope you really enjoy my company,
sha-lia
, because I am never, ever letting you out of my sight again.” This time, he really meant it. His lips claimed Kari’s in a crushing kiss, his tongue drinking in the sweet taste of her.

“Damn, Jaren, you didn’t save us anyone to fight with,” Slaytor grumbled as he, Jaxson, and Trynt jogged into the grotto.

“Sorry, but your little sister here took Odair down without telling me what she was about to do. I just finished him off.” He kissed Kari on her nose.

“Way to go, Sis,” Trynt praised her. “Told you those wrestling lessons would come in handy.”

“What did Odair give you,
sha-lia
?” Jaren needed to make sure there would be no lasting effects.

“I’m not sure.” Kari thought for a moment. “I think he called it Daca root.” Jaren sucked in his breath in horror, knowing the root was fatal to his people. Slaytor, however, snorted loudly, drawing Jaren’s attention.

Jaren turned to him. “You know what Daca root is?”

Slaytor laughed. “Yeah, I do. But the most it will usually do to a Montorean is create a slight lightheadedness. It’s used as a recreational drug on Montore, but our body chemistry burns through it so fast I’m not sure why anyone bothers. Kari must have sniffed it in its pure form for it to knock her out. She’ll be fine. Not the brightest assassin, your uncle.”

“No, but he is also the one responsible for Father’s illness.” Jaren looked at Jaxson. “We need to figure out what he did to him before it’s too late.”

Jaxson nodded his agreement. “Since we know for sure now that the illness isn’t natural, we’ll just have to broaden our scope.”

Jaren looked at Kari and ran a finger down her cheek, then swept her up in his arms and cradled her against his chest. “Jaxson, I hate to leave you to clean up another mess, but I’m taking my
sha-lia
to bed, and I don’t expect to be disturbed.”

Kari’s face flushed bright red. Trynt and Slaytor cleared their throats and looked away, fighting hard to suppress their laughter.

Jaxson grinned and bowed his head. “Yes, Your Highness. I’ll post a guard at your door with permission to kill anyone who tries to distract you.”

As Jaren stalked off with his mate, he heard Kari’s brothers lose their battle as their laughter erupted through the rainforest.

Chapter Fourteen

Jaren and Kari went out to the landing platform a few days later to say good-bye to Trynt and Slaytor. Jaren had finally relented and allowed Kari out of their bedchambers to spend some time with her brothers before they left, but he had yet to let her out of his sight. After almost losing her twice, Jaren wasn’t taking any chances.

Jaren was thankful for the opportunity to get to know Kari’s brothers and had developed a deep respect for them. He hoped they were successful against their father and had promised them whatever help he was able to provide.

Jaren was surprised to see Marinda appear on the landing platform and shyly approach Slaytor to say good-bye. She curtseyed slightly and Slaytor chuckled before taking her in his arms and giving her a tender, but fairly chaste, kiss. Apparently, Jaren wasn’t the only one who had gotten to know the brothers better—at least one of the brothers, that is. Jaren raised one eyebrow and cleared his throat in an overprotective, big brother, type of manner. Marinda blushed, and Kari giggled.

Slaytor released Marinda and shrugged apologetically at Jaren, but the sly grin he wore showed that he wasn’t really sorry. Jaren shook his head and smiled. He knew he couldn’t really complain, considering he had spirited Slaytor’s little sister to another quadrant and mated her.

Finally, unable to put the departure off any longer, Kari hugged both of her brothers one last time. Jaren could tell she was trying to be brave, but the tears began to flow regardless. Jaren wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. He sent strength and reassurance to her as they watched Trynt and Slaytor board the ship. Then the vessel lifted off, disappearing into the clear, blue sky.

Jaren thought it would be a good time to distract his mate and take her mind off her worry for her brothers. He took her hand and led her off the landing platform to a staircase that wound around the back of the castle. They emerged onto a narrow sandy path that led around the base of the castle.

“It’s so wonderful here.” Kari motioned to the lush, tropical plants they passed. “The plant life on Montore is so different, mostly trees and grasses, but this is just…it’s beautiful.” Jaren smiled, happy that his mate appreciated the diversity of life on his world. It was that diversity of resources that allowed the Aldryssians to prosper.

Kari kept stopping to touch large green leaves and smell the brightly colored flowers they passed. She got very excited when a small orange and purple bird hovered in front of her for a few moments. Jaren let her take her time exploring. He was enjoying watching her take delight in her discoveries. They slowly made their way down to the wide private beach at the edge of the sea. Jaren took off his shoes and encouraged Kari to do the same, then laughed at the wonder in her eyes as her toes sank into the soft white sand.

“I love this!” Kari twirled in circles, kicking sand with her bare feet. Jaren led her to the water’s edge and waded into the water, his trousers getting wet up to his knees. Kari hesitantly followed him, and then squealed with mock fright as Jaren playfully kicked the warm water at her.

Jaren grabbed her around her waist, bringing her against his chest. “I love you,
sha-lia
.” He slanted his lips over hers and slowly kissed her, his tongue leisurely exploring her mouth. Finally, he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to Kari’s. He needed to show her something, but there just hadn’t been a good time before now. Truthfully, he had purposely been putting it off. But his beast’s patience was wearing thin and Jaren knew he could no longer keep him caged.

“
Sha-lia
, there is something you must know about me.”

“There’s more? Good grief, Jaren, how many secrets do you have?” Jaren knew she referred to the revelation he shared with her while they had been locked in their bedchambers after the incident with Odair. Kari had been curious as to how old Jaren really was, since Odair kept referring to him as being young. It had come as a shock to her that Jaren’s people routinely lived to be 500 years old or more. She had been equally shocked that she would now live as long as Jaren, since their lives were tied together.