Instinctual (Rise of the Iliri Book 2)

by Auryn Hadley

  He sounded so honest, and smelled even more so. Slowly, she nodded, feeling her body finally relax. "I can't fix you. I can't make you stop missing her."

  "You still need to bite me," he said softly. "Star Fall's on your ass. They'll need to see proof or they won't believe it."

  "You really want to keep this up?"

  "Yeah. You saved my horse and you've saved my pride. Besides, I already know that my amazing pick-up skills are going to lose me this girl." He winked at her, a shy smile replacing the concern he'd had only moments before.

  "No blades this time?" Sal asked, standing.

  He pulled his knife and set it on the table, pushing it away. "Promise."

  "Do you trust me?"

  He huffed out a laugh. "I think so."

  "Do you want to like this or just get it over with?"

  He blushed and looked toward the door. "I'm not going to say something to insult you, but I'm not sure what that is."

  "The truth won't insult me."

  "Can you make me like it?" he asked. His eyes slowly looked back to her. "Just for a bit?"

  "Close your eyes," Sal whispered as she knelt on his lap. "Relax." She moved his hands to her waist.

  When he sighed, she leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against his neck. The touch of her skin made Blaz's concerns fade away, but she didn't replace them with the passion she'd forced last time, just a quiet acceptance. He relaxed and Sal kissed along his neck, nipping gently, her teeth just grazing the skin. He couldn't help it. The false comfort teased at his mind and Blaz sighed, feeling no guilt at the touch of a woman against him. Sal made sure of it.

  The feel was not sexual but reassuring, like a warm bed after a long day in the cold. When her teeth broke the skin, he barely flinched, a smile on his face as he fell into the thrall of a Kaisae. Sal left her marks along his throat, visible even over his uniform, and worked her way down. She placed each carefully, concentrating on her hand against his neck and how she wanted him to feel.

  The ability to enthrall men had always been something Sal thought of as a curse. Humans longed to experience the iliri "tricks." As a slave, she'd used it to earn her meals and hated it, but the more she learned about her species, the more she understood. As she marked Blaz Eason as her own, she finally realized why iliri females had this. It was a defense stronger than her ability to fight. She could make even her enemies love her, so long as she could touch them. Sal smiled and pulled away, releasing her hold on Blaz only when she'd found her feet.

  He sucked in a breath when her hand left his skin and his eyes flew open. "Damn," he gasped, reaching for his collar bone. "The pain of that hits fast."

  "As soon as I release you, yeah." He smelled so sweet it made her pause. She licked at her lips. "I need to go."

  "Yeah, work." His eyes were on her mouth.

  "I'm ok," she promised. "Just," Sal held up her hand, and backed a step away, "stay there."

  "It's that bad?"

  Sal nodded. "I'm a berserker. Didn't anyone tell you that?"

  "No."

  "You're safe, but don't tease me, ok?"

  "Tease?"

  Sal gestured to his shoulder, then grabbed her drink and took a long swallow. "Humans smell so sweet. I've learned how to control it, but it's never easy."

  "No blood. Got it. Go read, Sal." He stood, and moved the other way. "You're going to give me one hell of a reputation if everyone else knows that."

  She laughed and headed for the door. "They do. It's not a secret." With one hand on the knob, she paused. "And thanks. I'm trying, ok? I owe you, and I'm trying not to take that for granted, but I spent my life being shown that it's not safe to trust a human."

  "Then I'll try to prove you can. We're even, Sal," he said. She nodded and opened the door, slipping silently into the hall beyond.

  Chapter 37

  Once outside, Sal took a long, deep breath, exhaling the scent of human from her nose as she walked. The sun was long past the horizon and the sky was slowly fading through blue to purple. The flames of the day's last light were fading behind the compound's buildings. Men clustered in small groups, soldiers in grey letting her know that the Devil Dogs had also returned. Two loads of ore secured, two left, she thought.

  She stopped by her rooms and grabbed a clean set of clothes, deciding to dare the baths. It was late enough that they should be empty, and Sal had been locked away with Blaz for most of the afternoon.

  Her last two days with Blaec and she had to spend hours with a human, almost screwing up everything. If Blaz had been any less understanding, she could be in the stocks right now. Sal closed the door to her room harder than she'd intended, flinching at the noise in the quiet evening. She looked around guiltily, but no one seemed to notice.

  Thinking back, she couldn't remember the last time she'd truly been alone. Not since she'd become a Black Blade. Now, she was always with one of her brothers, or Blaec. Or Cyno, she reminded herself, realizing that she could no longer simply think of him as her brother. A smile crossed her face as she trotted down the stairs. She deserved a long soak.

  Gender neutral bathing wasn't uncommon in the military. She'd learned in her first year that after dark and early morning were always the best times to get away from the curious eyes of humans. She had no issues with being undressed around them until they began to look at her as if she was the prey. That was one feeling Sal had never learned to ignore.

  She reached the bathing house and pulled open the door, looking around the room. Nyurin turned at the sound, a blue towel wrapped around his waist, and nodded a greeting to her. She nodded back and moved to the other side of the room, relieved to see him collect his things and leave shortly after.

  She walked through the small building, alone except for the signs of men who had long since left. Tubs were placed in the middle of the room, a few still steaming. She picked one and began to undress.

  Placing her things in her line of sight, she climbed into the nearest warm tub of water with a sigh. The bath washed away her tension, the heat leaching aches from her muscles that she hadn't even realized existed. Slipping her head slowly beneath the surface, she rinsed the smell of human away, then leaned against the back of the tub.

  A noise caught her attention and Sal flicked an ear in the direction, but didn't hear it again. She began to work shampoo into her hair, scrubbing it deep into her scalp, before ducking under the surface again to rinse the excessive perfume from it. Pulling her hair over her shoulder, she worked knots from the end, hearing the sound again. She glanced over her shoulder, but the room was as empty as it had been before.

  Just too many hours in the field, she decided, and too much intrigue. She scrubbed her body quickly, her ears flicking for sounds around her, and realized it was nothing more than the building settling in the evening chill. With a deep sigh, Sal lay back and closed her eyes, lifting her feet to the rim of the tub and stretching. Except for her toes, her entire body was submerged. Each breath made her rise and sink in the water as if she were riding waves. It was the little things, like a hot bath, that made this life worthwhile.

  This time, the sound was right behind her. Sal shot forward as a rope slipped around her neck, pulling her back. Dark hands grabbed her shoulders and arms. Each time she thrashed, the rope tightened around her neck.

  Jase! she screaming into his mind. A surge of panic was his response.

  "Stop moving," a voice warned. "There's five of us, scrubber."

  She did, going limp against them, straining for a breath. "What do you want?" she managed to whisper.

  She felt the man lean close to her, and his breath tickled her ear. "I'd like to get rid of every last one of you. You stink. You think you're so much better than us, but you're nothing more than a lazy bunch of shits. Thing is, I need to know something first. You gonna be a good girl, and talk if I let you breathe?"

  Sal nodded, hoping to buy time. She knew her pack was coming. She could feel it.

  "How did you find the last
load? Who leaked it?"

  The rope loosened slightly and Sal sucked in a deep breath. "Two thousand kilos doesn't break into three loads well. Why run two loads together, and the third so far south?"

  "How'd you find the fourth one?"

  She tried to face him, but a fist met her temple before she could lay eyes on him. "Don't try it," a second voice warned.

  "I'm trying to tell you," she said. "The tactics didn't make sense. If you add a fourth load, it does. Run two together, with the bait and bleed, and run two separate, hoping for stealth to cover them. That increases the chances of at least one thousand kilos making it. I'd be willing to bet that the deal is for only a thousand. If all of it arrives, it's just proof of the Emperor's good will. At least in his mind."

  "Where's it coming through the mountains?" he demanded.

  "I don't know," Sal lied.

  "Horseshit," the second man said, tightening the rope.

  "I don't," she gasped, "know!"

  "Then you're useless," the first man taunted. "Kill her. Make it look like she did it herself."

  "Easy enough," the second man said, pulling the rope tight.

  Jase! she screamed again as she tried to pull her arms free.

  She got one loose and pried at the rope around her throat, fighting her body's desire to go into a panic response. She lifted her chin and struggled to find air, but none reached her lungs. Slowly, the world began to grow dark and she thrashed one last time, turning to face the man killing her, sending his face through the link to her brothers. At least she would get revenge, Sal thought as her body went limp.

  Chapter 38

  Audgan shifted his belt, the long sword tugging at his waist. He knew he'd get used to the feeling – or learn to buckle his belt tighter. Possibly both. He smiled at the thought. He had his own sword and he'd just fed carrots to his own horse.

  He'd call her Nazar. It wasn't too girly, and it wasn't too masculine, just like the spunky horse. He wondered what she'd done before he got her. Her reactions were too much like Geo's, both of them covering for something they didn't want the world to know. Probably all iliri were like that to some extent. Iliri, and his Nazar.

  "Hey?" a man asked as he passed by.

  "Yeah?"

  "You one of the new Blades?"

  "Yes, sir," Audgan said proudly. "Zyrn Audgan."

  "Rildyr Nyurin, of the 97th. Look, I'm not trying to step on toes, but aren't you all a bit touchy about Star Fall?"

  "I don't know why you'd think that," Audgan said, suddenly alert.

  "Well, I just saw five of them heading to the bath house, and I think Sal might be in there alone. Probably nothing, but I'd rather one of you knew."

  "Thanks," Audgan said, jogging that way.

  "Shit," Nyurin breathed. "I'll bring help!"

  Audgan didn't bother to reply. If Star Fall was alone with Sal, who knew what they would do. Sure, she could hold her own against a few, but if they got the jump on her? He wasn't willing to finally meet a real Kaisae only to see her killed before she'd even grown into the position.

  They got Sal! Cyno's voice ripped through his head.

  Bath house, almost there, Audgan sent back. Guy from the 97th told me to check on her.

  He ran, not caring about the humans staring. Across the courtyard, he saw a man jump from the balcony, and heard voices yelling, but he didn't dare stop. He was the closest; he had to help. He hit the door, the warm moist air sucking his breath away.

  Two men hovered over Sal as she patted at the rope around her neck. Three men stood behind them, swords in hand. They turned to him, but his eyes were on Sal. Her hand slowly went limp and sank into the water, and he felt as if a sword had been shoved into his guts. A long, cold sword.

  "Let her go," he snarled.

  "Or what?" one of the armed men asked.

  "Their new puppy thinks it has teeth," another said, laughing.

  He reached for the cold feeling and embraced it. Death. The fear of death. The one fear that everyone held, and Audgan knew it well. He shoved it toward them as hard as he could, his own fear of Sal's demise adding to it.

  "Let. Her. Go!" he yelled, building the fear with each word.

  The door behind him flew open and men shoved through, pushing him aside, but Audgan didn't need to see them. He knew their fears. He knew all their fears. When they began to scream, he smiled, and pushed harder.

  Cyno reached her first, not even looking at the men screaming on the ground at his feet. "Sal?" he begged, pulling her from the water.

  "Sal!" LT screamed, rushing into the bath house.

  "She's alive," Cyno yelled, trying to be heard over the cacophony.

  "Secure them," another voice ordered, "And shut that shit up."

  But Audgan couldn't stop. He couldn't hear the words around him, lost in the cycle of fear and death. The louder they screamed, the more he feared for Sal, and the easier it was to push that fear at them, making them scream louder.

  "Audgan," a voice said beside him. "Let them go."

  He felt a hand on his shoulder and snarled, his eyes focused on something no one else could see.

  "Damn it, Zyrn," Geo said, shaking him. "Fucking stop! Stop, man."

  "He can't," Risk said, grabbing the pale boy's face.

  "Fuck that," Geo growled.

  Pain flared against his cheek and the ground jumped up to hit him. Audgan gasped in shock, his breath loud in the silence of the room. Tane Geoni stood over him.

  "You with us?" he asked, offering him a hand.

  "What the fuck?" Audgan asked.

  "You went rogue, man. Sorry. I hit ya."

  "Sal?" Audgan begged.

  Geo looked away. "They said she's alive, but it doesn't look so good." He pointed.

  Audgan sat up, and looked. Three men hovered over Sal's body on the cold tile floor, her pale legs the only thing he could see around them. "No," he whispered, trying to find his feet. "Maast, no."

  "Get these fucks out of here," General Sturmgren's voice carried through the bath house. "If you're not a Black Blade, wait the fuck outside."

  "Is she going to be ok?" Audgan asked, crawling toward her.

  Geo grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to his feet, but the world began to spin. Audgan sucked in a breath, fighting the feeling, and Geo held him tighter, helping him stagger to the cluster of people around the Kaisae.

  Ran turned, his face pale, but he nodded. "She'll be ok. I think she's going to need a bit more of your iliri magic, but she's breathing, just unconscious. Whatever you did, you saved her life."

  "Move!" Shift said outside the door. "My brother's in there."

  Nyurin’s voice carried in when the door opened for Shift. "97th, secure the building, only Black Blades and the General get in, and do not get in the way of a Blade or I'll let them gut you!"

  "Yes, sir!" dozens of voices replied.

  Shift moved to Sal's side and glanced once at the General. "Fuck it," he muttered, and grabbed her bare arm.

  Sal gasped, her eyes suddenly focusing, before she snapped them closed. She lifted her hands to her face, shaking, and sucked back long deep breaths. Every man in the room sighed in relief and a few weak laughs could be heard. Ran began unbuttoning his shirt.

  "Can you sit up?" the General asked, squatting at her side. "Slip your arm in here, little one. Let's get something over you." He helped her wrap herself in his shirt.

  "It's just my family," Sal said, her voice rough. "They don't care." She swallowed, and managed to smile at him. "Thanks, Ran."

  "Don't do that to me, Sal. I'm too old for this shit.

  "They wanted to know about the last load. They've been breaking clearance, too." She coughed, and the General waved her to silence.

  "Ran," LT said, pulling the General away. "You think you can forget anything you just saw?"

  "What? Your new recruit distracting them long enough for the rest of you to get here? Shift giving a bit of first aid? Smelling salts, was it?"

  "Righ
t," Shift said. "And water for her throat." He smiled, and offered Sal his hand.

  "Fuck," she groaned, but took it, resting her head against her knees.

  They sat like that for a moment, then Shift let go of her and stood, patting her back. Sal nodded, but just breathed deeply a few times before finally lifting her head.

  "Ran?"

  "Yeah, Sal?"

  "I'm sorry for what I said before. I trust you."

  "I won't make you regret it," he promised, "but I'm going to need a report. I need something to work with here."

  "Yeah, I'm good." The tiny woman shoved herself to her feet. "Fucking waste of a bath."

  Cyno hovered beside her and Blaec's eyes followed as Sal made her way to her clothes. She began pulling them on and most of the men looked away, offering her the only privacy they could. She glanced at her boots, rejected them, then turned back to Ran and returning his shirt.

  "We have to stop meeting like this," she teased.

  "Rather the opposite, I think. LT, you're to make your bathing room available to Sal. If he's not available, use mine. Do not be alone, Sal."

  She growled in frustration. "What the fuck are they after?"

  Cyno grabbed a fistful of her pale, white hair and held it before her face. "Hate. They do na like what they do na know, and yer the most obvious of us." He dropped her hair, and grabbed her arm, slapping her belt into her palm, two scabbards still attached. "And this will na be out of yer reach again, do ya understand me?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "That's an order, Sal," Blaec added. "And Ran? I'm promoting Audgan."

  "I'll just adjust his placement record. Corporal?" Ran asked.

  "Yes. He just earned it."

  Sal glanced at Cyno for a moment, then turned to Audgan. She moved to stand before him, looking more regal than any queen he'd ever seen. He inhaled, enjoying her powerful scent. If he had to describe it, he could only think of one word: hope.

  Sal smiled at him. "Thank you, Zyrn, for saving my life. I owe you."

  He blushed, and looked away. "I didn't - "

  "Jase said you did. This is how it works with us. Ok?"