He was on his feet in the next second. Cara struggled to keep her eyes above his waist, but how could she when she knew all too well what lay south? She decided it was safer to glance away.
“That’s not true,” he said. “Do you really think I’m so unkind? After everything?”
“I’m thinking of what’s to come, Kael.” One of us has to. “What we did just complicates things. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but you aren’t going to go against all of Sajra and your parents to…” She stopped herself, realizing what she was even suggesting was infeasible.
“Be with you?” Kael took a step closer to her. “And why not? I’ll be the rei of Sajra soon. My word will be law.”
“It’s impossible.”
“Cara, what happened seven years ago, with my parents…I wanted to help you then, and I’m trying to help you now. I’ve done all I can to make up for what happened. What else must I do to convince you that I’m not like my father?”
“You don’t love me, Kael. You can’t love me.”
“Those are two very different things,” he replied. “Don’t and can’t.”
“What does it matter?” she snapped. Her head pounded. “A tiger and panther can’t be together. Your father went to great lengths to make sure of that.”
“My father may have been wrong about your people as a whole, but his anger came with reason. A panther killed the last Noble.”
Cara grunted. He had no idea about the truth and her connection to that particular panther. If she told him about Hani, there could be deadly consequences. Or there could be redemption for him and her family. The real killer of Noble Vallius would be known. Unless Kael already knew of his father’s deceit and bloody climb into power.
She turned back to the nuna’s trunk and touched the thick vines crawling and twisting up the bark. She drew in a deep breath. “I truly believe this nuna tree is one of the largest in the forest,” she began, struggling to keep bitterness from her tone. “I stumbled across it when I was a child. I came up here a lot. But not as much after my parents passed.”
Kael didn’t say a word. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him watching her with deep concern. She continued, “As massive and as impressive as this nuna is, it’s dying. See these smaller branches here, these vines? They aren’t from the nuna. They are from a bayan tree—a parasitic plant that wraps itself around another, coiling around and strangling it, until it’s the only tree standing.” She pushed her finger into the spongy wood. “It doesn’t have much time left. It’s bark is soft and rotting away. Because of one bayan seed, such a powerful tree is dying. One seed—like one person. Salus has been strangling this city for decades, and he still is, even after death.”
Kael’s eyes swept over the nuna before landing on Cara. “Even I can admit that Rei Salus wasn’t many things, but he was a great ruler. His coins and ideas for trade saved Sajra from ruin.”
“He destroyed Sajra,” she shot back. Was he really so clueless to the city his family ruled? “He caused the aggression between species. With his coins came corruption and poverty.”
A warning flashed in his amber eyes. “Don’t talk about him like that. He was still your rei.”
“You defend him?”
“He was my father.”
“He was a monster,” she snarled. The fury raging inside her was as fierce and wild as a storm. “I wonder if you’d still think him a great ruler if you knew how he stole the throne.”
His expression hardened, and his voice deepened. “Cara—”
“The panther that you believe killed Noble Vallius all those years ago—he was my grandfather. Hani. Did your father ever tell you that he was part of the original Majasha?”
“What do you mean? Your grandfather murdered Vallius? And yes, my father protected the Nobles. He was a soldier, and he wanted me to follow in his steps.”
“Well, did your father tell you that Hani was Vallius’s adviser? And that Rei Salus was the one who introduced the teralau poison as a way to control people?”
“Where is this coming from, Cara?” He took a half step closer, but she held up a hand to stop him.
“My grandmother.”
“She’s lying.”
The desire to strike him was overwhelming. Instead, she sank her nails into the nuna’s bark to hold herself back. “The tears in her eyes when she told me said differently. A Majasha man was killed by the poison, Kael. Hani knew Salus would do anything to claim the throne. Anything.”
He raked his hands through his hair and spun away from her. “My father didn’t kill Noble Vallius.”
“Vallius died suddenly. Salus assumed the throne right away. He had Hani thrown in the prison, where he mysteriously died soon after. It was all to cover what he’d done.”
“Stop it.” The muscles in his shoulders tensed, but Cara kept on. It was time this tiger prince knew the type of man his father was. That he wasn’t the great ruler Kael imagined.
“Salus used the poison to kill Vallius, Kael. Hani was the only one standing in his way to the throne. He created the lies about panthers to make sure they could never be trusted. To keep his secret safe.”
“Stop, Cara.”
“Whether you want to hear it or not, it’s true. And now, there is a murderer out there who knows what Salus did with teralau and used that very poison to kill him.”
He growled. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“What? Are you going to have me silenced, too? Like your father did to Hani?”
“Enough!” His voice boomed, causing nesting birds to erupt out of their tree homes and into the sky. He whipped around, the skin around his face and arms rippling with the power of the shift. Cara’s heart pumped faster. Any hope of Kael believing in Hani’s innocence died with that one word. The panthers would never be able to climb out of the hole where Salus put them.
If he wanted to stay in his delusion, there was nothing more she could do. Let him go on living in the lie his father created, and if it killed him, too, so be it. She would have no part in it anymore.
Her stomach twisted into a tight knot, but she had made her decision. Not uttering another sound, Cara grabbed onto the bayan vines and slid down the tree. Once her bare feet touched the muddy ground, she was off, running as fast as she could to the forest’s edge. Kael didn’t call after her or follow, and for some reason that stung. When she reached the small clearing behind her family’s hut, she snatched her soiled, wet dress from the mud near Kael’s discarded clothes and sprinted to the river.
…
Cara stormed through the flowery meadow near the riverbank, her hands bunched into fists at her sides. Fury and embarrassment burned in her chest. Even though she had thought Kael might react this way, she’d hoped for better. But Kael had been poisoned by his father’s influence, infected by ignorance, and like it had for Salus, it could end in his death.
A shaky breath gushed from her lungs. She hated herself for letting it go so far; she hated herself for thinking things could all change. How could she even consider—for a moment—that a tiger and panther could be together? They were from different ends of the river, and that’s where they’d stay.
Whispers snapped Cara’s attention toward the tall river grass. The closer she crept, the louder they grew, and even though she couldn’t make out the words, the low tones told her they belonged to men—and a few of them. She pushed into the grass blades towering over her and peeked through to find Rafé and his Majasha men standing huddled together in the shallow water. Her pulse charged. Thank Sajra she’d been able to sneak alone to the river an hour ago to wash away Kael’s scent from her skin. She didn’t want to think about what Rafé would do if he found out what she and the tiger prince had done.
As long as Rafé didn’t know, Cara still had his offer to run in the Hunt to consider. She hadn’t given him a definite answer yet, but she was ready now. Her gut churned as the realization settled in. She could still make things right for her and her family.
It only took one little word, but Rafé wanted more. He wanted certainty. He had waited long enough.
No more hesitation or second guessing. No more of this dance with the tiger prince.
She sprinted toward them.
Rafe’s eyes met hers, and worry flashed behind them. “Cara? What’s happened?”
Of course he was worried about her; he was always worried about her, protecting her. You’re such a fool, Cara!
Before he could say another word, she wrapped her arms around his neck, lifted herself onto her toes, and pulled him into a sealing kiss.
A pleased growl vibrated in his chest, and he drew her closer. Despite the nagging uncertainty in the back of her mind, she leaned against him.
Beside them, all the Majasha men except Danil whistled and cheered, and when Rafé’s tongue dove past her lips, she let him kiss her long and hard. Still, her heart didn’t leap. Her legs didn’t quiver, but she would have to forget those things. Feeling them with Kael had been a mistake anyway. She needed to forget him altogether and move on from here. Her life was with Rafé now.
When Rafé broke away, a look of triumph spread over his face, reminding Cara of a hunter finally capturing its prey after a long, hard pursuit. “Where did that come from?” he asked in a raspy whisper.
Cara’s mouth went dry. She needed to remember that this is what she had to do. This was what was right for her family, and—she hated to admit it—for Kael, too.
“You asked me to run in the Hunt with you.” Looking up at her future mate, Cara forced herself to smile. “Now you have my answer.”
Chapter Fourteen
Cara consumed Kael’s thoughts.
A gust of wind rushed into his bedroom, sending the curtains around him into a flurry of motion. He hadn’t moved away from the balcony doors since the morning’s sunrise, and now the skies were a brilliant shade of blue and the climbing sun peeked above the treetops. For hours, Cara’s biting words about his father, teralau, and Noble Vallius itched at the back of his mind. Not only was she accusing Salus, the ruler of Sajra, of murdering the first of their kind for the throne, but she had admitted her grandfather was the notorious panther to start the legend half a century ago. Did she have any idea the consequences of her assertions? Prison, certainly—even death. Days ago, he wouldn’t have hesitated to carry out either sentence. So what was stopping him now?
No matter how furious he was, he knew he could never harm her. After all they had been through together, there was no way things could ever return to how they were. He didn’t want to go another day without hearing her voice again or kissing those lips.
Everything was different now. He was different now.
He had to talk to her. There had to be more to the story besides what Cara claimed—something she had misheard, or an exaggeration from her grandmother. Rei Salus had pulled Sajra out of despair with his currency. He was a loyal captain of the Noble’s Majasha for many years. How could this same man, the one Kael had grown up idolizing, be a murderer?
Kael sucked in a lungful of warm midmorning air. Soft, melodic notes of a harp floated up from somewhere below, followed by the excited whispers of unexpected guests and the clanking of glass. Downstairs, Jaleh must be starting the decorating and preparations for his ascension ceremony.
One more day. He couldn’t believe the moment was almost here, the time when he would receive the title of rei and run in the Hunt. His heartbeat skipped as the realization hit him. He was out of time; he hadn’t claimed a mate. He wasn’t ready to take the throne and rule over an entire city. There was still so much he was confused about. The rei of Sajra couldn’t be uncertain and hesitant.
The only thing he was certain of was the way he had felt with Cara yesterday in the Bilha Forest. Shifting into his tiger form was the first time he’d been himself—truly. After years of being told the animal side of him was dangerous and wild, he saw now that it was only part of who he was. And even if Cara denied it, she cared for him. She must.
When he had claimed her as his during their lovemaking, she’d said nothing, but in that moment, so many emotions and unspoken thoughts lingered behind her eyes. He saw her struggle. The connection they shared while together in the nuna tree was real; it was powerful, all-consuming, and addictive. He didn’t know what to think about her grandfather and the teralau poison, but he was sure he didn’t want to lose her.
Kael stepped back into his bedroom and closed the balcony doors. He glanced at the green headscarf tossed on his bed. The three leftover tiger coins lay in the center. After Cara had left him, angry and naked, in the large nuna tree, he didn’t know what to do besides return to his hiding place at the edge of the wood, retrieve his clothes, and go home. Unable to help himself, he took the scarf that Cara had left behind, too, knowing deep down he could use it to see her again.
He had to visit the panther village and talk to her. There were too many questions he had to ask, too many things he needed to sort out.
Slipping past his mother and her incessant questions was his next challenge. Then he had to figure out how to get to the panther village safely, without being attacked by the assassin. He could disguise himself in a guard’s uniform again, but would it really be enough?
Pocketing the coins, he snatched the water-thin fabric from his bed and tied it around his belt. He would be quick and stick to the shade of the trees and the tall reeds of the river’s edge, like Cara had. Maybe he’d even shift. He was faster in his tiger form. Stronger, too.
Determined and with a plan, Kael crossed his bedroom and opened the door. Corbin and the same leopard guard with the thin mustache were at their stations as he stepped into the hall.
“My prince.” Corbin greeted him with a grin and a bow.
Kael nodded, his own smile peeking through. He really was growing fond of the cheetah. “Has there been any update on teralau in the forest?”
“Not a trace of the flower has been found yet, my prince,” the leopard responded in a hushed tone, “but all guard divisions are continuing the search.”
If teralau truly had been stripped from the Bilha Forest during the golden era, how did the assassin come across it? A prickling sensation crept up Kael’s neck. Cara had suggested that someone who knew about Salus’s discovery of teralau could be using it as a form of revenge. A Majasha man had died, she’d said, too. Maybe he should question guards who’d worked in the Majasha for Noble Vallius. Maybe it would lead him to something more.
As much as he didn’t want it to be true, Cara’s theory made sense. But that would mean his father wasn’t the man he’d thought he was for all these years.
He glanced over at his cheetah and jaguar guards. They were too young to have protected Nobles. Kael rubbed the stiff muscles at the back of his neck. Find any of Vallius’s Majasha men—another thing he’d add to his list of things to do.
Besides any of the Nobles’ guards, the only person to know about Salus’s past—and really know—was his mother.
“A panther almost cost us the throne. And you want to help them try and take it away from us again?” Jaleh’s voice reverberated in his memory.
Her words hadn’t sat right with him since the moment she’d spat them in his bedroom. Thinking about them again peaked his curiosity. He had to ask her about Salus and his ties to teralau.
He paused. Was he just looking for reasons to justify what Cara had said, an excuse to no longer be upset with her?
He didn’t know what to think anymore.
High-pitched laughter echoed up the winding staircase and through the corridor, yanking him from his muddled thoughts.
“Your mother requests your presence in the foyer,” the leopard said, glancing toward the steps. “She wanted us to accompany you down once you’ve readied for the day.”
That was never good. His stomach flipped with worry. If Jaleh had heard about his and Cara’s afternoon together, then she was in trouble. Since their last discussion about her hadn’t gone well, he could only imagine his mo
ther’s brash reaction this time. He still had a day before he was named rei. His power was limited as the prince. If Jaleh ordered Cara to be arrested, there was little he could do to go against her, and that terrified him.
Kael pulled his shoulders back, trying to regain his courage. He needed to obey his mother for one more day, then all choices could be his. He touched Cara’s headscarf on his belt. For some reason, it brought him comfort knowing it was there.
“Thank you, but I will go myself,” he said. The guards bowed and returned to their posts beside his bedroom door, standing with straight backs and forward stares. Kael turned and hurried down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom, he halted, confused by what he saw when his gaze swept the grand foyer. Waves of billowing crimson fabric hung across the tall ceiling, matching colored pillows adorned every settee, and fresh fruits and trays of meats and cheeses lined tables on either side of the throne room’s doors. He spotted a harpist sitting underneath one of the arches, strumming the strings in a soothing melody. Even the flowing waters of the mosaic fountain ran red. Its eerie resemblance to blood made his stomach turn.
Not only was the room fully decorated, a crowd of strangers filled it, chatting and laughing politely at passing conversations. His gaze bounced off the face of every guest, and an unsettling sensation overcame him. They were all women—women of every age and species. Each one wore flowing robes of vivid colors, and dazzling gems in their hair and jewelry.
Jaleh wasn’t having the palace decorated for his ascension ceremony. This was a party. But why?
Kael debated turning around and retreating back upstairs before he could be seen. Whatever his mother was doing, he wanted no part of it. Maybe he could sneak out the same way Cara had—off the balcony and hidden in the canopy of the trees. Just as his foot met with the first step, Regis Jaleh’s shrilling voice shot ice down his spine.
“Kael!” Her small frame appeared behind a group of ladies across the room, near one of the cushioned lounges, and she waved to get his attention.
The Hunt (Shifter Origins) Page 15
