Tenacity (Rise of the Iliri Book 5)

by Auryn Hadley

  Her lip curled. "It had better be a real good story."

  "It's..." He swallowed, edging closer to the exit. "I..."

  Her eyes just narrowed. "If you run, I will catch you. Drop the facade and let me see your face."

  "This is my face," he insisted. "Sal, you know me. Just touch me and you'll see. I'm not here to hurt you, babe."

  "Don't call me that!"

  He paled before the anger in her voice but still reached out his hand. "My name is Syrik Enik Kolton. I'm a Sergeant with Star Fall, of the Conglomerate of Free Citizens. Kaisae, there's six more men just up the creek. You have to touch me or let me find my necklace so you can understand."

  Something in his voice convinced her, but she knew what would happen when her skin met his. For a split second, she'd be distracted as his memories washed over her. If she wasn't careful, standing this close to him, it could be enough to lose the advantage. But she was stronger than that.

  A tiny smile curled her lips higher, and she struck, dropping Blaec's sword to shove her arm out and clamp her fingers around his wrist. As they touched, she forced his body to be still - and images flooded her. A tree in the middle of the night, her body leaning against his arm hard enough to make it lose circulation. The sight of her chained to a wooden post. Her riding over the Unavi hills with Cyno at her side and Blaec watching wistfully. A black crossbow bolt peeking through the flesh of her arm. A high cliff, with her in the ravine, slaughtering men as fast as she could reach them. Her sitting alone in a bar.

  It was the final one that made her hand fall from his skin, releasing him. Saffron yellow silk sheets beneath perfectly white hair as her back pressed against his chest and she slept. There was no way for anyone to know the color of those sheets, but that was it. The exact shade, meant to mimic gold, and he knew. He knew the way their bodies had pressed against each other, the same tuck of silk separating their skin. In her entire life, Sal had never told anyone about that. Not even Jase.

  "How?" she asked, lowering her other arm back to her side even as her fingers went limp. The sound of steel hitting stone was loud.

  His eyes were locked on hers. "Ask me again, Sal."

  Somehow, she knew exactly what he meant. Her head raised and lowered in the closest thing she could get to a nod. "What's the other reason you didn't help your unit try to kill me in the bath back in Prin?"

  Slowly, almost timidly, he reached up and pushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. "Because I've fought against tyranny too long to participate in it myself."

  Those words were too much. She was exhausted, aching, and her mind felt like it'd been scrambled, but she'd never forget those exact words. It's what her officer had told her when he refused her so long ago. It was his way of saying that she deserved more, that she deserved to be treated like a person, and it had changed her life. Sal felt her knees give in and she didn't try to fight it.

  But he caught her, his hands on the fabric over her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Kaisae. I didn't want you to know, but we don't have time for this right now. You have to eat something." He stepped closer and caught her hand, wrapping his around it. "You're trembling, and I know you're running on nothing. There's two dead Terrans just outside. Go sit by the fire, and I'll bring the smaller one in."

  "Why?" Her mind just couldn't keep up.

  He chuckled, one hand pointing to her weapons on the ground. "Because while your wits might be addled, mine are working fine. Iliri don't do well if they're not fed, and rumors say Anglia collect the kills to share. I'm giving you one of mine."

  "But I can't..." She managed to step back, keeping her weight securely on her feet. "I don't eat maerte in front of humans."

  Kolton just smiled. "I'm not human, Sal. I've just been pretending to be for a very long time. Go sit by the fire, Kaisae, before I have to carry you there."

  The strangest thing was that she went. It wasn't his place to order her around. No matter how she looked at it, she still outranked him. Whether that was politically, militarily, or pack hierarchy, his instincts should be telling him to ask her, not order. But right now, she needed a little guidance, so she was more than happy to let him take charge.

  When Kolton came back, he smelled like the sugar of humans. Considering he carried most of a woman's lower leg, it made sense, but when he offered the raw flesh to her, he held up something else. It was just a strand of leather with beads tied halfway down, and the sweetness oozed off it. Her eyes flicked between the meat and the jewelry, but she couldn't decide which mattered more.

  "Eat," he insisted. "I'll cook it if you prefer, but if you eat, I'll explain."

  Sal flicked her eyes over to his and held them. "Be careful what you ask for." Then she raised the calf to her lips and bit, tearing off a mouthful of human muscle.

  He just chuckled and moved to sit across the fire. "It's hematite and pyrite. The yellow stones are typically used in our fire strikers. The grey ones are sought out for jewelry. I don't know why they smell like humans but..." He offered the strand to her.

  She inhaled, aware of the faint difference between his necklace and the bloody meat she was holding. "Iron."

  "Metal?" He looked at the necklace again.

  "Have you ever noticed how red human blood is?" She took another bite, proving the point. "Iliri blood is more of a burgundy color, but humans have bright red blood. It's because of the iron."

  "Why do they have metal in their blood?"

  She shrugged. "Because where humans came from, metal wasn't quite so hard to find. They changed almost everything else to do fine on this world, but they didn't bother changing themselves. Why'd you leave the necklace outside?"

  He bit his lips together as he twined the string around itself, making a small knot that would fit in his pocket. "It wasn't intentional. I jumped the guy, and the woman jerked me down. She broke the leather, and I was a little too busy to notice." His eyes flicked up. "Until you pointed it out."

  "Why were you hiding your scent from me?" Yeah. Maybe she wanted to trust him, but she wasn't that stupid. He'd been a little too helpful on this trip when the last time, he'd taunted her and treated her like any other human.

  For a little too long, he didn't answer, but the scent of him said enough. Shame. Kolton was ashamed of what had happened so long ago, that much was clear. Keeping her eyes on him, she continued to eat, well aware that he'd been right about one thing. She was starving, and if she wanted to make it back to the Black Blades, she'd better fill herself up when she could.

  "Eat something while you think," she told him, shifting the human leg slightly as an offer.

  He shook his head but moved to dig in his pocket. The necklace went in. When his hand came out, there was a small packet with it. Terran field rations. She couldn't touch them but evidently, he could. Sal's eyes flicked from the food back to his face, the question obvious.

  "It's grains around dried meat. I've never hidden how much I dislike green vegetables, and most people think I'm just a typical man. There's enough human in my lineage that tubers and grains don't make me sick." Then he unwrapped the end and took a bite. "And I hid my scent because I hoped you'd be able to forget about your time as a slave."

  "Mm." She wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but she didn't have time to delve into that right now. "So where's the rest of this unit?"

  "Up the creek, less than a klick. We can either try to ambush them - and your dinner had some weapons we can use - or we can push on."

  Sal took another bite then talked around it. "They'll follow. How many?"

  "Six. Probably five dogs."

  And that was more than she could take on alone right now. Remembering the lay of the land, she tried to figure out the best way to deal with their current situation. The scouts were missing, but they wouldn't be expected back so soon. Her only ally was a man who'd been lying to her for years. Weapons were in short supply, she was weak and exhausted, but he was a trained elite from the CFC. That gave them a little advantage - so long as he didn't
turn on her.

  "Any bows?" she asked.

  "Mm." Kolt wiped at his mouth before answering. "Two crossbows and a small quiver. Maybe ten bolts?"

  She took one last bite then tossed the meat beside the fire. "That'll do. I hope you're a half decent shot."

  "Good for a human," he replied as he stood. "Two daggers, a broadsword, two crossbows, and a pair of brittle sabers. We can't just pick them apart from a distance, Sal. We're going to have to fight, and you're not up for that."

  She just looked him right in the eye. "I'm up for surviving. I've had a nap and something to eat. I'm fine, and I've handled worse than this." Wrenching her eyes away, she stormed to where she'd left her weapons. "And I want my other blade."

  He held it up. When she looked at it, he tossed it over. "So what am I going to use?"

  First, she tucked both daggers into the sheaths on the belt Narnx had packed for them, then she began putting their things away. "Blaec's sword. It's too big for me, so you might as well get a little Terran blood on it."

  "I can't use that."

  "No?" She sucked back a deep breath. "Then how exactly are you going to fight the Terrans? Think those cheap sabers are going to hold up for more than a few hits? Or do you intend to fight like a human?"

  "Sal - " he tried, but she cut him off, storming right into his face with Blaec's sword clutched in her hand.

  "Right now, I need an iliri. I need you to fight like a beast." Her eyes bore into his with intensity. "I don't care what you want to be. I don't care how long you've been lying to yourself. Right now, I want to go home to my pack, and you're the person who's going to make that possible. I need my iliri. I need you to be iliri, so I'm sorry."

  Then she pressed her palm against the side of his face and closed her eyes. Kolton jerked, feeling the invasion in his mind, but he didn't resist. No, he relaxed, giving over to her completely. For the first time, Sal didn't have to fight the slipperiness of a mind to find the switch. She didn't need to struggle to tie him to her mentally. Kolt was willing to do whatever she asked, and with her thoughts piercing through his, it wasn't exactly something he could hide.

  Then she opened him up. I need you to be one with me, because this is how we're going to win.

  His body jerked in shock. "The link?" he breathed.

  "Think it," she demanded.

  I'm linked?

  Sal dipped her head. Yeah. Through me. Now let's get this done before I crash again, because I don't know how much I have left and my meal just nullified the maast. We're fighting with a handicap, so we'd better get this right. Grabbing the last of their things as she headed to the exit, she looked back. Don't worry. It's just six humans.

  And five dogs, he thought, following behind her.

  Chapter 33

  The fight was over fast. Five of the bolts stopped the dogs. Four went into humans. One, she'd missed. It was proof that Sal was pushing herself beyond her limits, but Kolton didn't say a single thing about it. His shock hit her mind hard enough to make the point.

  But they'd had the advantage. The humans had been blinded by their campfire. The iliri could see in the dark. Sal was pleased to find she didn't need to watch for Kolton. His vision was almost as good as hers, and he knew enough to keep his eyes away from the light. One by one, they'd killed their pursuers, but it hadn't been silent. If there were any other groups in the area, they'd be headed this way. If there weren't, then when the Second Tracking Specialists didn't report in, they'd be headed this way.

  In other words, Sal and Kolton weren't going to get the relaxing night they'd hoped for. They had to keep moving.

  At the edge of the camp, the Terrans had tethered their horses. They'd be the fastest way to leave the Terran Empire behind. She turned, releasing her new partner's mind as she marched straight for them, but Kolton stopped her.

  "What are you doing, Sal?"

  She pointed at the horses fidgeting nervously. "I'm getting a fast way back to Issevi."

  He just looked down her body. "Like that?"

  Following his eyes, she realized he was right. Her clothes were stained with dirt, blood, sap, and other things she couldn't identify. It would be impossible for her to pass for anything other than an escapee. Either a Terran army deserter or a prisoner - but neither was the kind of person who went unnoticed. Sal wanted to lash out in her anger, but she knew that was just exhaustion and frustration.

  Instead, she gestured for him to keep going. "Fine. What do you suggest?"

  He was rummaging in the clothes of one of the corpses. "Think you can eat a little more?"

  Her ears flicked back, and she had to force herself not to growl. "I'm fine."

  "Right, but think you can?"

  "Sure, if you do."

  His head snapped up. "What?"

  "You're following me around, acting like my babysitter, but what are you?" She lifted her chin defiantly. "Still playing the human, Kolton?"

  He put a small pouch in his pocket and stood. "What other option did I have, Sal?" The look he gave her was almost cruel, but he kept going, making his way to the next body. "I had a wife and son to support in a world that didn't care if we died, and look at me." This time, it was a handful of coins he pocketed. "Look at me, Sal," he snarled, turning to face her.

  "I see a human," she spit back.

  "Exactly. I'm too dark for my own people to accept and too beastly to get away with being what I really am." He grimaced, trying to shake the frustration off his face. "So I learned to be what I had to. I did whatever it took to survive and don't you dare begrudge me that!"

  Something about the anger in his voice proved he wasn't exaggerating. "Like what?" she asked. "What did you have to do?"

  "Like leave you there." He wrenched his eyes away and stormed toward the last body, but when he bent, he proved he wasn't done. "I tried to tell them. Anyone who'd listen, I tried to tell them I'd found a Kaisae, but no one believed me. They all thought I was just trying to earn my way into a pack with lies. My kind, they said, are just like humans and can't be trusted. So I became a human."

  She took a step toward him. "What do you mean, your kind?"

  "I'm not aufrio. I'm not nacione. I'm not rafrezzi." He looked back, the resentment obvious in those amber eyes of his. "Even I don't know what I am, Kaisae, but I'm going to make sure you're taken care of this time."

  "You're my officer." She couldn't fathom his resentment – or figure out if it was directed at her. "You showed me the way out."

  "But I didn't! I left you there at the mercy of that man, knowing he'd sell you off again and again, and there wasn't a damned thing I could do to stop it! You were my Kaisae, and I failed you. All I had left was this."

  "Kolt," she breathed, slowly putting all the pieces in place. He'd been alone, just like she had. Brerror, isolated for reasons beyond their control.

  He forced his attention back to the body, patting all the pockets. "I'm sorry, Sal. I'm so sorry. Every time I thought I'd make it up, I just make it worse. I just have to get you back." He found something else and removed it, then stood. With that, he once again became the confident soldier she remembered. "I'm willing to bet there's a clean Terran uniform in one of those packs. One of those women had to be small enough for it to fit you."

  "Probably in the one with the shortest stirrups," she agreed, heading that way.

  "Two horses, clean clothes for both of us..." He aimed for the opposite end of the string from where Sal was. "Get cleaned up, eat something, and then be in the saddle by dawn."

  She looked up. "So about three hours?"

  "Yeah." He pulled out a black and purple uniform, holding it against his arm. "And we stay off the main passes."

  "Easy enough." She fell silent as she tried to find a uniform that would fit, but her mind was whirling. "Kolt?"

  "Yeah, babe?"

  She let it go this time. "When we get to Issevi, are you going back to the Conglomerate?"

  He didn't answer for a little too long. When Sal looked u
p, he was watching her. "Yeah, probably," he mumbled, but he didn't sound thrilled.

  She finally found the uniform so nodded, showing she'd heard. She also didn't want to think about her response. "Don't."

  "Don't?"

  "Yeah." Flinging the black and purple material over her shoulder, she pointed out the two best horses. "That one and this one. The rest won't move fast enough for what we want."

  "Sure," he agreed absentmindedly. Even as his hands went to work releasing the lead, he wouldn't let her drop the topic. "What do you mean, don't?"

  She tried to put off answering, but by the time she had her own horse free and was leading it away from the line, he still hadn't pulled his eyes away. She'd started this, and that meant she owed him an answer.

  "Don't," she said again. "I've spent the last six, almost seven years hoping to find the man who gave me a chance, so I could thank him. I just found out who he is, and I'm not quite ready to call that good enough."

  He fell in beside her. Neither of them looked at the other, and they both knew the way back. The campfire and corpses faded in the darkness but still, he didn't say a single thing. She could smell that he was thinking. The problem was that she couldn't isolate the emotions in his scent.

  "How long do you want me to stay?" he finally asked.

  She stared at the ground, wondering if he'd think she was crazy. "I don't know."

  "Sal?"

  She flicked an ear at him.

  "Sal," he tried again. "Look at me, babe?"

  Slowly she raised her eyes to find his waiting. "I'm not him," he said.

  "I know." Her eyes drifted back to the dirt, but he grabbed her chin, lifting them back to his.

  "I'm not him, Sal. I'm not whatever person you thought you met in Merriton. I'm not Blaec Doll. I wasn't good enough to pass the trials to become a Black Blade." Then his thumb gently slid along the edge of her jaw. "But if you want me to stay, then I'll stay. You're my Kaisae."

  Slowly, she let her eyes close. "But you are him. Every time I breathe, I know it. You're the man who changed my life - "

  "Who almost raped you," he corrected. "I had no idea that offer was for anything more than a room, but you?" He scoffed, pulling his hand back. "I was some scrubber thinking I got a great deal, and then you walked in. You! When I smelled you, I thought I was dreaming, and then you did that?"