Tenacity (Rise of the Iliri Book 5)

by Auryn Hadley

  "I'm a dominant male, Sal. Was never hard for me to mimic the human habit of holding a gaze."

  "That's not what I meant."

  Kolt smiled. "It's what I meant. There's a term for men like me, but I never learned it."

  "Brerror," she supplied. "Loaners. Usually, it's your gift that sets you apart."

  "My color." He gestured to his chest. "I'm just a fetcher, but my color has always kept me caught somewhere between humans and iliri."

  "Wait. So you..."

  He huffed out an annoyed breath. "Yeah, I just did it again. Sorry."

  That wasn't what she meant. "You're the one who pulled the blade from Blaec?"

  He slowly nodded. "I thought if they didn't have it, then maybe it'd shock them enough to stop."

  "Well, it let me heal him. I didn't realize you knew your skill. How iliri are you?" she asked, looking over his body again.

  "Mom was three-quarters. Dad was three-eighths. Makes me something like sixty-three percent." He sighed. "I know you probably don't believe that, but it's what I was told."

  "No, I believe it. I can smell you." She breathed in deeply, proving the point. "It bothers you, doesn't it. Being so dark?"

  "Yeah. Guess it shows?"

  Sal nodded. "Why? I mean, a year ago, being dark was something we all longed for."

  "No," he said, looking directly into her eyes. "Don't ever think that. We mutts have always wanted to be pure. We've always wanted to be more. We longed to hide because we were so oppressed, but we never wanted to be more human. What we wanted was what you've done, Sal."

  "But - "

  "No. Think about it. We've always joked about being lucky to be dark but it was hollow. We wanted to have pride in our species. We wanted to have the strength to stand up to humans. Strength comes with breeding, not pigment." He rested his hand on her shoulder. "You're proof of that. As white as fresh snow, yet you changed everything."

  That sounded great, and she wanted to believe it, but there was one thing bothering her. "Why didn't you come to Anglia when the law passed?"

  Kolton sighed and pulled his arm back. "Because by keeping myself safe, I thought I'd ruined all my chances. I almost raped the last Kaisae, I got her shot, and the unit I'd called friends for years were trying to kill the only pack of my people who were trying to make a difference. I've been playing for the wrong team for most of my life. There's no way you'd accept me. " He lifted a hand for her to wait. "I now know you don't agree, but that's what my reasons were."

  She gestured around them. "Yet here we are."

  "Yeah. I honestly thought you'd hate me for that night. I shamed you. I've dreaded you ever finding out, thinking you'd, I dunno, hate me for it. I'd taken my necklace off and set it in a safe place, and was not about to let you know it even existed. I was nearly asleep when you came in. At first, I thought it was a dream." He looked up shyly. "That's the only thing I could imagine smelling like that, but there you were. I had to be dreaming, I thought, until I kissed you."

  Sal looked at the reins in her hands, remembering all too well what she'd done. As soon as she'd touched him, she'd used the most basic skill of any iliri female. She'd seduced him to her, but he'd resisted. No other man had managed to do that.

  "My mother," he said softly, kneeing his horse a bit closer. "She was abused by a human. She did that and told me about it later so I'd know what it was. She said our people could hide in plain sight, but we were still their creations, and they knew it." He turned his head just enough to see her, then looked back to the grass ahead. "Sal, I've only ever heard of females using that when they were scared."

  "I was terrified, but not of you. Not really. I was scared that you wouldn't be pleased enough and I'd be starved again. I was always so hungry that I was nearly delusional. When you escorted the train for free, they were so happy that I got meat for a week."

  He mumbled an affirmative noise. "I worried about that. Told the man if he made me the same offer next time I was in Merriton, I'd be happy to help him. Tried to make it sound like I had a fetish. He had no idea what you were, but I did. I knew you were a true Kaisae from the moment you entered the room, I just didn't think you were real."

  She chuckled at that. "You know, you were the first iliri I'd met? I thought the way you smelled must have been because you were in combat or something. I didn't realize it was because you weren't human. Not until I met the Blades."

  For a moment, he was quiet. "Sal, I feel like I'm your curse. I feel like we keep getting thrown together and every time it happens, things get screwed up. First in Merriton, then Fort Landing - "

  "Fort Landing?"

  He nodded. "I was a novice elite, still trying to prove myself. Star Fall was stationed in Fort Landing, and we stopped at the bar in town to celebrate a successful training session. I saw you sitting in a corner."

  She gasped, turning with her mouth open. "A glass of mead. The waitress said the man who paid for it told me to never give up."

  "And you didn't."

  "Did you send the practice blades too?" she asked.

  "No," he admitted. "I think I know who did, though."

  "Who?"

  "That General who always watched over you. Ever wonder why no charges were pressed when you picked that fight?"

  "You know about that?"

  "Yeah," he said, nodding. "That was our regular hangout. I was up on the second floor that night and couldn't believe you were there. I had just about convinced myself to talk to you, but one guy kept trying to pick you up. He wouldn't take no for an answer, so you grounded him. His buddy joined the fight, and you beat the shit out of them both. They kicked your ass out, but the first man was a Corporal, the other a Lieutenant."

  "Oops," she giggled.

  "Ran Sturmgren told them they deserved it and if they pressed charges, he'd never approve their applications."

  "Ran?" That was the last name she'd expected to hear.

  Kolt nodded. "The one and only. He came down on those guys hard, too."

  "He's my sadava," she said wistfully. "He's one of the good humans."

  "Yeah," Kolton agreed. "He really is. He's the one who changed my species to human."

  "He'll change it back, too, when you're ready to leave.

  "And where would I go?"

  She answered without hesitation. "Anglia."

  He just shook his head. "I can't. I'd love to, but I can't. I fit in with humans better than our kind."

  She heard a longing in his voice. Even as he tried to hide it, he sounded like he already regretted the decision, and she couldn't understand why.

  "Do you even want a pack?"

  Kolt sighed deeply. "More than you can know." He tapped his head. "This. Damn, Sal. It feels good."

  "There's one very easy way for you to keep it. Stay with me. Help us finish this."

  "That's a real tempting offer. Not sure I can take it, but it's a very tempting offer."

  "So you're going to return to the Conglomerate?" she asked, wondering if that's what was stopping him.

  "I don't know," he said honestly. "My son's in Anglia but I don't have a place there. I'm tired of being alone, so tired of it, but at least I have my unit. Star Fall isn't much, but I know them, and it's nice to have someone to watch my back."

  "Ever thought of becoming a Blade?"

  He chuckled as if that was some joke. "Sal, they won't take me. I already made enemies there."

  "You didn't," she insisted.

  He rode a few paces in silence, then spoke again. "Do you really think they'd take me?"

  "Yes. If I tell them to, they will. They won't necessarily be your best friends at first, but it won't take long."

  "What does that mean? Years?"

  "A week? Two? Most of them will challenge you." She shrugged that away. Dominance fights were something iliri usually accepted easily.

  From the look on his face, Kolt didn't feel the same. "Won't be easy submitting. I've always had problems with that."

  "Don't,"
she told him. "Win if you can. They'll surprise you. The strong ones aren't the ones you'd guess."

  "What do you mean?"

  She glanced back. "I'm still not sure if Arctic would lose to me."

  "Arctic? But he's..." Kolt chuckled. "I see what you mean. So if I joined, would that make Las a Black Blade too?"

  "Yes."

  "Forever?"

  She nodded, watching him think about the choice he was making. "Forever, or until he chooses to find something else."

  "I'm not good enough to be a Blade, Sal," he said regretfully. "I've never had the fighting skills you all have."

  "That's why we train you. You never learned to fight like an iliri. You may know what it's like to share a mind when you fuck, but you've never done it when you kill. Not until last night. It's not our physical abilities that make us so good. It's our minds, Kolt. It's because we're iliri."

  He finally looked at her. "I'm going to challenge you. You know that, right?"

  She nodded, holding his eyes. "You'll lose and then you'll try again. It'll make me a better Kaisae. I don't need people to tell me when I'm right, Kolt. I need the ones who will tell me when I'm wrong."

  Her words changed something. She could see it on his face. Emotions flickered in his eyes, then slowly, he nodded, the decision made.

  "Sal? I'd like to renounce my allegiance to the Conglomerate, if you'll take me."

  With their shadows stretching out behind them and the grass stretching onward toward the mountains, she took his oath. It didn't matter that there were no witnesses. Her memories would be enough, and this was something she intended to remember for a very long time. Sal sat up straighter and turned to the man who'd made it possible for her to do this.

  "Do you give up your citizenship freely and by your own choice? Do you swear to honor the King, Kaisae, and Orassae equally?"

  He bowed his head. "I swear I will honor anything my Kaisae tells me to. I swear I will fight and die so that our people may live free. I swear that I will respect the country that has allowed our dream to become a reality. Yes, Sal. I do."

  She reached over and touched his arm gently. "Then I claim you as a citizen of Anglia and a Black Blade. You'll have to find your place in the pack for yourself."

  He nodded, pressing his free hand over hers. "Thank you, Kaisae. I know what place I intend to get. Kinda nice to know that I'll earn it on my own merits."

  "What place is that?"

  With a smile, he steered his horse away, breaking their contact. "If we push it a bit, we might find a town before dawn."

  "You didn't answer the question," she said, refusing to spur her horse.

  He looked back at her with a devious glint in his eye. "I know. Let a man have his dreams."

  Chapter 35

  They found the small village just before lunchtime the next day, nestled in the foothills of the Siahies. The pair circled around it, coming in from the north, posing as off-duty soldiers looking to enjoy some time off. Sal still looked like a typical brown human and Kolt had found a way to fix his necklace, making him smell like one again.

  The village was the sleepy kind where everyone noticed a stranger. They received no greeting and were generally ignored by the population, but Sal's nose told her what her eyes didn't. Many of the citizens of this small town were descended from iliri.

  They found the inn. Kolt had scavenged just enough money to buy one room for the night and a meal for them both. When the serving boy came for their order, Sal asked for coffee. The boy paused, breathing deeply, and she met his eyes, a slow smile reaching her lips. The teen looked between her and Kolton quickly, then darted back to the kitchen.

  When he returned, he carried a large cup of coffee, a cold beer for Kolton, and another glass filled with amber liquid. "Mead's on the house," he said, sliding it toward her.

  "Thanks," Sal told him. "One of my favorites."

  The kid grinned. "Kinda figured." He nodded his head and backed away as if this was something he did regularly.

  "What's that about?" Kolt asked.

  Sal chuckled. "Kid's probably got a crush on me." We may look human, but they're letting me know there are drinks here I can tolerate. Mead and rum are the most common choices for iliri. It's not a secret.

  So he knows?

  She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He can smell it as well as you can.

  They spoke little until their food came. Sal sat with her back to the wall, Kolt beside her instead of across from her. The dinner was cooked moderately, being neither too well done for their iliri tastes yet not so rare as to draw attention. Sal noticed, even if Kolt just accepted it. While they ate, a handful of women entered, many of them glancing at the soldiers before continuing about their business, but Sal could smell the excitement.

  Pushing the empty plate away, the vegetables untouched, she slowly ran her hand along the glass of mead, condensation moistening her fingers. "Looks like a busy place."

  "Common in small villages," Kolt said. "You tended to get the better lodging, but I've spent more time in places like this than I care to remember."

  She nodded, her damp finger gently tracing swirls on the hardwood before her. "Oh, I've done my time. I just figured there might be something of interest going on tonight."

  He tilted the chair on its back legs and stretched. "Possibly." His eyes glanced to her hand on the table. What are you doing? What does pride mean?

  Pretty sure we're in the middle of the Unavi rebels. I'm just asking if that's true. We're about to walk a very fine line.

  Fuck, he thought. Warn me next time?

  She laughed and nodded, catching his eye. He held her gaze for a moment, then looked away, refusing to look down. He might never submit to her, but he always relented. Sal wondered how many others had just noticed the same. Her finger traced the word again.

  "Can I get ya anything else?" the boy asked, walking to the table. His step faltered when he saw the damp mark on the wood.

  "We're fine," Sal said. "Just thought we may have friends in the area."

  He inhaled again and shook his head. "No other Terrans here, ‘cept you two."

  Sal met the boy's eyes and waited, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold her gaze. He lasted longer than she expected, but he looked back to the word laying between them evaporating with each breath.

  "Never said they were Terran," she pointed out.

  "What about you?" he asked Kolton.

  The big man shrugged. "I know my place. Her friends are my friends. Bet she'd love another coffee, too. We've been looking for a couple of days."

  "Another coffee it is." This time he met the eye of a woman across the room before entering the kitchen.

  "Do you trust me?" Sal asked Kolt.

  "With my life," he assured her. "You also know a lot that I don't."

  She nodded and traced the swirls again. "It should be jade, not wood. Would you believe we found it running from you?"

  "Not proud of those days. Tried to quit before that mission, actually. It's like no matter how hard I tried to get away from you, we just end up - "

  A woman shoved her chair back, the screech making Kolton halt mid-sentence. Neither of them looked up, but they both watched her approach. When she reached their side, she placed her hand directly across the symbol.

  "Do not write that here."

  Sal casually rested her arm beside the woman's and looked up. "It's just a few swirls. No harm intended. Breathe, my friend."

  She did, dropping her eyes before patting Sal's hand gently. Slowly a smile spread to her face. "Your husband?"

  "No," Sal said. "My brother." Offer her your hand, Kolt.

  "A pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He held out his bare hand.

  The woman took it, a shocked expression flickering across her face at the touch. "I believe my son said your room is ready. If your friends arrive, should I send them up?"

  "That would be great. Thank you." Sal stood and gestured for Kolton to do the same. Without another
word between them, they followed the boy upstairs to the indicated room, latching the door behind them. Sal immediately returned to her natural form.

  "You sure about this?" he asked.

  "The touch goes both ways, Kolt. We're about to have friends - true friends - visit."

  "She knows who you are?"

  Sal shook her head. "She hopes but she isn't sure. The first person to come in will be trained in combat. Do not threaten them, because he or she will likely be as lethal as I am."

  "I won't let them threaten you, either," he said, strapping Blaec's sword across his back.

  "Soon as they see me, you won't have a thing to worry about. I'm kinda famous now."

  He paused, hearing feet in the hall, and gestured for her to move so she couldn't be seen when he opened the door. Obediently, she climbed onto the bed, sitting deep in the corner as they heard the soft tap. Kolt cracked it slightly but placed his body to block their visitor's view.

  "I was told you had washing that needed to be taken care of?" a young woman asked.

  "Come in," Kolt offered, stepping aside and opening the door just enough for her to slip in.

  The girl's hair was pale blonde and her eyes were nearly white. Her fingers twitched slightly as she eyed him, proving Sal had been right. She said nothing, just waited for the iliri rebel to notice her.

  "Your friends said..." The girl paused as she saw Sal sitting in the corner. She took a long, deep breath. "Kaisae?"

  Sal nodded. "Was I right?"

  "Zensa Ylra," the girl introduced herself. "And yes, you are exactly right. The rebellion has been waiting for your word."

  "I need to get to Issevi," Sal told her, getting right to the point. "We know you've been hiding two girls, and Viraenova will protect them. Tseri Janoyc is a friend and longs to see us restored to pride. I also found our ancestors."

  Zensa tipped her head slightly. "Yes, I heard about the grauori, although I have yet to see one. The Kaeen met with our person in Issevi and we learned much. But not why you are traveling with a human."