Tenacity (Rise of the Iliri Book 5)

by Auryn Hadley

  "Like Emen?" she shot back.

  "Fuck Emen and the rest of Star Fall. If they try to lay a hand on you, I'll kill them."

  "No," she snarled. "You do not get to decide who I talk to, or even who I fuck, do you understand, Kolt? It's not your place."

  He leaned closer, his deep eyes flickering with rage. "It is now," he promised.

  She pushed against his chest, but he would not move. "It is when I say it is." She refused to wince at his hands crushing her arms.

  "It is until you make me stop." His gaze was challenging.

  She didn't dare look away, not now. She couldn't let him win. "Stop what, Kolt?" she asked, daring him to answer.

  "Protecting you." He smiled when she shoved at his chest, and pulled her closer, crushing her against him. "I'm stronger than you, babe."

  Those words made her heart beat faster, even as Sal tried to ignore it. "Blaz has been nothing but good to me, Kolt. You can't hate him for the desire I set in his mind. Don't ask why, because it's not my story to tell, just trust me. He smelled like desire because I made him."

  Kolt's eyes flicked to the side quickly, breaking the challenge, then returned filled with nothing but concern. He bent his head, standing so close to her, his breath touching her lips. "Were you scared?" he asked softly.

  "No," she whispered. "I can use it for more than protection. Desire can heal, too."

  His eyes scanned hers, looking for a sign she was lying. Finding nothing, he released one of her arms and cupped the side of her face, his thumb trailing across her cheek bone. "Babe, I'm gonna take care of you, even if you hate me for it. I'm trying to be a good man." He closed his eyes, and the next words came out as little more than a breath. "I just don't know how."

  "You do," she told him. "Stop trying to be human, and you know what to do."

  "I can't."

  She pressed her palm against his chest, feeling his heart hammer beneath her hand. "I think you can."

  He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her, resting his lips against the top of her head. "No, babe. If I stop thinking like a human, I'll fuck this up. Just let me get you home, to the men who really love you." He drew in a long breath. "I won't kill him, ok? If you want to fuck the human, I won't stop you."

  "I don't." She wrapped her arms around his back, and leaned into his strong embrace, inhaling the scent of him, like a violent storm in her mind. "He just knows this pain, Kolt. He lost the woman he loves. He's the only person I know who can understand."

  "I just don't want to see you hurting anymore."

  Sal nodded. "I know. I also know you'll take care of me, ok?"

  "Yeah." He kissed the top of her head and stepped back with a sigh. "Ok, little one."

  She grabbed his arm, her fingers resting against the bare skin at his wrist. "You could have won. Why did you look away?"

  He smiled at her words. "Because that's not the fight I wanted to win. C'mon, babe, we have a few more kilometers to cover."

  He tugged her forward, his mood changing as fast as any iliri's. Sal fell in step beside him. They walked in silence, but she wondered what it was he wanted so badly that he would challenge her for it. He showed no signs of wanting to control the iliri or even the Blades. He was protective of her, but just like her brothers were, if a bit more obvious about it. The problem was that nothing he did made sense. She didn't understand him, but somehow Sal knew she could trust Kolt completely.

  Eventually, her thoughts forced her to ask. "What fight do you want to win?"

  He chuckled. "Can't leave it alone, can you." He walked on without giving her an answer.

  "I can't stop wondering."

  "Well..." He sighed. "I realized that if I won that fight, I'd be able to tell you who to sleep with and when you could love. Sounded a bit too familiar for my tastes. Figured it was just best to let it go." He looked at her, a hint of regret on his face. "I've fought too hard against tyranny to participate in it myself. It wasn't a fight I wanted to win, Sal."

  "You didn't want to be like my master."

  "Never. I would rather die than do that to any of our kind."

  She reached up and grabbed his shoulder, her touch gentle but firm. "Sounds to me like you have that good guy thing down."

  "I get pissed at you for being friends with a human, and you say I'm a good guy?"

  "Yep." She smirked at him.

  "You're insane."

  Sal shrugged. "Someone who spent his life watching over me worried about a man he had reason not to trust, so tried to protect me from my own foolishness. When everything was explained, he realized he might be overreacting, and apologized. What's not good about that?"

  Kolt reached his arm around her and rested it lightly on her shoulder. "Yeah. I like your version better. I don't remember apologizing, though."

  She tapped the top of her head with one finger. "That little kiss? Yeah. Pretty sure it wasn't you trying to get into my bed. I think it counts as an apology."

  "Or maybe I'm just more devious than you think?" He winked at her. "Get you to lower your defenses and make you fall madly in love with me." He grinned. "Leave your mates and run away with me to live on the beach?"

  "Shit." She giggled and pressed her shoulder into his ribs. "You already know that wouldn't work."

  "Meh, doesn't mean I can't dream, right?"

  "Are you serious?" She bit her lip and looked up.

  "I really have to teach you to enjoy a joke." He smiled, but his focus was on the path ahead of them. "Don't tell me that's a human thing?"

  "No. It's just that you confuse me sometimes. Your actions, your words, and your scent rarely make complete sense to me."

  He nodded, accepting that. "Well, how's this? I swear to you, Kaisae, that I will never tell you anything that isn't true. I also kinda like this."

  "This?"

  "Yeah." He squeezed her shoulder gently. "Feeling like I'm not a fuck up. Feeling like if I want to touch someone, it's ok. Feeling like my instincts are right for once in my life." He smiled again. "Feeling like there's someone in my life I can actually trust completely."

  "You mean a friend?"

  "More than that. I had friends in Star Fall, and I didn't trust them. I don't know what the word is, but I like being with you. I hate why, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I belong somewhere."

  "The word we use is brother." She shrugged. "That's why the Blades are so close."

  "You're too cute to be a brother."

  She felt her pulse quicken again and flicked her ears forward, trying to understand her reaction. "Sister?" she offered instead.

  Kolt shook his head. "I'll stick with Kaisae until I get something better."

  "Too formal," she teased.

  "Well, I figured the other options were too much of a mouthful." He shrugged. "And no, I won't tell you what they were."

  "You're so bad," she laughed at him.

  "Told ya. But it's good to see you smile again, babe."

  Chapter 39

  Sal set up a place to meet with Blaz and expected to find them around late afternoon. They were making good time now that the 112th knew where she was. The iliri were able to travel easily through the slumbering forest. They were almost to the agreed upon area when Sal smelled a hint of smoke in the air.

  She stopped, grabbing Kolt's arm. "Breathe," she whispered.

  He did, tensing at the scent. "Campfire."

  "Yeah." She glanced around, her ears working furiously. Blaz?

  Yeah?

  There's someone around here. How close are you?

  Half hour out? he thought back.

  Kolt was slowly moving forward, his steps light, but still audible to Sal's ears. He held up a finger, begging her to wait, while he moved closer to the source of smoke.

  We might need to find somewhere else. Kolt's checking, she told Blaz.

  We'll swing wide, just keep me informed.

  Kolt crept up to the edge of a small rise and crouched in a cluster of cedar trees. He l
ooked back at her and shook his head. Terrans, he warned.

  How many? she asked.

  ‘Bout fifteen. Means there's probably ten on patrol.

  Sal moved closer to the large tree she stood beside, scanning the area with all of her senses as she changed her appearance to look like a Rokish woman. Behind her, she heard what could have been a branch falling, and her heart stopped. And I think we're way too fucking close, she warned Kolt, spinning in place.

  The silhouette of a man drifted between the trees. He didn't seem to be aware of her, but Sal wasn't willing to take the chance. She moved around the trunk until it was between her and the soldier, glancing over to Kolt.

  He nodded. I see him. What now, Kaisae?

  Now, we get the hell out of here - like iliri!

  Together they retreated, slowly, but silently. Leaves crushed under their feet and they staggered their steps to keep the rhythm irregular. Both of them took long, deep breaths, trying to find the scent of their prey. They'd gone half a kilometer when a man's voice rang out.

  "Halt!" he yelled. They froze. Above and downwind from them, a dark-skinned man in purple and black pointed a loaded crossbow at Sal. He sat in the lowest branches of a large tree, a smile on his face that wasn't friendly. "We've been looking for you."

  "Our horses were killed. We're trying to get back to the camp," Kolt said with an Escean accent.

  The man smiled. "All stray soldiers in this area are suspect. Besides, why were you moving away from our camp, not to it?"

  "What camp?" Sal asked.

  He shrugged. "They told me you could change shape, bitch." He glanced over, seeing something from his vantage that they couldn't see on the ground. "Caught two," he yelled out.

  Sal reached out with her mind, marking her location. Blaz, it might be time to hurry. We found Terrans.

  Fuck! He didn't bother to send more. She could feel his urgency and knew the 112th was coming.

  You warn them? Kolt asked.

  She just nodded, refusing to take her eyes from the loaded weapon. I'll get this one, you keep the incoming from my back?

  Deal. He offered his mind, blending with hers as soon as she felt it.

  "I think you made a mistake," Sal said, walking toward the man's tree, her arms to her sides. "We're just trying to get back."

  "Stop," the soldier warned. "I will fucking shoot you."

  "What the hell?" Sal looked back to Kolt, still playing the part. Remember I'm not a human, Sal warned him. "Can't you see the uniform? I'm Terran!"

  The soldier shrugged. "Bet the iliri bitch would say the same. You move again, and I'll put this right through you, get me?"

  Sal smiled. "Yeah, Ace. I'm gonna get you," she snarled, surging forward.

  He pulled the release, and she threw herself to the side, feeling the impact slam into her shoulder. Sal gasped as the maast flooded her, but never slowed her feet. Two steps took her to the base of the tree, and she climbed, her fingers digging into the bark, her knees clasped tight to the trunk. Letting go of the shape, she hoped she reached him before he could load the weapon again.

  She did. He was fumbling with the string when she wrenched the crossbow from his hand, throwing it deep into the forest. The Terran looked up, pure terror on his face, and Sal leapt at him, pushing away from the trunk of the tree, a growl in her throat as her hands closed on his head and neck. Her weight pulled him from the branch, and for a moment Sal felt the rush of air as they fell.

  She hit the ground hard, but the crack of the soldier's neck gave her time to suck in a breath. Men's voices were screaming through the woods, headed toward them, and she couldn't find Kolt. Her head spun and her shoulder burned, making it hard to focus. The clash of resin pulled her back to reality.

  Kolt held Blaec's sword with both hands, blocking blows from a brute wearing the Terran uniform. Sal pinned her ears close and struggled to her feet, her hands seeking the blades at her waist as she ran. Kolt knew she was coming, he could feel her in his head so turned, moving the man's back to her. It was too easy. Way too easy.

  She buried one blade next to his spine as she sank her teeth deep into his arm, her other hand feeling weak. She pulled away as Kolt ran him through, the black resin glistening red as it protruded from his back.

  "You're hit," Kolt said, removing his sword.

  "Later," Sal told him. We're under attack, she sent Blaz.

  On our way! Blaz shot back.

  The grauori's voice soon followed. Almost there, Kaisae!

  "Incoming," Kolt warned, moving to stand between Sal and the eight men rushing toward them.

  She knew they were yelling but the maast blocked it from her. They were prey, not worth listening to. She growled and shifted her grip on the daggers, glancing at her shoulder. Six inches of dark wood protruded from her skin, black feathers clipped close to the shaft. It would be easy to pull, but until she could, it'd make her weak in her main hand.

  "I fucking hate getting shot," she snarled. "Make them pay, Kolt."

  "Gladly."

  Together they moved forward, meeting the Terrans head on. Sal ducked a ceramic blade, spinning out of Kolt's path, and his sword smashed against it, cracking the enemy weapon. Never slowing her motion, she sliced across a man's arm, moving quickly to the other side to cover Kolt's off hand. Kicking a man away, she plunged her main hand dagger into another. Fire screamed in her arm and Sal roared, wrenching her blade free. She saw a man on the far side moving, but she knew she wouldn't make it, warning Kolt with a thought.

  He ducked just in time. Then a flurry of white joined the fight. The grauori landed in the middle of the enemy, attacking with teeth and claws as he offered his mind to Sal. She took it and felt the 112th seep into her awareness when she joined the meld. They were close, but not close enough. Good thing the three of them could handle this.

  Nine down, probably twenty-five total, Sal warned the Conglomerate unit.

  Yes, sir, Rais replied. You heard the Kaisae! Let's clean this shit up!

  Kolt glanced at Sal, smiling as he thrust at another Terran, making pride swell inside her. She couldn't help but grin in response, darting in to cut a man's throat. Murah flowed with them, a true beast in battle, killing almost as many as Sal, until there were none left. She sighed and dropped to her knees, wiping her knives across a Terran's uniform before storing them at her back.

  "Nice timing, Brerror," she sighed.

  "What?" Kolt asked.

  "Not you. The other one."

  Thank you Kaisae, Murah thought, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he gasped for breath.

  A surge of panic hit her. Both Kolt and Murah raised their heads, all of them turning in the direction of the 112th. Something was wrong. She clambered to her feet and was running toward them, the grauori streaking past her easily, Kolt on her heels.

  Extraction incoming, Rais warned. We've got a lot more than twenty-five here, Sal. At least two units, one's heavy. You with Blaz, Kolt with me. Damn Kolt, I hope you know how to do a running pickup.

  Sal's right arm is wounded, Kolt shot back. And yes, Tolan, I know how to get the fuck out of here.

  The sound of hooves reached her before she could see the horses. Blaz and Rais were at the front, leaning low on their mounts' necks. Sal and Kolt kept running but moved apart, giving the riders room to work. She reached up her left hand, catching Blaz's eye, and focused her attention on his arm as he pushed Rax right at her.

  He braced against the stallion's neck and reached out, their wrists slapping together. The speed of the horse's momentum carried Sal from the ground. She twisted in midair, pulling herself closer, and grabbed the horse's back with her knees, struggling into position. A grunt crossed the link, and she looked over to see Kolt settle behind Rais, his large horse never slowing.

  "You're hit?" Blaz asked.

  "Right shoulder," Sal told him.

  He dropped the reins and reached one hand up and back, his other grabbing her thigh to hold her close. "Can you heal and ride?"
>
  Sal guided his hand to the end of the bolt. "Guess we'll find out." His fingers grabbed the shaft, sending a flare of pain down her arm. "Pull hard," she snarled.

  He did. The head of the arrow cut as it came free, Sal's pain leaking across all of their minds.

  "Sal!" Kolt gasped.

  I'm fine. Blaz pulled the bolt, she thought and felt the men all relax. With her good arm, she clung to her friend, shifting closer until her legs hung next to his. "No jumping for a minute," she warned him.

  "Bite if you need, Sal," Blaz said over his shoulder. "Just don't fucking fall off. There's at least thirty behind us."

  She nodded, knowing he'd feel it, and pressed against him, breathing deeply. The sweet smell of human wafted from him. She healed, slowly with her attention divided between riding and repairing, but she healed, clinging to him as the vertigo swelled in her mind. When she was done, she tested her arm, feeling it move easily.

  "I'm good," she told Blaz, leaking it to the rest of them. "Let's get back to Issevi!"

  The 112th put heels to horses and proved why they were renown for their riding ability. They raced through the forest, taking paths that even the Blades would have avoided, always pushing higher into the foothills. There were small trails through the mountains here, Sal knew, but few of them were something any sane rider would take. Luckily, none of the 112th Mounted were sane.

  They broke from the tree line and skidded to a halt. The path was just beyond, but five men crouched against the rocks, longbows trained on them. "Move!" Rais yelled, turning his horse back into the trees. Arrows sank into the ground around them, encouraging the horses to hurry.

  The rest followed, but the Terran cavalry had closed the distance. Sal could see them now, following the blatant trail their mad dash left. She leaned forward and grabbed the crossbow that lay in front of Blaz's leg. He unhooked the quiver of bolts from the other side, and moved it to his belt, within her reach. They didn't need to talk. They were elites and knew what had to be done.