Tenacity (Rise of the Iliri Book 5)

by Auryn Hadley

  "Almost there," she breathed.

  "You can see it?" Blaz asked.

  Behind her, Kolt chuckled. "I can't even see it yet, Sal."

  "Only a few more hours," she told them.

  Rais nodded. "Then warn the Blades, because I'd rather get there sooner than later."

  He squeezed his horse into an easy canter, the rest following a pace behind. Sal felt a weight lifting from her shoulders, but another was slowly trying to take its place. She couldn't help but wonder if her brothers would blame her. She should have protected Blaec. Instead, she was returning with Kolt.

  Sal? Jase's voice filled her mind. Oh kitten, are ya really so close?

  I can see Issevi, she told him. She felt him grab Zep, the two of them scrambling.

  We're coming for ya, Sal. Do na even think we will love ya less, ok?

  Zep's voice joined his. None of us blame you, demon.

  I blame me. She ducked her head behind Blaz, blocking the wind from her ears. He died because I made a bad decision.

  No. Jase stopped her before she could even start. They killed him because they hate us. It would na matter what you did.

  But -

  Zep cut her off. He's right. If you'd answered their questions, they would think you lied. If you didn't, they would have tortured him for the answers. If you cooperated, they would have assumed you were holding back, if you didn't, they would have tortured him to get more. There was no right answer, Sal. There was no way to stop them.

  Just revenge, she swore.

  Jase's mind enveloped hers. Justice, he told her. When what yer doing helps more people than just ya, it can na be revenge. Ya've never been that shallow.

  But how do I tell the rest? She meant her brothers.

  One word at a time, Zep thought. And only when you're ready. They know how much you hurt, baby, they won't make it worse.

  Now stop worrying and stay on the horse. Jase pulled himself away, and she could feel her mates tacking up their mares.

  "They know we're coming," she told the men around her. "Jase and Zep will tell the Blades."

  "What's the state of the town?" Rais asked.

  "I didn't ask, but Viraenova holds it."

  He nodded. "Then we'll find out if anything's changed when we get there."

  They rode for two hours, Issevi growing before them with each step. The walls were massive, meant to withstand generations of war, but the town had nearly outgrown them. A cluster of tents spread outside the walls, most in shades of ivory and gold, but a spot of dark canvas caught her eyes, looking like home.

  She also saw a pair of dots moving toward them. Slowly they changed to riders and eventually she could make out the colors of the horses. One blue, one dark, she knew it had to be Jase and Zep riding to meet her. It seemed to take forever before she could see their faces, but when she did, all she could focus on were their smiles.

  "I think we've found your men," Blaz said.

  "Yeah," she agreed, a grin on her own face.

  They slowed, but Zep charged right into the group, dropping from Cessa's back at a trot. He ran to her side and pulled her from Rax, crushing her to him.

  "Oh demon," he breathed, his face buried in her neck. "I love you, Sal. I love you so much. Don't ever leave me, baby."

  "Never," she promised.

  Jase hit the ground next, wrapping his arms around them both, pinning Sal between them. He didn't say a word, but she felt his emotions. Somehow, she pulled herself from Zep to twine her arms around Jase and breathed in the scent of him.

  "I'm home," she sighed.

  He nodded. "And I'm never letting ya leave me again." He looked deep into her eyes, his hands cradling her face as he pressed her against Zep's chest. "I love ya more than life, kitten."

  He kissed her, his lips soft. She gave herself to them, feeling Zep's hands on her waist a moment before his mouth brushed her neck. Together, her mates surrounded her with love, their hearts filled with nothing but happiness at having her back safely.

  "Damn," Aleks said, looking over his shoulder. "That's normal?"

  Kolt nodded, unable to pull his eyes away. "Very. There's more iliri men than women. We're made to share, but it's not usually that fair."

  "Fair?" Aleks asked, looking from Sal to Kolt.

  "Yeah." Kolt wrenched his eyes away. "They're cessivi, so know what the other feels. One doesn't take too much because he can feel the other's need."

  "How would you even fit a third in there?" Lorenz asked.

  "You're a dick," Aleks told him.

  "Yeah, maybe. Doesn't mean you weren't thinking it, too."

  Kolt rubbed his hands across his face. "Taunor usually waits his turn. Ahnor always gets preference, then Dernor."

  "Doesn't sound like such a good deal," Lorenz said.

  Kolt shrugged. "I guess it's better than being alone."

  Zep suddenly laughed, turning to the cluster of men. "She can hear you."

  "Ah fuck," Lorenz groaned. "Sorry, Sal."

  She waved it away, but Zep had to answer. "She always made it work. That's just how Sal is."

  "Blaec preferred to take his turn rather than trying to push in." Then Sal gasped and turned to Zep. "You're wrong, you did not push him out!"

  He wiped at his eyes. "I kinda did, demon. Before I got mixed up in this, you spent a lot more time with him."

  "She did na." Jase grabbed Zep's arm. "Na alone."

  "Kinky," Lorenz muttered, moving his horse away.

  Sal flicked an ear at him. "Not Blaec, I assure you."

  "No," Zep said. "That's me."

  Jase laughed and tugged her toward their horses. "They have been waiting fer ya. Come see yer brothers, kitten. We all missed ya."

  "That would be nice, actually."

  "Then she rides back with me." Zep grabbed Cessa's reins, raising an eyebrow at Sal.

  "Deal. But when we get there, I get a damned bath."

  Both Jase and Zep turned to Kolt, their eyes hitting his. "Brerror," Jase snarled.

  "Ahnor," Kolt said respectfully.

  "Grae il settivo!"

  Kolt ducked his head. "I do, Ahnor. I know my place well."

  "Take her home," Jase said, gesturing for his cessivi to mount.

  Zep settled on Cessa's back, but before Sal could swing up behind him, Jase moved to her side. His hands closed around her waist and he lifted, Zep pulling her before him, across his lap. His arms wrapped around her and he turned his mare back to Issevi, kissing her until she giggled.

  Jase smiled, then swung onto Raven's back. He moved her beside Aleks, but his eyes were on the man sitting behind him. "Ya do na know what ya play with," he growled.

  Kolt shrugged. "I kinda do, Ahnor."

  "I don't want to be in the middle of this," Aleks said, leaning away from the object of the assassin's anger.

  "Yer fine," Jase told him, never looking away from Kolt. "And I know about Merriton. Does na mean ya understand."

  "You know about Fort Landing? You know about Prin?" Kolt refused to drop his gaze. "You have no fucking idea what I've done, Cyno. She doesn't even know!"

  "I know ya can take the maast."

  Kolt chuckled, shaking his head. "That's what this is about? It's not your fucking place."

  "It is na yours either."

  "It is when she says it is!"

  "And what about when she does na?" His lips lifted, exposing sharp, deadly teeth.

  Kolt shrugged. "Then we're back to Merriton."

  Jase stared at him, his deep blue eyes boring straight into Kolt's soul. They said nothing for a moment, then Kolt looked away, his eyes finding the ground.

  "Ahnor," he whispered.

  "I think ya do understand. I will na stop ya. We're good." Jase turned Raven and kicked her, rushing to catch up with Zep.

  "What the fuck?" Aleks asked.

  Kolt let out a long, deep breath. "That's how the Black Blades welcome a new member."

  "I thought he was going to kill you!"

 
"Yeah." Kolt drug his hand across his mouth. "Me too, man. I guess that means I answered right."

  "And if you hadn't?"

  "Then he would have killed me." Kolt shrugged. "Murah got off easy."

  They all turned to follow the Blades back to Issevi, Blaz falling in beside them. "That because of last night?" he asked.

  Kolt looked over at him. "Not really. It's more because of the threat to Sal."

  "You're not a threat," Aleks said.

  "Not me. The little trip she just took. Their leader was killed and their Kaisae was taken from them. The Blades aren't going to be real nice for a few."

  "You hear that?" Blaz asked the others. "Walk softly around the Black Blades."

  "No shit," Celso muttered. "Who's keeping Cyno in check now?"

  Kolt chuckled. "Sal. Bigger question is who's keeping her in check."

  "What do you mean?" Celso asked.

  "Every Kaisae has someone that can stop her. She can't go against his word, and she has almost no power over him. For Sal, that was Blaec." He sighed. "Problem is, if she has a bad day, she can kill everyone she's ever touched. She doesn't realize that yet, but she can."

  "Fuck," Blaz muttered. "How?"

  "Because she's been in my head. She thinks she needs to copy my skill, but she doesn't. She can use it through me. She'd probably kill me if she tried, but if she frenzies, she won't really be thinking like that."

  "Like if another Blade dies," Rais said, his voice carrying to them all. "I don't think I even need to tell you all what to do. How long will this last, Kolt?"

  He shrugged. "Until Cyno figures it out, or someone else steps up and challenges her."

  "Can more than one person stop her?" Blaz asked.

  "I don't know." Kolt closed his eyes, letting the tension of his talk with Jase flow away. "It hasn't happened before, but that doesn't seem to stop her at all. I can tell you that it won't be Zep."

  Blaz nodded, turning back to the city before them. You need to get your shit together man, because it doesn't look like they're playing nice.

  Never stopped me before, Kolt thought. Sure won't stop me now. I made a promise, and I'm going to keep it.

  Chapter 43

  The 112th arrived in Syhar only minutes behind the Blades. Arctic met them at the gate, Zep standing beside him. Sal and Jase were nowhere to be seen. Except for the two mares standing relaxed, there was no sign that they'd made it to the town safely. Kolt dropped from the horse and waited to be acknowledged with the rest, wondering what the Blades would do to him next.

  "Rais," Arctic greeted the Captain of the 112th Mounted. "Owe you one, sir. Thanks for taking the detour."

  "Glad we were in the right place at the right time," Rais said, slapping Arctic's shoulder. "Brought you a new one, too."

  Arctic turned to Kolt. "Not mine yet. Zep, get him settled. I'll show the 112th where they can set up camp."

  "Yeah," Zep grumbled. He looked over to Kolt, and their eyes met.

  Kolt lifted his chin. "Dernor."

  The word hit Zep like a blow. "No." He took a shallow breath. "No, not yet. I'll take it, but not just yet."

  "Sorry," Kolt mumbled, unbuckling the sword from his chest. "That's how she referred to you the last few days." He held out the sheathed weapon. "I think this belongs to you."

  With a deep sigh, Zep drug his hand down his face. "Ah, demon," he muttered to himself, shaking his head at his thoughts before accepting the sword. "Thanks. Grab Cessa. Let's put these mares on the line."

  "Yes, sir," Kolt said, moving to do as ordered. "Dark one, right?"

  "Yeah. The blue roan is Raven. You'll learn the horses soon enough. Does Star Fall even bother naming them?"

  "Not all of them," Kolt admitted. "Always named mine. What is it with horses anyway?"

  Zep raised an eyebrow. "You mean that you mutts like them? No idea. Grauori do, too. Every iliri I've met likes horses. Dogs on the other hand, not a real good idea."

  Kolt chuckled at that. "Yeah, never understood the human obsession with ‘em. Stupid things."

  "Scared they'll turn on you?" Zep teased.

  "They usually do. Kinda like humans. You think you have them figured out and then something always happens."

  Zep looked at him pointedly. "Good thing I gave up being human, then."

  "Yeah. Sal has a way of doing that. Reminds a man what's good about our kind." Kolt could feel the tension building, but he wasn't about to back down.

  They were half way to the cluster of dark tents, too far to be heard by either the men at the gate or the men at the camp. Zep paused, turning to look at Kolt. "Now, let's just get this out of the way. I've been a Black Blade longer than anyone else here, now. Three months longer than Arctic. I knew what was good about our kind well before Sal ever showed up. Don't start thinking that I'm here because I'm getting laid. Not all of us follow our dicks around like that."

  Kolt couldn't help himself. His mouth started talking before his mind could stop it. "Don't think I'm here because I got laid either, Zep. There's a hell of a lot more to her than that."

  "But you're still following her around like some love sick fool. That's not what the Blades is about."

  "Isn't it? Isn't the entire point of the Blades that you have the last Kaisae and you'll all do anything she begs you to?"

  "She doesn't beg," Zep growled.

  "She does sometimes," Kolt taunted. "She even knows how to say please and thank you."

  Zep took a step closer, his muscles tensing. "You fucked her because there was no one else. Don't think that makes you special."

  "She liked it." Kolt lifted his chin. "She likes having a man that knows just how to bite her."

  Zep's fist slammed into the end of Kolt's arrogant jaw, knocking his feet away. He hit the ground hard, never seeing the attack coming. The horses spooked from the sudden action, but Zep stood over him.

  "Keep it up," he growled.

  Kolt chuckled. "I'm not going to roll over and play dead just because you sleep with her. You want me to submit, you'd better fucking earn it, human."

  "Amusing, coming from you." Zep gestured for him to get up. "You smell like an iliri, but you fuck like a human. Timid. Waiting for her to spell it out rather than trusting your senses. Just. Like. A. Human."

  Kolt's hand twitched for the hilt at his shoulder, but the sword was gone.

  With a lift of his chin, Zep tossed it back and grabbed the hilt of his own. "You really want to do that?"

  "I'm not using Blaec's sword against you," Kolt grumbled, pushing the sheathed weapon away. "I might be an ass, but I'm not that much of one."

  Zep nodded and gestured for him to keep the weapon. "Get up faster or drop your eyes, but I'll forgive you because you have respect for the pack."

  Kolt growled and turned for the horses, leaving Zep standing behind him. When he tried to snag the reins of the dark mare, she skittered away. Zep laughed behind him, making Kolt's anger simmer. He reminded himself that if he wanted to be a Blade, he needed to figure out how to fit in. He had to learn to accept the order of the pack, even if that put him at the bottom. Hopefully, it wouldn't take long to prove that he was no omega.

  "Breathe," Zep yelled. "If you try to eat the horse, she'll run from you every time. You're a fucking predator."

  Kolt stopped in his tracks. "I'm trying to catch her, not eat her."

  Zep nodded smugly. "Explain that to her. Her brain isn't that big."

  Eventually, he caught the mare, Zep holding the other but making no offer to help. They secured them to the picket line and tacked both down. Zep handed the saddles to Kolt then grabbed a brush, making sure the animals were properly cared for.

  "Put the tack in the supply tent. Green trim."

  Kolt moved toward the tents, looking closer at each. Designs were painted on the door, subtle and hard to see from any distance. Each flap was marked with a different Iliran word in a specific color. Strength was painted in gold on a tent that smelled like Arctic. Fear was lined in pink
on another. The tent with the green writing was marked with the trio of circles that represented Anglia. He ducked inside the flap and paused.

  Crates were stacked in every corner. A line of saddle racks stood by the door, two of them empty. Kolt dropped the tack in its place but couldn't stop feeling like an intruder. The scent of Blaec Doll lingered in the canvas and supplies, mingled easily with the taste of the rest of the unit. He could pick out each one with ease. Some he didn't recognize, others - like Sal's - were easy to identify.

  Kolt turned to an open crate, his eyes lingering on the pile of books. With a sigh, he took a step closer, tracing his finger down the spine. They were all written in Glish and stored lovingly. Blaec's things. Kolt wondered who'd gotten the job of packing his stuff before Sal returned.

  "I wouldn't," a shy voice said when Kolt reached for a book. "Those are not yours."

  "They were Blaec's," Kolt agreed. "I just wished I'd known him better."

  "Me, too." Audgan stepped from the corner, appearing like a ghost, his pale skin dusky under the black canvas. "Then again, I think only Zep and Arctic ever got through his shell."

  "And Sal," Kolt muttered.

  Audgan shook his head. "Nah. She tried, but LT kept her locked away pretty good. Why are you here?"

  "Dropping off saddles."

  "Not what I meant." Audgan gestured to the camp. "Didn't expect Sal to fuck a human. Why are you here."

  Kolt reached up and toyed with the thong around his neck. He'd replaced it out of habit, but he would need to stop that now. "I'm here because I was hoping for a better life." Then Kolt pulled off the necklace and tossed it to the kid. "Try again."

  Audgan's eyes widened slightly when he inhaled. His fingers caressed the smooth stones, and he breathed again. "Interesting. You smell like her, you know."

  "I'm sure."

  Without asking, Audgan placed the necklace in the crate beside him. "It's going to cause problems. Can't try for Taunor while you're still settling your place. They won't like it."

  "They? Or you?"

  "They," Audgan said. "Sal's not for me. She doesn't like a man who can't meet her eyes."

  Kolt laughed at that. "Well, then they can rest easy. I'm not trying for Taunor. Just wanted to get the Kaisae back."