"It's a manifestation," he says thoughtfully. "So, it's like my gift in that it's a little of both. Here, close your eyes again," he instructs me with a wave of his hand.

  I follow his orders and my body jerks slightly when I feel the heat of his body suddenly in front of me.

  I try to remain calm as he pulls my hands into his. His palms are warm and strong, steady. "You feel me," he says softly. "So concentrate on that while you imagine. You feel the weight of my palms, now imagine them hot, flaming."

  I shake my head, "No, if it catches fire then I'll hurt you."

  His fingers flex around mine. "And you don't want to do that do you, Roxanna?"

  The question catches me off guard and my eyes jerk open in shock. Blue orbs study me carefully.

  "What?' I ask, feeling slightly breathless as he stares at me. His face is serious, his brows pulled together in concentration and his eyes full of something I can't quite read.

  "You don't want to hurt me," he repeats slowly. I can't tell if it's a question or a statement.

  Pausing, I feel my cheeks heat as my thoughts wash over me.

  No, I don't want to hurt you Orrael, not you, not your flirtatious brother, not the prince wearing the crown that's going to put him in control of us all, and not the annoying warrior who I want to strangle most of the time.

  My breath seems to catch in my lungs and Orrael's gaze travels over my face softly. "I couldn't be sure," he says in a low voice. "I kept telling the others and trying to convince myself that you wouldn't try to hurt us, but you always seemed to be wavering," he confesses. "But you know what I see right now, Roxanna?"

  "What?" I ask, not sure how I'm able to actually force the words past my lips.

  "You're not wavering anymore." He says the words with so much confidence and so much weight that I'm not sure what to say to it.

  I don't even jump as one of his warm hands releases mine and moves up to my face, cupping my jaw. 'You're not wavering," he repeats. I watch in shock as his eyes drop to my lips. "And neither am I."

  I see the kiss coming, I see it coming and I lean into it. When our lips meet its passionate and strong, emotional. His hand on my jaw caresses softly as my hands wrap around his waist.

  I hold onto him as it feels like the world around me is falling down. Because I know without a doubt that I won't be killing this man. I can't do it.

  Maybe that makes me a disappointment, a disgrace, but I can't do it. This man who kisses me like he wants to take the air from my lungs, is not the enemy that I thought he was and I'm not going to betray him.

  I won't even try to take Walker's head off unless he provokes me in that way that only he's capable of.

  I let out a small moan as Orrael's other hand wraps around my waist.

  Our lips continue to move against each other softly and slowly and it makes my heart pound quicker in my chest.

  This is different, just like the other two kisses.

  But it's no less intense and I feel it in the depths of my soul.

  All this kissing is going to give me a heart attack, sooner or later, I'm sure of it.

  My hands roam over his warm body and I lean in closer to him as our lips continue to move together.

  He pulls back and when his eyes meet mine, half-lidded and hot, my breath catches. He strokes a thumb along my jaw before leaning in again and his lips are possessing mine all over again.

  I fall into the kiss, not allowing myself to overthink it.

  "Damn, that's three for four, Rox."

  The second I hear Brielyn's voice, I pull away from Orrael in shock.

  Orrtyn and Brielyn stand at the mouth of the cave, apparently watching the makeout session between Orrael and I. I want to ask how long they've been standing there but I can't get my lips to move to ask the question.

  Probably not long, since Brielyn isn't known for staying quiet longer than a few seconds.

  My gaze moves to Orrtyn, studying his face. His brow is pulled up slightly as if in shock, but other than that, I can't read the expression on his face.

  Is he mad I kissed his brother?

  And why in the hell do I even care?

  I can do what I want with my body and that includes my lips, so why should I care what Orrtyn is thinking of me kissing his brother.

  He didn't care when I kissed his sort of, but not really, boyfriend, so he shouldn't care about this, right?

  Right.

  I fold my arms over my chest, feeling rather defensive as I stare at the two men.

  Orrael takes a step away from me but his shoulders are relaxed as he moves closer in the direction of his twin, who he's watching closely. It's almost like he's trying to read how his brother feels about this and that in itself pisses me off.

  It doesn't matter what Orrtyn thinks, because this is my body, just like I just got through thinking, so he shouldn't be trying to gauge the other man's reaction.

  I feel my skin start to grow warm as my anger threatens to take over.

  I open my mouth to snap out what I'm sure it's going to be a pretty snarky response, but that's not what comes out when I see a flash of movement behind Brielyn's back.

  "Move," I shout out, my hand already moving to Gwev's hilt.

  Orrtyn is the first to react, shoving Brielyn out of the way in a blur. I hear a loud groan, but I can't quite tell who it belongs to and I don't have time to try to figure it out as a man appears, pointing an arrow at my head. I duck out of the way, the arrow whizzing past my ear and barely missing.

  Everything becomes a blur of movement as I'm suddenly under attack and fighting off multiple people. I'm faintly aware of Orrael shouting at somebody, but that's it as I find myself fighting for my life again. I don’t allow myself to become distracted as I methodically jab, cut, and swing. Blood covers my hands and face, but I don’t let that stop me as I cut down every single man that comes my way.

  When I finally take down the last man, I'm thankful that for once I'm not injured.

  I glance at the lifeless body of the last man, a gash in his throat from Gwev ripping through it. Turning, I find Orrael standing over a body himself. There's a bloody dagger in his hand and his jaw is tense before he's quickly moving.

  I follow the man with my eyes. He moves over to his brother who's kneeling on the ground. It's obvious something is wrong with Orrtyn but from this distance I can't tell what, so I quickly move in closer.

  A surprised gasp leaves my lips when I get close to the man and see the arrow sticking out of his shoulder. His teeth are gritted and the blood from the wound is already covering his shirt.

  His eyes move over to me and while I expect to see pain in them, its remorse swirling in those blue orbs. "I'm sorry, Roxana, I tried..."

  "What?" I ask, confused about what the man is actually trying to say to me. He shakes his head.

  "I'm sorry, I tried to defend him, but they took him anyway."

  "Huh?"

  His gaze moves around my face for a moment before I watch as his entire body tenses. "They took Brielyn."

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  "What are you doing?" Orrael asks with wide eyes as he watches me gather Gwev' and shove her back in the holster. I move over to the pile of daggers that Orrael and Elyjah brought back with them from the castle and I shove one in each boot.

  Fuck, I wish I had more holsters on me.

  Because I don't know what I'm about to go storming into, but I know it's going to be dangerous and I’d prefer to be stacked head to toe in weapons.

  I'm going either way, but it'd be nice to have more protection on me.

  That's too bad though.

  "Roxanna," Orrael hisses.

  "What?" I snap, turning my head to look at him. His cheeks are flushed, and it reminds me of our kiss even though I know the redness in his cheeks is likely from the fight.

  If I weren't distracted with him, none of this would have happened.

  “I'm going to find Brielyn," I tell him stiffly.

  He shakes his head and moves to take a step closer to me before his eyes move back down to his brother. He looks torn as he glances between the injured man and me. "You can't just go off all knives pointed," he finally says.

  "I can and I will," I tell him, determined. "He's my friend and I'm not just going to sit around here on my ass."

  "Roxanna-"

  "No." I don't want to hear what the man is saying, not when I can already feel guilt riding down on my shoulders, no matter how illogical.

  I was distracted kissing him and the attackers were probably already outside getting into position, waiting for an opening. Not to mention that I didn't even think to check and see what else was going on during the fight.

  "Can you at least wait for Elyjah and Walker to get back?" he asks, his features pulled tight. "I can't let you go off by yourself, but I need to attend to Orrtyn's shoulder." He reaches a hand down in that moment to help his twin up.

  Side by side, they've never looked more identical. Typically, Orrtyn is the only one to have a scruffy face, but since we've been here a few days without adequate tools, Orrael is also sporting stubble that's quickly turning into a small beard, like his brother. The blood staining Orrtyn's shirt is spreading and his teeth are clenched. I watch as he flinches when his twin starts to make him walk.

  Orrael has this taken care of, I need to find Brielyn.

  "No, the longer I wait, the further away they get," I tell Orrael and it's the truth. The men already have more of a head start than I'd like, and I can't let them keep going without following.

  Orrael's eyes track me, pleading, as I move toward the mouth of the cave. “Don't do this, Roxanna, don't leave, just wait," he tries to plead with me, but I won't be swayed.

  I take a determined step forward and bump into something hard. Muscles clenching, I glance up to find Walker standing in front of me. His hard face is morphed into its usual scowl and he glares as he looks down at me. “Where do you think you're going?" he asks, his body tense.

  I narrow my eyes, not prepared for the man's bullshit and knowing that's exactly what I'm about to get.

  Brielyn needs me, I don't have time for this.

  The second my hand moves to my sword, the man catches the movement and he reaches out a hand, grasping my wrist. "Don't even think about it," he says lowly, tightening his grip on me before I can make a move.

  "Woah," Elyjah says from behind him and steps closer, his dark brows furrowed. He pushes a hand through his short, dark locks. "What's going on? I thought we'd moved on from you trying to kill Walker."

  I only glance at Elyjah briefly before I toss a fist into Walker's face. The man stumbles back, his eyes wide. I’ve completely caught him off guard and I use it to my advantage as his grip on my hand with the sword loosens. I kick out at his knee and when he fully lets go of me, I shove the man with as much force as I can against the cave walls. I only get a glimpse of his head snapping back as it collides with the wall.

  Before anyone can stop me, I start jogging away from the cave.

  In what direction did they go?

  I curse, not seeing signs of any tracks. This is what happens when you take too long to move into action, just think if I would have left minutes ago, I may have a better indication.

  I keep moving forward toward the way where I know the trees start to appear in abundance. This has to be the most likely direction that the men moved in.

  I’d go this way if I kidnapped someone and I was trying to get to somewhere with better cover-

  I let out a curse and a yelp when I'm suddenly grabbed and jerked back, sending me falling to my ass.

  Pain rips through my body but it’s not to the anger I feel in my veins.

  I look up at an enraged Walker who has lips pulled back in a sneer as he stares down at me.

  Fucking great and now I'll have to fight this big bastard off before I can get going.

  It's one thing to kick the man's ass when he's completely distracted and looking in another direction, it's an entirely different thing to fight him with his full attention on me.

  I've fought him before after all and there's never been a clear winner, but it's never been charged like this. We've fought in an organized challenge between us but never out in the open like this in unarranged circumstances.

  In a situation where he wants to stop me from doing something that I am absolutely determined to do.

  I let out a growl as I get back to my feet, refusing to be intimidated by the man.

  I draw Gwev and don't hesitate to point the sword at the man, warning him. "If you don't back off, Walker, I'm going to leave your insides on the ground like a bloody trail." It's all I'm going to say about this, the only warning he’ll get.

  "Then you better be ready to gut me, princess, because I'm not moving," he says, narrowing his eyes.

  "Shit, stop it," Elyjah steps between the two of us, hands out at his sides as he tries to separate the two of us.

  His eyes are brimming with anger and his shoulders are tense as he looks back and forth between us. "I'm not sure what's going on, all I know is that Orrtyn has an arrow sticking out of his chest and you've pissed Walker off to the point that he didn't even notice the wound." The man points an accusing finger at me, but my attention is on Walker. The man blinks as Elyjah's words sink in before he's moving past us, throwing his shoulder into me on the way as he heads back to the cave in a hurry, no doubt to check on Orrtyn.

  That leaves the prince to get rid of.

  Easy.

  I narrow my eyes at the man in question as he stares at me, his brows still furrowed. “What in the hell is going on?" he asks, his hands clenched at his sides.

  "I don't have time to explain," I say, re-holstering Gwev and going to move by the man.

  I don't expect it, even though I should have, the man grabs me. On instinct he gets a straight jab to the face. He staggers back as he absorbs the punch, but he doesn't let go of me, even with the shock clear on his face as he looks at me. "Fuck," he mutters as his free hand rubs at his jaw. "Roxanna."

  "You need to let me go, Elyjah," I warn him. There’s already a bruise forming on his cheek and there’s likely to be another if he doesn’t listen to me. "They've already gotten too far with him and I'm losing ground the longer I sit here smacking you around."

  Because if you don't let me go, I'm going to hit you again and maybe I'll regret it later, but not now.

  "Who? Who do you have to get to?" he asks in confusion.

  "Brielyn," I spit out.

  He looks at me in confusion and I blow out a breath. Gods, is he acting stupid or what? I glare at him, rushing out my explanation, "We were attacked and Brielyn was taken, I need to find him," I say.

  Elyjah shakes his head but I can see that he's processing my words from the look in his eyes. "Okay, I understand that you want to find him, he's your friend, but you can't just go off like this. The last time you did, Ragna was the only reason you lived."

  I grit my teeth together "Well, send the stupid ass bird with me, but I'm going."

  He shakes his head the lighter strands of hair catching in the sunlight. A muscle twitches in his jaw. "I can't let you do that."

  This time when I swing at the man it is intentional and full of all the force that I can manage. But he unexpectedly ducks out of the way and since he's still holding onto my other hand, he pulls me forward, using my momentum against me to pull my body into his.

  He wraps his arms around me tightly before I can get away and I'm surprised by his strength when I try to jerk out of his grasp and find that I can't. His arms are like a vice as they tighten around me. He blows out a breath, so close to me that the air dances along the neck of my skin. "Look, Roxanna," he says softly. "I'll make sure you get Brielyn, but we need to plan this out. So, you either need to work with me or I'll have to do something I don't want to do."

  "And what's that?" I question, even as I'm still calculating a way out of the man's grasp.

  There’s a pause. "I'm sure that those medical supplies Orrael gathered has to have a sedative somewhere amongst them."

  I stiffen at the threat, not liking the dark way the man says it.

  "I don't want to do it," he says and his arms squeeze me tighter. "But if I have to, I will," he informs me. "So please don't fight me."

  I want to fight him solely because of his words, because I don't like people threatening me or holding me against my will. But a part of me knows he's right, I can't just go off without having a plan in place. I don't know how many men were in the group or what direction they went in. At this rate, I could go so far only to later realize that I'm not going in the right direction.

  And Brielyn may be dead by the time I reach him.

  Elyjah’s chest moves against mine as he takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to let you go now, don't run away, okay?"

  He doesn't let go and I know he's waiting for a confirmation from me. "Okay," I finally relent.

  He releases me slowly and takes a step back, it's why he misses it when I finally land the jab that he's owed. He places a hand to his jaw and looks at me in shock. "I promised not to run, but I didn't say anything about hitting you for grabbing me like that."

  He shakes his head but doesn't argue with me. "Okay," is all he says before gesturing for me to move forward. "Let’s head back to the cave and talk about this with clear heads." He rubs at his jaw again. "Shit, and here I was thinking all the fighting was some sort of weird ass foreplay between you and Walker, but this doesn't feel like foreplay, it feels like hell."

  I don't even try to offer him an apology though I do feel a little remorseful as he continues to hold his cheek.

  We make our way back into the cave and find Walker and Orrael standing over Orrtyn who's sitting on a rock. At some point, one of the men removed the arrow from his shoulder and I can't help but to wonder which one as I look at the men, pain clear on their faces.

  It doesn't look like either of them would actually have the balls to help the man out and pull the arrow when it would have caused more pain.

  Walker glances up, looking at us and his jaw clenches. He focuses on Elyjah, studying the man. "Let me guess, she hit you too," he says snidely but he doesn't give the man time to answer before his gaze is on me again. "You were just going to leave Orrael and Orrtyn here with an arrow sticking out of Orrtyn after he was attacked?" he asks me, and I watch as his nostrils flare.