AJ caught the glint of bone through the torrent of blood pouring out. But she was powerless to intercede. Both men moved as swift as lightning, performing steps they’d perfected since boyhood in a perverse dance of death.
Bodies dripped with sweat. Kaden’s blood smeared both of them, slick and gleaming in the candlelight. They battled grimly, silently, neither of them wasting breath on taunts or threats.
Finally, Tok backed away. But before Kaden could move in for the kill, the general whirled around, grabbed AJ, and pressed the blade of his sword against her neck.
“Drop your weapon.”
“Don’t do it, Kaden! He’ll kill us both.”
Tok dug the edge of the blade into her skin. A thin red stream trickled down her neck.
“Drop your weapon or watch her die.”
Kaden met her eyes and smiled. “You’re my cunning wildcat. My Tajina.”
It took only a moment for his unspoken message to sink in. AJ reached down and wrapped her long thick tail around her hand. Slapping her palm against the flat blade of Tok’s sword, she knocked it aside then reared back and rammed her elbow into his groin. He bent forward, howling in pain.
Those precious seconds were all Kaden needed. He lunged, burying his sword in Tok’s chest.
Chapter Sixteen
The general crumpled to the floor. Kaden ignored him, sweeping AJ into his arms. “How badly are you hurt?” He grabbed Tok’s robe off the floor, pressing it to her neck to staunch the flow of blood.
“I’m all right. It’s a shallow cut.” She pushed him onto the bed. “Let me see to your wound.”
Kaden looked down, as though realizing for the first time that he’d been injured. “No vital organs have fallen out. I’ll be fine.”
“How can you joke at a time like this?” She tore the general’s robe into strips and wrapped them around Kaden’s chest, drawing the edges of the wound in his side together.
“You’re safe, Tajina. That’s all that matters.” He stroked her head as she worked over him. “I’m sorry I had to cut off your beautiful hair.”
“I’m not. You saved my life. Besides, I was growing weary of that braid. Maybe I’ll wear my hair like yours – falling in waves to my jaw, tossed by every breeze.” Gently, she brushed a stray lock off his sweaty forehead.
“We need to go.” Kaden struggled to an upright position, stifling a groan. “First, let me divest you of this.” He drew AJ across his lap, face down, and unfastened her tail. “This I’ll save – for the memories.” His voice held a note of playfulness as he tucked it under his belt.
He tore the leather harness apart. Gently, he pulled out the metal probe and threw it across the room. “We have no need of that,” he murmured, running his rough palm over her bottom. “From now on, when your ass is aching to be filled, I’ll use my own device.”
Despite his pain and weariness, his cock swelled against her mound. She slid off his lap, smiling. “I’d love nothing more than to pleasure my master right now. But there’s no time for that. You’re right. We need to go.”
She handed him the flask Tok had carried into the room. “Have some wine first. A little of it will dull the pain without putting you to sleep.” AJ coaxed him to take a few swallows. “We planned to meet outside the city,” she said as he swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Why did you come back?”
“We can’t escape through the pass. My men did too good a job of sabotaging the dam. It ruptured. A raging torrent is pouring into the valley. The pass is already flooded, and the lowest part of the city will soon be underwater.
“It’s chaos out there,” he went on. “Most of Tok’s army has deserted, refusing to stay and risk drowning at their posts. The overseers from the mines are fleeing, climbing high into the far end of the valley to look for a way out. They’re afraid, without Tok’s guards to protect them, the miners will take revenge for the working conditions they’ve been forced to endure. Despite all his rhetoric, Tok’s regime has treated the male workers in Petra almost as cruelly as he’s treated the women. Only those in his inner circle led the life of gods he promised to all the men who joined him.”
Kaden struggled painfully to his feet. “We have to find another way to get you and the harlots out of Petra.”
AJ glanced down at Tok’s lifeless body. “I know a way. I saw it the day I was dragged through the streets to the general’s office.”
They ran to the Great Hall, where they found the other harlots in a frightened cluster. Calmly, Kaden explained there’d been a change of plans.
“We’re going to the Citadel,” he announced. “Stay together.” He gave them a once-over. “Get rid of those high sandals first. Find a guard your size and take his shoes. Take their clothes, too,” he added. “It will be easier for you to move quickly without those long gowns.”
AJ had already untied the hated platform heels. She wore a pair of flat leather sandals, laced up her calves, and a short belted tunic. She’d stolen both from one of Tok’s guards, now lying naked and asleep in the hall outside the general’s suite.
Dianna led the way as the other women scattered through the Lyceum to gather clothes. Once dressed, they made their way through streets crowded with terrified people swarming in every direction.
The Citadel was only a short distance away, but they had to detour several times to avoid squads of soldiers tearing through the streets. A man in a dark alleyway tried to grab one of the harlots, but the tip of Kaden’s sword against his privates convinced him to back away. The rest of Petra’s panicked citizens were too busy trying to save their lives to worry about a handful of women loose in the street.