“It is. I just hate not knowing what the storm fae are planning. They didn’t attack us for no reason. But don’t you worry about that. It’s time for you to train.”
Kalen stood, drew a circle in the sand, and told me to stand in the middle of it. I did as he said, my wooden blade clutched in my right hand. He sized me up and then shook his head.
“You’re very tense and rigid.”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks.”
“You need to relax more.” He crossed the circular line and held out his hand for my dagger. Hesitatingly, I passed it to him. Closing his eyes, he rolled back his shoulders, and then sank into a crouch. There was something so graceful and natural about his movements. He didn’t clutch the dagger with fisted hands. He was poised to strike, but he wasn’t tense. Kalen screamed strength and power, his muscular form impossible and deadly and—
His eyes flipped open, that dark gaze meeting mine. A little tremor went through my gut. “Understand?”
I loosed a breath. “Yes.”
He passed the dagger back to me. As I took it, our fingers brushed. Our gazes suddenly locked. Something flashed in his eyes that called to me. Instinctively, I leaned toward him, even as my mind screamed at me to stop.
There was just something so…mesmerizing about the way he moved.
What are you doing?a little voice shouted in the back of my head.
I shuddered as he pulled his hand away. With a slight smile, he murmured, “Your turn, Tessa.”
Knees shaking, I tried to mimic what he’d shown me. Fingers relaxed, shoulders loose but firm. But I still felt the tension rattling inside me. My entire body was coiled so tightly, it might snap at any moment.
Strong hands wrapped around my shoulders, kneading them. My eyes flipped open, and his face was right there. Only two inches from mine. Our breaths mingled in the mists. Heat tore through me, chasing away the last shred of logical thought.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“You’re too tense. Staying calm and collected in battle is one of the biggest advantages you can ever get.” His gaze dipped to my lips, and then snapped back up to my eyes. “Oberon is passionate. He’s full of rage and often does things without a second thought. You need to be better than that.”
“And you don’t feel passion?” I couldn’t help but ask, eyes still locked on his as he continued to rub my shoulders.
His chest rumbled. “I feel too much passion. It’s what twisted everything into what it is now. If I’d stayed in control of my emotions better, I never would have thrown the full strength of my power at Albyria. I was trying to stop your king from destroying my army, but I did too much, and it caused all of this. I did what you’ve always accused me of—trapped your people with Oberon.”
“At least you stopped him from winning and bringing back the gods.”
His hands stilled as his eyes searched mine, scouring for answers I didn’t know if I had. “I thought you hated me for what I did. I thought you wished it had never happened.”
I blew out a breath. “I did. But I think maybe I was wrong.”
Kalen pulled himself up tall and dropped his hands to his sides. “Explain.”
“I wasn’t told the truth about you. Everything you’ve said to me paints a very different portrait than the one I was given. You’re not the enemy of the world, Kalen. I see that now.”
He ground his teeth and glanced away. “You’ve gotten the wrong idea about me. Again. I causedall of this, Tessa. I need you to know that. My armies did attack villages and cities on our way to take down Oberon. And I want you to see that I would do it all again if given the chance. I’d drench the world in mist and shadow and all the danger that lurks within it. Anything to trap Oberon and stop him from bringing back the gods. That makes me a villain.”
The pain in his voice ripped through me. With a shaky breath, I stepped closer to him and took his hand. He jerked his head toward me in shock. I could tell that he thought I’d be angry at him for what he’d said, but it was the opposite. He’d make himself the villain if that meant saving the world from the gods. I could not hate him for that.
“I understand what you tried to do, even if I don’t like the result of it.”
He swallowed and glanced away. “Tessa, I…”
“I’m not sure I trust you, but I don’t hate you.” I frowned at his profile. “Can you at least look at me?”
Jaw clenching, he dragged his eyes toward mine. Shadows churned in the depths of the blue, the softness I’d seen before driven away by whatever was going on inside his head.
Kalen pulled my hands up toward his heart. I could feel it beating against my skin, the steadythump, thump, thumpthat had kept me company all night. The scent of him curled around me as he tugged me a step closer. My heart racing, I tipped back my head, scared to find out what he would say or do next.
His palm swept across my shoulder before cupping my cheek. I shuddered as his thumb brushed across my chin. He searched my eyes, looking surprised at what he found in them.