Page 23 of Omen of ice
Kitara leans close and, as the Aphelian looks away for a moment, whispers, “Let’s ditch your babysitter and have some real fun.”
It’s not why I came to the market, but it would undoubtedly irritate the Aphelian. And that’s what I vowed to do, wasn’t it? Make her see that there was no way this would work? Send her running for the hills?
I nod to Kitara and sigh. “Aphelian, I wonder if you might fetch the hammond root while I stay here with Kitara.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I’d like to spend some time with Kit.” I shrug. “I mean, I could just go with her to get it, but the dealer is notoriously edgy. He only allows two at a time in his shop, so you’d have to wait outside anyway…”
“You’ll stay right here?”
“Naturally.”
She rolls her eyes and takes the pouch of gold Kitara holds out, then stomps off toward the food section of the market.
“Huh.” I crane my neck to make sure she’s actually gone. “That was far easier than I expected it to be.”
Tooeasy.
Before I can give that another thought, Kitara grabs my hand and tugs me around the small building and to the edge of the woods. Pushing me back against a large tree, she smiles. “Much better.”
“And what wicked intentions do you have today?”
She drops her hands to the waist of my pants and grins. “Only the wickedest.”
“As enticing as that sounds…” I grab her hands and cup them between mine. “I’m going to have to pass.”
“Pass?” Her expression sours. She pulls her hands from mine and wraps them around my neck, tugging me down just a bit. Leaning in, she brushes the tip of my ear with her lips. “That’s the second time you’ve turned me down. Why send the Aphelian away if not to be with me? You’re going to give me a complex.”
She trails a line of kisses along my neck, and I can’t deny it feels sensational, and I’ve never been shy about public displays—if for no other reason than to anger my uncle—but something has me pushing her away. “Please don’t view it as a slight. You…” I gesture to her, from head to toe. “Are exquisite.”
“But?”
“But my mind is elsewhere today.”
Her eyes narrow. She looks toward the market, then back to me. “Elsewhere? Or…someoneelse?”
It takes a moment for me to understand what she’s implying. “Don’t be ridiculous. That human is infuriating and has all the fun-loving tendencies of fungus—her words, not mine.” But even as the protest spills past my lips, I find myself thinking about wild red hair and eyes that blaze with determination.
Would kissing the Aphelian interest me? Of course it would. She’s stunning and moves in a way that makes my mind wander to dirty, forbidden places…but I would never—
Kitara snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Valen? You were saying?”
“I’m just not in the mood right now.”
She snorts, and her face contorts with anger. “You? Not in the mood? That’s rich.”
“Kit—”
“Spare me,” she says, her tone changing to something far less heated. “I suppose you’ve done me a favor, really. It makes this all so much easier.”
“Makes what easier?”
“This.” A hulking shadow emerges from the trees, and something flies at me from the right. There’s athwackand a small kernel of pain, and then…nothing.
My head is pounding, and there’s a knot forming in my lower back. I force my eyes open and am greeted by nothing but darkness. “Kit, if this is your idea of fun, I have to tell you, I could have done without the whack on the head…”
“Oh, Valen…” Her voice drifts from somewhere to my right, very close. “This isn’t how I wanted it to go.” Light floods my vision as the cloth covering my eyes is removed.
