Page 37 of Revealing Fate

Kal spun on his heel and marched to the exit. The air in the tavern was thick with accusation, question, and concern, but the opinions were not what spurred his movement. He threw the front door open and stepped into the crisp morning, lungs hungry for a cleansing breath.

You took the wrong woman.

Kal reached for the reins of his gray mount, and the gelding’s eyes rolled, whites showing in alarm. A voice called from behind.

“Kal, wait.”

Kal wrestled with the unexpected rush of emotion roiling under his skin. Anger. Confusion. Disbelief. He needed to get home. He needed to see her. Speak with her. Santhe was wrong; she had to be.

The man from inside stepped to Kal’s side. Concern, the kind that encompassed an entire settlement of traitors to the Asterosian crown, rested in the man’s chestnut eyes.

“I know what you’re thinking, Saul,” Kal said.

“Then you know we need to address the rest of the Conclave. The others must be alerted to a threat.”

Kal pinned Meress’s halcyon leader with a hard stare. “There is no threat.”

A dark blond brow lifted. “Your friend back there just made a rather public announcement about you unknowingly escorting an imposter from Asteros into Meress.”

Kal swallowed his growl and took a deep breath. “It’s a misunderstanding, Saul. There’s no threat to the city.”

Behind Saul, the door to Palaver’s burst open. Rask marched for them, face still a mottled shade of red, Santhe on his heels.

“I’m going home,” Kal said. “I need to speak with her.”

The wrong woman.

Saul eyed Rask and Santhe before swinging his gaze back to Kal. “We will accompany you.”

It wasn’t spoken as a request.

Kal stood on his porch, leaning against the rail, disbelief stealing into his bones like a malignancy. He stared out at the serenity of Stillwater Wood, so at odds with the chaos raging inside him.

She was gone. The cabin behind him stood empty. And yet, she was everywhere. Kitty’s scent permeated his kitchen, living room, and bedroom. The lingering aroma of delicate jasmine, garden herbs, and fresh citrus invaded his senses, calling to him like a temptress.

He tightened his grip on the rail. The tremor in his hand returned, incited by his stagnancy. His body craved movement. He should be hunting the forest for her. Scouring the wood. Not standing here, waiting for everyone around him to piece shit together.

Rask had been sent back into the city to retrieve Penn. The boy had possibly been the last person to see Kitty before she disappeared. Saul had given Santhe directions to call the four other members of the Conclave, the governing body of Meress, not trusting Kal to stay put without supervision.

“They should be back soon,” Saul said, approaching with quiet steps.

Kal spared him a glance. “I’m not a fucking wild horse, Saul. I’m not going to spook.”

Saul settled at the rail next to him. “Well,” he mused, “I’ve never watched a horse seize its friend by the throat. Mind clueing me in on what happened back there?”

Kal blew out a breath. He did mind. Mainly because if he analyzed his reaction too closely, he’d be forced to acknowledge a weakness he hadn’t planned on developing. Saul was a good man—a fair and temperate member of the Conclave. But until Kal found Kitty and could speak to her himself, he didn’t want anyone involved in the subject of his inner turmoil.

All the evidence pointed to her leaving of her own volition. There was no sign of a struggle. Clothes were missing, as well as a pack and a waterskin. Where she’d gone, and why, only left him with an unending stream of questions. Kal knew Kitty wanted to go back to Asteros. To turn herself in, she’d said. To prevent any others from entering harm’s way if more hunters came after her. But that only made sense if she was who she said she was. A Fate. Rask’s sister.

When Kal didn’t answer, Saul hummed and followed his gaze out into the stillness of the wood. “Tell me about your meeting with Trade Master Grisham, then. Can the Cozened expect his aid when the time comes?”

Kal nodded and relayed events from the past several days to Saul. Kal wasn’t a member of Meress’s Conclave, but they relied heavily upon his help, his ability to network, and his willingness to provide resources necessary for their resistance. Half the fighters they now possessed had been trained by Kal’s own hand and were outfitted with his weaponry and armor.

By the time he was finished filling in Saul, there was movement from the tree line. Penn emerged from the hedge, followed closely by a disgruntled-looking Rask.

“Kal,” Penn called, voice miserable. “I swear I didn’t know she was a traitor.”

Rask shoved the boy forward at the same time Kal descended the porch steps.