Page 14 of A Cruel Kindness

Some brave members of the crowd didn’t seem to heed Soren’s warning, even though I was shamelessly staring right on back, and made brief eye contact with me. Then it seemed their fear of me kicked in, and they quickly averted their gaze.

Before I could resume my observations, desperately trying to get a leg up on my obvious inexperience, Peter’s sharp voice snapped through the room.

“Okay!” he yelled, and every voice in the room dropped off immediately. “You know the drill. Septs in the back, you lucky bastards. Move up in rank. Paranimas up at the front.”

Soren immediately took off towards the front of the room, though I was quick behind him. If anything, I was just curious to meet the other Soul Match, the ones Peter had described as being … unique.

As Soren and I walked to the front, I noticed another figure moving through the crowd, the top of his head standing above the rest. When the crowd parted and let him join us in the place of honor, I sucked in my breath at what I saw.

Whoever he was, he looked scary as hell. He was unnaturally tall, easily clearing six and a half feet, with hulking shoulders and a dark look on his face that promised pain if you crossed him. Pain was surely a concept he was familiar with, because there was a slashing scar down the right side of his face, cutting through his eye and leaving it a slightly lighter color. His other was a shade of green so brilliant, it shone to an almost neon degree against his skin.

Complete with dark hair, tanned skin, and the dusting of stubble across his cheeks, he looked rather devilish.

If he was walking to the front with us, that meant he had a Soul Mate too.

Before I could stare any further, a low growl flew out of Soren’s throat. I whipped around to face him, only to find him blinking like he wasn’t quite sure what was happening.

Feeling oddly chastised, I focused my attention on Peter, who Soren seemed to deem safe. Once I was in the clear of an impulsive reaction from Soren for staring at the—admittedly very handsome— stranger, I couldn’t help but tease him a little. “Having trouble getting used to the Bond?”

“Bell,” Soren grumbled in warning.

“What?” I said, turning my face to look at him and blinking in faux-ignorance. “I just wanted to say hi.”

“Over my dead fucking body.” Another string of words Soren didn’t seem to realize he was saying until the sentence was over.

I rolled my lips together to hide a smile, especially because I had a sneaking suspicion that I wouldn’t be getting off free of impulsiveness either.

“Ford,” Peter barked, stealing my attention. When my gaze swung back to him, he was staring the newcomer down. That name seemed rather odd for him, slightly too traditional for his rough edges. “Would you care to tell us where Esme is?”

“Right here!” A light, smooth voice called from somewhere in the room.

I followed Ford’s line of sight, assuming he would be the first in the room to find her. At the end of his gaze, I found a lithe, graceful woman walking towards us, twirling the end of her waist-length hair around her finger.

It took me a second, but then it clicked.

I’d seen her before. She was the woman I’d seen when I’d first arrived in the hallway, the one who had simply stepped out of the way when everyone else had slammed themselves into the wall.

She had completely transformed.

In that hallway, she was completely unnoticeable. She’d had her head down, held her shoulders differently, quickened her stride.

Now, she was … commanding.

Not to say she wasn’t beautiful, but her features helped her disappear when she wished. Her hair was a mousier brown, with gentle, deep brown eyes to match. Her beauty was softer, something that took a second to notice if she wished, but she breathed new life into herself when she stood with the confidence and poise she was sporting now.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said to Peter in a calm voice that still held a warmth that made me want to instantly deem her as safe in this room full of vipers.

Peter simply nodded, returning his attention to his clipboard. Ah, so she was his favorite.

“Where were you?” Ford asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn’t speaking with the sternness I’d expect from someone concerned for his Soul Mate’s safety. His tone was colder, like he was more annoyed that he couldn’t answer Peter’s question rather than anything to do with Esme.

“Why? Miss me?” Esme snapped back, walking toward Ford with an emotionless smile plastered on her face. As she walked, there was a slight jingle trailing in her wake. In the hour since I’d seen her, she’d also added on a considerable amount of jewelry. Another layer, it seemed, to her disappearing act.

She was trained to be invisible when needed, that much was clear. When she wasn’t on duty, she was someone who chose to wear stacks of bracelets, layers of necklaces, and small gold hoops trailing up her ear.

“If you’re late, it reflects poorly on me,” Ford returned, completely breezing past Esme’s question.

“Oh Ford, have you considered that’s exactly the outcome I’m looking for?” Esme asked, placing her hand over her heart. Her rings glittered in the artificial light. That meant they were expensive. Our salaries reflected how important we were to the Empire, at least compared to most military wages.