The sun had yet to rise over the Eastern Mountains when the four of them packed up their belongings and headed out of the city. They had a hearty breakfast and real coffee, and stopped at the markets to replenish their supplies. The innkeeper did not say how far up the mountain the village was and they had no idea if they’d be able to find food. Kanisa also bought extra cloaks and blankets because Western shores were warm and the others did not understand just how far the temperature could drop in the mountains.Near the edge of the market, Kanisa grew distracted by hanging parchments covered in artwork. The sunlight danced on one image in particular, making the flame look alive.“You like ink?” a voice asked next to her.Kanisa turned and smiled at the proprietor of the tent. He was barefoot and bare-chested, showing off the scrolls of tattoos that covered his body.“You’re very talented,” Kanisa said.“Do you have some?”Kanisa nodded and took off her tunic to show the man.“Very go
Sora Gulden did not have a helpful plan beyond what he told the villagers when he left almost eight years before.Kanisa lay awake that night, with Conrad curled against her, and tried to figure out what Sora Gulden was planning. What came next?Kindle Dee snorted from the other bed where she slept with her sister. The Earth Knights Village did not have many beds. Most preferred to sleep outdoors, against the ground. Even without being knights themselves, they enjoyed the feel of the Earth beneath their skin.It gave Kanisa a reason to sleep next to her lover. Though Conrad felt like a hearth blazing with fire in the middle of the winter when he slept.Kanisa turned on her side and watched him sleep.Sora Gulden’s only plans when he left the Earth Knights Village was to get to the city and do some research to figure out where the other Knights lived. He had always been so studious, his father had said. He had stumbled upon Falcon, the Knight of Air, and his little brother Fangs, short
Kanisa was only vaguely aware of people stopping to watch Miyavi work. She concentrated on the touch of the needles, the swipe of cloth, the caress of talented fingers.“That’s enough for today,” Miyavi said.Kanisa moaned in disappointment.Laughing, Miyavi cleaned up her skin, and then moved around his tent. Kanisa lay on the table, noting how low in the sky the sun was and how sore her muscles were.“You know the steps in protecting what I have done?”Kanisa nodded. “I need some healing oils though. I left mine at the cas-the last place I lived.”Miyavi grinned at the slip but did not question him. “Come back in three days. We’ll either finish it, or we’ll get some more work done on it.”===========Conrad called her crazy when he saw the new ink. Kindle Dee and Kindle Lou laughed. Especially when she tried to sit on anything or anywhere. She did not sleep much, and spent late and early morning hours down at the hall of the inn, drinking to dull the sting.“Lover not putting out?”
Dawn barely touched the peaks of the snow covered mountains as they made their way through the city. Vendors had only just opened their stalls, and the smell of fresh baked bread and sweets lofted through the air. It was chilly enough that Kanisa pulled up the hood on her cloak and they left the city without being stopped, though they noticed that those trying to enter the city were being searched.“Good timing,” Kindle Dee muttered.Kanisa agreed, especially when she caught sight of a poster that may or may not have had her face on it pasted inside the guard post.The trip to the capital city from Daranoon was a shorter journey than the one across the country. Even riding slow, they had only a short time to decide what to do.“We need to stay alert,” Kindle Dee said. “What if Sora is up at the Garden Village already?”“Well, we could not wait to find out, and to go into the mountains would cut off our fastest and best route to the castle,” Kindle Lou said. “He can catch up. And maybe
Kanisa pulled her horse level with Dawn’s. The young man looked exhausted, but he smiled at Kanisa anyway.“You are a little sneaky,” Kanisa said, “knowing who I was at the castle and saying nothing.”“Sora told me not to. He has always said that the less I know and the less other people know then the less they can be hurt or taken advantage of.”“Which is why he was so cryptic with me.”“Partly. And because he said you were smart enough to figure it out on your own.”“Figure out what?” Kanisa mumbled.Dawn shrugged. “I do not know. I do know that Sora suspected that King Horgwart was not as pure and just as we all thought, but he did not elaborate. All he told me was that if he did not come to the stables for a ride--”“--what kind of a ride?” Falcon asked with a grin.Dawn ignored him. “--every week then something happened to him. I waited two weeks and Sora did not come. He said to go to the Garden Village and meet up with my brother and you, if you were there.”“I hope Sora is oka
“Like you could destroy the world,” Falcon said, lifting a hand to touch Kindle Lou’s cheek. Kindle Lou jerked her head back, but Falcon only smiled and touched down her neck. Kindle Lou’s eyes shut with a sigh, and she tilted her head back.Conrad nodded.“I do not use my powers often,” Falcon continued, trailing his fingers along Kindle Lou’s skin, “but it felt like ... like I had three times as much power coursing through me. Steal the breath from their lungs, and I could rearrange the way the wind blew all over the world. It was ...”“Alluring,” Kindle Lou said.Falcon smirked. “I was going to say erotic, but alluring works, too. Just laying here, it’s ... different. Well, definitely erotic because my head is in your lap, but I meant my power.”Kindle Lou rolled her eyes. “I figured that.” And then smiled and actually ran her finger down Falcon’s jaw. “Thanks for stopping the arrow.”“Sorry about your horse.”“I will miss her. I hope she did not suffer long.”She sighed. “We need t
There was silence and then Kindle Lou asked, “What do we do then? We cannot leave Sora at the capitol. Especially if the king knows of his power.”Kanisa nodded. “There is no choice. We have to continue and deal with the consequences as they come. And hope that Sora has not been captured.”“He probably has,” Conrad said.Kanisa frowned, but nodded. “I do hope he is all right.”“Let’s try something else,” Kindle Lou said in the silence. “Conrad!” She flung her hand up and a ball of water shot into the sky.Conrad smiled and followed it with his eyes before flinging flame at it. The water dried up with a hiss of steam.Kindle Lou smirked. “But now ...” She moved over to Falcon and put her arm around his bare waist, fingers trailing over skin. Falcon smiled and then shivered. “Falcon is on my team.” Kindle Lou turned around and flung the water high again.Again, Conrad waited, but when he threw a flame at it, the blob of water twisted in a burst of air and fell toward the ground.Kindle
They walked deeper into the village. The houses were closer together, some even sharing walls. How could you be so close to your neighbor and yet ignore them on the street?At one house, Dawn walked up rickety steps to a door. The neighbor’s door was only a few inches from this one. He knocked softly, and in a pattern. When no one came to the door, he tried a bit louder. The window on the neighbor’s house shifted.Dawn took a deep breath and knocked again.This time, the door flew open, answered by a woman wearing nothing more than breeches tied low at her hips. Her hair was auburn, almost red, and long, blowing in the breeze and brushing almost to her stomach. Her bright blue eyes widened in shock.“Dawn.” It was a whisper of breath, awed and confused.“Hi Flora,” Dawn said just before he was yanked forward, against the woman’s chest, and hugged tightly. His face pressed almost into her breast since he was standing one stair lower.“God, Dawn, what the hell? Where the hell have you b