Savage Seed by Ivy Sparks

28

Leslie

I was remindedof a scene from an old movie, where a teacher puts his student through the wringer, repeating what seems like a pointless exercise over and over again.

And then something happens, and the student suddenly realizes the teacher really had been teaching him, and that he really had learned something all along. Something life-saving.

I had been watching Kade and the sand tiger, fascinated by what was happening in front of me. While Ria and company still stood ready, focused on the sand tiger, Kade himself had relaxed. He had finally realized the truth: The sand tiger was an ally.

When Trag rose, blade raised in his good hand, it was as if he moved in slow motion. He charged right at Kade’s back, and I thought, He’s moving so slowly. How can Kade not see him coming?

But then I realized it wasn’t that Trag was moving slowly. It was that I was moving faster.

I couldn’t really say how the next moment happened. Muscle memory? New instincts not yet needed? Regardless, while Trag was moving toward Kade, I was moving toward Trag, my good old trusty knife in my hand.

As he began his lunge at Kade, I managed to intercept him, coming in low and burying my blade deep into his ribs. He stopped dead in his tracks, his shocked eyes looking down at the blade in his side, then up at me.

I could hear the yells of everyone around me as they finally reacted. I could hear the roar of the sand tiger. But my focus stayed on Trag, even as I saw Kade’s foot in the sand beneath us, kicking Trag’s blade away.

Trag snarled at me, and I knew it was his final act. He was an ugly, leering, disgusting example of a man. When I first entered the Resh Xeki tribe, I had thought all of Kade’s people must have been like Trag. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Trag was the exception, not the rule.

Kade’s people were strong and fierce. But they were also open in ways I never could have imagined. They were strict and practiced in the ways of the warrior. But they could also create beautiful gardens.

As I watched Trag fall to the ground, and his eyes closed for the last time… I felt very little. Killing Trag was no different from killing a sand beast. He was a monster and represented the very worst of Kade’s people. We were all better off without him.

I turned my head and saw Ria standing next to me, also looking down at Trag. Had she cared about him? Would she be angry with me for what I did?

But when she looked at me, I saw nothing but understanding. And maybe a little sadness. “You did well, Leslie.”

Her words made my eyes water as the fact that I had just killed a man truly dawned on me. But it was the right thing to do. And I knew that the training she put me through was the reason I could take him down. Kade might have been dead otherwise. Unable to speak, I gave her shoulder a little squeeze. She nodded, understanding the gesture was one of appreciation.

I looked around at the rest of our little crew. They all shared similar expressions: grim and disappointed but, ultimately, understanding. They were warriors, and although I had a very, very long way to go, I had dealt with Trag in the way a warrior would.

Finally, I looked up at Kade, who was still staring down at Trag blankly.

“Kade?” I whispered, putting my hand on his arm. “You okay?”

He finally looked at me, the confused furrow of his brow slowly fading. “Yes,” he said. “I’m fine.” He looked at Ria and the rest of the crew. “Take Trag’s body and dump it far from this camp. Let the sand beasts have at him.”

The four of them quickly picked up Trag’s body, as if this was a ritual they’d done many times before. A moment later, they had disappeared into the darkness of the desert, leaving Kade and me alone with the sand tiger.

“And you,” Kade said to the sand tiger, his voice tinged with surprisingly good humor. “How about a little privacy?”

The sand tiger bowed her head in a way that was impossible to tell if she understood or not… But then she backed into the darkness just the same.

Kade turned to me and cupped my chin in his palm. I looked up at him, wrapping my arms as far around his waist as they would go.

“I’m rarely surprised,” he said, his dark eyes burrowing into mine. “But tonight… Tonight is an exception.”

“Oh?” I asked. “Surprised about what? That I could handle myself?”

He laughed. “No, not that. I was talking more about the friendly sand tiger that seems to be…” He paused. “Well, she seems to be more than meets the eye, I’ll say.”

He smiled slightly when he said that. What had he seen when he’d been face to face with the sand tiger? Did he see something I hadn’t? I’d be sure to ask him later. But for now, I just needed a kiss.

I stood on my tiptoes and he got the hint, leaning down and planting one on me. It was a sweet kiss, his tongue brushing just enough of my lower lip to hint at what was to come later.

“Wow,” he said, looking down at my chest.

“What? It’s not like you haven’t gotten a look at them before.”

“Leslie,” he said softly. “Look.”

I frowned, but did as he asked. I saw immediately what had gotten his attention. My mother’s necklace, which I had finally come to think of as my own, was glowing brightly. Brighter than I had ever seen it.

There was no point in denying it any longer. Any remaining doubts I had that Kade was my fated mate were quieted now. I looked back up at him and could see in his eyes that he was thinking the same thing.

“Leslie. I’ve hesitated to ask this. You’ve wanted to return to your father—and your people—so desperately, it seemed selfish and unfair.”

“Ask,” I said. “Please.”

“Leslie, I love you. I’ve always loved you. Stay with me.”

The moment hung in the air for what felt like an eternity.

“Well, that’s not really a question,” I joked awkwardly. Kade blinked slowly once, sighing with quiet patience.

“Leslie,” he said. “Will you stay with me?”

I took his hands in mine, looked up into his warm emerald eyes, and with all of my heart, I answered him. “Kade. I’d never leave your side. You’ve had my heart from the moment we met. I love you.”

Having finally admitted it to myself as much as to him, I wrapped my arms around his sturdy body. He was my rock, my mate, and I knew in my heart we would be together for as long as I lived.