Warrior's Rise (20 page)

She blinked in confusion. “Help?” She frowned. “What kind of help?”

As if on cue, Darien and the others came tramping up behind them, carrying bags and weapons aplenty.

Willow gasped and her eyes widened as she looked at the kids. She felt her eyes blaze fire and she took a step back from Logan, slapping him across the cheek.

Logan frowned. “What
is
this?” he cried. “Abuse Logan month? Come on, lady! Kiss me one minute and slap me the next? Maybe you want to take a turn at stabbing me too!”

She scowled. “How could you involve them in this?” She stabbed her finger at the kids. “They’re just children! Human children!”

“Excuse me!” Colt protested. “We’re all
teenagers,
thank you very much! I haven’t sucked on a pacifier for some time now!”

He huffed and met her eyes. “Miss Willow, you’ve been my teacher at this camp for the last, what, six years? I have loved coming here. You’re more than a teacher to me. You’re my friend. Now, I just found out that I’m not even human, that I have a brother, and a whole slew of fairy relatives that are now my responsibility to protect.”

Willow shook her head. “Darien, it isn’t your responsibility—“

“It
is
my responsibility! It’s mine and Logan’s! We are Alveda d’Kai! We are supposed to fight for the Avari and protect the Avari. You aren’t in charge of this one, Miss Willow!”

Her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms. Dragon warrior or not, he was still an impertinent teenager and she was not about to let him get away with pulling rank. “I am in charge of everything!” she shouted. “I’m the queen, in case you forgot, young man! My word is law! And I say they are
not
getting involved in this!” She pointed at the group of bewildered-looking kids.

“My apologies,
Your Majesty,”
Darien mocked in the way only an eighteen-year-old could. “I guess I should have just let Cyrcinus and her men slaughter you all in your sleep last night.” He folded his arms. “Since I obviously have no idea what I’m talking about and am only a
child
.”

“Okay, okay, enough,” Logan tried to interrupt.

Willow ignored him. She narrowed her eyes at Darien. “Now you listen here and you listen—”

“I said
enough!”

Logan’s voice reverberated through the trees and echoed through the quiet forest like thunder. The sheer power of it made Willow jump, and everyone else went completely silent. He huffed and took Willow by the shoulders. “Willow, look at me.”

His voice held more command than any royal or noble of any race she had ever known. She looked up at him, still stunned, but also still angry. “Logan, you can’t—”

“Look at me!” He gave her a little shake.

She did. Tingles worked all the way down her spine and back again at the look in his eyes. Fire. Pure and simple. Deep, burning, determined fire that was stunning, unexpected and sinfully sexy.

“Those kids are the most competent of us all,” he stated. “I will not let them get hurt. I would
never
put them in harm’s way.”

She swallowed. Some of her fury was abating, but she struggled to hang onto it. She had been the one in charge for years. She made the rules. No one contested her word. No one ever tried. She was the queen…
Get over it, Willow. You’re a terrible queen. You run and hide while he would defend your people when he doesn’t even know them. He’s known about his heritage for less than twenty-four hours and has already confronted the enemy and come up with some kind of plan. That’s more than you’ve done in the last ten years.

She looked down, self loathing like she had never known washing over her. She shook her head. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she said softly. Not the kids. They were human. They didn’t even belong in her world.

“Willow.” His demanding voice turned into a warm, magnetic purr and he lifted her chin. “Please,” he murmured. “Trust me.”

There was no way she could deny him that small request. Not when he was looking at her the way he was. He and Darien had stopped Cyrcinus from finding their village. They had bought the Avari time. They had formed some kind of game plan. They cared. They wanted to help her people win their freedom. After years of the Avari being no better than scattered, lost sheep, someone cared enough to help them find a path. Logan cared. Logan and Darien. They were so opposite, and yet she was coming to see that they were so much the same.

Trust was not something Willow was particularly good at. Not when she’d spent her whole life looking over her shoulder. She was used to being in control, but she knew she hadn’t really been in control for awhile now. Could she relinquish what little power she still had to a man she barely knew? Who had seemed like such a loser when she’d met him? Could she trust him with her life? The lives of the kids? The lives of her people? Logan Savage, who was he, really?

He’s the one.

Her heart skipped several beats as those words shimmered in her mind. She started to tremble.
The one?
she asked herself.
The one to do what?

Everything.

She forced herself to meet his eyes again and she knew it was true. The last of his kind. Maybe he’d only been a careless, selfish human before, but that was before he’d known what he was, before his instincts had awakened. Now he was something altogether different. She saw it in his eyes. She heard it in his voice. She felt it in his touch. He was the one who could change everything, her entire existence. It terrified her. It exhilarated her.

She rolled her eyes, but felt her cheeks flush. She quickly stepped past him before she started to sparkle again. Like she wanted to hear
that
from her brother. She went to Darien and grasped his hands in hers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” She looked at the others. “And you’re not children, I know. I just worry about you.”

Colt shrugged. “It’s cool.” He smiled.

She grinned. “Come on, I’ll show you back to the village.” She turned and headed back, running her hand down Logan’s arm in a sweeping caress as she walked past.

Chapter Twenty

As Willow strode through her village, she couldn’t help but smile. In only two weeks time, Logan and Darien had managed to transform everything. What had before been a bunch of wide-eyed, frightened people were now full of life, laughter and hope. The way they looked at it, their beloved warriors had returned to them, and they finally stood a chance.

The Royal House had become the main hub of activity, as Logan had immediately turned it into more of a fort than a royal structure. Darien and Lucy spent most of their time in the courtyard, training the men as best they could and trying to teach them how to be soldiers. Willow had to admit, though it didn’t come naturally to them, her people weren’t doing half bad.

Aki ran a mean kitchen and all of the men were practically in love with her because of her culinary skills. Doug spent most of his time slaving over books on the art of war, and Colt was really more like everyone’s biggest cheerleader and number one fan. He kept everyone laughing and their spirits boosted.

Willow had settled everything back at the camp, telling Counselors Linda and John that she and Logan were taking the older kids for a special activity. She’d had little protests, aside from the fact that they had to pick up her slack.

Darien had become a fast favorite among most everyone in her village. She wasn’t surprised. Alveda d’Kai men had often been encouraged to mate with Avari women. Darien was the perfect product of such a union. His natural consideration and kindness only made him that much more likable.

Logan had turned into a pied piper of sorts when it came to the Avari children. All ages, boys and girls, seemed to adore him. It baffled him and made Willow laugh to see them following him everywhere he went, wanting him to tell them stories, teach them what he was doing, or make them into warriors.

Neither she nor Logan had brought up their kiss. It was something that wasn’t talked about, but remained in the air between them whenever they were near one another. They’d adopted an easy-going friendship heavily laden with sexual tension, but to Willow’s amazement, he never made a move. He insinuated, he gave her blatant signals, but never crossed the line. It was almost as if he was waiting for her to do it, for her to make the move, for her to have to admit straight out that she wanted him. It was something her pride wouldn’t allow her to do. He was used to women giving into him and, despite the way her heart fluttered at his nearness, or how much her treasonous face sparkled, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Logan himself had undergone nothing short of a metamorphosis. After coming to some sort of peace within himself, he’d embraced the Avari culture and the world beyond the portal. He’d thrown himself full force into training the Avari men how to fight and was looked up to and respected by every single member of her tribe. He was a looked upon as a hero to many, the one who had come to liberate them. Willow could hardly believe he was the same person who had walked into her office almost a month ago.

She remembered that day so clearly. He’d been so stuck on himself, so arrogant and cocky. She’d wanted to smack him one. He’d thought he was God’s gift to women, and apparently, the entire universe. Now, though he still made his smug comments and carried his boastful attitude, he was calm, poised and kind. The man who had so famously insulted everything not himself when he’d first come into the camp was now respectful and patient. He didn’t always understand everything that was going on around him, for her culture was different than his, but he didn’t mock it and didn’t bash it. He observed, learned, and continued. He was tolerant of the children that followed him and gentle with them. He played. He teased. He laughed. And Willow could have been imagining it, but she could have sworn that an inner light shone from his eyes that had not been there before.

Her frown deepened, but she headed over to the old man’s tent anyway. She stepped inside and bowed in respect to the one who was looked upon as the wise one of the village. He smiled up at her and motioned for her to sit down across from him. Willow obeyed, blinking to let her eyes adjust to the dark, dusty room.

“How is the training coming?” he asked her.

She raised an eyebrow. He’d wanted to speak to her just to ask her that question? She nodded. “Decent. Our men are taking to some of the skills.”

He smiled, the action making the deep wrinkles in his face seem even more profound. “The people are very happy to have Alveda d’Kai amongst them once again.”

She nodded. “Yes, we are very lucky to have found them.”

He sighed. “The people have been coming to me, talking.” He met her eyes. “They want to do the First Warrior ceremony.”

Her attention snapped to the old man and she stared at him for a few heartbeats. She swallowed, her throat feeling suddenly dry. “For who? Logan or Darien?”

“For both of them.”

She swallowed again and averted her eyes. “What do you think?”

“I think it is a good idea. It is a tradition that has been in our culture for as long as the Alveda d’Kai fought alongside us. It would give the people hope, let them know that this good fortune is real. It will boost morale for the battle to come.”

She sighed, hearing and understanding his words, but hating the way her stomach turned in protest at the idea.

“There are many suitable women among our tribe,” he added.

She resisted the urge to scowl at that little addendum. She stood abruptly. “I will let them know. Thank you, Elder.” She gave another hasty bow and all but fled the tent, finding it much too constricting at the moment.

Once outside, she took a deep breath and tried to force her heart to beat normally. What was the matter with her anyway? Elder Ember was right. Her people needed all the help they could get. And the First Warrior ceremony was an honor.

Rounding a corner and coming into a clearing, she spotted Logan trying his hand at a bow and arrow. She stopped in her tracks and stared at him for a second, her heart leaping like it wanted to fly right out of her chest and run over to him. She scowled and placed her hand firmly over her heart, as if doing so would show it who was boss.

He looked amazing as he readied the bow and pulled the string back. Darien had immediately adopted wearing the medieval-style dress of her people, but Logan still dressed in the way of humans. He wore a pair of army green cargo pants low on his hips and a tight black shirt that showed off every beautiful and sculpted muscle he owned. Power radiated off of his form. He squinted as he tried to get the target in his sight, then let the arrow fly… And fly it did. Right over the target and into the middle of the forest, probably never to be seen again.