Free Rhal Part 4 by Erin Tate Page A

wrenched the guard’s head to the side, exposing his vulnerable neck. The male struggled, but there was no reason. Rhal fa Adar, the king’s specter of death, did not lose his prey.
    “Do you see this blade?” Rhal held it high, allowing the male to see the gleaming metal. “ Do you? ”
    “Yes,” the male whispered and trembled.
    “And what do you see?” Kaag didn’t immediately reply, and Rhal lowered his voice and whispered in the male’s ear. “Tell me.” Kaag whimpered, the shakes increasing, and a subtle change in the male’s shudders had Rhal speaking once more. “Don’t piss yourself. Do that, and this may last forever.”
    “Rhal?” Cara’s voice reached him and yet it didn’t. It was like a gentle breeze against his scales, noticable, but it held no strength.
    “Now tell me what you see?” Rhal flipped the blade between his fingers, the hilt and length perfectly balanced.
    “Death.” The word was said with a soft exhale.
    “Yes,” Rhal confirmed. The sight of a blade in his hands, this blade in particular, told of death. “Death for your touch and death for risking her life days ago.”
    Sudal had a hand in the game, but there was no doubt this Kaag did as well.
    “Rhal?” Her voice was more insistent, drawing some of his attention to her, but he would not break his concentration.
    Family. Truth. Ujal. The first king’s words finally held meaning to him. Meaning to the male who’d been raised without a single touch of caring now understood family.
    There was more hidden within that word, though. Justice. Strength. Vengeance.
    “I should take my time, remove the fingers that dared touch what belongs to me.” More whimpers, more trembles. “But I do not wish to waste my time. Say your prayers to the sea and make your peace.”
    The male’s lips trembled, a jumbled prayer and plea leaving his mouth.
    “ Rhal! ” Cara snapped at him, but he would not be interrupted in his task.
    Rhal lowered his blade, the sharpened metal that had tasted hundreds of bodies. It was his killing blade, his weapon of justice and treachery. It did as demanded just as Rhal had for so many years. He was intent on the male’s throat, relishing the fear that coated Kaag and looking forward to the blood that would coat his hands. It would be warm and slick, slide over his black scales as life left the male. He brought the knife closer, few inches separating the gleaming metal from flesh. It would—
    A small hand stopped him, the fingers curled around his wrist, digging into his scales. The person jerked against him, yanked his arm and forced his downward strike to slow… to stutter… to…
    Rhal followed the line of that pale arm, coral tinting the skin, higher until he finally met Cara’s gaze.
    “Stop.” She ordered, her bright eyes intent on his. He tugged against her hold. “I said stop.”
    He bared his teeth, hoping to scare her away. “He touched you.”
    His mate remained in place. “He’s not worth it, Rhal.”
    Rhal narrowed his eyes, glaring at her and then the male he still clutched. Hope filled Kaag’s eyes, and he hated seeing that emotion on his face. “No one touches what is mine.” He tugged on her hold. “Release me.”
    “No.” She dared.
    She. Dared.
    Did she not know who she stood before? Otta cowered in the corner, afraid of him. The male in his grip trembled, afraid of him. This female glared. Gave him a look that promised her own flavors of retribution if he did not relent.
    And the darkness in him begged to retreat. It no longer wished to taste blood but ached to return a smile to her face. He did not believe he was wrong, but he was willing to wait until he was no longer forced to meet her gaze. He would return in the night, creep into Kaag’s quarters and exact his vengeance then. The male would never touch a female without permission again.
    Rhal released the male and shoved him to the ground, no longer wishing to have his stench on his skin. “You owe your life to