Bodyguards

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Book: Bodyguards by Kallysten Read Free Book Online
Authors: Kallysten
imagine killing her,
but on the other, he had sworn to protect Dame Vivien long before Ciara had
made him what he was.
    “I’m sorry,” Bradan said.
    Aedan inclined his head, and for a
moment they were silent. The candle flame wavered a little, but the ambient
light grew as the drapes failed to block sunlight completely.
    “Is there anything else?” Bradan
asked at last, still very quiet, but his eyes suddenly a little sharper.
    “Like what?”
    “Like why you were so mad at her
last night?”
    Before Aedan could suppress it,
anger flashed through him. Bradan would feel that, undoubtedly.
    “She doesn’t know anything,” he
said, trying to control his emotions. “Not who she is, not what she was born to
do. She tried to escape from us and could have run straight into the king’s
hands.” He gritted his teeth. “And...”
    He didn’t finish. He couldn’t
finish. At the time, it had seemed like anger was a perfectly appropriate
response, but now he realized he might have overreacted.
    “And?” Bradan prompted, an eyebrow
raised questioningly.
    “And she asked why I wasn’t using
the Quickening.”
    Bradan’s lips twisted into an
unhappy smile. “You said it yourself. She doesn’t know. Why don’t you tell
her?”
    Scoffing, Aedan slipped out of bed
and strode to the washing room on the side of the room, leaving the door open
behind him. He pumped water into the washing basin and threw over his shoulder,
“I don’t need her pity.”
    A shiver ran down his spine, a
sure enough sign that Bradan was channeling; when Aedan dipped his hands in the
water, he wasn’t surprised to find that Bradan had warmed it.
    “I don’t need yours, either,” he
muttered before splashing water over his face.
    The second shiver wasn’t warning
enough for the sharp smack on his ass. He whirled around, glowering as he
strode back into the bedroom.
    “Are you done feeling sorry for
yourself?” Bradan asked, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Or do you want me to kick some sense back into you?”
    Baring his teeth, Aedan growled.
What was the expression from the Otherworld Bradan had taught to him?
    Oh, yes.
    “Bring it on.”
    Bradan grinned.
     
    * * * *
     
    Vivien woke to the sound of
clashing metal. Images of the woods flashed through her mind, of the men Aedan
had killed—the men who would have taken her like they had taken Anabel. Her
heart jumped in her throat. Could those men be here now? Brad had said she was
safe, he had talked of shields protecting the house, but what if—
    A laugh—two laughs, barely
distinguishable as they echoed with the same joy—tempered her growing worry.
She slipped out of bed and approached the window. When she drew the curtains
open, she had to blink several times to adjust to the brightness of the sky
beyond the glass. The window opened inward, and she had to lean against the
sill and look down to find the source of the laughter.
    Down below, a small, enclosed
courtyard was bathed in shadows. By the end of the day, it would probably be in
full sunlight, but at the moment it was protected from the sun by the castle.
In the middle of the courtyard, Brad and Aedan were circling each other.
    Brad held a sword, clutching the
hilt with both hands, while Aedan was fighting with his knives like he had in
the woods—which was how she knew who was who. Without those knives, she doubted
she would have been able to tell them apart. They both wore dark pants and were
both shirtless. Even from where she stood above them, Vivien could see the play
of muscles in their arms and back. When she shivered, it had nothing to do with
the temperature, already warm even although it was still early.
    She let out a quiet gasp when
Aedan lunged forward, both knives slashing toward Brad. With a wide sweep of
his sword, Brad stopped both knives before they could get to him. The sound of
metal on metal was like bells; so was Brad’s laughter.
    It suddenly struck Vivien that,
for all the

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