Free Hunted: The Warrior Chronicles #2 by K.F. Breene

help be damned.”
    Without warning, rage welled up within Cayan. Power boiled and bubbled before blasting the room. He wrestled with his control, quelling his Gift , but not before Sanders’ back straightened and his expression went blank, a sure sign that the commander was in pain.
    Forcing his Gift down, Cayan took a deep breath and entwined his fingers, hiding his shaking hands. “I’m going to be frank.” He kept his voice level and tone somber, trying to hide the conflict within. “I’m sending you to the Duke with gifts—I have every belief he wants to be included in our new alliance, but he wanted us to beg. So I begged, promising him gifts.” Sanders nodded without comment. “And once we have him secured, I’ll be leading an expedition to go after Shanti. I will want you with me.”
    A hard, brown gaze hit Cayan. Incredulity fought with rage in Sanders’ expression. “She takes off, leaves us in the lurch, and now you want to go after her like she’s some runaway child? Excuse the blunt speech, sir, but that is madness. We have no idea where she went, what she’s up to, nor what her grand plans are—she’s a ghost. And you want to leave this city without its Captain to go traipsing after her?”
    “You’ve heard of the emergence of the Chosen on your trade routes.” Cayan waited for the nod. He ignored the corresponding clenched jaw. “And you know that they weren’t talking about Shanti.”
    “Some Inkna was named Chosen. She lied about her title.”
    Cayan’s fingers turned white with tension as he clamped down on that raging inferno within.
    Willing calm, Cayan maintained a steady voice by sheer will. “Her people thought she was the Chosen. She was on the way to merge with her distant kin to continue the war effort. Being called Chosen was a burden to her. Nothing but a weight to hold her down. The actions she took to fulfill that duty were… unspeakable. Yet, she thought she had no choice. No, she didn’t lie. And I’ll bet she wasn’t thinking when she left. The title of Chosen was leading her around by the nose. I should’ve realized it then and used a different approach in speaking with her. But what’s done is done.”
    Sanders’ lips thinned. He obviously didn’t agree, but he didn’t have half the facts. Nor had he heard a quarter of the rumors.
    “She has a full dose of power. As do I. As does the Inkna claiming he’s the Chosen,” Cayan continued. “I don’t know anything about the rightful Chosen, or even how such a person is defined. I also don’t know the myth behind the person called the Wanderer. Both are rumors, as far as I can tell. But I do know that many are stationing themselves throughout the land, trying to intercept this person called the Wanderer. They say she is a woman, and the key to our salvation from the Graygual. Rumors don’t help me, and they aren’t the basis for my decision. Here is what I am sure of…”
    Cayan sat forward and pinned Sanders with his stare. “A power that mates with one of its kind multiplies in strength. Two full doses of power, both rare by themselves, mated, becomes an anomaly. Shanti and I, together, create that anomaly. I also know that Xandre, the pinnacle of this land, the one holding all the power, still ardently seeks her. Chosen or no, he wants her badly. Maybe he just wants her power to mate with the Inkna, I don’t know. But she is important, and she and I together, are essential. That is what I know. I am sure of it. I need her on my side, Sanders. I need her power to mate with mine. It is the key. Without her power, we might as well just sit with our hands out, waiting to be tied and taken. Without my power, she might as well wait for the same. Together, we have a chance. Perhaps our only chance.”
    Sanders shifted. His gaze dropped to the floor, his brow knotted in consternation. Cayan could feel the uncertainty radiating from the battle-hardened commander. “And how do you plan to find her? She’s long