Free Dominion of the Star (Descendants of the Fallen Book 1) by Angelica Clyman Page B

from me, and that was okay. She had her reasons. I always
tried to take care of her, but it was probably the other way around, no matter
how much I fought it…
    “But it just built up in me. I
was sick of being on the short end of the stick. Sick to death. Nothing changes
except who’s on top, so I knew I had to be on the winning side of the struggle.
I had to be stronger. So I joined Za’in, took my mark, and I got stronger. I
was climbing, and Kit was with me. I can’t even say that I did things I wasn’t
proud of, it was never a question of that. I was backing the right horse.
Nothing else really mattered. Still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy that
she couldn’t be marked, that Za’in couldn’t figure her out. It was what he
deserved for trying. What did he need to know for anyways? She did as she was
told, she made herself useful — she knows how to survive. But I’ve seen what
he’s capable of. She’s been gone for too long, and if anything happens to her…”
He trailed off, the hand at his side curling into a fist. He didn’t move again
until later that morning when he left the room.
    Kayla had wanted to reach out
for him then, to touch his clenched fingers, but she was afraid of any of the
possible consequences she could imagine for that action. Her frozen indecision
led to a fitful sleep. Now, as she lay there alone, she felt even further from
rest.
    Light had started to enter the
room through two small windows. She noticed that although his room was larger
than Kittie’s, there wasn’t much of a difference between them. Kayla rolled
over, her face pressed against the pillow that Jeremy had given up to her last
night. She told herself that her stillness in this position had nothing to do
with the scent she caught in each deep breath.
    She knew she had stayed here
long enough daydreaming, and soon it would be time for her lesson with
Sebastian. Kayla’s fingers trailed over the creased sheets, wondering if her
emotional responses had become twisted in some way, but she knew that it was
useless to feign horror at lying in a killer’s bed or training with a man he
feared. Her concern for Kittie was real, but it was hard to connect those
feelings with the ones regarding either of these men. She allowed her thoughts
to drift a few more moments before straightening her clothes and rushing to
meet Sebastian.
    By the time she neared his
doors, Kayla was already late. Jeremy’s room was not too far removed from
Kittie’s, but from this new starting point it was difficult to find her
bearings in a place where so much looked the same. Rounding a corner, she
stumbled at the unusual sight of Sebastian sitting on the floor of the hallway,
right in front of her destination.
    She rushed toward him. “I’m
sorry I’m late,” she called out, smiling.
    He rose slowly, his movements
deliberate. Kayla’s steps halted, an inexplicable threat of violence causing
her body to tense into stillness, her grin vanishing.
    “Was your room uncomfortable?”
he asked quietly.
    “No!” She stopped, flustered,
then tried speaking again more softly. “No.”
    Sebastian came closer to her.
“I understand the burden of training in isolation, but I suggest that you don’t
linger in any of my soldier’s rooms tonight.”
    This was the first time since
their initial training exercise that she was truly afraid of this man. “I’m
sorry.” She didn’t understand why she felt so ashamed.
    He rested his hand on her
shoulder and spoke with his face close to hers, his voice quiet. “Saros is an
excellent Arch, but he’s not the sort of man I thought you would give in to. He
doesn’t act on principle and isn’t motivated by morals. You wouldn’t be his
first conquest, but you would be convenient, for now. Drawing you in with the
romance of a somber face and a clenched fist… Kayla, remember how we spoke
about guarding your unique energy against those things of the world that would
ensnare you?”
    She turned