The Traitor A. Lombardo (best thriller novels to read TXT) 📖

confidence in Rayna’s face eased Kai’s mind. “I wondered why you chose this route.” She plucked a blade of grass from his shoulder. “Around the lake instead of straight across.”

Trust was a delicate thing, so Kai chose his words carefully. “I am sorry.” He sat up straight, feeling his strength improve. “I owe you an apology.” He searched her eyes for acceptance, but she remained indifferent. “What can I say?” He felt his words crumbled between them.

Several minutes passed before she spoke. “There is nothing to say.” Kai noticed her withdraw. “You made a choice, and I will admit to being mad the first day, but then I made a choice, which turned out to be wrong. Both of us made mistakes, but it does not change how we feel.”

“Not about leaving.” He turned to catch her eyes with his own. “About kissing Nola. I know you saw us, and for that I am sorry. She cast a spell on me, and I should have tried harder to stop her. I love you, and only you.”

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, but her lips formed the hint of acceptance. “I know. It means a lot you told me.” She cleaned her face and stood dusting the dirt from her knees. “Enough about the past. You need rest. We both do. I can create a natural enclosure to conceal our location. Perhaps over there.” She pointed to a cluster of saplings.

The years visiting this location gave Kai an advantage. He gleaned the area for the Alpha, and he soon discovered that the pack was close. Come to me, he called with his mind. Other animals sensed him and moved in his direction. A mountain lion entered the clearing and sat near the overlook while a hawk landed in the trees above them.

“We can rest here,” Kai said, “but not for long. The Alpha and his pack are coming to secure the area. I wish Smoke were here, but the animals around us will guard us while we sleep.”

The saplings were pencil-thin, sprigs only three feet tall. Under Rayna’s fingers, moss bubbled up through the pine needles and spread in every direction. The trunk of each tree expanded with a bit of her magic. Their thickening trunks shot up eight feet, and their lower branches interlaced, creating an arched shelter. From the ground, she urged evergreen holly to cover the arch and conceal the structure.

“What do you think?” she beamed.

Watching her create structures filled Kai with immense pride. “Wonderful, Rayna.” He turned to see the Alpha. The wolf’s heart pounded in Kai’s ears; his friend was tired. The pack followed a moment later. They had come a great distance in a short time to answer Kai’s call.

For most, it was not every day you called a wild animal to your side, and they came. Kai was honored, given all the pack had suffered in fighting for him last spring.

Thank you. I need your help, protect us while we rest.

The pack fanned out and started to patrol.

Rayna entered first, and Kai followed. Once inside, she sealed the entrance with more vines and foliage. Inside, the moss and pine needles provided a soft place to rest. The concealed space was nearly as dark as a cave, and Kai was asleep before his head hit the ground.

♦ ♦ ♦

Wind-blown embers jumped from rooftop to rooftop, and Diu became a sea of fire. Three-story buildings collapsed into piles of burning rubble. Ash fell like snow from the sky and the smell of death caught in Kai’s dragon nostrils. Everywhere he looked, flames spread to engulf another structure. His city was ablaze, and his people were lost in the chaos.

Kai flew over the Central City Gardens—they were gone. Nothing but ash and cinders. On the east end of the park, the five large oaks had been reduced to smoldering trunks. Memories of Rayna burned alive in her tree flooded his mind. It stuck deep into his heart, so he turned away. He did not want to see any more.

Far across the city, he saw them—Milnos soldiers closing the city gates and locking the Diu people inside. Fury burned in Kai’s throat. An explosion along the warehouse district caught his attention. Screams echoed on the wind, and yellow-orange flames licked at the heels of citizens running through the firestorm. Everyone was dying, and he could do nothing.

Kai woke from his nightmare with screams echoing in his mind. Drenched in sweat, he sat up and ran his hands through his hair. It had been years since a horrific dream had woken him like this.

“Did you have another bad dream?” she asked. “I felt your anguish.”

Kai was thankful for their bond. They were true soulmates. Ever since Keegan tried to burn her alive in her tree, their connection was stronger. He leaned back on his elbows and sighed.

“About your father again?” she turned to look at him.

“No, this was something new.” Sadness overwhelmed him again, and he swallowed hard before continuing. “I saw Diu burn. Milnos men torched the city and locked the people inside the walls. Men, women, and children screamed as the blaze engulfed them. There was nothing I could do.”

“Are you sure it was real? Not sure if this will ease your mind, but I’ve done a lot of reading about dream interpretation. They say fire symbolizes destruction, purification, transformation, or anger. Forgive me for analyzing your nightmare, but you have struggled with your loyalty to Diu and your desire to live in Katori.”

He wrestled with the idea this nightmare was only his inner battle to choose between the two, and not a vision of the future given to him by Alenga.

“It felt so real,” he insisted.

“And it may have been. We both know you have undeniably accurate visions. But this is only one possible future for Diu.”

Her truthful