Knight Awakened (Circle of Seven #1) by Coreene Callahan Read Free Book Online

the instant she failed to fall in with his plans.
    She shifted in the saddle, wanting to kick herself. Why hadn’t she played along? It would be much easier now if he believed she was a happy captive. Now he watched her like an alluring angel—a fallen one. Stupid. Idiotic. Completely witless. Why did she always think of these things too late?
    Afina adjusted the sling around her shoulder. Lulled by the steady beat of horses’ hooves, Sabine swung in the well-worn fabric, struggling to keep her eyes open. Afina watched her silver eyelashes flicker and prayed for good fortune. She didn’t hold much hope. Luck had never been a friend of hers, unless, of course, the bad kind counted.
    Afina stifled a snort. Abysmal luck, indeed. Poor decision making had landed her here, not fortune, but she refused to dwell on her failures. No matter how inept her skill, she needed to move forward. She held no sway over the past. It was over and done, but the future lay ahead, and feeling sorry for herself was never a good strategy.
    She huffed. Forget
good
. She would settle for mediocre if it got her far enough away from her captors. It was like being in the middle of a male wolf pack. Silent, muscular ones who wore aggression like a scent.
    Armed to the teeth, their sun-bronzed skin and serious eyes screamed of experience, a depth of skill she didn’t need to see to believe. World-weariness reflected in their faces, sad and startling in its intensity. Could that be why they wore nothing but black? The style of clothing differed, yes, but each wore ebony in one form or another. A strange preference, but one she guessed held importance for them. Instinct warned this group did nothing without reason. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but something told her when Xavian acted, the logic supporting his decision was well thought out in advance.
    There was something unseemly about that. A methodical precision that made her feel safe even as it scared her to death. She felt the push-pull, the fear and attraction each time she looked at him. How could he heat her blood and frighten her at the same time? Was that what Bianca had felt for Bodgan? Had the emotional opposites pulled her sister into a passionate entanglement? Prompted her to meet with him in secret, risk all to have him in her life and rejoice when she found herself with child?
    Afina chewed on her lower lip, weighing the probability. No matter the contradiction, it seemed a distinct possibility. One she disliked...immensely.
    With a frown, she drilled the back of Xavian’s head with a look. She refused to let that happen to her. She wouldn’t permit him to lure her the way Bodgan had lured her sister. Bianca’s death stood as an excellent example. Nothing but pain came from becoming entangled with a man, and Afina intended to remember the important lesson.
    “Look, Mama! Birdie.”
    Yanked from her thoughts by Sabine’s excited chirp, Afina jumped. “Yes, love, I see it.”
    “Pretty.” Pointing to a low-lying branch, her daughter bounced in the sling, swaying against Afina’s side before popping her thumb back in her mouth.
    “It is, but hush,” she said, registering the ripple of masculine power around them. The disturbance, a slight ruffling of muscle, reminded her of how a wolf might react when startled—lip curled, fur standing on end until it found the source of disruption, declared it a non-threat, and smoothed its fine pelt back into order. “We must be quiet, cherub.”
    Xavian glanced over his shoulder, sharp eyes settling on her. Afina bit her bottom lip, quelling a shiver. His gaze swept over her, pushing brittleness into her bones until she felt fragile, as though she might break into tiny pieces. Stiff in the saddle, she feigned confidence, unwilling to show weakness to a man who possessed none.
    Without taking his attention from her, he spoke to Cristobal. The dark man nodded and urged his mount forward as Xavian drew his warhorse to the edge of the path. The