Return to Shanhasson by Joely Sue Burkhart Read Free Book Online Page B

calm a façade. A warrior took what
he wanted and then kept it, or he was no warrior. His instinct demanded he haul
her up before him on his golden stallion and gallop straight for the Plains.
    “Drendon’s last messenger said the Camps
are already moving toward Vulkar’s Mountain. I’ll delay the Summer Gathering
until you arrive.”
    The Summer Gathering was the one time
each year that all Nine Camps met on the banks of the Silver Lake at the foot
of Vulkar’s Mountain. Camp status would be challenged and adjusted, and
warriors might challenge their khuls for leadership of each Camp. In fact, any
khul might decide that Rhaekhar should no longer be the supreme Khul of the
Sha’Kae al’Dan. Although looking at his impressive warrior physique and the
heavy braids of beads in his hair, she didn’t think such blind stupidity very
likely. Each bead represented a battle in which Khul had been victorious, and
it was no boast to say he was the most honored warrior on the Plains.
    Not trusting herself to speak, she
simply nodded. Although his people had certainly come a long way from the
outright fear and hatred many had exhibited when she’d first come to the
Plains, the khuls would not be pleased if they had to wait for her to arrive
before Khul would hear their grievances. It was no easy feat to graze thousands
of horses and keep so many warriors occupied.
    “Don’t delay too long, my heart.”
    She pressed against Khan’s flank and
wrapped her hands around Rhaekhar’s bare thigh. Someone in the watching group
of gossipers gasped, but she ignored them. “Three days.”
    “And three nights,” he growled, the
muscle flexing beneath her. His hands tightened on the reins and he shifted in
the saddle, but Khan was too well trained to prance aside in response. “Plus
your own saddle time to catch me. Now I know where we got the name ‘Three
Hells.’”
    She couldn’t help a small laugh. “Poor
Khul. Perhaps I should bring an extra vial of that oil home with me in order to
make it up to you.”
    Leather creaked as he leaned down. He
stroked his thumb across her lips. “Do so. I believe the promise I made to you
was perfectly clear.”
    She swallowed hard and refused to sneak
a quick peek at her Blood she knew stood at her back. “Are you sure that’s a
promise you’re willing to keep?”
    “Absolutely.” He laughed softly, still
stroking her lips. “Sal offered to let you eat him up. Let’s see if he
survives.”
    Despite his teasing, she knew what he
wanted. He wouldn’t with a whole herd of outlanders watching their every move.
But she would.
    Fisting her hands in his hair, she
dragged his mouth to hers.
    On a low rumble of approval, he
straightened and hauled her up into his lap. Tangled in his long hair,
surrounded by his strength, bonded through his love, she kissed him with no
reservations. Flung wide open, her heart, mind, and bond were his. As golden as
his eyes, his bond lit the darkest corners of her soul. Where she carried
Shadow, he brought light and warmth and unquestioning love. The best gift she
could give him was to let him see and know her heart as no other.
    They may have loved and lived together for
years, but only rarely did she show such vulnerability. She never wanted him to
be stained by her darkness or turn aside in horror at what he might see in her
heart.
    :Never.: His bond blazed, a beacon so bright that even the indestructible glowing red of
nine Blood bonds dimmed in comparison. :I
will never turn aside from you, Shannari. My heart is yours. My love is
unshakeable.:
    :Even
when darkness swallows me whole?:
    :Then
all I possess will be swallowed as well. We shall not surrender this kae’don, na’lanna. I shall never
surrender you, not while I have breath in my body.:
    His bond shone in her mind, his body an
invincible shelter. How she longed to simply curl up in his arms and let him
carry her away from the constant political turmoil, endless assassins, and grim
destiny.
    She felt