Binding Ties The Sentinel Wars - Shannon K. Butcher Page 0,13

and went to find Lyka.

Chapter 4

Lyka shivered, hugging herself as she huddled against the inside of the door to her moonlit suite.

Joseph had almost touched her.

His hand had been only inches from her wrist—so close she could feel the heat of his skin and a warning tingle of danger.

She scrubbed at the spot, but it did nothing to erase the memory of that strange sensation. It did even less to remove her from the danger that lurked here inside the plush, comfortable surroundings of Dabyr.

She knew what that tingle meant. She’d heard the stories all her life about the way Theronai recognized their mates. It wasn’t through scent, like her kind, but through touch. When skin met skin, a man and woman could both feel a buzzing tingle that told them they were compatible—that the woman would be able to wield the power raging inside the man. That’s when he would claim her. Collar her. Tie her to him irrevocably for the rest of their lives.

Lyka didn’t want that. Not with Joseph. Not with anyone. She wanted to be with her own kind and choose a Slayer mate.

Or none at all.

She was tired of having the men around her decide what she could and couldn’t do. Even her brother, who was enlightened for one of their kind, still believed in the old ways. He still believed he had a right to use her as a tool to end the war with the Theronai. He even had the gall to say she should be happy to be so useful—that she was saving the lives of their people by staying at Dabyr and behaving.

As if. Behaving wasn’t her strong suit, and he damn well knew it.

And look where it had gotten her. She’d nearly been touched tonight by a man who could uncover her secret and destroy her life. If word got out that her mother had diluted her Slayer blood by screwing one of the Athanasians, no Slayer would want her. There were strict laws about breeding among her kind, and the children resulting from unapproved unions were often shunned. Sometimes even exiled.

She couldn’t see Andreas doing that to his own sister, but it would be his right. No one would question him.

Maybe that’s what he’d been trying to achieve by sending her here. Maybe he’d intended for her parentage to be discovered so she’d stay here and he wouldn’t have to deal with her anymore. Heaven knew she hadn’t been as easy to get along with as her mother had warned her to be.

Another shiver of fear raced through her, stealing all her warmth. What if Joseph had felt that tingle, too? What if he knew what she was and was on his way here right now to demand that she give up her life and start flinging magic around like some kind of freak?

It was possible. Terrifyingly possible.

A soft knock sounded on her door. “Lyka?”

Joseph. He was here, and the only reason she could think he’d come was because he knew what she was. Her secret was out. Life as she knew it was over.

Fear expanded in her chest until there was no room left to breathe. She tried to fight it, but her mother had warned of this moment far too often for Lyka to think she’d escape unscathed.

Don’t let them know what you are, sweetheart. One of their kind will claim you and never let you go. You’ll belong to the enemy. A slave to their power. Forever.

She couldn’t let that happen. She’d seen the way Theronai women looked at their mates, dreamy-eyed and docile. They might have access to untold power, but the cost was far too high. No power was worth a lifetime of bondage to the enemy.

Lyka was a Slayer. She would always be a Slayer. No amount of tainted blood could change that.

“Are you in there?” asked Joseph. “All I want to do is talk. I won’t even step inside.”

She didn’t trust him. It was a trick to get her to open the door. He knew.

Fear grew inside her chest until it became a living, breathing beast. It trembled through her limbs and forced a sour sweat to form on her skin, making it go cold.

The animal in her reacted to that fear, rising to the fore. Her teeth and fingernails began to burn and lengthen. Even though her suite was dark, everything became as clear as day as her feline eyesight kicked in.

She could see the pale, soothing colors, along with the