Kyler's Justice (Assassins of Gravas Book 3) - N.J. Walters Page 0,60

a home.”

Etta started to sag beside him, but stiffened her legs. He wanted to wrap his arm around her, help her shoulder the burdens threatening to cripple her. “Thank you.”

“No!” Sera threw her arms around Etta’s waist and clung to her. “Don’t leave us.” Her cries pierced his heart. Then she glared at Kyler as huge tears rolled down her face. “I trusted you.” A muscle under his eye jumped. He was frozen, unable to defend against her accusations.

“Sera.” Etta went to her knees and gripped her sister’s shoulders. “I told you I did something I shouldn’t have. That there are consequences for our actions. All Kyler promised was to keep you two safe. That’s everything. That’s all that matters.”

The king and his sons both jolted at the use of his real name. To them, he had none. He was simply the king’s blade—a faceless, nameless hand of justice for their ruler.

“But you did it for us,” Sera whispered.

She wiped her thumbs under her sister’s eyes, drying her tears. “I would do anything to keep you safe.” She opened her free arm and Maggs slipped under, pressing a kiss to her sister’s cheek.

Finally, Etta stood, an arm around each girl, her face composed.

A feral beast roared to life inside him, clawing for release. The very air around him stirred and grew cold. He hadn’t moved a muscle, but the king glanced in his direction. Spear took several steps toward him.

“My life for hers.”

Chapter Fifteen

Etta’s breath caught in her throat and her blood turned to ice. Her heart raced, shattering the calm she’d managed to gather around her. The girls were safe. He was to be safe.

“What?” The king rose to his feet. He was a big man who wielded much power, but she’d grown up among such men and wasn’t as intimidated as she probably should be.

“My life for hers,” Kyler repeated. She’d seen him in many moods since they’d met, but she’d never seen him like this. There was a feral energy that was palpable. It was a strange phenomenon since his expression was remote and he was as still as a statue.

Then he did something even crazier. He turned his back to the king and faced her. “You care for me.” She started to glance toward the others, but he cupped her cheek, turning her back. “Will you have me?”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. He wanted to do this here? Now? Maybe it was another way to protect the girls? But the king had already guaranteed their safety.

“Etta.”

There was an urgency to his words that rocked her. He was offering his life for her, she who had always come last with everyone. She started to shake her head but stopped.

“I want you safe.”

“I’m an assassin. There is no safety for me. My life has been forfeit since the day I became the king’s blade. Give me this.”

His eyes were as dark as a black hole, sucking her into him. The bones of his face seemed more austere than normal, his lips pressed into a firm line.

This was a man who asked the world for nothing. But he’d asked for safety for her sisters. And now was seeking to do the same for her.

Fingers shaking, she gripped his wrist and pulled his hand away so she could kiss his palm. She placed it over her heart, which was racing madly. “My heart is yours.”

The silence was deafening. Everyone was watching and listening, but she didn’t care. Only Kyler mattered. If he needed this, she would give it to him without reservation. “I’ll have you, but I won’t let you die for me, for my actions.”

Only by the slightest tightening of his jaw did he react. There was no kiss, no tender words before she was staring at his back as he faced the king.

“You have all witnessed. She has accepted me in the presence of the king. She. Is. Mine.”

The back of her neck tingled as it sank in that there were undercurrents here she didn’t understand, that seemed to have an even greater significance. “What have you done?”

“In the eyes of Gravasian law, you are married,” the king told her.

“I’m what?” She grabbed Kyler’s arm and tried to swing him around, but it was like trying to pull a spaceship. He was unmovable. “Why?” She went around so she could see him. This time, it was her turning her back on the king.

“Because I had to.” That told her nothing, yet it told her everything.