Siege (The Warrior Chronicles, #5) - K.F. Breene Page 0,56
and pushing down his own. Fighting the uncertainty of what was going to come, and the overwhelming odds, he lost himself in her body. He thrust into her, power and dominance. He took solace in her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her thighs squeezing him tight, and he pushed into her over and over, hard and brutal. Her Gift wrapped around his, coaxing it higher. The control he’d barely held on to with Kallon fell away. His power gushed out and blasted through the town. It didn’t carry an attack. This time it carried Shanti’s essence—pure and soft. Loving and supportive. The soul she tried to hide filtered among the people and soaked into them. His Gift pulsed with her heart, feeding courage and replacing their misery with hope.
“We can do this,” Shanti said in a low voice, her lips on his. “Don’t lose faith.”
He grabbed the back of her neck and pumped his hips, focusing on her body wrapped around his. Her faith in him. Another explosion of his power matched his climax. He emptied into her as his Gift blanketed the town in his renewed faith. In courage.
Sanders paused as he hefted the beam. A wash of tingles covered him before infusing his mood. His heart started to thump and his desire to rule the world made him drop the beam and straighten up. He looked around in confusion. A soft feeling warmed his middle and flipped his stomach before a rush of emotion surged.
“What the hell is this?” He put his hands on his hips and realized the townspeople were also looking around in wonder, dumb smiles plastered on their weary faces. Alena stopped sweeping up glass and hugged a random townsperson. Leilius was smiling like a fool at the man beside him. Marc had his arms crossed and was hunched against the wall, looking surly.
It was Marc’s mood that made reality dawn.
This was that mind power. It wasn’t real.
Sanders grimaced and looked back in the direction the Captain had taken Shanti. “This just isn’t natural.”
“But it put in good mood, yes?” Sayas grinned at him as he walked by.
“There’s work to be done,” Sanders yelled at him. “Don’t go starting an orgy!”
Shaking his head, Sanders gave up on the beam. He’d wanted to work out a little frustration with manual labor, but things were starting to crack. The Captain was using logic in an almost hopeless situation, Shanti was calling the shots, and he’d turned soft. Something had to be done or they’d all fall apart.
“Wrap it up,” Sanders called. He made a circle in the air with his finger. A few people looked at him, apparently trying to make sense of his words. As they were his people, who spoke his language, this was just another part of the problem.
He looked left and right, then felt a crushing blow when he remembered there was no Tobias to get things moving. A flash of agony welled up. He grasped for rage to replace it. Without thinking, he took a few rapid steps and grabbed Leilius by the collar. “Let’s go!” He shoved the boy forward before glaring at Marc. “We’re moving out.”
Marc hopped forward, not fazed by the Captain and Shanti’s mind voodoo. Sanders looked at Xavier, the first competent person he saw. “Get everyone moving. Let’s gather on the east side of the town and set up camp. We move out tomorrow, dawn.”
Xavier stared at him dumbly for a second. He glanced around him, clearly wondering if Sanders was talking to someone else despite the direct stare.
“Is that a problem, Senior Staff Officer?” Sanders barked.
Xavier’s eyes rounded. “N-no, sir. I’ll get it done, sir.”
Sanders walked on. He’d just given the kid a promotion. Xavier was a little young for it, but he’d been in more battles than some of the veterans, and had benefited by learning the battle strategies of three different peoples. He’d rise to the challenge if anyone would. Sanders needed someone he could trust.
Outside the city, Sanders made his way past the Shadow sentry sitting in plain sight. He paused then turned to the man. In the traders’ language, he asked, “Did you see any action?”
“Yes.” The Shadow pointed off into the distance. “Graygual were trying to get away. I killed them.”
Sanders looked where he was pointing. He saw one body facedown with an arrow in his back. “More than one Graygual?”
“The others I killed with my Therma.” The Shadow tapped his temple. “I was told not to leave my post.”