The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,122

hand rising to grip the back of her neck. "I'm tired of watching you give that fire to everyone else. If I was smart, I’d collect on what I know should be mine."

Eva wet her lips, her gaze rising to meet his. What she saw there made it obvious he had no intention of keeping that promise. He might tempt, tease, beckon, but he would never follow through.

He had too many responsibilities on his shoulder, his loyalty given to another. It would allow little space for her.

She should leave it alone, but she couldn't. That same part of her that was unable to stand down when she saw a horse being mistreated rose, causing her to tap dance right over the line he'd just drawn.

"Then why don't you?" she challenged.

His eyes filled with darkness as he gave her a look that felt as tangible as a touch.

"Because you're not ready for that. Your innocent Lowland upbringing would have you hating me or yourself, whichever was more convenient," he said, stepping back as boredom settled over his face.

She knew as well as she knew her name that expression was a lie. He hadn't been the only one observing, learning—she had too. And boredom was what he retreated to when he felt people had gotten too close.

Her lips quirked. "You'd be surprised. I'm not as innocent as you seem to think."

It was true. If her parents had had their way she would have been. Women in her village only gave themselves to their husbands.

However, a lifetime of taking care of horses and months with the Trateri who were much freer with their bodies had taken care of any gaps in her education.

She might not be as experienced as Caden, but she wasn't as totally without physical knowledge as he seemed to think.

Surprise flashed and then a heated awareness. He took a step toward her only to stop as a low whistle came from the courtyard gate.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Darius surveyed the wreckage of the once pretty courtyard garden. The place looked like a storm had passed through it, annihilating everything in its path. The pretty spring flowers had been trampled; dirt strewn over the gravel walkways.

The remnants of the wood people were scattered tinder on the ground. Limbs had been severed, torsos dismantled, and heads separated from their bodies.

Even though not a speck of blood had been shed during the massacre, it was a macabre sight. One Eva knew she would be seeing in her nightmares for many months to come.

"Wood people." Darius shook his head. "Now I've seen everything."

"Somehow, I very much doubt that." Caden's expression was grim as he surveyed the carnage. The man who'd looked like he intended to consume Eva was gone, leaving the warrior behind.

"This wasn't on any of the boards," Darius complained, bending and picking up one of the limbs to examine it closer. "I'd like to know why."

Caden nodded. "Bring us the pathfinder."

Before Drake could obey, an irritated voice said from beyond the wall, "Why is it every time something goes wrong you start screaming for me?"

Reece appeared in the gateway.

Darius tossed him the dismembered arm. "I don't know. Why don't you enlighten us?"

Reece caught the arm before it smacked him in the face. Lowering it, he opened his mouth to release a cutting remark then closed it as he took in the remains of the wood people. His expression grew serious before turning pensive. "Woodling spawn. I've never seen one in person before."

"I'd like to know why they weren't on any beast board. I know Shea instructed the pathfinders to share any information they had on possible threats we might encounter here," Darius said. “Is this what killed everyone?"

Reece tossed the arm back to Darius. "These things didn't kill the people of this city, because they are the people from this city. All that remains of them, anyway."

Eva sucked in a breath, her gaze returning to the smaller woodlings. Her earlier guess had been correct. They were children.

Caden's expression froze, his head shifting slightly as he took in the small bodies. They would have been toddlers, or not much older.

Devastation rolled off him. His eyes shut, pain and regret reflecting in his expression before everything shut down. All emotion was wiped away as if it had never been.

His eyes when he opened them were dead, his body stiff as he withdrew.

He seemed so alone, just then. Eva couldn’t stand the loneliness rolling off him, not when he’d done what he’d done to protect her. She slipped