“You ride?” Constantine asked once they were downstairs.
She expected a carriage or wagon of some sort to transport, but it was just him, standing next to the largest dappled horse she had ever seen. The highest part of its withers barely brushed Constantine’s massive shoulders. Kerrigan’s head touched its belly.
“Never seen an Andiza, I gather,” he said dryly.
“No.”
“Well, they tried to wipe out the breed during the war. This one came along with me,” he said with affection for the beast. “She’s faster and more reliable than the smaller creatures. If she likes you, then you’ll have a friend for life. Here. Put your hand out.”
Kerrigan was used to dragons. A horse couldn’t frighten her, and yet she preferred flying to riding any day. She had enough experience to hold her hand steady and meet its stare. Finally, the horse nuzzled her open palm, and Kerrigan smiled.
“Good. She likes you. Makes it easier. I’ll help you onto Melidonna.”
He lifted her around the waist as if she were a rag doll. She yelped as she threw a leg over and straddled the horse. Constantine vaulted up behind her, his meaty thighs pressing against her now-exposed legs.
He grunted. “Should have thought of that. You usually ride sidesaddle?”
“No, I normally wear pants.”
He laughed heartily. “At least you have a sense of humor.”
Constantine’s threw his large black jacket over her lap for modesty. She said nothing, still getting accustomed to having him against her and considering how she could get out of this situation. It was just a horse. Maybe she could slide off while he was riding.
“Find the wind, Melidonna,” Constantine barked.
Then, he kicked off, and all thoughts of that evaporated. The horse moved at unthinkable speeds. Not as fast as her dragon, Tieran. But far faster than any breed she’d ever been on. All she had time to do was hang on for her dear life as they barreled away from Eivreen and out into the countryside beyond.
She had no idea how long they had been on the horse when her eyes began to droop. The magic drain had been intense. Quintus must have had more magic than Flavia because Kerrigan was exhausted. It was the middle of the night, and despite having slept the entire day away, she couldn’t keep her eyes open as Melidonna thundered under her. It was a lullaby, and soon, she slipped forward into unconsciousness.
Time passed unevenly, and soon, she was jerked awake by a man yelling from a distance. She blinked rapidly.
“Where am I?” she whispered into the coming dawn.
“Welcome to my home,” a man’s voice rumbled behind her.
That was when she realized she was lying back against a hard, firm body. She jolted away from the welcoming warmth. There was a rumble of what could be laughter behind her, but she didn’t turn around.
Constantine. The man who had purchased her from Flavia. That much she remembered clearly.
His home came into full focus, and her jaw dropped open. She’d known that he had to be wealthy to be able to purchase her at the ridiculous price Flavia had set for her, but she hadn’t considered that his house would be a fortress. It was enclosed by a high wall, shielding much of the interior from view, aside from a large central castle with turrets and towers. She had never seen anything like it.
As they approached, Constantine held his hand out toward the portcullis. A spark of light flickered across the entrance. Magic. Some kind of magic she’d never seen before. After that, the portcullis was raised, and they galloped inside. The gate closed sharply behind them.
A man of middle years with the dark tan skin of an Andine approached them with two much younger boys in tow. Both boys also appeared to be Andine with curly, dark, longer hair.
“General,” the man said with a bow of his shaved head. “You were successful, I see.”
Constantine grunted behind her as he swung down off of the massive horse. “Depends on what you consider success, Evander.”
Evander glanced up at Kerrigan, still seated atop Melidonna. “She looks just like one of them.”
“Indeed,” Constantine said. He held his hands up, as if to help her down.
She ignored him, slung her foot into the stirrup that was at least a foot shorter than her height, and landed defiantly on her feet.
Constantine huffed. “Good.”
As soon as she was off the horse’s back, the two boys hurried forward to take her away, presumably to the stables.
“Where is Danae?” Constantine asked as he fell into step with the man who appeared to be his second.
“She kept vigil all night, sir.”
Constantine’s face clouded. “As if I were going back into battle.”
Evander nodded once gruffly. “You can hardly blame her.”
He said nothing to that. Then, he turned to Kerrigan. “Come along. Let’s get you to your room.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
Evander looked just as interested in his answer, but Constantine grunted and kept walking.
“He doesn’t ask twice,” Evander told her levelly with a stern but almost welcoming smile. “This way.”
Kerrigan sighed and followed them out of the muggy air and into the gray stone castle. It was surprisingly cool inside. That hadn’t much been the case in the city. And while the floors and walls were mostly bare, the place was clean. Well cared for.
“Talk to me, Evander,” Constantine said as he stomped through his empty house.
“Recruits begin within the hour. They were up at dawn and running circuits with the weights. Demetrius is fully back in gear. Theo is partnering with him. Myron will be ready when you are.”
Constantine nodded once. “Run them through the circuit. I’ll be there after I finish with this.”
Evander brought his fist to his chest and thumped it twice before turning on a heel and walking away. He spared one more glance at Kerrigan before disappearing.
“I don’t have time to deal with you yet,” Constantine said before she could speak. “I have to run my men through their paces. You should get some sleep.”
“I slept on the way here.”
“I noticed that.” He turned to face her, and she saw not an ounce of exhaustion on his face. He looked like any hardened warrior she’d ever trained with. “I also cast for magic burn, and you’re still glowing with it.”
She looked down at her skin in confusion. What did that mean?
“I don’t know how familiar you are with magic, but it leaves traces,” he told her calmly. “You must have been hit with a significant blast. The fact that there’s no physical or mental harm done is surprising. You still feel like you have full mental faculties, correct?”
“Yes,” she bit out. “I am perfectly capable of thinking for myself.”
“As I suspected.” He continued walking. “This way then.”
Kerrigan continued behind him through the halls of his estate until they came upon a large, open room with rows of tables. They were all empty at present. Whoever usually filled them—his fighters—must be gone for the day. That made sense. She had normally been up at dawn and already eaten when she was training.
“This is the eatery. You can eat whenever you’d like. Though I’ll likely have someone bring up meals to you while the men get accustomed to another woman among us.” Constantine gestured around.
“Okay,” she said uncertainly. “Are there many women around?”
“No.” Then, he kept walking. “You’ve had a trying night. If I had to guess, a trying few days if you were with Flavia long. She’s … something else.”
That was true enough.
He led them off to the right until he came upon closed double doors. He knocked twice before pushing them open. Inside was an average-sized room with an altar at the far wall with little icons upon it. Kneeling before the altar was a girl roughly Kerrigan’s age with dark brown hair to her waist and tan features.
“Danae,” Constantine said, his voice lowering with affection at the name.
She jumped at the sound, turning to face him. Her smile was radiant as she came swiftly to her feet. “Father!”
“I told you not to stay up,” he admonished good-naturedly.
“Since when have I ever listened to what you tell me?”
He laughed, a genuine sound, as she hurried toward him. “Never. No one can keep you in line, can they?”
“Assuredly not,” she agreed with a split grin as she threw herself into his arms.
Kerrigan retreated from the display. She had heard him mention Danae. She had understood the word daughter. And yet she hadn’t anticipated … this. This being something she had never had in her own complicated relationship with her father. Kivrin had abandoned her. And even though he had done it for the right reasons—to protect her from her mother’s husband—it had been years before she learned of it. They were on better footing, but it had never been like this between them. He had been severely injured when she fled to Domara for help. She had no idea of his fate.
A tear came to her eye, and she roughly brushed it away. No. No, she couldn’t break down. Not here. Not now.
She turned her back on the father and daughter and waited for the crushing weight on her chest to alleviate. She couldn’t fix anything if she wallowed in what could have been. She wasn’t doing a great job just yet of fixing anything, but she wouldn’t be able to do anything if she gave up now.
“Oh, and who are you?” Danae asked, coming up behind her and putting her hand on her shoulder.
Kerrigan flinched from the girl’s touch.
“Day,” Constantine admonished. “She was with Flavia for days.”
Danae frowned. “I see. My apologies for touching you without your consent.”
Kerrigan nearly laughed in derision. As if anyone had ever asked her permission for anything here. “I was purchased. I didn’t know I had consent.”
Danae shot her father a reproving look. “I see you’ve made a mess of it.”
“What was I supposed to do? We’ll still have to make up the cost of her.”
“She’s traumatized.”
Constantine shrugged. “It was me or Tarcus.”
Danae raised a hand. “Say no more.”
“She’s not a new friend, Day,” he reminded her.
“I can hear you both,” Kerrigan snapped, taking another step away from them. “I can hear everything you’re saying. You don’t have to act like I’m not here. Just tell me what you’re going to do with me and be done with it.”
Constantine looked flustered by her outburst. So far, she hadn’t said much to him. His chest puffed out, and he seemed half-ready to yell at her, but Danae put herself between them. “Go deal with Evander. You made it home safe. That’s enough of a joyous occasion. I will help the girl.” She turned to face Kerrigan. “Your name? I apologize for not asking earlier.”
“Felicity,” Constantine barked.
Danae tilted her head. “Is it?”
“That’s what Flavia said.”
“You go by Felicity?” Danae asked skeptically. “It doesn’t quite fit.”
Kerrigan narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Day,” Constantine warned.
“Nothing,” she said cheerfully, letting it go. “Felicity it is, but if you have another name … I would be happy to call you whatever you choose.”
Constantine grasped his daughter’s arm and drew her away. The air seemed to close off around them as he spoke to her. She waved him away, as if whatever he was saying was ridiculous and he didn’t need to worry. Kerrigan wished more than ever that she had her powers in that moment.
“Okay, I’m going to help you out. I bet you’re dying for a bath and a solid nap,” Danae said, breaking away. “My father said you’re still in magic burn. I can help speed it up, but it’ll be better for both of us if you sleep it off.”
In that moment, Kerrigan felt unbelievably tired. As if she could hardly keep her head up. She’d slept on horseback and under magic burn, but none of that had been restful.
Still, she felt wary of this man, his daughter, their life. She didn’t know what he wanted from her. She didn’t know what her next move was.
“And you’re not going to force yourself on me?” she asked.
Danae put a hand to her mouth and looked at her father with wide eyes.
Constantine’s were firmly on Kerrigan and didn’t waver as he seemed to look her over. “Is that what you’re worried about?”
“Isn’t that why you purchased me?”
He took a step forward, and all the air left her lungs as she had to tilt her head back to look at him.
“I do not have to force myself upon anyone,” he said, his voice lethally low.
“And your men?”
“My men follow my command.”
“I will kill anyone who touches me.” It was a promise, and fire danced in her eyes as she dared him to do just that.
He frowned down at her, as if she were a particularly difficult puzzle to solve. “I almost believe you.”
“You should,” she said with as much conviction as she could muster.
“Interesting.” He turned to Danae. “Take care of her.”
Then, he stepped away, leaving the room empty of oxygen in the wake of his absence.