Crystal Moon Read Online Free PDF Page B

as blue as the towering peaks of Dramon’s Azul Mountains,
    while blue-black hair fell in a tangled mass to her waist.
    He scrubbed his palm against his thigh as if by doing so he
    could erase the feeling of her cool, silken skin from his memory.
    What had happened when he touched her? When his fingers
    closed around her throat, he had sensed her hidden fear and
    felt the pain of her scrapes and bruises as if they were his own.
    The sensation left him shaken. Though he was always conscious
    of the feelings of others, this went beyond anything he’d ever
    experienced.
    Despite his hatred of her and her father, the woman’s show
    of courage struck a chord within Kyne. She faced him without
    cowering, demanding answers, refusing to acknowledge her
    guilt. Her claims of innocence sounded sincere, and her eyes
    meet his in censure. Was she perhaps the unknowing dupe of
    her evil father?
    Kyne shook his head. Aubin, with his dying words,
    condemned DiSanti’s daughter. The parchment she wrote was
    solid evidence of her responsibility. In it she asked Aubin to
    meet her at the pub where he had been attacked and killed by
    DiSanti’s men. This proof of her treachery hardened Kyne to
    her pleas of innocence. He would do what he must to avenge
    his brother and bring about DiSanti’s fall.
    ***
    The next morning, Sianna stretched beneath the heavy fur
    rug. Despite Katya’s harsh words the night before, she had
    provided Sianna with warm, dry clothing and bedding, as well
    as a hearty meal. Though Kyne’s sister served all with a sullen
    attitude, Sianna didn’t argue. She needed her strength. Self-
    preservation decreed she should run. She looked around the
    mountain camp. But where to?
    Above, the sky lightened, while a mist hung over the ground.
    She threw back the covering and shivered in the moist morning
    air. Around her the sounds of camp breaking filled nature’s
    silence. The murmur of sleep husky voices, the creak of saddle
     
    leather, the rumbling calls of the quinar being readied for the
    trip.
    Katya’s strident voice shattered the peace. “I’ll not take
    her with me. Deju is worn from hard riding these last few days.”
    “You can ride with one of the men and mount the woman
    alone on Deju,” came Kyne’s calm reply.
    “Are you mad? What if she tries to run? Deju is the fastest
    of quinar. How will we catch her? Besides who knows if she
    can ride. Mount her with Graham.”
    “Graham’s quinar carries more weight with Graham alone
    and can no longer bear the extra. The other men’s hatred of
    DiSanti makes them unreliable. Je’al’s actions prove that.”
    “Then let her walk. Or take her with you.”
    “Katya’s right,” Graham said. “Unless you wish to trade
    quinar with me, the woman must ride with you.”
    Sianna watched Kyne run his hand around the back of his
    neck as if attempting to ease the tension there. His gaze met
    Sianna’s, and his lips curled into a humorless smile. “Very well,
    she goes with me. Get ready. We leave within the half hour.”
    Graham walked away.
    “And Katya,” Kyne stopped his sister as she made to follow.
    “Hakan can take Deju any day.”
    “Only in your dreams, big brother, only in your dreams.”
    Katya’s laughter caused more than one head to turn in her
    direction.
    Sianna smiled in response to the lighthearted, carefree sound,
    the sound a young woman should make.
    “In your nightmares, little sister.” Kyne turned toward
    Sianna, and the humor died out of his eyes. “Come.”
    For a moment she hesitated, then followed. What choice
    did she have?
    After saddling his quinar, Kyne mounted and reached down.
    Grabbing her hand, he pulled Sianna up behind him.
    Thankful for the trousers Katya had provided, she sat stiffly
    atop the massive beast. Hakan’s broad back was not suited for
    the silken nightwear she’d been wearing. Too much of her legs
    were revealed. She shuddered, remembering the heated looks
    of lust and hate the other men had cast