Rise of the Shadow Warriors Read Online Free PDF Page B

twinkling eyes fairly screamed she found humor in teasing him.
    Still he would stand by his vow. Honor meant everything to a Kabanian Warlord. “Anything you ask of me is yours.”
    She jerked back with a gasp, eyes rounded with shock. The stroking hand in his hair stopped and dropped to her side. He wanted to force her to continue. “Anything?”
    Dark strands appeared in the outer edges of her silver eyes until streaks covered them. What was she?
    Unable to decipher her race, Argan sensed that his response would define whatever path their future interactions would take and he was sure they would meet again. “Anything.”
    Ramar leaned forward, blocking Argan’s view of sun kissed red waves and sparkling eyes. “Warlord Argan, you should not make promises in your condition.”
    Shivers racked Argan’s body and the cooling air acted as a balm to his no longer heated flesh. His lids drifted shut but he managed to say, “I will pay whatever price she asks.”
    “I will hold you to that Warlord.”
    Argan’s eyes popped open. Worry should give him cause to hesitate. To leave an open debt went against the very nature of the warrior in him. Instinct dictated he demand to know what she would ask. Instead, his blurry vision studied the intensity blazing from her eyes.
    His toqa stirred again despite the residual pain lancing his middle. “I look forward to it.”
    She gave a succinct nod. “The nidi weed will work in a few hours. Your fever already breaks. By morning tide, you will feel well enough to travel and have no lingering effects.”
    A sigh passed Argan’s lips and his eyes closed. When she ran her hands over his face, he barely flinched. The soft touch had him craving more but sleep pulled him away. He missed the curses of his warriors as the world retreated to welcome him in a pool of darkness.
     
    ***
     
    Shaina sighed and reluctantly stood. Her men turned in her direction, attentive to her every move. “We go home. The Gornan here are done.”
    Justan leaned forward to murmur, “And his debt, my Queen? What will you ask in return?”
    He had been close enough to hear her words to the Warlord. Shaina felt relief for the first time in a while. The last few months had been hard but now she actually had a reason to believe Helsa smiled on her. “The Kabanian Warlord has shifted the balance in my favor, Justan.”

Chapter 6
     
    A week later and Shaina still marveled over her good fortune. The Warlord’s promise gave her hope. Hope that once more invigorated her faith in defeating the Gornan and silencing Ivak’s criticisms.
    “I don’t like the way you’re looking, Shaina. What are you thinking in that tiny head of yours?”
    Shaina tossed Justan a glare but never ceased pacing in her private quarters. “My head’s not tiny. It fits my body unlike yours.”
    Justan chuckled and stretched out on her lounge chair, making himself comfortable with his feet propped up on the end and her bright fluffy red pillows under his boots.
    Pillows she’d painstakingly sewn together in an attempt to develop more lady-like skills to please a former suitor. A suitor Shaina discovered sleeping with another woman not long after her efforts of domesticity. At least, the pillows came out beautifully. The relationship not so much.
    During her second pass across the room which brought her closer to Justan, Shaina aimed for his feet, and shoved his worn boots to the floor. “I’m going to visit the Kabanian and remind him of his vow.”
    Justan jerked upright into a sitting position. Well, she’d definitely gotten his attention. “Are you crazy, Shaina?”
    “In addition to having a tiny head? No.” She wanted to see the warrior again. Confirm that he had indeed recovered from the bout of Maso. And she wanted to see if her memories of him could possibly be accurate.
    Vivid dreams of Warlord Argan plagued her sleep. She remembered the power of his touch when his hand had been about her throat. Maso could fell the