A Storm of Chaos (The Hunter Legacy #1)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Brocard was none-the-wiser, much to Kaya's relief. He had been too lost in his bloodlust to notice anything beyond Noah, which had surprised Kaya – yes, she knew Brocard thrived in a battle, lived for the thrill of a chase, and although she expected Brocard to attempt to draw blood she hadn't expected him to fight with a raw intent to kill. It was a stupid move, and if Lecreux had been present to witness it she knew he wouldn't have been pleased. He might have even punished Brocard for it, although Kaya had never witnessed Lecreux punish Brocard any more than with a few stern words and a cold shoulder.

But despite the defeat, Brocard still seemed pleased with himself.

Kaya walked with Brocard through the grounds of Shield Tower, using the quieter pathway that snaked between the marble buildings until they reached the guest residences tucked away in a back corner closest to the ocean. The sounds of the waves lapping against the base of the Tower walls were clearer this far from the edge of the city, but in the distance Kaya could hear the hollering of men from the nearby docks as they began finishing up for the day, the orange tint in the sky signalling the sun's descent.

It was peaceful here, in the distant pocket of the grounds, but that didn't stop her thoughts from drifting back to Noah, Felix and Chaos. Her thoughts were like grains of sand, falling through her fingers every time she gathered them together in the hope of locking them away.

And when they scattered free it was a mad dash to gather them together again, if only to avoid her mind from realising the mess her thoughts had created. Admittedly, though, her sparring match with Brocard and the intensity in which she watched his match with Noah had exhausted some of her restless energy, so even though she continued to think about last night it wasn't with that same jolt, that same anxiousness, that had plagued her earlier.

The guest residences were in a separate building, though one as equally pristine and impressive as the rest of Shield Tower, with wide entry doors that were almost always open for guests to walk through. Inside, a communal area occupied the space in the centre of the ground floor with plush lounges of red and gold, the floor tiled marble to match the pillars that reached to the ceiling. A low, long table sat between the lounges and a chandelier hung from the ceiling directly above, high enough that Kaya sympathised with whoever was tasked with the job of lighting each candle.

A carpeted staircase took them to the second floor, where the hallway branched to opposite wings of the building. Kaya wanted nothing more than to return to her own room, but she remembered Lecreux's last order and followed Brocard, albeit reluctantly, toward Lecreux's chambers.

And found Aythen standing in the corridor, his back to the wall where he stood beside Lecreux's door. Buttery sunlight streamed through the window opposite him, casting a gold shimmer to his brown hair, and he had forgone the uniform she had first seen him in yesterday for a sleeveless, fitted brown tunic that split into panels down his legs, which were garbed in black pants tucked into riding boots. Without the bulk of his riding leathers, Kaya could see how Aythen had grown from a thin, gangly young boy to a wiry, graceful man with lean muscles that seemed at odds with his otherwise peaceful and passive demeanour.

Head turning, Aythen's eyes caught the sunlight like his hair did, shifting them to gold if only for a moment before he straightened from the wall. His smile was easy, polite, and he offered it to both of them along with a small bow of his head.

Kaya opened her mouth to speak, only to stop herself when she remembered that Brocard was beside her. He had already caught her and Aythen yesterday, and given how close Aythen had been standing to her and how easily he had been speaking with her, Kaya knew Brocard suspected that they had history. She didn't want to prove him right.