Hunted: The Warrior Chronicles #2 by K.F. Breene

weight, knowing her duty would lead to the deaths of everyone she loved, and everything she knew.
    Not only that, but Cayan was positive she’d saved some from the last battle. She’d been forced to choose who would live—who would be the biggest help in her continued war effort—and who would die. She sent her own people to get cut down, watched it happen, before being forced to flee… alone.
    How could she stand it? How had the guilt, and remorse, not eaten her alive?
    How would he be able to stand it, if he ended up having to do the same thing?
    Cayan took a deep breath as he wandered into the trees, letting the healing touch of nature rejuvenate his Gift . It soaked into his body and smoothed out the ache and fatigue of training and stress. He sank down next to a large tree, closed his eyes, and let his Gift unfurl, trying to keep up the practice until he met her again.

Chapter Five
    T he fire crackled within the clearing. Sparks danced and swirled into the air, barely dodging branches reaching overhead. A brook, weaving in and out of rocks, gurgled as it wound down the gentle slope.
    She and Rohnan sat beside the fire, watching the dancing flames as they curled around dried timber. The light flashed across Rohnan’s handsome face, highlighting the straight lines and perfect features. The sun and wind had put an unnatural reddish hue on his cheeks, and made his once-porcelain skin just a little ruddy, but despite the year of travel his health shone through. His long, blond hair was glossy and light. His muscle made him lithe and agile, his movements refining his overall appearance.
    “You’re prettier than me,” Shanti said with a smile, hating to look away from him in case she woke up to realize this had all been a dream, that meeting him again wasn’t real. If she did wake up, and find him gone, plunging her back into the bleak loneliness she’d been living, she had no idea how she’d cope.
    “Always was.” Rohnan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She could feel his soft humor.
    “Yes, true. But this last year has been harder on my appearance. You still look…fresh. How is that possible?”
    Rohnan shrugged. A smile worked at his lips. “Women in some of these foreign lands try to sell their chastity as a virtue. But what they’re really after is secrecy. They have the same urges as our people, they just live a double-standard where they’re not supposed to indulge sexually like the men. When I realized that, and made it clear I didn’t believe in that double-standard, I had no problem finding beds whenever I chose. And I chose often. Loneliness has never suited me like it does you.”
    “It doesn’t suit me, Rohnan. It plagues me,” Shanti said quietly, looking back at the fire.
    Rohnan’s smile fell. She felt the comforting pressure of his hand on her forearm. “I am sorry about Romie. I didn’t know he had put himself up for Sacrifice, but he was a good man. One of the best. There were better people to watch over the children—he wanted to help in any way he could. He gave his life for our future.”
    Shanti took a shuddering breath. The memory of those earth-brown eyes rimmed with blood flashed through her mind. She wiped a tear from her cheek. “He could’ve told me.”
    “You wouldn’t have acted sensibly—he probably knew that. You didn’t understand each other. You didn’t have anything in common.”
    “I loved him.”
    “Forgive me.” Rohnan ran his fingers through her hair. “You had love in common. A deep, soul-clutching, first love. But aside from that, you didn’t line up in any other way. You wouldn’t have understood his choice because you didn’t understand his calling, and he didn’t understand yours. You wanted to fight as often as you made love. He was too sweet for you—he just wanted to hug you and make you happy. He never understood your temperament.”
    “You make me sound like a villain.” Shanti slapped his hand away.
    Rohnan waited a