Read Online Ki Book One by Odette C. Bell - Free Book Online Page A

wine. Blowing the
dust off it, he turned it around, checking the label.
    “ I will be fine,” she shook her
head.
    “ You will drink,” he pushed the bottle into
her chest and he headed for the table. Slamming the wheel of cheese
down, he unwrapped it and sliced off a chunk, handing it to
her.
    She accepted the cheese but did nothing
but stare back at him blankly. “Do you really expect me to eat
this?”
    A harsh laugh pushed his chest forward.
Leaning against the table he shrugged
expressively . “That
depends on whether you want to live. If you feel like dying of
starvation and dehydration, then go ahead.”
    “ I thought you said I was your personal
concern?” she challenged. “I thought you said you were going to do
everything you could to keep me from the Zeneethians so you could
figure out what was going on?”
    “ Good point,” he crossed his arms, one
cheek fattening against his eye as he offered her a half smile.
“Drink and eat before I force you to. There is no water and there
are no delicacies for you to feast on. Tonight you will have to
live a simple existence.”
    Huffing, she finally turned and sat demurely
on the edge of the bed, placing the wine carefully beside her with
a nervous frown.
    “ Don’t get crumbs in the bed, I find them
very irritating when I sleep,” he took a bite of the chunk of
cheese he’d just sliced and watched with relish as she flushed at
his words.
    “ I will not sleep with—” she got to her
feet.
    “ You will be sleeping on the ground.” He
nodded down to the small, soot-covered rug before the fireplace. “I
will need my strength for the pass tomorrow. Should any more of
those wolves be out there, I’ll need to be rested. Not to mention
those soldiers.”
    Shoulders deflating, she sat back on the bed
with a deep but wary breath. She proceeded to carefully place the
cheese on her lap, smoothing out the folds of her robe first. Then
she broke off the smallest chunks she could, placing them into her
mouth slowly.
    He breathed through a laugh. “Don’t tell
me, priestesses are forbidden to eat in front of men. I can turn
around if you’d like?” he offered jokingly.
    “ No,” she didn’t look at him, “I’m a little
dizzy.” She brushed her hand over her face, hooking her sleek,
shiny hair behind an ear.
    Her features were slight, her skin smooth,
she reminded him of the oriental women of the north. Though
distinct territories, both Tarkan and Ashka were home to many
races. From the dark-skinned nomads to the fair-haired mountain
dwellers. Ki’s ancestors no doubt originated from the temperate
northern islands. Once they had belonged to the Ashkans, now the
territory was split right down the middle. He’d fought battles
there in the previous war; it helped him readily guess her
heritage.
    No matter where she came from, she was
still Tarkan. The dispute between his people and those murderers
had never been along racial lines, it had always been
nationalistic. Though blood and ancestry were shared between them,
recent history was not. Their morality diverged. Their way of life
was so separate as to be unrecognizable. Everything a Tarkan stood
for an Ashkan would dispute.
    His thoughts hardened his jaw, and he tried
to ignore her as her unfocussed gaze dropped to the ground.
    He was doing this for his people, and needed
to remind himself of that fact.
    Finishing off another chunk of cheese, he
stood roughly. “Drink the wine,” he ordered.
    “ I can’t,” she turned from him as he loomed
above her.
    “ Fine,” he leaned down and snapped it up,
yanking out the cork.
    Before he could try to force her to drink
it, his conscience caught up with him. Could he really hold her
head back and tip it down her throat, just because she was Tarkan?
The thought of manhandling someone, especially a woman, was
abhorrent to him. Yet there existed this obvious clause in his
mind, a loophole. If she was Tarkan, it didn’t matter if she was a
woman, it didn’t matter