Read Online Star's Storm: Lords of Kassis Book 2 by S. E. Smith - Free Book Online Page A

Madas.
    “Little warrior,” Madas hissed quietly.
“Your mate needs you.”
    Star didn’t respond but something told Madas
that she was listening. That was all that Madas wanted. Her own
mate was being stubborn and refused to believe her. There had only
been one other person Madas knew who might believe her wild dream –
the person who knew the man responsible for Jazin’s supposed
death.
    “He is not dead. He is a prisoner. It is
time to claim your mate before he is truly taken from this life,”
Madas hissed out in a firm voice filled with confidence and belief.
“The Gods have spoken to me. I need you to believe.”
    Star’s head turned and she stared silently
into Madas black eyes for several long minutes. Madas did not look
away. She needed the little warrior to believe her – to trust her.
Madas held no animosity that her own mate did not believe in her
dreams. He had been raised to believe in logic and facts where
Madas had been raised to believe in the spirit of the Gods and the
messages they often sent through dreams. Her grandmother had been
their clan’s spiritual leader and Madas had been taught at a young
age to believe and accept the wills of the Gods. Too many times
when she was growing up she had visions that had spared or helped
her clan by believing in them. Her dream several nights ago showed
her where to start and who she needed to enlist to help her. The
sight of the little warrior standing fierce and proud in the face
of battle in the dark fortress, her mate standing at her side had
been one of the clearest visions she had ever had.
    “How?” Star’s raspy voice asked. “How do you
know?”
    “Look deep inside your heart,” Madas said,
reaching out a slender clawed finger to touch Star’s chest. “What
does it tell you?”
    Star closed her eyes briefly, focusing
inward. What did her heart tell her? She felt the slow, strong,
steady beats. There was no way it could beat so strongly, so steady
if it was missing. She knew if Jazin had died than there was no way
it could beat the way it did. For if he had died, her heart would
have died with him.
    “That he is still there. That he can’t be
gone,” Star said huskily as she opened her eyes. A small hope began
to warm her from the inside out.
    Madas sank into the chair across from Star.
“I had a vision about your mate several nights ago. My visions are
not to be ignored. My stubborn mate still has difficulty believing
them but they have protect both of us many times. I saw your mate.
He is being held a prisoner. He grows weaker each day but he
lives,” Madas said confidently.
    Star studied the huge female Tearnat’s eyes
intently. “Where?”
    “My vision did not show me where he was but
it did give me clues. Clues that someone who is familiar with the
man who took him would know. Clues that would help us find him,”
Madas continued, reaching out to grip Star’s hands tightly in her
own.
    “Who?” Star asked a little louder. “Who
would know?”
    “I would,” Dakar’s voice said quietly from
behind them.
    Star turned her head to stare at the large
Kassisan warrior. His face was grim. Dark shadows rested under his
eyes and he looked thinner than he had a little over a week ago.
Deep lines cut grooves around his mouth and the muscle in his jaw
ticked as he held himself under ridged control.
    “How? How could you know?” Star asked
softly.
    “Because I was Tai Tek’s Captain of the
Guard. It was my job to keep him safe, alive,” Dakar answered
harshly. “I was undercover. Lord Ajaska suspected Tai Tek was
behind the deaths of several councilmen years ago. I was assigned
to his House. I pledged total loyalty to him and over time worked
my way up to Captain of the Guard.”
    “Won’t he know that you betrayed him?” Star
asked, turning so she could look at the face of the man who
suddenly appeared darker and more dangerous than she
remembered.
    Dakar shook his head briefly. “He believes I
was killed during the battle.