Read Warrior's Dawn (Fire and Tears) for Free Online

the chocolates created couldn’t be all that great.”
    She pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Though she didn’t confirm his guess, she didn’t deny it either. The bastard had figured it out, but she didn’t have to be gracious about it.
    “I’ve got it, haven’t I?” he said, sounding inordinately smug. “Now it’s a matter of pinpointing exactly which chocolatier.”
    “Why?”
    “Why?” he echoed, sounding confused.
    “Why do you care? Why try to figure this out?”
    The silence stretched. Mina hoped he’d stop speaking altogether but knew her luck wasn’t that good. As the minutes ticked by, though, she started to wonder if he’d actually left without her realizing. She turned. He was still on the bed, leaning against the headboard with his long, well-muscled legs stretched out on the mattress.
    His arms were propped behind his head as he studied her. In the morning light, his eyes glittered and the angled planes of his face stood out in sharp beauty. How could such a rotten personality live inside such a stunning body, she wondered yet again.
    They stared at one another for several long minutes before he finally spoke.
    “I don’t know why I care,” he murmured. “But you…interest me, Mina of No Family. You had family once. And you refuse to acknowledge them, to the point that you’ve abandoned your family name. That’s a riddle I find hard to resist.”
    “The answers are nothing I intend to share with you. So leave it alone.”
    “No.”
    She raised her brows at his blunt answer. “I was wrong earlier. You are an idiot.”
    His mouth cocked up at one side, a half smile, half smirk. “Told you so.”
    With a groan, she turned away from him again. It shouldn’t be possible to find him repulsive and be drawn to him all at the same time. Yet that was exactly how he made her feel. He was one of the traitor elves, one of the ones responsible for taking the last of her family from her. She hated him for that. But she also found herself amused by him, interested in what he might say or do next.
    No doubt there was magic involved. Because she couldn’t believe even a small part of her would truly find Althir so absurdly desirable.
    She heard him pull in a breath to continue but a slight movement on the street caught her attention and she raised a hand for silence. Edging closer to the wall so no one on the street could see her, she watched as a minion patrol marched into view. In the middle of the patrol, to her surprise, strode the tall, thin form of a traitor elf.
    Althir stood beside her in the next instant, his movements so silent she hadn’t even heard the bed creak.
    He made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl. She glanced up and realized he was snarling at the patrol. At the other elf.
    “Friend of yours?” she whispered.
    He spared her a glare before focusing on the patrol again.
    Neither she nor Althir moved as the minions passed beneath them. They kept still and silent. Despite this, the elf paused and glanced at the chocolate shop. He studied the façade, turning his attention slowly to the second story.
    Mina held her breath, not moving even to frown. Seconds passed. The minions stopped in their march to watch the elf. Finally, with a slight shake of his head, the elf signaled them all back into motion, and the group moved on, continuing out of sight.
    Mina sucked in a deep breath, filling lungs that were burning from the strain. Then she faced Althir.
    “He sensed you, didn’t he?” There was no other reason for the elf to have paused. She’d watched many patrols just like that pass her while she was in hiding, and not one had stopped before, not while she held her silence and stillness.
    Althir scowled, his gaze still on the street. “Shouldn’t have. Bastard Liroc. He’s picked up something new from the Sorcerers.” He met her gaze. “I could sense it. He’s been tainted, using blood magic now too.” He shook his head.
    “I’m not sure I