Ranger (Elemental Paladins Book 4) Read online

  “Hmm,” was Lark’s response.

  Now, why did that one non-verbal sound hold such a wealth of knowledge? Like he had read her thoughts and knew all that she hadn’t said. Despite his easy reaction to her admission, she still needed clarification, “So you believe me?”

  He looked surprised, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because I’m a killer. You’ve said so yourself in the past,” she pointed out, the reminder cooling her feelings a little.

  “Well, sure. But that was before you explained yourself. I mean, if someone told me my connection to Max was only to cause pain and harm, I wouldn’t believe it either. Why should your bond with the chades be any different?” he eyed her closely.

  Ivy took a physical step back, feeling as though he was seeing just a little too much now, and she felt herself begin to panic a little. She should never have opened up to him in the first place.

  FOURTEEN

  Lark watched Ivy as she took a wary step back. He could practically see her walls going up brick by brick and told himself not to be disappointed. Rome wasn’t built in a day. After he finished dancing, he had spent the remainder of his cool-down time thinking over what Max had said. She’d made it sound as if Ivy was interested in him. He had never seen a hint of such a possibility, even with his ability to analyse even the tiniest nuances in a person’s expression.

  At first, such a skill had come about purely for self-preservation; knowing when a sociopath was finally going to snap their leash and beat the holy hell out of you, sure came in handy. But over time, he had been able to refine it and he had since discovered that silence often exposed more than words. Thus, observing Ivy’s face – something he did ridiculously often – should have exposed her feelings to him, no matter how hard she was trying to hide them. So how had he missed her interest in him?

  What’s more, listening to her divulge her motivation for being a ranger had shown him that she was far more sensitive and vulnerable than he had given her credit for. Once again, he wondered how he could have missed the signs before now. After all, he had noticed the exact same traits in Max almost immediately. But he didn’t need to think too long to have his answer – he had let his ego get in the way of his natural instincts.

  His initial reaction to the lovely ranger had been attraction but that hadn’t been all. He had seen a distinct sadness and also compassion behind all that determination and grit. That was why, just minutes after sitting at the same table with her, he had resolved himself to making her smile. But over the weeks, he had allowed her derision and seeming distaste for him to prick his male ego. He thought he was above such primitive flaws but turns out he was just as susceptible as the rest of his species. Max would have a field day with that, he snickered.

  But now he had seen the shining glimmer of the real Ivy and he was determined to peel back her layers. The woman wouldn’t know what hit her. But subtle – he had to be subtle. He had a feeling Ivy wasn’t the type to respond to brute strength. She would only push right back.

  “So, if other rangers feel the same way you do, why hasn’t anyone spoken up before now? It would certainly go a long way in humanising you to the general population. To be honest, I always thought you guys liked the badass rep,” he said, trying to ease Ivy back into a conversation with him. He considered it a small success when she smirked;

  “We do.”

  He laughed out loud and this time he caught the small flicker in her dark eyes as they travelled over his tilted lips. Feeling another victory, he leant casually against the veranda railing, “Rep aside, it still might be nice to tear down some barriers. That’s what Max is all about, after all. I’ve no doubt she’d be willing to speak with the council about how isolated rangers are.”

  Ivy frowned, “I’m not sure it would matter. The council and most of the wardens are very set in their ways.”

  “One word: chades,” Lark pointed out.

  Ivy nodded at that, “Good point. She has had success in convincing the council as far as recognising chades as being ill. But I guarantee you, they are falling back on old habits and doing their own testing to try and replicate what Max has successfully accomplished naturally and easily.”

  He felt his good mood disappear upon hearing that news, “More experiments?”

  Ivy merely shrugged and he knew he was looking at the ranger once more instead of the woman. He sighed;

  “I wish we could speak openly with the council about the whole thing, share information, swap stories. But …” he trailed off.

  “But, Max thinks there’s a conspiracy within the council,” Ivy filled in.

  He nodded, cautiously. They were getting into dangerous territory now.

  “What do you think?” she asked him, bluntly.

  Lark chose his words carefully, wanting the opportunity to gauge her reactions. He knew Max trusted Ivy implicitly and he certainly wanted to do the same. Especially now, after he had seen those tantalising glimpses of the interesting woman hidden underneath those green robes. But at the same time, he couldn’t allow his attraction to her to impact his good sense. On the small chance they were wrong about her and she was indeed a plant from within the council itself, any comment he made in the affirmative could very well see him imprisoned for treason. Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure where she stood was to be honest – to a degree;

  “I think there are a lot of things that don’t add up. Thousands of years of research and tests trying to determine the origins of the chades and yet no definitive answers. And that is despite the fact that chade numbers have been increasing and their behaviours seem to be changing. As far as I’m aware, there have been no new attempts before now. Why is that?”

  “Because they already tried and failed? It was an expensive, time consuming, and resource-intensive endeavour over the span of literally hundreds of years. They weren’t getting any results and nothing was changing. Why would they invest in that again?” she asked her own question.

  Although she offered a well-reasoned and rational response, he couldn’t help snorting, “Because their people were dying? Seems like a good enough reason to expend some more resources to me.”

  She merely shrugged and he could see she was closing herself off even more. But not before he saw what he was hoping to see; agreement. However, he could also tell that although she agreed with what he was saying, she also still seemed to agree with the council. More curious than annoyed now, he questioned her further;

  “You don’t really agree with the IDC and the way they do things, do you?”

  Her dark gaze stayed on him for a moment before she spoke, “I believe in the institution of the council. In a world where everything is disposable, I believe it’s important to have something enduring. The council and their rules provide that stability.”

  He agreed with her and liked he was finding more and more in common with the pretty, reticent ranger. But there was one important thing he felt she was missing; “But how stable and enduring can our foundations be if there are cracks? If there is rot at its core?”

  She opened her mouth to answer but he didn’t get a chance to find out if she was about to admit there was decay within their society or if she was about to oppose him because a masculine throat cleared behind them. He instinctively reached for his absent scythe, his hand coming up empty. Ivy didn’t have the same problem however, and her sickle was up and ready to remove heads before he could even turn to see who the intruder was.

  Leo and Lawson hastily stepping in front of Caspian with their own scythes at the ready, had Lark quickly invading Ivy’s personal space. He placed a light hand on her arm, “Easy. It’s just Cas.” He ignored the stiffness in her posture, turning to smile at his three friends, “Hey guys, sorry about that. You startled us. What brings you here?”

  “It’s not a problem. We thought you heard us,” came Cas’s muffled reply. An indignant huff could be heard before Caspian pushed his two paladins out of the way, “Would you two move?”
r />   “Just doing our jobs,” Leo pointed out.

  “Whatever,” Caspian rolled his eyes.

  The action was so reminiscent of his own liege, Lark couldn’t help laughing out loud, “I feel your pain, guys,” he said to the brothers.

  Caspian looked pained when his paladins looked smug, “Don’t encourage them, Lark. I was hoping for an audience with Max. I know I don’t have an appointment …” he said.

  Lark straightened, trying to look professional even though he was wearing holey clothes and was shoeless, “Of course, my Lord. After you …” he invited, sweeping his arm out and nodding his head in deference as was custom.

  The Water Warden ruined the moment when he merely rolled his eyes at Lark before sweeping past. Lark stifled a snicker; he really did like the guy.

  FIFTEEN

  Saved by the warden, Ivy thought in relief as she followed the four men into the house. Although she happened to agree with everything Lark had said regarding the IDC and their society as a whole, she was not prepared to admit it out loud. Until a few theories could be proven without a shadow of a doubt, Ivy was not prepared to reveal what her stance was. It wasn’t necessarily that she didn’t trust Max and her crew but she had also spoken the truth when she’d said she believed in the institution of the council. When certain deceptions came to light, there was going to be a lot of hurt and betrayed citizens to deal with – Ivy included.

  “Caspian! Hi, how are you?”

  Max’s cheery voice broke into Ivy’s introspection and she watched with no small amount of humour as Max threw convention to the wind and hugged the young warden to within an inch of his life. She then did the same to his two paladins, asking them how they were and how they were finding their new home. Caspian’s fair, angelic face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure.

  “My Lady, I apologise for coming over unannounced …” he began, only to have Max wave away his apology, dragging him further into the busy kitchen, so the others could say their hellos.

  “No worries. You’re always welcome,” Max assured the trio.

  Caspian bowed formally in thanks and his two paladins quickly followed suit.

  “Will you three stop that already? It gives me the willies,” Max groused as she mock-shuddered, causing Caspian to grin. Max cocked her head to the side, studying him intently for a moment, “Is everything okay, Cas? You seem a little stressed.”

  He did? Ivy thought he looked as happy and bright as always. That was until he began to shift from foot to foot nervously and his partner Lawson, placed a comforting hand on the small of his back.

  “Did you happen to pay us a visit last night?” Caspian asked.

  The question had Max’s Order standing to attention and casting suspicious looks in the direction of their liege. Max scowled at them before turning back to Caspian; “No. Why would you think that? Did something happen?”

  “Yes and no,” he replied, slowly. “The evening was quite unremarkable. This morning however … I woke up to this,” he pushed his sleeve back to reveal a circle of small symbols on his left bicep that looked highly familiar to Ivy – and to everyone else if their quick indrawn breaths were any indication.

  Max ignored her paladins, stepping forward and running a light hand over the black symbols. She raised an eyebrow, looking at Leo and Lawson; “What about you two?”

  Both paladins nodded their heads and pushed up their sleeves to reveal their own brands. Max hummed over those as well for a moment before turning back to the room at large; “I got nothin’.”

  “Max!” Ryker’s one word was clearly a reprimand and Max knew it too, for she stiffened;

  “What? I didn’t do anything!”

  Ryker crossed his arms over his chest, a deep scowl on his face, “No? It has to be you, Max. Who else?”

  Max clenched her jaw and threw her lover a filthy look. Ivy saw the entire Order wince – with the exception of Ryker who stood his ground, stubbornly. She saw her brother rub at his coat of arms, which was now writhing angrily on his flesh. The vines and leaves moved as if a strong wind blew over them and the druidic symbol for his element, beast, glowed a bright, luminescent orange. Looking around, she saw his fellow knights also fidgeting uncomfortably. Ivy figured their own heraldries were also doing the tango and understood it was a sure sign their liege was getting pissed off.

  “I don’t know who is doing it, Ryker,” Max’s voice was soft and sugary sweet, “Maybe it’s the branding fairy. Did you ever think of that?”

  Ryker’s eyes narrowed at his love and liege but before he could antagonise her further, Diana stepped forward; “Now Boss-man. Let’s not provoke the wrath of the goddess, hmm? After all, the last time I heard that tone from Max she was threatening to squeeze Marco’s neck until blood leaked from every orifice. And I do mean every orifice. Remember?”

  Ivy managed to suppress her grin of delight over that happy little reminder. Although she hadn’t been there to witness the spanking of the paladins from the Order of Vulcan, the whole thing had fast become the stuff of urban legend.

  Dex, not having been privy to the earlier encounter, choked on his mouthful of food; “She did what? You did what?” he repeated in Max’s direction – who merely shrugged, never taking her gaze off her lover.

  “The Captain of the Order of Vulcan and his sad little knights gave Lark a beating. So Max threatened to squeeze his neck so hard his dick slit would bleed,” Cali commented, almost lazily.

  Dex barked out a laugh, “You did what?!” he echoed, once again.

  Cali patted her lover’s hand, “She –”

  “We don’t really need to keep repeating it, do we?” Darius chimed in, looking a little rosy around the cheeks.

  Dex just laughed at his staid brother, turning to Max, “Could you really do it?”

  “I don’t know. Shall we find out?” she asked mildly, tension thick in the air as she gazed at Ryker.

  Axel snorted out a laugh, ambling over to his liege and throwing an arm around her shoulders, “As if you would break your favourite toy. What would you do without Ry’s meatcicle?”

  The room erupted into a series of splutters, guffaws, and cackling. Ivy could only shake her head; they’re all nuts! Axel’s depraved levity had the desired effect though, and Ryker pushed Axel away from his woman as he drew her into his large chest;

  “I’m sorry, honey. I don’t mean to be an arsehole but I’m scared for you. Your display at Cas’s went a long way in proving your legitimacy to many wardens and paladins. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. There are those who believe your display of power was a scare tactic, an attempt to shock people into following you,” he explained.

  Max looked curious but not alarmed, “Following me? For what?”

  “World domination,” Darius volunteered, deadpan.

  Max laughed, clearly believing the air paladin was joking but unfortunately, Ivy knew he wasn’t. There really was a bunch of wardens and paladins who believed Max had ulterior motives.

  “He’s serious, Max,” Beyden spoke up. “You’re powerful. The most powerful being on the planet. A lot of people are worried you will abuse that power.”

  Max looked shocked, “But it would be impossible for me to do that. My purpose is as deeply ingrained in me as it is in you to be a knight. I could never use my abilities for harm – well, not in that context anyway,” she amended.

  “We know that,” Ryker assured her, rubbing her arms in comfort, “But there are already pockets of paladins and wardens who think you are some kind of evil genius planning to take over the world. And I know for a fact at least three members of the council feel the same way. Do you see why it’s important that you don’t create any more brands?” he implored.

  “I honestly didn’t do it!” Max gestured wildly to Caspian, Leo, and Lawson, who were trying to remain as still and as inconspicuous as possible. Max turned pleading oceanic eyes to Ryker and Ivy saw his brown eyes soften as he pulled her to his chest once more;
/>   “Okay, sweetheart, I’m sorry. I believe you. Any theories?” he then asked the room at large, walking Max over to sit down next to Ivy herself at the table.

  Ivy wanted to move immediately but knew that would be rude and also draw attention to herself. She would usually stand against a wall, ensuring she was well out of any conversation. But everyone else had been standing, so she had sat down instead. She felt a warm weight press against her lower leg and knew the mottled pup must be leaning against her. She didn’t bend down to scratch him outright but she did lift her foot to give him a solid rub on his rump near the base of his tail. She knew he loved that.

  “I’ve got a couple,” Lark volunteered in response to Ryker’s question.

  “Of course you do,” Axel snorted, turning to the room, “Egg-head always knows something we don’t.”

  Ivy felt herself bristling at Axel’s words. She may still have concerns regarding Max’s choice of a partner for her but she had felt herself softening towards to the earth paladin the more time she spent in his presence. And for some reason, she now took exception to Axel picking on the guy.

  “Don’t worry. Axel is just teasing. He doesn’t mean any harm and Lark certainly won’t take offence. They’re as close as brothers,” Max patted her hand as she spoke quietly.

  “I’m not worried,” Ivy responded, rather shortly. Had she been so obvious with her thoughts?

  Max held up her hands, as if in surrender, “Of course not,” she agreed. “And, no. Your thoughts weren’t obvious,” she said, in direct contradiction to her words.

  Something had sure been obvious, Ivy thought, unless Max could read my mind …? Which she couldn’t, Ivy assured herself, because Ivy was not bound in her Order. But sure enough, Max was clearly correct regarding Axel and Lark because Lark merely grinned at his brother-in-arms;

  “Aw, don’t be jealous just because I can read books that have words and not just pictures …”

  Axel shook his head, “I’ve already told you – Playboy has articles too.”