Altered Destiny by Shawna Thomas Page B

defenses as easily as water through his hand.
    Lightning flashed deep in the northern sky. The turbulent black clouds matched his mood: angry, dangerous, and ultimately triumphant. He licked his lips, still thick with the taste of Noe’s skin. Where are you, Jaden?
    For a moment, the desire to have his brother witness how he’d won chased other thoughts from his mind. He, Keldar, second-born, now wore his father’s sword. He alone spoke for the house of Tanus. To twist the knife deeper, his brother’s intended wife still held the imprint of Keldar’s teeth on her flesh, his seed and blood in her body. Jaden had doted on the woman, entranced by her beauty but never appreciating her clever manipulations.
    He stared at the tumultuous sky. “Are you proud of me now, Father? Do you see that I was the right choice?” He took a deep breath. His father was a warrior. He’d understand that Keldar had done what was needed. Tinlor’s death had united the Svistra better than his father’s wildest dreams.
    The shock in his father’s eyes as he took his dying breath replayed in Keldar’s mind and soured his stomach. “You see, it was the will of the gods. The Blind Weaver’s web. Not my doing. I was only an instrument.” He gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white from the strain. An instrument of his father’s punishment. Yes. His father had stood in the way of Keldar’s destiny because of his blind loyalty to Jaden. He relaxed his grip.
    Keldar had and would bring honor to their house. Jaden could only bring disgrace.
    Then, like ice breaks stone, another thought slashed across his mind. When he’d claimed Noe, the council had assumed it, but Tinlor had never formally declared Jaden dead. If he came back…
    Keldar’s gut churned. I won’t hand it over. Jaden would have to challenge him. Would he? He snorted. Of course he would. Even though Jaden threw his inheritance back in Father’s face, he’d want it now if only because Keldar had it. The fame, the glory, the power, and even Noe. Jaden would want it all back.
    Behind him, Noe still slept behind the many sheer draperies surrounding the bed. As long as Jaden was out there, he held only a tentative hold on his position. The thought ate at his mind.
    There was only one solution. The men he’d sent to find Jaden hadn’t returned, but his father had confirmed his brother was south of the White lands. He’d find him and when he did, Keldar would secure his place as commander of the Svistra army and sole heir of the house of Tanus.

Chapter Nine
    Jaden froze midstep in his mad dash through the White Forest. Ahead, a flash of color broke the monochromatic landscape. He rushed toward it, attempting to ignore the whispering mists. Beneath the canopy of the White Forest, he couldn’t rely on scent or even sound to guide him. Selia was only half-visible under the white moss. Much longer and he might have missed her.
    He knelt to brush the tendrils of moss away from her body, but they multiplied faster than he could move them and resisted with a strength that belayed their fragile appearance. Cursing, he flicked his wrist. His fingers closed around the hilt of the knife sheathed against his forearm. He cut Selia free, pulling her from the ground and the moss that already reached to reclaim its victim.
    The forest stirred. Though Jaden couldn’t discern any movement, he felt a force of will turn in his direction. He resisted the pull to look into the mists but they surrounded him, and to close his eyes would be as dangerous. Holding Selia under her arms, he dragged her away from the most vigorous of the searching tendrils. The cloth covering his face shielded him from the bulk of the flowers’ fragrance but if the sucker-like tendrils managed to secure him, they’d both die a long, slow death.
    Selia’s dusky skin was already pale and sickly. He quickly felt for a pulse. Shallow, but there. He brought his face close to feel her breath on his