“Don’t,” Kael warned. “That tickles.” His deep blue eyes were opened and they were focused on me. His hand had caught mine and pulled it away from his scars. He turned his gaze on his brother and with a firm look warned, “And don’t you tell her.”

By now Alek was coughing as he tried to stop his laughter abruptly. I was slightly annoyed by both of their antics, and by Kael’s sudden burst of energy, and all because of his never telling me his age.

“What’s the big deal?” I asked.

Alek answered, “Apparently, it’s not just women that lie about their age but SwordBrothers as well.”

Kael still hadn’t released my hand. It was now lying wrapped in his on the cot next to him. I could feel the slight tickle of his thumb rubbing the top of my hand. It was a heady feeling, making me slightly distracted which was probably his goal.

“Well then, fine,” I answered back tartly. “How old are you Alek? Since you are his older brother, he can’t be that much younger than you.”

Alek plopped down on the cot next to Kael’s and leaned back on his arms. “I’ll be two hundred come next month.”

“How is that even close?” I stopped and stared at Alek who had quit laughing and was now studying me. “Kael, he can’t be…can he? Then how old are you?” I turned and glared at Kael.

Kael’s hand had stopped stroking mine and he pulled it out of my grip. I felt cold and alone with the realization. I studied Kael but he wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“Kael?” I asked again.

He stood up and took off the white shirt, and I stared again at all of the scars that laid an intricate map across his back. Part of me wished I had time for him to explain every one to me. Kael picked up a neatly folded black shirt and donned it. From under the bed he pulled boots, knives, and more weapons, because he would never be far from a knife. Kael began to prepare himself for battle, dressing the part of the SwordBrother once again. Only I knew that it was going to be a battle of words.

I wouldn’t admit it, but I preferred him in his black attire.

“Kael is a hundred and thirty. Our father was 420 when he passed away. It’s our gift, our longevity. It’s in our blood, and it’s why we make the best guards. We’ve been practicing our techniques for over a hundred years.”

I wanted to kick Kael but settled for shoving him angrily in the side. “How dare you berate me for not being as good as you, when you’ve had a century of training on me?”

I heard a long drawn out sigh from Kael and then heard him mutter a single word. “Women.”

“Are you sure he’s not five? Because he sure is acting like a child right now,” I grumbled under my breath.

Alek sat up and motioned for me to follow him out of hearing range from Kael. We stepped just outside the curtain so Kael could finish dressing without an audience.

“Thalia, Kael told us you know the story about the King of Sinnendor and his SwordBrother body guards. How he had hundreds bonded to the king.”

“Yes, Kael told me. There was a man named Lake that ended the reign of the King by killing him himself along with all of the SwordBrothers.”

“Yes, but that was a very long time ago.”

“Not for Kael and me. Lake was our father. Kael was only an infant when our father brought down the King. The rest of us fled here to live in peace. We are few, but we live a quiet, peaceful, and a longer-than-normal life.”

“Until I came into the picture,” I spoke softly. Alek turned to look at me and I could see how pain-filled his eyes were.

“No, Thalia. He was never at peace. Even here, in our sanctuary I knew it. Every time someone looked at him, they commented on how much he looked like our Father, Lake. I didn’t mean to fall in love with Gwen, but it just happened. We tried to stop it, but neither Gwen nor I could fight the feelings. Now add that betrayal onto all of the pressure to be the best.”

Alek’s words were meant to make me feel at ease, but all they did was leave a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach. He didn’t know what we had been through, and I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him how much Kael had suffered on my account.

“He’s risked his life plenty of times saving mine. But all I did was take his life.” I turned and sat down on a bench outside Kael’s room. “I still don’t know how that is possible. Shouldn’t I be dead since I killed Kael?”

Alek shook his head. “No, although if you had succeeded you would not be alive much longer.” Alek’s hand drifted to the knife in his belt as a gentle reminder. “In the times before, if our charge—the person we were bonded to—died, the SwordBrother died. Also, a SwordBrother can be killed in battle with no harm to their charge. By all means, Kael should have died, but he didn’t. This is something else. Something different, maybe? All I know Thalia…is that he’s alive because you’re alive.”

I could see Alek’s mind whirling with wonder and a hint of awe. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say, but I was too angry to wait for an answer. “Spit it out, Alek.”

“It means, Thalia,” Alek answered slowly. “Kael will live only as long as you do. He will no longer have his gift of longevity.”

“Then undo it!” I gasped out.

“Thalia, Kael was a broken man when he left here. Bitter, angry, hurt, and betrayed by the ones he loved. I’m not sure how, but you’ve brought him back a changed man.” Alek tilted his head and gestured to the infirmary, where an odd gravely noise could be heard coming out of Kael’s room.

It sounded off pitch and grated on my nerves. “What is that sound?” I asked.

Alek covered his mouth with his hand. “Do you see what I mean? He’s humming—my brother is humming.” He tried to hide his smile.

I couldn’t help the surprised look that covered my shocked face. Kael did not have a singer’s voice. The humming was terribly off-key. I “That sounds like cat’s howling in pain. It’s disturbing,” I whispered. The noise from inside stopped.

“Exactly!” Alek said. “He never hummed before he left.”

Kael pushed the white curtain aside and spoke up as he stepped out onto the porch fully dressed, “I do not sound like a cat in pain. Dog, maybe. Cat no.”

My face flushed with embarrassment and I opened my mouth to apologize, but Gwen came back and asked to speak with Kael alone. He agreed and followed her down the hallway, down the wooden steps, and into street so they could talk in private. Alek and I walked slowly behind, giving them privacy. It was hard to not let jealous anger consume my thoughts as I watched them move out of earshot.

“It doesn’t matter. Can we reverse what was done? I don’t want to be bonded to him anymore.” I spoke my mind, since Kael could no longer overhear me. I rubbed my arms worriedly and couldn’t help but wonder when Kael would be done talking so we could leave here. I didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary. “Can you reverse it? Take it off, make it go away.” My hands felt clammy, and I started to wipe at them as if I could wipe away the bond.

Alek shook his head. “The only way to break it is by your death. We are still a very young clan, Thalia. Most of us with the knowledge of bonding died when Lake killed the king. We are all too young to remember. It’s why the art of bonding is gone. It’s a mystery to us as it is to you. But maybe with time, if you stayed with us, we could relearn, reevaluate, and retest some theories. Maybe over time we could—”