Fated Blades (Kinsmen, #3)

by Ilona Andrews

Of all the kinsmen families Matias disliked in the city of New Delphi, and he detested most of them, the Adlers were the only ones he hated. It wasn’t a personal hate. It was generational.

true enemies

The two sides had nearly wiped each other out and simply couldn’t continue to fight. Since then, the Adlers and the Baenas had settled into icy hostility, always watching each other, always ready for the feud to flare into raging violence. The animosity was mutual and deep.

He had studied her since he was in his teens because she was a potential enemy, and he knew her as well as he did his own family.

It was one of the universe’s great ironies that after running halfway across the galaxy to get away from each other, both the Baenas and the Adlers ended up in the same sector, on the same planet, and in the same province.

Twenty-eight years old, average height, athletic build of a practicing martial artist, long brown hair, features most people would find attractive.

Ramona's description

Ramona looked at the CSO with her disturbing eyes and then looked back at Matias. He felt a sudden urge to do something dramatic and impressive.

like a male peacock?

“To what do I owe the horror?”

🤣

She was on her own. At the time she had simply accepted it, but now, as she listened to Matias, she felt a crushing realization—she was alone. Utterly, completely alone. She would never let it stagger her, but it hurt.

He had decided long ago that he was the kind of man who didn’t start fights. He finished them, and he never stooped to unprovoked murder.

She’d have to approach this carefully, choosing just the right words . . . “Did you pay my wife and her husband to steal from us?” Matias asked. Damn it. Silence claimed the office. Haider blinked a few times and looked at her. “Is he serious?” She shrugged. “I’ve never seen him smile, in person or in an image.”

Matias 🤣

He also understood that he had to draft an immediate divorce agreement. If he were ever to find this again, it wouldn’t be with Cassida, and now having experienced it, he wouldn’t settle.

“The New Delphi Spaceport Customs crew leader owes you a favor because you remembered that his father likes Conuvian pottery.” “Yes, I make sure to send a piece every year on his birthday. They are a nice family.”

“The assistant immigration court clerk loves you because you helped him smuggle in a foo foo dog for his wife.” “It is an Albine Needlehair Spaniel. They’re fierce.”

“The OTC chief cracked a file open for you because you got her and her husband an artist to paint a wall in their provincial home.” “Valina is very busy, and she rarely takes commissions. My mother helped her get her start, and our family is fortunate enough to support her art ever since.”

“You’re a spider. You sit in the middle of your beautifully woven web and pull the right strings until your prize lands in front of you.”

“That’s the beauty of it, Matias. None of them owe me anything. They help me because they consider me a friend. Being kind to people and paying attention shouldn’t be done with the expectation of repayment. I helped them because I could, and it made me happy.”

Matias smiled. He actually smiled. It softened his harsh face and lit up his eyes. The effect was shocking. She had to fight herself to keep from staring.

they're bonding over the challenges of being family heads

“I won’t let you die, Ramona.”

She and Matias didn’t fight in the same way. Their technique differed, but it didn’t matter. They moved at the same time, coordinating their defense and attacks without speaking. It was as if they had the exact same instincts. It was the closest she’d ever come to synchronization.

“So, you’re going to do the man thing?” “What man thing?” “The one where you heroically decide to pilot the entire distance and then be tired and irritable and expect special treatment for it.”

“I’m relaxed right now,” Matias said. “This is it right here. You’re watching it happen.” “I feel so privileged.” “You should.”

She liked looking at him and listening to him, she liked the way he thought, and when he thawed enough to show rare splashes of humor, she had a hard time turning away.

Why did it have to be you, Baena? Why couldn’t she have met someone like him but without the poisonous last name?

She wanted him because he was secare. He was sharp, smart, and thoughtful, and yet when the occasion called for it, he acted without hesitation. On the entire planet, nobody but Matias would do.

He wanted this woman more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.

OMGGGGG

to think that of all the secare in this universe you are my perfect match. We can never tell anyone. My family will disown me.”

“It’s not the betrayal,” Matias said. “It’s how we handle it. It’s our mess. Hiding it is no longer an option, so we will take care of it in front of everyone. We do not hide, we do not sneak—we do it, and we make sure nobody who watches it ever forgets it.”

sooner or later their families would have to know, because he had no intention of letting Ramona go.

I will not allow them to force me to kill another human being. I alone will decide whose life I choose to take.”

“I would go through a lot more trouble to catch you. You have no idea how rare you are, Matias. A man who is competent, smart, considerate, loyal . . . a man who blocks a sonic blast so you can escape and throws his arm to shield you during a crash. What woman wouldn’t want you, Matias?”

“Will you stop scowling?” she murmured. “We’re supposed to be having fun.” “I feel like a jackass.” “You look fine. Smile, Matias. You might like it.”

🤣

“Marry me,” he said.

“I don’t care what my ancestor did three hundred years ago. It wasn’t me. I wasn’t a part of that. You weren’t a part of that. Nobody who was there back then is still alive today. It’s ancient history. I’m in love with you. Don’t leave me.”

He looked desperate, like a man whose life hung by a thread. “I know this more than I know anything. It’s never going to get old. It will never wear off. I’m not given to rash decisions. This is real. I know it. I feel it. I know you feel the same. Stay with me. Say yes, Ramona, and I promise you will never regret it.”