Harmonia's Kiss Read Online Free Page A

killed?”
    â€œHe’s missing.” The boy’s lips set. “It’s been two months, and it only took us two days to come here. He would come home if he could, wouldn’t he?” He looked to Drake for confirmation.
    Drake felt a lump in his throat, for he knew that all fighting men would return home if they had the power to do so. He would have traded everything in this moment to return home. “I am certain he would. A man of honor does not abandon his family.”
    â€œI know he would come home.”
    The child’s conviction tore at Drake’s heart. Had Theo believed the same of him? Had Cassandra?
    The child looked around the café, studying the Dragon’s Teeth Warriors. “I have to find him. I thought you would know where.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause you are like him. You are soldiers, and soldiers know where to find other soldiers, even if they’re secret soldiers.” The boy looked up suddenly. “And they kill other soldiers, too.”
    â€œI did not kill your father.”
    The boy nodded, apparently confident of this fact, and eyed the others. Before he could begin an interrogation, a woman raced into the café, her eyes wide with fear.
    She was lovely, with dark hair and blue eyes, slender but not boyish. The sight of her made something spark within Drake, made him sit even straighter.
    â€œTimmy!” Her expression changed to relief at the sight of the boy. She was dressed in western clothing and her accent was American. “You’re not supposed to go out without me. You know that.” She came to the boy’s side and took his hand, chiding him gently. “I’m so sorry that he interrupted you,” she said, offering a shy smile to the commander.
    Drake saw more than she likely wanted him to see. He saw that this alluring woman had lost weight recently, for the gold ring on her left hand was very loose. There were shadows beneath her eyes, which were reddened from tears. He guessed that she was struggling to be strong in the face of adversity, but she hugged the boy a little more tightly than was deserved.
    Her fear touched him, touched him where he would have preferred to remain untouched.
    Before Drake realized what he was doing, he had gotten to his feet and inclined his head. “I assure you that he was no trouble.”
    â€œWell, I apologize.” Her gaze swept over him and he wondered what she saw. “We have to go to the embassy, Timmy, in case there’s news.”
    When she would have turned away, Drake wasn’t quite ready to see her leave. “He says his father is missing.”
    She froze, her heart in her eyes when she looked back at him. She swallowed, then nodded, her lips tight.
    â€œFor long?”
    â€œAlmost two months!” She made a gesture of futility with one hand, and the words spilled from her lips. “It was crazy to come here, everyone said so, and I guess it’s not going to make any difference to anything, after all.” She sighed. “I thought that if I was here, I could find out the truth, but that was stupid.”
    Drake heard her anguish and it made his heart clench.
    It cracked his armor.
    He could help this woman.
    All the same, he was cautious—many asked for truth when they actually wanted a palatable lie. The world was a harder place than it should be. That, at least, had not changed.
    â€œDo you want to know the truth, no matter what it is?”
    She looked at him then, really looked at him. He saw the intelligence in her eyes and the strength she had not yet realized was hers. She knew what he was asking, and she straightened before she nodded curtly. “I need to know for sure. I have to know.”
    The commander saw the way she held her son protectively close, and understood that she would do anything to defend the memory of her lost husband. He recognized that gesture, and that feminine strength. The sight made a lump rise in