Although Kahlan was not pleased that her mate was going to leave her, she was reasonable enough to understand that he was probably doing it for her own good.
They walked together hand in hand till they found a dry enough stone for Kahlan to seat on.
The snow on the ground was drying up rapidly like it was being vacuumed away.
The poor visibility was also easing up.
In the distance, she could see two figures walking. They were two men and they seemed to be searching for someone.
She wasn't able to see them clearly because they were far away. But she guessed that they were sent by her father.
She looked up to find that Prometheus' eyes were on her the whole time.
She smiled at him and felt a tingle in her spine.
"I think the search party is here" he told her.
She nodded. Having mixed feelings.
"I'll stay with you until they come" he said while patting her hair.
She turned her head away to hide her blush. Every time they had contact with each other, Kahlan felt her body turn red with excitement. A tingle would rise up at the place he touched, and run through her body. But whenever she thought of being apart from him, her guts would twist so painfully that it seemed like appendicitis.
Right now he was patting her hair ever so gently like he was caressing a feather. She leaned into his touch. Who knew when she would get this treatment again.
Back home was a cold and unfeeling world. She knew nobody cared for her much, so she was going to indulge in this feeling… for now.
Prometheus frowned when the men came closer.
He didn't trust these people. In fact, he didn't trust anybody with his mate. He felt so possessive of his little mate that he was even second guessing his plans. Something he had never done before. But with foresight, he realized that it wouldn't do any good to his bonded one to conceal her from the rest of the world. She was a spirited child and keeping her apart from the world would kill her enthusiasm for life. Knowing this, he suppressed his killing intent and concealed himself.
But as they came closer and closer, Prometheus realized that these were not normal humans.
He could tell they were human, but not completely human.
There was something wrong with their biology. They seemed to be a mixture of man and wolf. But they looked human enough.
Their builds were stronger than mortals and they possessed a wildness that seemed subtly contained.
Like fire burning inside of a glass bottle.
He could also tell that they had lived longer than any mortal had the right to.
The older of the two was probably in his 600's while the younger was about 150.
But they both looked and seemed to be youthful.
What manner of sorcery could this be?
He could tell they were not immortal. Their lifespan should be about a thousand years.
But he could not see through the origin of these creatures.
He had been locked up for too long.
Who made them? Was the question buzzing through his mind. And what relationship did they have with Kahlan.
He continued to observe them as they reached his mate and began to interact with her.
He sent a mind-link message to Kahlan. 'Do you know these people he asked?'
At first Kahlan was puzzled. She began to look around for him. 'I thought you had left.' She sent back to him using their mind-link.
Prometheus smiled at his mate's silliness. Did she really think he could leave her in the hands of a couple of strangers?
'I'm still here. I just blended into the surrounding' he said. Then he repeated his question. 'Do you know these men?'
'They are my father's subordinates' she replied. 'They said my dad sent out several search parties looking for me.' She had a hint of a smile on her face. She seemed glad at this little bit of care her father had for her.
At some point, Kahlan stood, picked up her bag and began to follow them.
They walked down the path leading to the base of the mountain.
Prometheus was a bit angry at how one of them stretched his hand to hold Kahlan.
Although he knew that the man was only trying to prevent his mate from falling, he still felt killing intent towards the man. 'How dare he try to touch my mate.' He fumed.
The older of the men turned around abruptly and sniffed the air.
But Prometheus was a titan. His method of concealment rendered him invisible.
So no matter how much that man darted his eyes around, he could never tell Prometheus' location.
As they walked, he followed them closely, but still farther enough to avoid bumping into them.
He was not going to leave his mate undefended and in some strange creatures hands.
Soon they arrived at the research institute.
At the gate, Kahlan found her father waiting.
He was looking at her sternly. Like he wanted to rip off her head.
Kahlan lowered her head and mumbled an apology.
He didn't say a word but rather glanced down at her neck.
The amethyst gem in the necklace that hung around her neck no longer had any color.
It was white as if all the color had been bleached off.
Adam's frown deepened and he turned to say something to his secretary.
From afar, Prometheus did not dare to get closer.
He had seen and recognized this man.
When he had seen him in his mate's thoughts, he had thought he was familiar. But now that he was seeing him face to face, he felt a little despair.
This man, Kahlan's father was Orion.
He knew all about the man.
Granted he had been imprisoned while Orion's story occurred, he had heard about him from the gossips of Zeus' executioners. One of Prometheus' powers was vision.
As long as a story is being told, he could see it playing out in full. And he had seen this man in the vision.
But as he recalled the history of this man, he frowned.
He was a companion to Artemis.
That meant that the goddess was in close proximity with the child.
He did not want his mate in contact with any of the Greek gods and goddesses.
Although they may seem powerful, he knew how flawed they were. Filled with blemishes.
They only sought their conveniences, regardless of the consequences of their actions.
He sighed when he thought of the gift he had blessed Kahlan with. At this moment, it didn't seem good enough protection.
He needed to work faster to get his mate away from them.