Chapter 24
It was really happening. She was going home. Kalyani could barely contain her excitement. Just when she had thought she might never see her brother again, Varum had proven he was an elf of his word. Maybe he did deserve to be in the friend column, after all.
She wanted to leave right that minute, but there were preparations to make.
Nirav left to get something, and Varum departed a short while later, saying he had to wrap up a few things.
That left her alone again. Kalyani looked around Varum’s home with different eyes now.
It was no longer a prison but an extension of him.
Her time in Tarangarh had been brief, and she hadn’t seen much of the city, but she had learned a lot about the Sea Elves.
She found herself standing in front of the shelves, eyeing the trinkets and books.
There was a beautiful seashell with vibrant colors, sitting in the middle of one shelf.
It was the largest one she had ever laid eyes on.
She tried to imagine where Varum might have found it and what made him cherish it enough to display it on his shelves.
Try as she might, she couldn’t see the elf she knew carrying such a thing to his home.
It made her want to know the story behind it.
Maybe even know more about the elf, too.
The longer she looked, the more she realized it might have been a gift. That instantly brought Tanira to mind. She hadn’t seen the female, but Kalyani suspected she was probably stunning. An elf like Varum wouldn’t be with anyone else.
“As if I know him.” Kalyani snorted.
Her thoughts shifted to when his hand had been wrapped around her throat, and his face a breath from hers.
She was back there in an instant, pressed against the wall, the ends of his blue-black hair resting against her as the long strands fell over his shoulders.
His anger had been palpable, and while his initial appearance had ignited a spark of fear at first, it had quickly dissipated when he didn’t hurt her.
Instead, he had stared at her mouth for so long that it made her acutely aware of her lips—and what it might be like to have his pressed against hers. The yearning to know the feel of his mouth was so overwhelming that she had begun to hope he would kiss her as she had challenged.
Instead, he released her.
The quick way he had moved away was a reminder that she was a human—something Sea Elves abhorred. Why would Varum even consider kissing her? He had made it clear from the beginning that the only thing he wanted from her was information.
She wrapped her arms around herself and turned.
Her gaze landed on the wall in his bedroom, where she had stood trapped between it and Varum.
If she had been bolder, she might have pulled his head down and kissed him herself.
She was bold in many aspects of her life, but when it came to romance, she had always felt unsteady.
As if the ground she walked on was waiting to trip her.
The fear of rejection was too great to attempt such a gesture.
Her attraction was a moot point anyway. It wasn’t as if there could ever be anything between them. She couldn’t remain in the city, and he wouldn’t leave the water. Yet she couldn’t shake off the sadness of knowing she would never see Varum again.
She snorted. How ridiculous. He was cold and aloof. Detached. She couldn’t hold on to those thoughts, though, as she recalled how he had gently held her hair and wiped her face when she was sick, or the way he had carried her to bed. Perhaps he wasn’t as stony as she believed.
“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t care. I don’t care. I don’t.”
Who cared if he was risking his life to get her home? He was the one who had dragged her to the city without her permission in the first place. He should put his life on the line.
Kalyani closed her eyes and turned her head away.
The thought of him getting injured just so she could go home didn’t sit well.
Did she wait, then? That was three more weeks of Rohan being distressed and time spent hiding in Varum’s home, hoping no one discovered her presence. Three more weeks of being near him.
There was no guarantee that waiting meant either of them would stay out of danger either.
The mere fact that Varum had brought her to the city had made both of them a threat to everyone else.
If she remained even an hour more, there was a chance that Varum and Nirav would be caught aiding her and their lives taken.
It was best if she left Tarangarh as soon as possible.
The sound of the handle clicking had her eyes snapping open as she whirled to face the door as it swung open, and Varum filled the entryway. He paused when his gaze landed on her. For a heartbeat, they stared at each other.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
She nodded and attempted a smile. “Of course.”
“You’re eager to get home, I suppose.” He shut and locked the door behind him.
“I’m more concerned about Rohan. It will take me some time to make up for what I’ve done to him.”
Varum slowly walked to the coffee table. “He’ll forgive you once he sees you.”
“I’m not sure I should be forgiven so easily. I did the one thing he asked me not to do.”
“If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met you.”
Why did her heart skip a beat at those words? Then she recalled that it was about the Masters, not her. “Rohan and the others will be able to give you more details about the Masters.”
He dropped the map in the tube and faced her. “You think I’m talking about the information. Of course,” he murmured as he looked away. “I did say that repeatedly.” His gaze slid back to her. He stared at her for a long moment and then said, “I meant I wouldn’t have met you.”
Once more, her heart skipped a beat. She found it difficult to breathe as she stared into his eyes. “I’m just a human.”
“You’re not just anything.”
Why was he saying such things? Did he know that she clung to each word as if it were life itself?
“Kalyani,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I have no right to ask, especially with how I’ve treated you, but…will you tell me about your gi—”
The last word was drowned out by loud knocking. Then Nirav shouted through the door, “Varum, are you home? Don’t leave us waiting out here.”
“Us?” Kalyani mouthed to Varum.
His lips flattened as he motioned for her to get into the bedroom.
He followed her and grasped the handle of the door.
Just before he closed it, he put a finger to his lips.
She looked around the room, wondering if she should hide.
The sounds of voices drew her to the door as her curiosity got the best of her.
It was easy to pick up Nirav’s voice, but his laugh sounded strained, nervous, even.
She realized why in the next heartbeat when she heard the soft, slightly seductive feminine voice.
“Leaving work early isn’t your style, Varum,” Tanira said.
Kalyani dropped her forehead against the wall and sighed. She wouldn’t be able to return home as long as Tanira was here.
“I explained to her that I asked you to take the afternoon,” Nirav replied with another forced laugh.
The long stretch of silence made Kalyani want to crack open the door and get a look at Varum’s face. Not that he let his emotions show. She turned her head to the side and pressed her ear toward the door.
“What brings you here?” Varum finally asked.
Kalyani was disappointed that there was no frustration or annoyance in his tone. In fact, he was being spectacularly polite. And that irritated her. He should be shooing Tanira out, not being nice.
“You sure don’t make it easy on a gal,” Tanira purred. “You may have given up on us, but I haven’t.”
Nirav was quick to say, “That isn’t the case at all. Sometimes, these things just don’t work out.”
“Perhaps I should’ve played hard to get instead of pursuing Varum as hard as I did.”
Varum said, “You can have anyone. Why do you want me?”
Kalyani rolled her eyes. She knew exactly why Tanira wanted him. Because he didn’t chase her as others likely did.
“Do you really need to ask that?” Tanira snorted. “Come, Varum. You know I love you. You’re putting off the inevitable.”
“Is my future already decided, then?”
Kalyani winced at the hard edge in his voice. Tanira’s comment hadn’t sat well, and Kalyani didn’t blame him one bit.
“Of course. The moment I chose you for my future husband,” Tanira replied. There was rustling, and then she said, “Join me on the sofa like you used to.”
Nirav cleared his throat too loudly. “We were actually on our way out.”
“Where are you going? Perhaps I’ll join you,” Tanira said.
“Maybe next time,” Nirav told her. “I’ve not spent quality time with Varum in a while, and I’d like him all to myself today.”
“I hope whatever you two have planned is within the city,” Tanira said.
Varum’s voice was deceptively calm when he asked, “Why?”
“I went looking for you at your office and saw the report you were writing,” the female began.
“You snooped through my things?” Varum demanded, his words low and deadly.
There was no mistaking the barely leashed rage in his voice this time. Kalyani almost felt sorry for Tanira.
“It was going to my father anyway. What’s the big deal?” Tanira asked.
Kalyani imagined the reply was accompanied by a shrug.
“That was an invasion of privacy,” Nirav stated indignantly.
Tanira barked a laugh. “You two need to lighten up. I merely informed my father of the report before Varum handed it over. How is that an invasion of privacy?”
“You went into my office and dug around on my desk,” Varum answered. “I know that, because the report wasn’t on top. It was in a drawer.”
“If you would just open up to me, I wouldn’t have to go digging to find out anything,” Tanira snapped. “Why are you always shutting me out? I’m trying to help you.”
Kalyani was practically plastered against the door, trying to hear every word. The longer the silence stretched, the more she longed to see the reactions of those in the room. Except she couldn’t. She had to stay behind the door. Which was proving more difficult than she expected.
Varum released a breath. “We’re no longer together.”
“You shut me out before you ended things. If you would just let me in, you would see how great we could be,” Tanira pleaded.
“Why did you take the report to Arvind?” Varum asked, changing the subject.
“It seemed important.”
Nirav said, “That wasn’t your place, Tanira.”
“Nor was the report finished,” Varum added. “I had other things I wanted to include.”
Tanira made a sound in the back of her throat. “So, write another one with the new additions.”
“You’re missing the point,” Varum replied.
The fact that Varum’s voice rose slightly told Kalyani just how incensed he was. She couldn’t blame him either. She didn’t know whether Tanira was purposefully being dense or if she really was that clueless, but neither benefited her. Or Kalyani.
“You’re really upset?” Tanira asked, then huffed loudly. “Your report got the attention you wanted. More patrols have been added all around the city. No one will be getting in or out without being seen.”
Kalyani jerked back from the door, unable to believe what she had just heard. Her reunion with Rohan was slipping through her fingers.