Chapter 26 Caution
CAUTION
ASH
When the front door opened the next morning, I looked up from the sofa. Rae stood drenched in sweat, tan skin glistening. Her bright aqua crop top and matching athletic leggings clung to her, tracing curves I couldn’t look away from.
“You went out alone?” Ezra said, eyes narrowing.
She paused, her water bottle halfway to her mouth. “Yeeeah?”
“It isn’t safe for you to go places on your own anymore.”
She kicked off her shoes and pushed sweaty strands of hair from her face. “I think I’ll survive a morning jog around the neighborhood.”
“You aren’t capable of protecting yourself,” Ezra said.
I winced, knowing his words would anger her.
She stomped over to the coffee table, set her water bottle down, and planted her hands on her hips, glaring. “Who the hell do you think you—” She paused, her features softening as I caught the sharp, involuntary inhale.
I glanced between them, confused by the sudden shift—the way she shrank in on herself.
Ezra leaned forward, elbows on his knees, pale eyes locked on her as she glanced away, unable to hold his stare. “From now on, one of us goes with you. I refuse to have you get yourself killed before I’ve figured out a way to get us home.”
“She’s not a guard for the council,” I noted, hoping to remind him he didn’t need to command her like a soldier. “I think she understands that going out alone is risky. Don’t you?”
“I do, but he’s right.” She sucked in her cheek as if the words bothered her to say. I didn’t like it. “I didn’t think anything would happen.”
I stood, crossed to her, and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “If you need a running partner, just wake me up and I’ll come with you. I don’t mind. I need the workout after slacking off since we’ve been on Earth.”
Her brows drew together. “Seriously? Mr. Viking, who looks like he bench presses six of me, is complaining about being out of shape?”
I laughed. “I don’t think I could bench press six of you, but maybe one.” When I reached for her waist, she squealed and smacked my arm.
She pointed at me, stepping back. “Not on your life!”
Chuckling, I crossed my arms. “I’ve got a lot of years to spare. I’m sure I can risk a few for the cause.”
“What are you, a cat?” She shook her head, smiling. “Where’s Zeke and Cyn?”
“Still asleep.”
“Well, I need to shower and get ready for work.”
“I’ll start breakfast then. You need to eat before you go.”
When she pursed her lips, I lifted a brow, daring her to argue.
I didn’t budge when she pushed me, laughing when she glared. I liked how she kept putting her hands on me. Unlike Ezra, she didn’t back down with me. I loved her fire.
“You’re relentless.”
“No. I want you healthy.”
Her cheeks darkened, and she nodded. “I don’t get you,” she mumbled with a scoff, turning and heading for the stairs.
Ezra cleared his throat, drawing my attention from watching Rae leave.
“What do you want for breakfast?”
“I want to discuss what I just witnessed.”
“Okay? What?” I headed to the kitchen. If I didn’t get something edible ready by the time Rae came downstairs, she’d leave with only a cup of coffee. She needed to refuel after her run.
Ezra rose to his feet and joined me, taking a seat at the counter. “You can’t let this happen.”
Setting a carton of eggs and a mixing bowl on the counter, I met his eyes. “Let what happen?”
His tone already said what he meant, but I asked anyway.
“We’re not staying here, Ash. Whatever is happening between you and Raelynn needs to end. Now.”
My brows hitched, but I schooled my expression, cracking eggs into the bowl. Chicken eggs tasted different from gornak eggs, but they weren’t half bad. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Do you think me incapable of discerning when my best friend—my brother—is enamored with a woman? You haven’t given a woman a second glance in years.”
I shrugged, tossing broken eggshells into the trash. “I like her. What of it?”
“There’s more to it.”
“There’s not.”
When Ezra remained silent for far too long, I looked over at him. “What?”
“I never thought you would lie to me,” he said. Despite his neutral expression, his softened tone revealed how my deceit affected him.
I wasn’t sure what to say to him.
Though I couldn’t explain it, warmth spread through me—a comfort and rightness that always came with Rae’s presence. The thought of returning home without her sat heavy like lead in my stomach.
A part of me didn’t want to return.
I’d lived my life serving the Kilnejar family, and here I was, harboring thoughts of remaining on Earth. How could I look out for Ezra and my brothers here?
Pushing the eggs around in the frying pan, I shared the truth with Ezra. “I thought she was my Nyrith.”
“What?” His voice lowered. “Since when?”
“The very first night,” I said, turning the temperature down on the stove. “I’ve struggled with it for weeks. She’s human. It shouldn’t be possible.” I turned to him. His mouth pressed into a tight line. “I know what she feels.”
“Are you saying you share the empathic connection between mates with her?”
“Yes. No. I’m not sure.” I turned off the burner and scooped the scrambled eggs into a bowl, placing it on the counter.
“Either you know or you don’t.”
Gathering strawberries and raspberries from the refrigerator, I dumped them into a bowl beside the eggs. “If she were Shyrlivi, I wouldn’t feel confused about it. But she’s human. Have you ever sensed a human’s emotions when you’ve come to Earth? Have they acted empathetic to you?”
Ezra shook his head. “I never interact with them unless necessary. I don’t get close enough. Anything else?”
“Other than hearing the word ‘Nyrith’ in my head, tempting me at every turn?” I laughed at his surprised expression. It took a lot to catch Ezra off guard. “I don’t understand it either.”
Hearing voices wasn’t part of recognizing your Nyrith mate. It added weight to the idea that someone—or something—manipulated our link to Rae.
Ezra plucked a raspberry from the bowl, studying it before popping it into his mouth. He swallowed before he said, “When she spoke of candied blood, the idea floated in my head even though it defied prophecy. But when she experienced the same with both you and Cyn, I realized it couldn’t be.”
One way Shyrlivi confirmed a Nyrith pairing was through blood exchange.
Blood consumption wasn’t essential to our survival, but some Shyrlivi savored blood for pleasure.
But drinking the average Shyrlivi’s blood couldn’t compare to consuming the blood of your Nyrith.
The texts and firsthand accounts all note the sweet overtones that softened the heavy metallic tang of blood.
“Did her blood taste different to you when you healed her?”
Ezra sighed like a man reluctant to admit the truth. “Yes. I’ve tasted nothing finer in my life. It was the sole reason I questioned our connection when she asked about our blood’s flavor. Though I can’t say I’ve experienced a strong empathic connection with her.”
I stared at the bowl of berries, reflecting on his words.
He leaned back on his stool, a severe frown souring his expression. Dismissing whatever thought crossed his mind, he said, “The likelihood that Shyrlivi blood tastes sweet to humans seems far more plausible than a human Nyrith.”
I remembered how she latched onto Cyn’s wrist, desperate to consume his blood. She acted like the Jinphni District’s beggars, craving the exotic powders and syrups offered to visitors desiring unconventional entertainment and goods in the Dens.
The council knew employees at the Dens—a members-only venue—added toxins and plant pollen to boost potency illegally. Ezra’s father turned a blind eye, citing the taxes as worth the cost.
“She behaved as though his blood intoxicated her,” Ezra said, echoing my own thoughts. He hesitated, his gaze sliding to the bowl of eggs. “It’s worth documenting with Father when we return.”
My jaw muscles tensed, but I leaned against the counter, feigning ease. I knew he didn’t want to tell his father, but he wouldn’t risk it coming out later. “Do you think someone is playing a game with us?”
“In what way?”
“First, the book. It shouldn’t be on Earth, yet it is. It bears the princes’ royal mark, but I’ve never seen it before. Where did it come from? Then there’s a human’s ability to summon us. How did she get that power? How did her blood bring us here?”
Ezra’s gaze drifted to the wall where Cyn had nearly lost control when I motioned to it.
“And now, she can weaken us enough for us to lose our sense and possibly attack her. Her blood tempts us. Our blood stimulates her. If we attack a human without justification…”
Ezra caught my meaning without me finishing.
If we harmed a human without council sanction, we faced banishment, seen as no better than the lesser infernals and beasts in Feranzis or Moicae.
Ezra looked at the book at the end of the counter. “Don’t get closer to her. We need to stay focused on getting home. Don’t lose sight of that.”
Easier said than done.
We’d spent the first two weeks scouring the book for answers, coming up empty-handed. With the attacks and the funeral, we’d deviated from our goal. Not that I minded.
Maybe getting closer to Rae wasn’t safe, but I couldn’t resist the intense pull toward the raven-haired beauty with sun-kissed skin.
In any other situation, ignoring my duty to Elyrdin would be unacceptable. What would it say about me if I abandoned the council for a human after they took me in when my father died serving Elyrdin?
My fist tightened at the thought.
It also hadn’t escaped my notice how my brothers wanted her.
I didn’t know if the attraction came from whatever influenced our meeting, or something deeper. Their past relationships—or lack thereof—offered little insight.
Zeke lacked experience with women. His trauma and unique approach to the world led him to remain isolated from others. He’d found no one outside our circle interesting until Rae.
Cyn didn’t share the same problem. He entertained bedmates, but never committed beyond a night.
He never allowed them into our home, always opting to use a bedroom at the palace.
I knew he only gave them the use of his body to get his blood fix.
He felt nothing for them. And while I knew he wanted Zeke, I saw the turmoil in his eyes when he looked at Rae.
She captivated him. The more she challenged him, the more he came alive. He liked her, even if he resented it.
I looked at Ezra as he studied the pages of the summoning book, like he’d done a dozen times over. He didn’t do relationships. Like me, he didn’t have the time.
The council demanded too much from us.
But he also refrained from physical intimacy.
He wasn’t celibate—that much I knew. From what I understood, his particular tastes made it difficult to find partners who matched him—or were genuine.
I never asked what he meant; his sex life wasn’t of interest to me.
Like Cyn and Zeke, his lack of interest in relationships made it hard to gauge his type at all.
Rae’s scream from upstairs made us look up.