Chapter 32
“What the fuck?” I said, staring at Vaeron’s retreating form.
Lyriasthe peeled herself off the wall, straightening her skirt with shaking hands. She’d never witnessed Vaeron at his most wrecked and wretched. In front of her—in front of everyone, he was always so calm. But I knew the male beneath.
“I take it their conversation didn’t go well,” Lyriasthe commented, teeth worrying her lower lip.
I whirled on the female who had upended my life. “All you said was that Vaeron had kicked you out so he could talk to Sylaira alone. Explain everything.”
She opened her mouth, but before she could say a word, a familiar face appeared around the corner.
“Ah, Maelsar, I was wondering when I’d see you!”
Fuck, now is not the time.
“Mayyal,” I said, schooling my expression into a wry grin. “It’s been far too long.”
“Yes, it has,” she beamed, wiping her hands on her skirts. “Come here, let me look at you.”
I wanted nothing more than to pull Lyriasthe into a private space and figure out what had happened between Vaeron and Sylaira, but Mayyal would not be deterred. So I approached, giving her a quick embrace while she tutted about me looking too thin. After over a month on the road, everyone was.
“Should I make up your usual room?” she asked me.
“Please,” I replied. “And some of your sweet potato hash would help me fill out, like when we were younglings.”
She chuckled, promising to cook for me and send someone else to check that we had everything we needed. Once she was out of sight, I gripped Lyriasthe’s arm and steered her toward the rooms where Vaeron and I normally stayed.
“I really should check on Sylaira,” Lyriasthe said, her voice tight. She jerked out of my hold and started back in the direction of the Herr’s suite with quick strides.
I jogged in front of her, forcing her to halt. Her lips tugged into a frown, and her brows furrowed. “Please, Maelsar, I need to see if she’s okay.”
She tried to duck under my arm, but I caught her and pressed her against the wall. “Not until you explain what their conversation was all about. Vaeron wouldn’t tell me anything while we were at the academy, even though I knew something had shifted.”
“I can tell you later–” she started, but I cut her off.
“Now.”
I checked around us to ensure we wouldn’t be overheard, then dragged her the rest of the way to my room. One of the Hatha islanders passed by the windows, patrolling the grounds. She didn’t look our way.
When she had moved out of sight, I said, “Speak.”
“I’m not a dog,” she shot at me, eyes narrowing. But her words were dull, mired down by her anxiety. Her fingers dragged along the edge of a table.
I leaned on the back of a chair, watching her slow pace of the room. A hunter was patient. A concerned friend was anything but.
“Lyr…” I spoke her nickname as a warning.
She paused, looking out the window into the falling dark.
“Sylaira had a vision.” She shifted ever so slightly on her feet before finally meeting my gaze.
“After, she was inconsolable, as it often happens. But even after she seemed to calm down, anxiety clung to her. Even when she tried to rest, she couldn’t.
And you know how damn tired we all are.”
I nodded. There was nothing I wanted more than some sleep. Well, except maybe to be in between Lyriasthe’s legs, but that could come before.
“And then Vaeron barged in.” She sighed, playing with the ends of her hair. But something about her normal antics rang wrong. “I didn’t stick around, which is why I came to find you.”
“He wouldn’t fucking slow down for us,” I grumbled. Somehow, his horse had the energy to gallop the distance between the academy and the estate. Mine dug his hooves in and refused to do more than a trot. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She froze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you lie to me too,” I snapped, the words coming out harsher than I intended.
She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off before she could protest again. “Omission counts.”
Lyriasthe huffed and crossed her arms. “It’s not my place to tell you.”
My brow lifted. “So you are keeping something from me?”
“You hid a lot from me before,” she pointed out.
“At Vaeron’s insistence.”
She swept her hand toward where Sylaira waited down the hall. “I will not betray my friend’s confidence.”
My nostrils flared as I exhaled a long breath. Lyr and I never argued, yet here we were, standing on opposite sides of a battlefield when we really needed to work together.
“What are we going to do?” Lyriasthe whispered. “They have to work this out.”
“Well, they were doing better. Especially after Vyss.” She hadn’t rejected him for the Demon magic. Though I was still pissed at him from keeping it from me all these years.
But Vaeron had always thought he had to be the perfect, dutiful son. Brother. Hunter.
Mate.
He could have shared it with me though. I thought he trusted me with everything. And I was…hurt that he hadn’t.
“I don’t know how they could both be so stubborn. And somehow for very different reasons,” Lyriasthe commented.
“They’re not like us.” I closed the distance to my intended. Because I didn’t want to fight with her. Ever.
She didn’t move other than to tilt her chin to look up at me. “You’ve always been overt in your intentions.”
“I didn’t want you to doubt that I was anything short of enraptured by you,” I murmured, hand drifting to her neck. My thumb stroked over her fluttering pulse. “Somehow, you believed me.”
“You’ve never done anything to make me doubt you.” She swallowed, and fuck how I loved to feel her throat bob.
A sunny day slammed into my mind, the scent of summer rain lingering in the air. Lyriasthe had knelt in front of me, hands tied behind her back. Yet her teeth bared like she would sink them into my flesh if I dared get close again. The place she’d clawed me throbbed with phantom pain.
The corner of my mouth twitched up. “From that very first moment, I knew I’d do whatever it took to make you mine.”
“Is that why you kept me in a cage?”
“It absolutely is. Couldn’t have you running from me. I don’t have the blessing of a bond with you to track you down.” My other hand settled on her lower back, and I dragged her flush against me.
“Are you so certain that this isn’t a long game and I’m planning on slipping away in the night even now?” she teased, sky-blue eyes sparkling.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.” My tone was deadly serious. “For me, it will always be you.”
Her lashes fluttered against her cheekbones. “I know.”
I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, then released her. “But to ensure that I get to fuck you long after you’ve grown tired of me, we need to get Vaeron and Sylaira to work together.”
She sighed again. “Which means we need to figure out what was said.”
“This time.”
Lyriasthe snorted. “This time indeed.”
“I know where Vaeron likes to go when he’s stressed. After I eat, I’ll start looking for him.”
“I’ll go check on Sylaira in the meantime,” she said.
She made to leave, but I caught her wrist, tugging her back into me. “Do you think the Goddess put you in my path because she knew there was no way her bond would work between them otherwise?”
She didn’t laugh this time. Fear darkened her sky-blue irises. “I don’t know what She wants anymore.” Her fingers raked across my chest. “Maybe She knew their love would need witnesses to carry it while they couldn’t.”
“Tell me what you know, Lyr,” I pressed again.
She shook her head. “Speak with Vaeron first. He will have more answers for you than I do.”
I pressed my lips to her forehead, releasing a long sigh. “I’ll see you later.”
Our fingers remained locked until the last possible moment as she backed out of my room, off to find Sylaira. Mayyal’s cheery greeting grabbed my attention, and moments later, she rounded the corner, a steaming tray of food in her hands.
My stomach rumbled at the sight of a slice of pie, and I offered her another grin. “Mayyal, you’re spoiling me.”
“Nonsense. I don’t see you two often enough. Speaking of which, where is Vaeron?”
“No idea, but I intend to find him after I’ve devoured all of this. Another slice of this,” I gestured to the flaky pastry oozing apples, “might help me flush him out though.”