8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Ryker
R yker…
I dreamed of Kya. Her voice rang through my mind like the sweetest song, and it was so fucking clear, like she was right next to me. If it wasn’t for the ache in my soul, I would have thought she was.
I wasn’t ready to face reality, grasping those moments where I could feel the whisper of her memory beside me.
Opening my eyes, I turned my head to find I was still alone—her side of the bed vacant.
No matter that the majority of my life spent in this room was without her, the only memories I had were the precious few we shared. And that only made me even more bitter—more motivated.
She thinks she can just leave me? I won’t stand for it. She’s mine, and I will have her.
But at the same time, my anger was blended with concern—terror of the unknown piercing my heart and knocking the breath from my lungs.
Is she alright? How is she feeling? Are the shreds of our bond biting into her soul the same as mine? Has she healed from her wound? Is she safe? Is she afraid?
I didn’t hesitate jumping out of bed and storming my way down to the library on the lower level of the palace. It wasn’t as big as Morah, but it was the largest library in Oryn and had many titles that even Morah didn’t—several of them being ones Eamon had been trying to obtain from me for decades. Kya had spent a considerable amount of time here translating and deciphering the dark book.
Just another place imbued with her memory.
While the palace had been restored, the books were still in numerous piles on the floor, not yet shelved. Looking around at the disarray, I made a promise to myself I would have it all back in order before I got Kya back. And I would get her back.
Working my way through the titles, I found anything that was related to the mating bond or the Rip. I had them all in small stacks set off to the side, and I was deciding which one to look at first when Mavris came in.
“Ayen’s ass, Ryk. You scared the shit out of me,” Mavris said as he crossed the room.
“I didn’t do anything.” I didn’t look up from the books.
“You slept for two days and then disappeared from your room. I thought you had left again.”
“I will. But first, I need to find out more about the mating bond and the Rip.”
He sighed. “Look, I know you’re concentrating on finding Kya, and you should. I can take care of things here, but there’s something you need to see.”
“Not now. Whatever it is, it can wait,” I clipped.
“It’ll only take five minutes, and it’s something you need to see.” Mavris rarely raised his voice to me, and his tone had my attention.
“What?” I huffed.
“Just…come on.”
I followed Mavris out of the library and up to the balcony on the top level of the palace. He braced his hands on the railing and jutted his chin out toward the city.
“Look.”
I followed his line of sight out over the city of Voara below. It was still there. Or at least what was left of it from what had been destroyed by Daegel.
“What about it?” I gritted through my teeth.
“The Glaev,” he said quietly. “It’s gone.”
Now that he had mentioned it, I noticed the once black, decimated land was green with a thin covering of snow.
“Kya’s energy magic…it didn’t stop. It kept restoring the land even after she cut off her magic. The buildings are still gone, but…”
“But the city can live again,” I breathed.
With Voara having been mended by Kya, I left Mavris to oversee the reconstruction of the buildings and returning the citizens back to their homes where they belonged. My duty as Lord was pushed behind my duty as mate. While it riddled me with guilt, I needed to concentrate on finding her.
I spent the next several days locked away in the palace library, poring over every piece of information I could find about another realm. It was the only thing I could think of, where she would be if not here or dead.
The information about the Rip was less helpful. While Scholars had tried to study it for millennia, not much was known. Anything that entered the Rip never came out, whether that be people or elements. Once you touched the mists, it took you.
I had seen it happen more than once. Most recently at the last Trial when a particularly arrogant contestant decided to wield her fire into the Rip—despite my warning. It latched onto her fire and drew her in after it, dragging her to her death.
The most we had learned about the Rip was from the Sages, but even then, it was very little. It wasn’t until the most recent Trial that we learned not everyone died when they went in there. Apparently, if the Gods so chose, they could spare them.
But where did they take my mate?
I felt even more driven to find her, and I wasn’t wasting another minute. I left the library and went back to my bedchamber to bathe before getting dressed, taking note of the colder temperatures I’d be facing up north. I reached out to Theron just as I was lacing up my boots.
“I need to go to Dolta. Meet me on the roof.”
His only response was a short growl.
Once I was ready, I grabbed a jacket and flung the door of the bedchamber open to head up to the roof of the palace. I stopped short when I noticed Hakoa leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.
“What do you want? I’m leaving,” I bit out.
He looked me up and down with a blank expression before meeting my eyes. “I can see that. Mav told me you found Malina. He told me what happened at the Rip.”
“And?” I started to put on my jacket.
“Well, is Malina okay?”
I shrugged. “Physically, she was fine when I left her.”
He nodded slowly and looked at the floor. “You could have brought her here , you know. ”
I huffed a breath. I cared little for conversing with him at the moment. “Nikan needed to be seen by a healer, and she wasn’t exactly in the best state to come here. Besides, I…I don’t want to see them right now.”
His eyes widened, his face beginning to twist into anger. “You can’t blame her for what happened, Ryk. She was told to do it. And from the sounds of it, she didn’t want to. Kya—”
“I know, Hakoa,” I snapped. “I didn’t say I blamed her, but I still don’t want to see her right now. I don’t have time to deal with her grief and mine. And honestly, I don’t really give a shit. I need to concentrate on finding Kya.”
“Right. Mav mentioned you don’t believe Kya’s dead.”
My eyes narrowed. “She’s not.”
“I’m not questioning it,” he said, his voice softening just a bit. “If you say she’s alive, then she is. But…” He paused.
“Out with it. I don’t have all damn day.”
He ran a hand down his face. “It just sounds…eerily familiar. Don’t you think?”
“Where do you think I’m going?” I gestured to the corridor leading to the balcony.
“You think the two of you can figure out where she is? Where they are?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out.” I started walking away. “I’ll be back when I’m back.”
I only made it a few steps before he caught up to me.
“I still think we should bring Malina here. Maybe she could help. Perhaps she heard something. Or even Nikan. He was with Daegel for a while.” He stopped walking, but I continued.
He had a point about Nikan, but this was likely just a ploy for him to get his bed warmed, and I just wanted him to shut up so I could leave—so I could find answers.
“Do what you want, Hakoa. I’m going to find my mate. ”
And with that, I left him in the corridor and made my way up to the roof where Theron was waiting. Even after all these years of being with my Spirit Guardian, I struggled to determine his mood. But today, he seemed more solemn and quiet. And definitely less hostile. Perhaps it was guilt. Guilt at knowing he could have prevented all of this by not betraying me, and taking my mate away. Not to mention, ignoring me when I had needed him most.
Whether he agreed or not, he deserved his shame.
“Let’s go,” I said as I approached him and placed my hand on his scaled leg.
He blinked slowly and growled, but didn’t protest as we Traveled away.