Chapter 13 Kailin #2
His blue eyes widened when he saw me. "Kailin." He scanned me from head to toe. "You're back." The relief in his voice was palpable. Then, without waiting for an invitation, he pulled me into his arms. "I was so worried for you."
I melted into his embrace, letting his familiar warmth chase away the lingering chill that had seeped into my bones out on the terrace. "I'm okay," I murmured against his chest. "Nyxath was surprisingly pleasant and supportive."
He pulled back enough to study my face, his hands framing my cheeks. "The formidable dragon queen was pleasant?"
"Yes." I smiled. "The important thing is that I'm still in one piece, and I have a pass to be out after curfew, so I can tell Shovia and Codric that I'm back so they won't worry about me till morning."
"Morek is worried too." Alar took my hand. "Let's stop by his room first."
"You should stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"I'm coming with you, and I don't want to hear any arguments about that."
"Fine." I smiled. "If we are intercepted by the hall monitor, I can claim that I needed you to come with me because I was still unsteady on my legs, and if he has a problem with that, he can take it up with the dragon queen. I don't think he will dare."
It was also the truth, so I wouldn't be lying.
When Alar knocked on Morek's door, it opened almost immediately, and Morek stepped out into the corridor, wearing only his pajama bottoms, his bare, impressive upper body on full display for my perusal.
Wow. He was just as drool-worthy as I had imagined, and even though I was in love with Alar, I couldn't help but admire his male perfection.
Hells, I was momentarily struck speechless.
Morek's eyes widened, and before I could say anything, he pulled me into a fierce hug. "Thank Elu, you are safe," he breathed. "We were so worried."
I chuckled, returning the embrace even though it was a bit awkward since he wasn't wearing a shirt. "I'm touched. I didn't know you cared so much."
"Of course I do." He pulled back and examined me in much the same way Alar had just a few minutes ago. "How did it go with the queen?"
"Good. We had a good conversation. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."
I needed to figure out which parts I could tell Morek and the others and which ones I could tell only Alar.
Morek's eyebrows rose, but before he could ask more questions, Alar intervened. "Kailin wants to tell Shovia and Codric that she's back in one piece and then hit the bed. She's exhausted, and we have conditioning tomorrow."
"Yes, of course." Morek nodded. "I'm glad you're okay, Kailin."
"Thanks." I rose on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Good night."
If Alar had a problem with my display of affection for Morek, he was good at hiding it, and I appreciated the effort.
Men were possessive creatures, and they were instinctively driven to protect what they considered theirs.
Come to think of it, I was possessive too, and I considered Alar mine.
Would I have minded if he hugged Shovia and she kissed him on his cheek?
No, I would not.
She was a dear friend, and he cared about her. He might be even slightly attracted to her because she oozed sex appeal and he was a young, healthy male, but I knew he would never be disloyal to me, not even in thought or imagination. It just wasn't the type of man he was.
We continued down the hall to Alar and Codric's room, and this time, Alar didn't bother knocking and just opened the door.
I guess he figured Shovia and Codric wouldn't be doing anything intimate while waiting for news about me.
"Kailin!" Shovia launched herself off Codric's bed and crossed the room in two strides, wrapping me in a hug that threatened to crack my ribs. "Oh, thank Elu, you're okay."
She pulled back, and I was shocked to see tears glistening in her eyes. Shovia was the least emotional person I knew. She never cried.
"Hey," I said softly, reaching up to wipe a tear that had escaped from the corner of her eye. "I'm fine."
"You can't do that to me," she said. "I can't handle the stress."
It was my fault that everyone had been so worried. I'd confessed my unwarranted fears to Shovia, and she must have told the others.
"You know the saying that it's never the things you worry about that get you? It's true. Nyxath was not nearly as terrifying as I expected. In fact, she was friendly, for a dragon queen, that is."
Codric had risen from his bed as well, and he gave me a quick hug. "Good to see you in one piece. We were debating whether to stage a rescue mission, but since we were all terrified of Nyxath, we just stayed here and waited."
"So, what did she want?" Shovia asked.
Nyxath hadn't explicitly told me to keep our conversation secret, but some instinct warned me to be careful. Shovia and Alar knew about my dream, but what about Codric? I didn't remember telling Shovia to keep it a secret from him, so it was likely that she'd already told him.
I sat on the bed with Alar next to me, holding my hand.
"Nyxath knew about my dream about projecting the call to potential riders on other worlds because Onyx had read my thoughts during the ride over here and told her.
She didn't seem to mind and even told me to drink the tea to get deeper into the dream and see where it leads me. "
"What else did she say?" Codric asked.
"She said I have her protection, but she didn't specify from whom. She just said that power attracts those who fear it or want to control it."
"That's ominous and unhelpful," Shovia said.
"That's what I thought," I admitted. "But at least she's not the threat, and she's on our side. That's something."
"Unless she was lying," Codric pointed out. "Dragons are not bound by the Precepts of Truth."
"I don't think she was." I thought back to those ancient, knowing eyes.
Nyxath had also said that I came from one of the most ancient shamanic lines and that she could smell Elu's blood in my veins. The most surprising thing was that I wasn't unique in that regard. Supposedly, many Elucians were the descendants of those ancient lines and didn't know that they were.
"What else did she say?" Alar asked.
He must have guessed that I wasn't telling them everything. I would tell him later what Nyxath had said about my blood, but I could share more details about my conversation with the queen with my friends without betraying Saphir's confidence.
"She hinted that I'm in danger not only from the Sitorians and the Shedun but also from dissidents. She told me not to fear my abilities and to remember that I'm not alone."
"You're not," Shovia said. "You have us."
"We were chosen together for a reason," Codric added.
"Even if that reason is just to keep me sane while reality gets increasingly strange," I attempted a joke.
"Hey, we're good at that," Shovia said. "Sanity maintenance is totally our thing."
"Since when?" Codric asked.
"Since always. We're very stabilizing."
Alar snorted. "You're chaos in human form."
"I know." She batted her eyelashes at him. "That's why I'm never boring."
He arched a brow. "Are you trying to imply that I am?"
She shrugged.
The familiar banter further eased the tension that had been coiled in my chest since Nyxath's summons. My friends kept me grounded.
"We should get back," I said eventually, though I made no move to leave.
"Let's stay for a little bit longer." Alar's arm tightened around me. "You are still shaken."
I hadn't realized that my hands were trembling until he'd said that. The stress of the summons and then being in Nyxath's presence had depleted my meager reserves of energy.
"Okay." I smiled up at him. "Nyxath didn't specify the length of my special dispensation, so I guess I don't need to rush." I didn't plan on going to sleep anytime soon anyway because I had plans for Alar.
I had missed making love to him.
"So," Shovia said. "Ready to hear some updates on our discussion regarding the killer dragons?"
I welcomed the change of subject. "Any new theories?"
"Several," Codric said. "We're thinking they might be looking for specific traits in their riders, and the ones who died didn't have them, but Odinah does."
"What kind of traits?" I asked.
"That's where we're stuck," Shovia admitted. "It's not weakness because Odinah's as strong-willed as they come. Not evil either, despite Morek's opinion of her."
"Alar thinks it might be political," Codric added. "Maybe they're looking for riders who oppose the current system."
I considered this. "But why would dragons care about human politics?"
"Their lives are intertwined with ours," Alar pointed out. "If some think that Elucians are not doing everything they can to protect their eggs, they might have an issue with that."
"That's true." I thought about my conversations with Onyx, how perceptive he was about human nature. "They definitely have their own opinions about things."
"The problem is," Shovia said, "that we don't know enough about politics to guess what position Odinah might hold. Or what the dragons might be looking for."
"We need someone who actually pays attention to that stuff." I looked at Alar. "Someone who reads newspapers and knows the players."
"I'm not knowledgeable about Elucian politics," he admitted. "Not much gets out of Elucia and is reported in Elurian newspapers."
"My best idea so far is the librarian," Shovia said. "Hadrick seems like the type who knows everything, and I'm good with getting old people to talk. They love me."
"Since when?" Codric asked.
"Since always. I'm very charming to the elderly."
"We'll need to get permission to go to the library." Alar pushed to his feet and offered me a hand up. "So, your charm would be better served on one of our instructors who can grant it."
Shovia laughed. "That should be Kailin's job. She's all chummy with Commander Ravel."