4. Kyros #2
“We haven’t really had much chance to talk…
A lot has been happening…” I don’t want to say aloud that I think I have known she was my twin flame since the moment our eyes met, but I was too cowardly to admit it.
Then, after I found out who she really was, I was too blinded by rage.
I felt betrayed once again by the gods, that they would curse me to have a mate.
One who, only weeks before laying eyes on her, I could have killed without question if the need had arisen, simply because of who sired her.
I know now; there is no mistaking the burn that started inside of me when I met her.
But I have no clue what she knows about twin flames.
Who’s to say her father allowed her to learn anything about those kinds of god-given bonds?
She clearly knows very little about anything that lies outside of the castle walls of Eathian.
Everything is shit. I drop back into the opposite chair, giving up on my relentless pacing.
“Okay, so what are you doing here?” He asks with an upturn of his hands, flippantly gesturing to the room we sit in.
“We need to discuss the pl—”
“Why are you here? With me, and not with her? That’s what I mean, Kyros.” He cuts me off, derisively pinning me with a look that only says how much of an idiot he thinks I am. I take a deep breath and look away. My vision tunnels into the flames dancing in the hearth.
It’s a simple answer, but sometimes even simple answers are hard to speak out loud.
Am I willing to admit everything I did to hurt the one person that literally mirrors my soul?
I clear my throat before I look back at him.
I am about to admit that the situation is uncharted territory for me, that I don’t know what to do…
A knock sounds at the door, saving me from needing to voice those things aloud.
I ease to my feet, crossing my arms over my chest as I dismiss the thoughts of admitting anything to him.
My eyes flick over to Shayd as he heads to the door as it begins cracking open, and I am about to try to call my magick to me when a soft feminine voice cuts through my disquietude.
“Lord Shayd?” Delicate fingers wrap around the door as it opens a little more, and big brown and gold eyes peer out from behind the edge.
“Maisy? Is everything ok?” Shayd asks in a tone I have never heard come from him.
“I—um… Miss Astraea was sleeping in the chambers. I was told to take her there after we made food… but I heard something… and well…” The girl’s nerves are almost tangible as she stands in the doorway, chewing her lip between each word she mumbles out.
“Maisy, was it?” I ask, trying to appear less anxious than I feel as I cross the room toward her.
She cowers at my approach, bringing my brows to drop as I lift my gaze to Shayd.
Why does such a young girl send off thunderous vibrations of fear?
I crouch down in front of her, bringing my eyes to her level.
She can’t be much older than nine or so.
She nods her head at my question. “Where is she? Miss Astraea?” I ask her, and she swallows audibly.
“Go on, dear. You can tell Kyros where she is. You aren’t in trouble,” Shayd adds. He places a hand on the girl’s upper back as he comes to stand at her side. His concern about where Astraea is mirrors my own, if only because he knows what I will do if anything happens to her.
“She—she asked for fresh air. She said that she had a hard day, and she—” Maisy pauses, stammering nervously.
“I took her to her room to rest. When she broke a glass on accident, she said she wanted to walk outside for a minute. I told her that I liked to see the horses when I had a bad day. I took her outside, but she said I should go back in. She said…” My face falls, and I stand abruptly; the girl flinches back when I wrench open the door more.
I move around her to storm into the hall before she finishes telling her story.
I have heard enough to know that Astraea is out in the open in Diemos, and the sun will be rising soon. Something could have happened already.
Shayd stops me with a hand splayed on my chest before I can get through the doorway.
I didn’t hear what the girl said next. Everything around me ceased to exist when all I could think about was her being taken from me.
Even now, as the blood rushes through my ears, all I can think of is Astraea’s safety and how I never should have let her leave my side.
“Kyros, wait.” Shayd growls when I push out from under his hold and into the hall. He grabs me by the crook of my elbow, and I clench my jaw as I stop for only the moment it takes for me to tell him to let me go.
“I will never warn you again, Shayd. You’re a friend to me, family even, but you will never stop me from going after her.
Ever. You were just asking me why I was here instead of with her?
It’s because I don’t deserve her, but even more than that?
I deserve every scathing look she gives me.
I deserve every ounce of hate that she aims at me, and I don’t care.
So long as she’s safe while doing it. She is not safe here, and I am an idiot for ever letting her out of my sight.
“Let me go, or you’ll find out just how much more she means to me than the attachment of your hand.
” I demand through clenched teeth, and he resigns with a shake of his head.
“Our plans clearly need revision. Before you run off into the night, I think we need to have another discussion. Try to think about this with a clear head. This situation is about a lot more than us—”
“You don’t think I fucking know that, Shayd?” I storm away from him and the wide-eyed girl, repeating my words under my breath. “I fucking know.”