31. Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-One
Kya
I watched as Ryker followed Eamon to his study from over my shoulder, and I wondered what Eamon could possibly want to talk to him about in privacy.
Malina and I made it down one floor by the time they were out of sight, and I knew that was the perfect opportunity to be alone.
The crack had gone up to the top of the building and curled around it out of sight.
And I knew how it got there. But I wanted to be alone to confirm it, to be certain of my theory before I told anyone else.
I placed my hand on the warm stone wall as Malina started to descend another level in the library. I paused, sending my terbis through all the different vibrations pulsing within the stone and searching for the one I needed.
Malina had stopped next to me. She understood what I was doing and gave me the courtesy of pausing her movements so it was one less that I had to sort through.
There.
“He’s just outside the steps of Morah. Go. Brief him on the situation and find out if he got what he was looking for. I’ll meet you in Eamon’s study later.”
Without question, Malina darted down the staircase. I turned and headed back up and up and up to the top level. I didn’t want to be right, but it was the only logical explanation. Except it wasn’t logical at all.
Down the darkened hallway, I entered the vacant room and found the hidden doorway to the Roav’s ledge. It confirmed my theory right then. The wooden door was hanging askew off it’s hinges, open to the chilled breeze with the darkness of the night seeping through.
Whoever got into Morah did so by coming through here. That’s why we couldn’t figure out how they got in without coming through the only door.
We had been so puzzled as to how the intruder could have entered Morah without coming through the only entrance to the great library. It hadn’t hit me until I noticed the path of the damage curving toward this door. The one that we had never told anyone about.
I stepped around the broken door onto the ledge. I glanced over the edge and saw the crack below me, and that it stopped at the opening behind me, cracking the glass ledge right through the middle. I didn’t know what this meant but at least I knew how the trespasser entered Morah.
I felt familiar footsteps approaching from behind, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Always trailing in my shadow .
“Wow. You can’t see this from the ground at all.” Ryker stepped onto the ledge and stood next to me.
“Mal’s doing. She’s good with light illusions.” I looked up at him.
The sight of him still took my breath away.
His dark hair ruffled in the gentle breeze.
His shirt stuck to his sweat covered skin, outlining the toned muscles of his arms and chest. I gazed into the swirling silver of his irises and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the hunger in his eyes like he wanted to devour me.
I’d let him.
But we both needed to resist it. At least until we could figure out what to do about the Glaev.
“So what is this place?” he asked.
I cleared my throat. “The Roav’s ledge. Nik built it for us.
No one else knows about it but us. And well, I suppose you too, now.
But it was a place that was entirely on our own.
” I sighed and gazed at the darkening sky.
A few stars were beginning to twinkle into view.
“I’d come out here alone and lay here for hours just looking at the stars. It’s my favorite place.”
My mate stepped closer to me and glanced up as well. “I understand. I have a place like this too. Somewhere just for me that no one else knows about that I like to go to when I need to be alone. When I need to get away, and I don’t have to be a Lord or a Worthy.”
“Where is that? The palace in Voara? Or is it too much of a secret to tell me?” I said playfully. I had never been there personally, but I had seen drawings of it.
He slowly moved his head side to side. “No. It’s in the Eckterre mountains.” He looked down at me, his expression soft. “If you want to go there, I’ll take you. It can be another place for you too. And I won’t keep any secrets from you. Ask me anything you want and I’ll tell you.”
I pursed my lips. “Anything?” I asked mischievously, taking a step closer so that our chests were nearly touching.
“Anything.” His expression was serious.
I tapped my chin with my forefinger, contemplating what I wanted to know first. “What’s your favorite food?”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s your first question?”
“An important one. It matters.” It wasn’t a lie. But to be honest, I had so many questions I wanted to ask, I didn’t know where to start. I wanted to learn about him and what he was like.
“Why?” he chuckled .
“It just does.” I shrugged. Food was always important.
“Hmm. Well, any cooked meat, really. I’ll eat just about anything. There’s very little that I don’t like.”
“Fair enough.”
“My turn,” he said eagerly. “What is your favorite thing to do in your leisure time? Other than gazing at the stars.”
“It isn’t obvious?” I laughed, fully. Not something I did all that often but being near him filled me with a peace and happiness I hadn’t felt in…well, I didn’t know how long it had been. I blamed the bond for the feeling.
His face fell. “Do that again.”
“Do what again?”
“Laugh,” he breathed.
“Reading.” I rolled my eyes and giggled. “I live in a library. It’s only natural that’s something I’m passionate about, don’t you think?”
“I suppose it is.” He smiled, leaning down. His scent enveloped me and I wanted to get closer. His lips parted, and all I could think about in that moment was feeling them against mine.
I swallowed.
“Are Mal and Nik back?” I took a step back to keep the temptation of touching him at bay.
“Wouldn’t you already know that?” He exhaled deeply.
I felt for them and, sure enough, I could feel them in Eamon’s office. I had just been too distracted by my mate and my want for him.
“Right. Yeah I do. We should get back down there and take a look at what Eamon found.”
I went back into Morah and walked across the dark room, about to enter the hallway when I heard a slight grunt from behind me.
Ryker had lifted and readjusted the door to an imperfect fit, but better than it was.
I eyed him after he turned to face me, and he gave me a nonchalant shrug before returning to my side to walk down to Eamon’s study together.
“What did you and Eamon talk about?” I asked.
“Just…you and some business regarding Morah and Oryn. He’s been after several texts in my possession for decades.”
“And you don’t want to give them up?” I tilted my head to the side.
“I didn’t want to, no.”
“Didn’t?”
The side of his mouth curved into a grin. “That’s related to the other half of our conversation.” He winked.
Malina and Nikan were leaned over the large gathering table as Eamon was explaining something to them when Ryker and I entered the study.
“Ah, Kya. Lord Ryker. Nikan and Malina have just informed me of what you learned from the seller and the small beach that was referenced at the northern end of Dusan.”
Ryker and I squeezed in next to Malina as Eamon began discussing the details of how this most up-to-date map had been surveyed.
But I couldn’t hear him. Not with Ryker standing behind me.
Not when his hand drifted to the small of my back and rested there.
Not when he pressed his body closer to mine in order to get a better look at the map everyone was concentrating on.
And definitely not when his thumb rhythmically grazed back and forth.
I don’t think he even realized he was doing it.
I had never felt so flustered that a simple light touch from a male could completely unravel me and turn me into some dumb-struck adolescent female. But I just couldn’t help it. I shook my head and blinked my eyes back into focus, forcing myself to concentrate on the High Scholar.
“—that close to the Glaev of Atara. But, here, shows a small patch of land between the Glaev and the Rip that could be passable.”
“It shouldn’t take long to get there from here. Maybe three days. We can leave in the morning, with the exception of Nik who’s staying behind to oversee the terbis wielders,” Malina spoke to the room.
“Actually, I’d like you to remain here, Malina,” Eamon interjected and my eyebrows raised in surprise.
“I need someone to head the investigation on the intrusion. I don’t trust that the Scholars won’t be too shaken to put their emotions aside and handle it properly.
Use all your channels and resources and find this culprit.
And Kya will continue on her journey to complete the task from her God.
Lord Ryker and I have discussed that he will travel with her and help where he can. ”
I guess that’s what he meant when he said they were talking about me .
I wondered if he told Eamon that we were mates, though not yet bonded.
“But Eamon—” Nikan glowered from the other side of Malina. I could tell that he didn’t like this decision one bit.
“It’s decided, Nikan,” Eamon clipped, standing fully and conjuring the authority of the High Scholar he was.
Nikan nodded slowly.
“For now, get some rest. You’ve all been traveling for a long while. And quite frankly, it’s late and I’m tired. Let’s regroup tomorrow to work out the details.”
Eamon ushered us out of his study. Ryker and I followed Nikan and Malina but as we got through the doorway, Eamon cleared his throat and Ryker stopped. I continued walking, pretending that I didn’t notice that he wasn’t following me anymore.
“The payment?” I heard Eamon whisper.
“I’ll send it when I return,” Ryker whispered.
Payment for what ?
A moment later, he hurried to catch up with me and we all headed up to the residential level.
“More Oryn business?” I asked in a low voice.
“Just a continuation of our previous conversation.” He smiled down at me.
I didn’t smile back. I wanted to know.