“Did you ever give him a gift?”
I tipped back my head and pondered a moment. “On his birthday, sure. Otherwise, not really. We were a little poor for gifts. I gave him an autumn leaf I’d pressed flat in my mother’s cookbook once.” I grinned and added with a touch of sarcasm, “Took me ages.”
But there were gifts, small things, like him walking with me to deliver soap. Sometimes, he’d find a pretty pebble and give it to me, and I’d saved plenty of honey-cakes for him over the years.
“Good relationships take effort to keep them healthy, and sex is a natural part of a mate-bond.”
Heat crept into my cheeks. “I knew that.” Kind of.
She studied me and nodded. “Good. Relationships take effort and time, and if you value the relationship, you’ll give him both. You’ll both change over time. That’s just life, so make sure you’re investing in your relationship so that distance doesn’t grow between you. Because make no mistake, though you are mates and cannot bear to be physically apart, you can still grow distant in other ways.”
I snorted and, in my best teasing voice, said, “I’m surprised you’re such a relationship expert.”
I knew the words were a mistake as soon as they left my mouth.
Her smile dropped, and her features took on a haunted look.
“I was just kidding,” I rushed to amend the offense. “I mean I’m surprised. My mother never had a partner. There were hardly any males around in Verald.”
I frowned. Was that why I was finding it difficult to fully accept Tyrrik’s presence in my life?
She patted my leg and said, “When you’re alone, you have a lot of time to think. And to regret. I want you to be aware of what can happen if you don’t nurture your relationships, mate and otherwise. From what I’ve observed, what you and Tyrrik have is pretty amazing.”
I hadn’t had this I realized—another female to talk to. Childlike creepiness aside, I didn’t dislike talking to Lani. I peeked up at her through my lashes, a smile curving my lips against my will. “You really think that?”
“I do.” She smiled back at me before shoving dried meat and bread into my hands. “Now, eat before you headtalk your mate. I’ll keep first watch. You need to recover your strength for tomorrow.”
I wolfed dinner down double time and guzzled the rest of one of our waterskins. My muscles felt wrung out from the drain on my Phaetyn powers, but my mind kept replaying the conversation with Lani. I’d spent far more time pushing Tyrrik away than pulling him close. And sure, I’d had my reasons for a while. But I didn’t want distance between us. I just truly, deep down, feared trusting him.
I feared he may not always be around—whether that came from my mother never having a partner, the fact there hadn’t been many males in Verald growing up, or King Irdelron’s brutality, which taught me to fear losing those I loved—and I was allowing my fear to rule my actions. Nope, not okay with that. I determined not to let fear affect what I might have with Tyrrik. What I did have with Tyrrik.
“Mate.” I tried out the word, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Maybe it took a bit.
Closing my eyes, I leaned back on a rock, doing my best to be comfortable because I was not moving. Tyrrik?
And waited. Tyrrik?
Was he serious? I waited another minute and then sighed long and hard. Lord Tyrrik is the Most Brilliant Drae.
His presence flooded my body, filling me with warmth.
You called?
A short laugh burst from my lips. You’re an idiot. And I didn’t mean it. My fingers were crossed. I quickly crossed them.
You just crossed them. I felt it.
What? Sheesh, this bond is getting Strong with a capital S. I thought we could only see images from each other when our emotions are high. Is it the same with feeling how my body feels? I suddenly realized the implications of just what he might feel during future kissing meetings.
My father would check on my mother by using her vision. He was attuned to her heart rate as well.
I rolled my eyes. Please tell me this isn’t another ‘males can do it but females can’t’ thing.
His lips curved, and I gasped at the purring rumble behind the gesture. I just felt you smile!
There’s the answer to your question then, he thought back. My mother would use the connection to judge when to send my father energy on long flights and in battle.
Tyrrik hadn’t talked much about his parents. He’d been taken from them when he was nine. But I couldn’t sense any hesitation or bitterness as he remembered them. I guess one hundred years was a long time to heal wounds. During our fight with the Druman, I just looked at the strength of your tendrils, but paying attention to how drained you feel will be better. I’m going to practice.
Don’t overextend yourself. I can feel how tired you are from keeping up the veil all day.
A jagged piece of rock was digging into my back, and I shifted over a few inches. Tired was an understatement. So, I drew out, what’s your favorite color?
We’re asking each other questions? His amusement radiated through the bond, and my heart swelled with the warmth of his laughter. Black, he answered. What about yours, love?
Of course it was. I arched a brow. Golden brown.
Like your mother’s honey syrup?
I smiled and slid down the side of the rock, cradling my hands under my head to get comfy. I closed my eyes. Yes. What’s your . . . favorite animal?
Desert panther tastes the best.
Not to eat! I chuckled sleepily. To have as a pet. Do you ever think about the things we can have when the empire isn’t starving and people can do more than survive? I think I’d like a dog. One I didn’t have to consider eating.
I focused and was rewarded with an image from Tyrrik. He was out on one of the top balconies in the Gemond Kingdom, looking out to where I lay. I knew he couldn’t see me from there, but it was comforting to know he was looking out for me.
I think I’d like a dog I wouldn’t eat too, he finally answered. Our dog.
Who said Drae and human traditions couldn’t see eye-to-eye?
“Ryn,” Lani whisper-shouted, shaking me. “Wake up.”
I peeled an eyelid open and, noting the darkness around me, grumbled, “Leave me alone. It’s not morning yet.”
I closed my eyes again, curling up on the not-at-all-comfortable jagged stone, determined to get every last second of sleep I could before I took off. The Phaetyn invisibility power was great, but Lani was right; it took effort to keep it up. Normally, I healed super-fast, but the idea of having to resume that cloaking-cover made me even more determined to get some extra Zs.
A roar boomed overhead, ricocheting off the rocks around us, and I sat up with a gasp, scrambling for a hold as the entire mountain shook. Blood whooshed in my ears as my body stilled, and my mouth dried. There was a Drae . . . here.
Collecting myself, I crouched beside Lani, blinking rapidly to adjust to the darkness. The roar cut off abruptly, and the tremors stilled. Everything stilled, hushing in the presence of the sheer power of the beast above us. I swallowed and peered up into the night sky and then to my companion, my eyes wide, as the sound of beating wings tickled my ears.
Tyrrik? I shouted through our bond.
White fire streamed across the velvet night sky.
Tyrrik’s fire was blue. Which meant that Drae wasn’t Tyrrik, and there was only one other option. Terror pounded against my ribs as I contemplated what it would mean if Draedyn found me. I couldn’t be locked away again. I grabbed my chest, gasping for breath.
Ryn? Tyrrik’s voice was laced with panic. What’s the matter?
An image of our bedroom in Gemond flashed through our bond. I could feel his alarm as he hurried out of the room, not bothering to get dressed. My thoughts derailed for a moment until he skidded to a halt in the hallway and repeated, What’s the matter?
Lani whispered in my ear, “We’re good, Ryn. We’ll be safe under my veil. Tell Tyrrik. Now.”