“No one else got out?” Ilyan asked his voice loud in his heightened fear. The waiter jumped a bit as she came up behind him, placing another glass of wine and another plate of mushrooms on the table. Ilyan apologized in Italian, before turning back to Ovailia.
“No one?” He repeated, his voice catching as the emotion of this new reality pushed its way up. Subconsciously I reached my leg out toward him from underneath the table, pressing my calf to his. He looked up to me gratefully, his eyes shining.
“I couldn’t find anyone. I was too scared to stay. Father was there and I... I...” Her voice tensed to a stop and Ilyan reached out gently to take her hand.
“Why would Talon do that, Ilyan?” I asked softly, “It doesn’t make sense. Why would he do that to Wyn?”
“She was screaming to her Father when we last spoke with her, it must have been his call. Besides, I don’t see Talon allowing them to kill her. She had to have been taken.” Ilyan’s logic made sense, but something still did not fit.
“But Ilyan, I saw...” I stopped myself, having been about to reveal something I had seen during my first sight.
“Oh, what would you know about it?” Ovailia snapped, her icy blue eyes digging aggressively into me. “And what in the world gives you the right to call him by his given name?”
I opened my mouth to reply but closed it quickly. I needed Ovailia to believe me weak and incapable still.
“Ovailia,” Ilyan scolded soundly, “Joclyn is as much of a piece of the puzzle as we are now. I do not keep anything from her anymore. And as for the name, she is free to call me anything she chooses.”
He smiled at me and I looked away, placing another of the gritty mushrooms in my mouth. My body was angry with me, it needed Black Water.
“So, you have told her everything, then?” Ovailia asked, her voice awed. I kept my gaze away from her, fully aware that her eyes were boring into me.
“I have.”
“Odd. She doesn’t seem worried, and you don’t seem to be as hands on as I thought you would be.” I kept my head down. I was not enjoying this reminder as to why I did not enjoy Ovailia’s company.
“Unless that is due to her hygiene. I had assumed you knew how to take better care of yourself, Joclyn. Though this look does suit you, it’s disgusting.”
I flinched at her words and sunk into the chair, my body aching as I looked away from both of them and toward the café.
“Be polite, Ovailia,” Ilyan scolded her loudly his leg moving against mine more. I looked toward him, grateful for the contact. “We’ve been hiding in terrible places since someone ratted us out in Santa Fe. There hasn’t exactly been a shower available.”
“And yet, you stay perfectly poised.”
I fought the urge to yell at her. To tell her that Ilyan had been unconscious for three days whereas I had been working and training almost nonstop. I hung my head forward and let the clumps of hair fall around me. I was beginning to realize why Thom kept his hair in the dreads.
Ilyan and Ovailia spoke in Czech, their tones quick and irritated, before I felt Ilyan’s hand on my chin. He lifted my head and I closed my eyes, not wanting to be looked at.
“I think she is beautiful.”
His chosen words in front of Ovailia caught me off guard and I opened my eyes.
“Not now” I reminded him, my voice caught between pleading, worry, and joy.
“Not yet,” he replied, his hand dropping back down to the table.
“And speaking of that,” Ilyan mused, turning back to his sister who was looking at us with a mixture of disgust and irritation. “I need you to go and get Ryland.”
“What?” Ovailia burst to her feet. The table shifted with her movement, causing most of the remaining wine to spill from the impact. Heads turned toward us at the sound and I shrunk away, hating the way people were wrinkling their noses at me.
“Sit down,” Ilyan hissed, yanking her arm back down toward the table.
I felt his magic flare in me abruptly, his power pressing right up against my barrier. He turned his head slightly to either side as if looking for something. I closed my eyes and expanded my vision, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
Ovailia sat down with a pout, her descent making almost as much noise as her outburst.
“Get Ryland?” she hissed. “Why in the world would I want to do that?”
“Because our Father has given Joclyn a one week window to save him, but she is too weak to do anything. And because I am commanding you to do it.” Ilyan’s voice was authoritative and far too loud. Multiple heads in the tiny café turned to us. I hoped they didn’t understand English.
I saw Ovailia calculate things in her mind. Her eyes narrowed toward her brother before darting to me and back again.
“Last thing you commanded me to do, you ended up handing over your most valuable piece of information to a traitor. Why should I trust you Ilyan? How do I know you’re not feeding me to the wolves?”
The two locked eyes, their blue gazes so different, but yet, so similar. I couldn’t breathe as I waited for her answer. I knew she would do it, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but think that I was signing Wyn’s death certificate.