Tension bracketed Aydun’s mouth. A moment passed, and then Kyriel spoke. “And what about the Revenant?”
My thumb pressed into the arm of the throne. “Which Revenant?”
He laughed. “As if you don’t know. But in case you need your memory refreshed, the one who is technically your wife’s brother.”
Eather stirred within me, and it took a hell of a lot of willpower to prove that I was capable of controlling myself.
Especially since this Kyriel seemed determined to break that control. “The one her sister and your brother are currently hiding from you.”
“He’s different,” I gritted out.
Aydun huffed. “Be that as it may, you cannot deny that there is a reason to be concerned.”
“I don’t deny shit that isn’t worthy of considering,” I spat. “I may have been reckless in my choices in my youth, and I may be known for impulsive…violence.”
He snorted.
“But contrary to an unfortunately popular belief, I am not prone to being out of control,” I told him. “What I do, I do because I choose to. Not because my emotions overrule me.”
“Unless it comes to her,” he countered softly.
I went incredibly still as I locked eyes with the Arae. Several moments passed in silence. I waited for him to say that she obviously thought as he did, while waiting for either of them to thrust that verbal dagger through my heart.
He didn’t.
Instead, Kyriel said something so off topic that I wanted to toss his ass back to Mount Lotho.
“Heartmates.”
I briefly closed my eyes. Aydun had done this when we’d last met—throwing out a word like he was answering a question only he was privy to. Apparently, it was a trait of theirs. Opening my eyes, I took a slow, long breath. “And?”
“They’re destined to bring about great change,” he said. “Seen in the dreams of the Great Creators from millennia ago.”
My brows rose. “You’re telling me that the Ancients dreamt of all the heartmates all that time ago?”
“The Ancients saw everything, Casteel. That didn’t mean they always understood what they saw. Nor…” His pause was quite dramatic. “Does it mean that what is born of the union of two hearts is always good.”
The blood in my veins froze. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Kyriel’s head tilted. “It means sacrifices must be made.”
“What sacrifices?” For the first time since I’d faced Kolis in this very space, my heart lurched. “And cut the bullshit. I want a straight answer.”
“Don’t we all?” Aydun said, having picked up a vine as he glanced toward Kyriel. A shadow of something I couldn’t read flickered across his features. “The love between mates of the heart is incredibly strong. All-consuming. Inevitable. There is strength in that.”
“But there is also weakness,” Kyriel asserted. “It is believed that not even death can sever that type of bond.”
Aydun dropped the vine.
“And?” I asked, voice thinning with impatience.
A flicker of a smile crossed Kyriel’s lips. “And, in a way, that is true. But it is also false.”
This conversation was proof that I had more control than anyone gave me credit for, because the effort it was taking for me to wait for this fuck to get to the point was inconceivable.
“The death of an unbroken mate bond cannot sever that connection. The souls will reunite,” Kyriel said after what felt like five minutes. “But that bond can be broken at any point, no matter the…insinuating circumstances.”
Based on the grin Aydun wore when his buddy said that last part, I had a feeling he was referring to the Joining.
