He raised a brow.
‘They adore you, Kinlear,’ she said. ‘Because you are different. Because you are a sort of mystery no one can quite unravel. And I think people are drawn to that. We’re fascinated, by things we cannot understand. It’s why you and I share a love for Six.’
He laughed, his breath soaring away in a puff of white. ‘Mystery or not, now there is hope for the first time. Something tangible. A chance to win this war. A chance … for me to finallymeansomething to my people. And I am honored, Ezer. So honored by your yes. It was the greatest gift you ever could have given your kingdom. And by proxy … the greatest gift I haveeverreceived.’
His words washed over her, sweet as honey.
She felt light as air.
‘You are the first Raphonminder known to Lordach. The first in history!’
‘Even if Lordach doesn’t know?’ Ezer asked, with a held-back smile. ‘I suppose I am a mystery, too.’
He shrugged. ‘We can be mysteries together, you and I.’
She smiled at him. ‘I think I’d like that.’
Six was purring beside her, eyes still closed, beak tipped up to the sun.
‘Do you want to try and ride her?’ Kinlear asked. ‘Before the storm returns. It always does.’ His smile fell … and suddenly he was coughing again.
She didn’t ask him if he was all right.
She knew he wasn’t.
She just stood by, a silent companion as he uncorked the vial around his throat and pressed it to his lips. His coughing subsided, and when he looked at her … she felt the urge to reach out. To take his hand and let him know he was not alone.
They had a shared destiny now.
‘Ready?’ Kinlear asked. ‘We’ll walk at first, so you can learn the way she moves. Are you certain you won’t use a saddle?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Ezer said, at the same time Six’s tail twitched twice. ‘The darksouls don’t. Better to blend in, anyhow, and besides … I don’t think she’s meant for one.’
Ezer remembered the words of the librarian.
Gods help the person who dares tell a cat what to do.
So, she wouldn’t tell her at all.
She’d letSixchoose, the way no one ever had for her.
‘She’s your raphon,’ Kinlear said. ‘You have every bit of power now, to do as you please.’
Power.
Something she also had never had.
She turned to Six.
‘Are you ready to ride? Is that what you want?’
The raphon looked to her.
And with her dark, trusting eyes, she stared at Ezer, and twitched her tail,yes.
26
Another week had passed.
