Devon reached over, his hand hovering over the tiny flares. “It’s when yourkicommunes with the universe.”
“That’s quite the poetic description,” Kira said.
As was her habit when things felt out of control, she retreated to sarcasm.
Devon didn’t take offense. “You’re like a pot boiling over, but instead of the water spilling, it is putting on a brilliant light show. We simply don’t have the eyes to see except in rare circumstances.”
“Kind of like what you get with the aurora borealis,” Kira said, thinking she understood. “How is this possible if I’m wearing this?”
Kira raised her wrist with the inhibitor.
Devon touched it lightly. “The inhibitor doesn’t drain yourki. It simply puts a wall between you and it. The potential is always there whether you can touch it or not.”
His explanation was similar to what the Tuann healers had given her. The inhibitor didn’t stop her from usingki. Rather it was like slowly opening a faucet.
At first, the flow ofkiwas like a trickle, the opening gradually widening as she grew stronger, healing thekichannels she’d nearly destroyed through her misuse.
A massive shadow fell over them before Kira could ask any other questions, the sense of being watched unmistakable. She stiffened, afraid to turn her head and see what was waiting.
Seeing her expression, the awe on Devon's face faded.
His hand moved slowly to his waist.
Kira shook her head once. "Don't."
Any blade he drew would be useless anyway.
Inch by excruciating inch, Kira lifted her gaze until she was staring up at the giantlu-ongbehind them. Its body half-submerged in the lake, small mounds of its serpentine form visible in places.
Thelu-ong's eyes were wise and knowing as he waited for her gaze to reach his.
He had a scar along one side of his jaw and over his snout. His whiskers almost made him seem like a wizened old man with a mustache and beard. The color of dawn, they were the longest Kira had ever seen on alu-ong, almost brushing the water. Against the black of his body they were even more vivid.
His mane was sleeked back, indicating he was at ease. If it had been flared, they likely wouldn't have lived through the next few minutes.
Kira was careful not to move, holding still as she gestured for Devon to do the same. He listened, his breathing slightly faster as he stared at her, not daring to look back.
Kira moved to face thelu-ongmore fully, ignoring the way her shoes squelched and the long strings of saliva still clinging to her.
"I suppose we have you to thank for our lives," Kira finally said after what felt like an eternity of staring.
Her previous encounters with thelu-onghad led her to believe they were highly intelligent.
A deep chuckle reverberated through her bones.Wise child.
Thelu-ong's amusement brushing against her senses felt a lot like sandpaper, abrading but not painfully so.
"Great one, why did you swallow us?"
You looked in need of assistance.
Kira couldn't argue with that. She bowed, her arms held away from her body, as if in doing so she could limit the amount of saliva that would get on her. An impossibility given every inch of her was coated in it.
Kira contained her shudder. She had a thing about bodily fluids—as in she didn't want them on her.
She held her revulsion in, knowing it could be construed as an insult. If it was this or possible death or maiming, she'd take the saliva, even if it didn’t lessen the ick factor.
Approval pressed in on her.
