Tate shivered at that thought.
It felt exactly like what she imagined a rift would feel like, as if two worlds had crashed together to create a tear in the fabric of the universe and this was the result. Through it all, there was a sense of familiarity, the feeling of dissonance.
Ilith was a restless presence inside Tate. Watching. Waiting. Alert in the way she was when they were in danger.
“What’s wrong?” Tate asked.
It was a long time before Ilith answered.I haven’t felt this way in longer than I can remember.
“Is this really your home?”
A piece of it. A very tiny one.
Ilith almost never spoke of the place she came from. All Tate knew was that it was a world, beyond the between Ilith sometimes referenced. Tate had gotten the sense that Ilith’s home was nothing like this one.
Tate had lost a lot in her long sleep, but she’d rarely considered all that Ilith had lost. Not just waking up far in the future but in an entirely separate world from the one she knew. Moreover, Ilith didn’t suffer from the same gap in memories as Tate. She was intimately aware of all she’d lost, whereas Tate only had the briefest glimpses of what she’d left behind.
Tate didn’t know which of those two scenarios was worse.
Almost as if drawn by a magnet, Tate found her gaze landing on a series of grooves carved into the stone that started a foot away from where she was standing.
Tate squatted, unable to help her fascination. It felt like she’d seen them somewhere before. It took only a minute for it to come to her; the pattern used to summon the dragonlettes. This could have been its older, slightly more complete twin.
The lines were intricately arranged, feeding into one another in such a way that it would make it near impossible for anyone to replicate without spending years studying its construction.
Tate brushed her fingers along one of those intersecting lines. Power nipped at her hand. She caught her breath as that power turned into lightning, jumping from the design to her.
“I’m told those who stare too long at the working get lost in their mind,” Archie said from behind her, his hands clasped behind his back. “It’s supposedly even worse for dragons.”
Having dropped that nugget of cheery information, Archie strode toward where the Lord Provost had joined another pair who were waiting a short distance away.
Tate rose, shaking her hand, hoping to dispel the tingling sensation that lingered. “I don’t find it comforting that the Obsidian Lord has joined us for this little excursion.”
Ryu made a noncommittal sound that made Tate look at him sharply.
“What do you think of this new lord?” Tate asked, knowing if she wasn’t direct, he’d beat around the bush until she was left with a raging headache.
It was something she’d discovered about him in the past few weeks. Words and misdirection were a game to him, one he played most often with those who were closest. Perhaps it was why he fit in so well with Dewdrop and Night.
“It’s difficult to determine this early. He’s been cautious since he ascended to his rank. Nobody knows yet what he’s thinking or what his agenda is.”
Tate narrowed her eyes. Why did it sound like her dragon man was happy about that fact? Like he was intrigued and looking forward to discovering all of Archie’s secrets.
“Hah.” Tate’s shoulders slumped.
And she’d thought it bad enough when Night was the only one stalking Archie. Now she had to worry about Ryu as well.
“Just do me a favor. Be careful around him. I get the sense Archie is a lot more observant and skilled than the last lord.”
There was also the small matter of Night’s suspicion that he wasn’t entirely human. Tate would have to disclose that eventually, but not now when there was the risk of him overhearing.
A normal human wouldn’t be able to listen to their conversation from where Archie was standing, but if he really was connected to the sleepers, things like normal and average went out the window.
“I’m pretty sure he won’t like you calling him that.”
“That’s exactly why I do it.” Tate sent Ryu a sly smile as she started toward the group gathered a short distance away.
“I find your pastime of purposely irritating powerful people mildly concerning.”
