Just in case it somehow closed back up again.
So Kael was prepared to give up immortality for Mev. It both surprised me, and didn’t.
“And your father?” I asked.
“Will stay. If for some reason, things go badly on the other side, as much as he wants to reunite with my mother, he’s afraid of what Balthor might do if he never returned.”
I resisted the urge to shudder again. “A disconcerting thought, if I ever had one.”
“We’ve heard from them,” Eirion said, approaching.
The Council enforcer, when the Gate was open, and Galfrid’s former general of Aetherian forces, he served as a military advisor to the king.
“Is all well?” I asked, suspecting his response. Eirion appeared overly calm for there to be anything amiss.
“Aye. No sign of any Gyorian forces.”
“From any direction?” Mev asked.
Eirion shook his white-haired head. “None.”
We let the news sink in. “I’m meeting with your father shortly. Will you be joining us?” he asked Mev.
For Eirion to defer to the princess showed how far Mev had come since arriving.
“I will,” she said, “but must speak to Lyra for a moment first.”
He nodded and left.
“If Balthor does not plan to follow, or attack, imminently… when Nerys gets here…”
She trailed off, but no explanation was needed.
“Let me do it.”
“With luck, it won’t be necessary and he will volunteer our use of the Stone without having to be persuaded. Maybe after talking to Kael, hearing another perspective…”
“I would be surprised,” I admitted. “Terran isn’t Balthor, but neither is he Kael. He truly blames the humans for his mother’s death.”
“Kael did too.”
“He is.” I thought back to last eve. “Different.”
Harder. More domineering. In more ways than one.
“Lyra?”
My head snapped up. By Mev’s narrowed eyes, I could see my momentary lapse of control over my emotions had cost me.
She knew.
“Oh. My. God. Are you serious?”
I schooled my expression back to neutrality.
“We have important things to discuss?—”
“Yeah. Like you andTerran.Holy shit. How did I miss it? When did this happen? I can’t even believe it. You guys are like… I don’t know. Oil and water.” At my expression, she continued. “Air and stone.”
