The man crossed his legs and twirled a finger around the rim of his glass, staring directly at Kai. A slow, feline smile spread across his handsome face, as dark as midnight.
“Miss me, wife?”
Chapter Ten
Jade
Theurgetowipethe cocky grin from his face had not lessened in a thousand years.
Next to her, Jade could feel Kai seize up at the sight of Aidan sitting in the chair and sipping his drink. Kai and Aidan had always had an intense relationship and had become inseparable in the last several thousand years—especially after they chose to bind themselves in marriage. It seemed gratuitous to Jade, but Kai had always thought fondly of human tradition and had wanted to marry Aidan long ago as a symbol of their love and fidelity.
Yet the two of them still had a falling out right after the war. All of them had. Jade was curious to see how this would play out.
She sized up the fire elemental, taking in his smooth skin, short hair, and cropped black beard before giving him a wry smile. “I see you’re doing fine, Aidan.”
He smirked and shrugged. “Ah, well. Had a bit of a problem back at the rivers. But, what can you do?”
“Maybe not blow up the ground?”
His rich chuckle filled the air around them, raising the temperature a couple of degrees. “Come here, Jade.” He rose to his full height and wrapped Jade in an embrace. While they’d had their differences and plenty of feuds, she begrudgingly admitted she had missed his fiery, protective presence.
He released her and looked sideways at Kai, who gazed at him with a guarded wariness that spoke volumes of their past. Aidan turned to her and lifted a hand to her freckled face, softly tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear.
“Aidan,” she breathed.
Jade felt like rolling her eyes at their display but looked away as Aidan dropped his hand and cleared his throat. “I’m not surprised you two managed to find each other first. So, what have I missed?” he asked, sitting again and crossing one leg over the other.
“I imagine our stories are very similar to yours. Hearing a voice, waking up, and figuring out how to get here. Although,weweren’t quite so destructive about it,” Jade said pointedly.
“Nobody got hurt. It’ll be fine,” he said casually, brushing away the accusation.
“The ground was on fire for days!” Jade exclaimed.
“Oh, really? I’ll go take care of that soon.”
“Don’t bother—Kai already did.” Jade shook her head. “No thanks to you.”
“Well then, it seems like there’s no problem.” Aidan crossed his arms and smiled.
Jade let out a long sigh. She noticed Kai was awfully quiet, which was not like her at all. Turning back to Aidan, Jade asked, “Did you also hear ‘Aataran’ as you were waking up?”
“Yes. What do you think that’s about?” He uncrossed his arms and tapped his fingers against the table, looking directly at Kai for an answer. He motioned to two chairs across from him and beckoned for them to sit.
Kai swallowed. “We don’t know,” she finally said, regaining some of her normal composure as she sat. “We need to get to Aataran, of course. We’ve been trying to learn more about what’s going on in the kingdoms—perhaps we’ll hear whisperings of trouble. I keep hoping to see signs of Rynn, as well,” she added.
“Just what we need,” Jade muttered under her breath.
Kai shot her a warning look. “Aidan, have you heard anything pointing to him?” she asked, still hesitant to meet his eyes.
He shook his head. “I’m afraid I haven’t had much time.”
“Oh, because you’re so busy in this exquisite tavern here?” Kai eyed the wood rot on the wall next to them with a hitched eyebrow.
Aidan smiled widely, and it transformed his entire face. “There’s my snarky Kai.”
Jade watched as Kai’s jaw clenched and she looked away from him, but a blush still crept up her cheeks. Aidan simply continued smiling and twirling his fingers on the rim of his glass. A silver band on the fourth finger of his left hand caught the light, and a quick glance at Kai’s hand told Jade she was not wearing the matching one. Interesting.
“I don’t think I ever knew where Rynn decided to settle down for the ‘long nap,’ as it were,” Aidan started. “He didn’t bother to tell anyone. He loves the open air—maybe he found some oasis out in Ara Mir to hide away in. Or you know how those people in Evonlea worshiped him after he saved them from that avalanche. Perhaps he’s already up in Aataran.”
