So, I’d did something I shouldn’t, to catch a glimpse of her from a distance.
In the lowest level of Svokol’s residence was a meditation room. The stairs descended into an open area. There was no furniture, dwarves needed no cushions or chairs, they preferred hard stone. The walls were one giant stone carving of a scene from dwarven history: the conquering of Urval. The four surfaces were intricately detailed, showing the dwarves, and their armies of trolls and ogres, passing through a massive gate between realms. It showed the first meetings with the salmaeri and concubi and the pact which was forged between those races and the dwarves, then the combined might of that force pushing back the pyrkai giants to the Shadow Lands.
It was an epic tale, which all Urval residents knew by heart. The dwarves had saved us and allowed the salmaeri and concubi to flourish once more.
I found the hidden knob in the carving and pressed on it, making a section of the wall swing inward silently.
I entered and closed the stone door behind me.
This small room also had no furniture, except for a four-foot tall stone column at the center, on which sat a sphere of glasstone in its raw state.
As far as the other races were concerned, glasstone had two possible states and uses. The first was anima-saturated, where it became a silvery color. Such stones were used to test a person’s magical power. The second was anima-desaturated, where all the innate anima was drained out and it lost all color, becoming completely clear. Then it could be used to create magical devices such as phones and computers, or windows, and so on.
But there was a third state, somewhere in between, which only the dwarves knew about. With no anima added nor taken away, the glasstone was a milky silver color, translucent and cloudy. In this raw state it had an extraordinary power, which the dwarves kept secret: it could scry on others, viewing people and places far away. Anyone with even a hint of anima could touch the stone and think of a person or place they knew well, then see the result in real time.
This stone was so much of a secret, that before Svokol had had it put in this room, he’d had a sylph enchant this area, such that any thoughts and memories from this room would be sealed away, unable to be taken from one’s mind.
I laid both hands on the cool surface and didn’t even have to consciously think of Izzy, the stone instantly flashed to a view of her. That’s how much she dominated my mind.
She was at the training compound, working hard with that elf, Lhorine. I couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing, there were no clear physical effects, but strain painted Izzy’s features, sweat covering her body. She was pushing herself to her limits.
Myel had been taken into custody. It was all over campus. Even the servants in Svokol’s house had been chatting about it. Rumors and speculation swirled about why this unheard of shifter had been brought in, but I knew exactly why.
And I had to imagine Izzy was working her sexy ass off to help him.
If this was how hard she worked when I wasn’t around, perhaps it was a good thing I stayed away. Some part of my brain knew that didn’t make any sense, but I held onto that thought.
I had to.
She’s better off without me. That tenuous mantra was all that kept me from rushing to her side. I had to believeshewanted it this way, because I certainly didn’t. I wanted nothing more than to be there with her, helping her, cheering her on, giving her quiet little orgasms to help relax her and refresh her and help her rest when she needed it. Okay, maybe notquietorgasms.
Izzy was too… perfect. Beyond her obvious physical attributes, she had a soft soul. She wanted to help the people of this world. I’d never met an elf like that. And as a royal, she had the power to change things, if she could defeat Saldrea and Valnea to take it. She was everything this world needed… everything I needed.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it.
I shouldn’tneedanyone. That was counter to everything concubi stood for. We gave to others and fed off others, but we never settled down, because we’d always be called to keep giving to anyone in need. We were for everyone, not just one person.
But I didn’t want anyone else anymore and that frightened me. It scared me more than that terrifying dominion match, more than death.
Death was easy, simple, an ending. I wouldn’t worry about anything after I was dead. I’d come to terms with death a long time ago. When I’d been in the Urval army, I’d accepted death as an end to pain and suffering. It was peace after a world and life where that was so damned rare. So yeah, death didn’t scare me…
…but love? Caring for someone? Giving them my heart?
Yeah, that freaked me out more than anything else, because that was the source of the worst pain and suffering in all of life.
Heartbreak.
And I feared Izzy had already stolen my heart.
She’d certainly captivated my mind.
My telepathy had yet to release its hold on her. I still caught stray thoughts from her now and then, especially the stronger ones. That was how I’d found out Saldrea knew of Izzy’s bond with Myel. I should be able to move my mental connection at will, but I couldn’t. It was stuck on her.
And the longer I stayed here, watching Izzy the more Ineededto be close to her.
This wasn’t working.
I tore myself away from the glasstone orb and rushed out of the secret room.
