I would follow Izzy to the ends of the earth… but first I needed to go home to Elysial and make sure my family was safe. They may not care for me, other than as a tool to elevate their status. And I shouldn’t care what happened to them after how they’d treated me my entire life, but I did. I hoped that was the “good man” in me coming out. Because no one — not even my petty, self-serving family — deserved to face Saldrea’s wrath. And they would. Saldrea was furious at me for leaving her and would take it out on my family. I needed to warn them.
I’d ask Koar to take me home, it would be a quick journey for him. Hopefully he’d have time before whatever else these folks had planned.
Safir, the tiger shifter, finally responded to Izzy’s question after mulling it over.
“I need to get you off campus, at least for now,” he said, pacing the limited space. “You should be safe with your grandmother. And she may know of some elves willing to train you.”
He spun and pinned Myel down with his intense gaze. “Can you shadow-step us directly to the sigil point, Izzy and myself?”
Shadow-step, is that what the shifter had done to get us in here? A puff of shadow-smoke and he’d transported me from outside into this room. A curious and powerful ability.
“Yes,” Myel responded. “It won’t be easy, but I can do it.”
“And myself,” Koar added.
Safir spun on him. “No, we can’t trust you yet.”
“I have old friends, contacts in the capital, good elves,” The dragon pleaded. It was clear he wanted to stay close to Izzy.
I’d known Koar a while. We’d served Saldrea together these past half-dozen years. He was as loyal and dependable as they came. He’d just been… misguided… in thinking Saldrea was worthy of his respect.
Now that he’d set his sights on Izzy, he’d protect her to the very end.
“Still, you’d be too much for Myel to shadow-step all at once, and we can only make one trip before someone will know we’re at the sigil point.”
Koar growled, going all alpha on the tiger shifter. Safir growled right back, smaller, but no less fierce.
“Actually!” I broke in. It seemed my time to speak had come. “Koar, I need you to return me home, to Elysial. Could you do that quickly… before you rejoin Izzy and Safir in the capital?”
“He isn’t going to the capital,” Safir muttered.
“Wouldn’t it be better to keep him close, keep an eye on him?” Izzy offered. “Keep your enemies closerand all that?”
Safir practically vibrated with frustration.
I was beginning to understand the old man. All his life he’d served Izzy’s family and now wished to serve her in the same way. He wanted to be the primary protector and advisor in her life. But if so, he shouldn’t have kept her in the dark for so long. She didn’t know him, didn’t trust him. Hell, she didn’t know Koar either, but Koar had saved her life. Safir had done nothing to earn her trust yet.
“If that is what you wish,” Safir said to Izzy.
“It is.” She turned to Koar. “If you take Vyns home and return, can you find us in the capital?”
He nodded once. “I know your spirit, your scent. I could track you from half a world away.”
Her eyes went wide at that. “Oh,” she breathed.
“He meant that in a good way,” I added. “He’ll always find you so he can protect you.”
She nodded. “Ah, yes, of course.”
Safir grumbled something under his breath.
“Someone will get suspicious if I miss training,” Myel said. “I can’t be away for long.”
“You’re right, you can’t, which is why you’re not coming with us,” Safir said, his tone stern. “You need to stay here and maintain your schedule so no one suspects anything.”
Myel clearly deferred to Safir… but his back went ramrod straight at this. “I can’t leave Izzy’s side. I… our bond…”
“Can wait a few days,” Safir said, dismissing the tall, lean man. “Just satisfy it before we leave and you’ll survive. We hopefully won’t be gone for too long.”
