“Why did my father leave me here?”Cassiel asked. The wind stole the faint words from the air and his vision blurred. He didn’t understand anything, except that he had been abandoned again.
Lord Jophiel crouched down, so that they were at eye level and draped a blanket over his shoulders.“I would like you to live with me, Cassiel.”
“Why?”
Smiling, his uncle wiped away the tears that spilled down his cold cheeks.It had been the first genuine smile he received since his motherleft.“We all need someone on our side. Elyon as my witness, I vow to always be on yours.”
Somehow, he had forgotten about that.
Cassiel knew then, how wrong he had been.
About many things.
“Thank you…” he murmured. “For pulling my head out of my arse. And for knocking me onto it, too.”
Dyna’s gaze at last met his. He stilled beneath the stare of those green eyes, flickering with the light of her magic. After three long months, he could inhale his first full breath. Even if she had not forgiven him yet, the fact that she was finallylookingat him made him feel alive.
Dyna scoffed softly. “Someone had to.”
Cassiel smiled. He couldn’t help himself, and that earned her glare. This may be the only leniency she allowed him tonight, but he would take that morsel, for she had no idea how much he starved for them.
Clearing his throat, he nodded at the scalloped plate. “I take it the water mirror has come of some use?”
“I don’t intend to relinquish it,” she replied tersely. “It’s mine.”
“It is,” he agreed. “The Element Mirrors belong to whomever finds them. They tend to be special in that way. Lord Jophiel found the water mirror several centuries ago, and now it has found its way to you.” Cassiel frowned at it. “But you must be careful. While you can communicate with others through it and spy on them as well, they can also do the same.”
Dyna slipped it back into her satchel. “Your warning is unnecessary. I have been careful.”
“As careful as you were when speaking to Tarn?” Cassiel wasn’t sure why he said that. He hadn’t even been thinking of the man, but it slipped out, and he couldn’t pretend otherwise.
A tense silence hovered between them as they studied each other.
Dyna’s eyes narrowed. “You had Sowmya follow me.”
“Her purpose was to only keep watch over you and to notify me if you were under threat again,” Cassiel said, straightening his shoulders. “However, she overheard and saw many things while shadowing you, Dyna. Such as your deal with the Druid.”
CHAPTER 56
Dynalya
The gentle patter of rain trilled on the leaves and containment dome. It filled the heavy silence between Dyna and Cassiel. He extended his wing above her head as they gazed at one another, but she broke eye-contact first.
It hurt to look at him.
The simple sight of that ethereal face that haunted her dreams and those silver pools in the night, soft and pleading, made her heart ache. Sparking it with a confusing mixture of anger and longing.
She detested it.
It was foolish to permit him to stay when he asked. Why did she allow it? Dyna reasoned his status, and power could be in their favor. He wanted to be used, so why not take advantage of it?
Yet it shouldn’t surprise her that Cassiel continued to question her decisions. He never could help himself, could he?
“I take it you don’t approve,” Dyna replied curtly, moving out from under his wing. “Well, I don’t require your permission.”
Sighing, Cassiel shook his head. “Whether I approve or not, I know you well enough by now to know I cannot stop you,” he said softly.Even when I try.
Gasping, Dyna lurched to her feet at the sound of his voice in her mind. Her boot caught on a stone, and she stumbled back. “No,” she blurted desperately, nearly shrill when he reached for her. “Don’t touch me. Don’t mind-speak to me. I cannot stand it!”
