“I think that's about as long as I'm going to need to get over my irritation.” I winked at him.
Jathalion grinned. “Thanks. I appreciate the company.” Then he frowned. “You never did tell me what Xaedren did to annoy you.”
“Oh! So, Xae and Rath went out before me on our mission, but instead of returning immediately, they did a little fighting first. I think they were going to do the mission without me. But then they realized that all that lovely magic I shared with them didn't work.”
“Didn't work? How so?”
“Without me there, they were as they were before I met them. They could only free one of the Corrupted at a time.”
“Are you saying that with you there, they can free multiple Corrupted at once?” He lifted his brows.
“Yep. We all can.” I straightened and brushed off my shoulders. “I'm kinda good at magic.”
Jathalion snorted. “Are you, now?”
I grinned. “Yeah, I'm a master of all the elements.”
“That is impressive.”
“Thank you.” I slumped again. “So, Rath came back for me, but after I faded to the site with him, he ran off. I didn't mind being left alone, but I didn't like leavingthemalone. You know?”
“You were worried about them?”
I nodded. “The first time I met Rath, the Corrupter nearly killed him. He would have if I hadn't interfered.”
“Now that, I've heard. It's how you were discovered.”
“Yes. But back to this mission. I found Rath in trouble, then we found Xae in trouble. When we got back, I said that I didn't want us to split up anymore.”
“Reasonable.”
“Thank you!” I waved at him. “Xae said that sometimes it's better to split up. He refused to admit that he'd been in any trouble at all.”
“Xaedren's always had a hard head. But you have to understand that he's fought a certain way for many years. Now, you're here and you've made him stronger, which is great, but instead of giving him the freedom to fight as he wants, your magic is restricting him in some ways.”
“Huh.” I chewed at my lip. “Yeah, you're right. Xae's a wolf. He likes to run. And when he fights, he gets very focused. The first time I went on a mission with him, I did it without his approval. I just latched onto him as he faded.”
“You did what?” Jathalion gaped at me.
“Yeah, Xae was pretty upset. But that's when we discovered that I could share my magic. Anyway, at first, he was annoyed because he thought he'd have to protect me, but then he saw that I could be an asset, and we started working as a team. I thought we'd always be like that, and I think that's what upset me so much about him . . .”
“Wanting to ditch you?” he offered.
I nodded. “We're supposed to be a team.”
“Yes, but when Wraith Lords team up, they answer a summons together, then split up, trusting each other to do what needs to be done. It's been a while since I've been summoned, but I used to stick to the air, descending only when necessary. That way, I could direct my partner on the ground and advise him of anything dangerous.”
“Yeah, I've seen other Makhan do that,” I admitted. “I guess it's normal to split up.”
“There you are,” Xae growled.
I spun on the bench to find him standing on the garden path.
Xae's stare slid to my right. “Welcome home, Jathalion.”
“Thank you, Xaedren. I've just met Ember.”
“I see that. Sorry to interrupt but we have personal matters to discuss.” He held his hand out to me. “Come, Ember. We need to talk.”
