“No, but I could crash and die,” I mutter under my breath, trying not to let him see how much that nickname still gets to me.
Kai’s expression softens as he steps closer. “You’ve got to feel it,” he says, quieter now. “Like with Kvirr. You don’t force it, you sync with it.” I pause; he’s not wrong, and it’sannoying.
My shoulders drop a little. “Okay…”
The next hour blurs into a series of gear shifts, false starts, near-stalls, and one near-disaster that almost caused me to crash into a tree. After that, I was five seconds away from deciding that I could just walk to safety if it came down to it.
But Kai is relentless and only says, “Try again.”
Of course, he couldn’t own something beginner-friendly, but we keep at it. Somewhere between the frustration and the thrill of figuring it out, I catch myself laughing and celebrating the small victories, like finally accelerating without panicking. Eventually, I ease the bike back in front of the house and cut the engine. Pulling off the helmet, hair a mess, heart still racing, I glance over at him.
“Well, it was close, but” I say, a smile tugging at my lips, “I didn’t crash.”
Kai grins, waiting for me at the bottom of the porch, that rare left dimple making an appearance.
“No crashes? That’s a win in my book.”
We linger longer than we need to, caught in the quiet of the night. He lights a joint, and we pass it between us as the bike’s engine ticks while cooling down. The breeze stirs the fallen leaves, whispering their goodbyes to the trees. We sit on the porch steps, side by side, in silence, and somehow, it’s perfect.
“I think I know who you are.” He pauses, studying my reaction before continuing. “I’m ninety percent sure your parents were the King and Queen of Kallahan.” Kai’s words land—deafening, a silent bomb. All-consuming, wrapping itself around me as pressure underwater, pulling me beneath the surface of old echoes. That familiar flicker ofdéjà vucrystallizes into something solid, the truth.
Kallahan is my home.
“I think you’re Avilyna Morween. Daughter of Camyla Eilgolor and Loras Morween.” He exhales a cloud of smoke, his voice low. “And if that’s true… I understand why Rey hid you.” But the shock of his words is quickly replaced by something else.
A chill that prickles at the back of my neck.
The unmistakable feeling that we’re being watched.
35
Avilyna
FORGOTTEN PEACE
The feeling creeps upon me again, pulling my eyes toward the trees, but there’s nothing there.
“You’re the rightful heir. That alone is reason enough to keep you hidden.”
I narrow my eyes, looking back at him.“What makes you so sure?” How could he know when I’ve spent my whole life questioning who I am?
Kai shrugs, that half-smile playing on his lips. “Like you said, we’ve crossed paths before. Call it intuition, Princess.”
I hum, biting back a smirk. “So you’ve known all along, huh?” His nickname’s never been just a joke. Kai meets my gaze more softly than usual, no bite, and something… almost like longing, all the confirmation I need.
“And what other reason will it be justified to hide me away?” I ask, voice low and a little challenging.
“Some people grabbed power when the valkyries disappeared. No heir, no one to stop them. And once you get a taste of power? You do whatever it takes to keep it.”
I hold his stare, “So this stays between us.”
“Yes, for now,” he confirms. “As I said, power changes people. Until we know more, this is a secret.”
I swallow hard, voice cold. “Why are you helping me? For real this time. If I’ve shared my shattered pieces, I deserve some of yours.” I might be selfish, right now, but I refuse to be the only one exposed. Letting my guard down has always ended up being a mistake. Except with Vanessa, but she’s not here, and doesn’t even know how deep in shit I'm in. And I’m not even sure she’d stick around after this, if thereisan after.
Kai’s eyes darken, and he looks away, jaw tight.
“It was my birthday,” he says quietly, voice distant, guarded. “All I wanted was a moment of peace, a day to remember them. It’s only been a year since everything… I just wanted to visit her grave, sit by his, and draw what I wished the day looked like. To hold onto the pieces of them I still had.” He pauses, the weight of the memory pressing down on him. “But he didn’t see it that way.”
