Kate could not do much more than try to offer him silent comfort.She knew what it felt like to be abandoned.She knew that he’d sensed his brother in the clearing and it had dredged up old memories for him.Not just of his brother, but of their parents as well, and the unimaginable grief of losing all of them around the same time.
No wonder he didn’t feel like talking.
They’d left thelallarixshortly after, even though they’d planned to spend the rest of the afternoon lazing about.Vaxa handled his emotions very differently than she did and Kate knew that he needed to distract himself with his work.It was his coping mechanism…and she couldn’t fault him for it.Even though it might be healthier to confront those feelings instead of burying them under mounds of work, her mate was prickly when it came to expressing his emotions.
The Golden City came into view just a little after midday.
Kate sighed, leaning back against Vaxa’s chest when she saw it.Their little vacation was over and a selfish part of her just wanted to keep her mate all to herself.She turned her head to look at him and stood on her tip toes to press a kiss to his neck.
“I love you,” she murmured, hoping that those words said everything that she didn’t know how to convey.“Thank you for showing me thelallarix.I know it is special to you.”
Her mate looked down at her and it seemed like he was seeing her for the first time since they’d left the silver pools that morning.He dropped a kiss to the top of her head, before guiding the hovercraft closer to the city.“It was my honor to share it with you,luxiva.”
Seeing the city reminded her of everything that had happened in the past week.It reminded her of the Trials and reminded her that she still hadn’t told Vaxa about his attacker.She’d been waiting for the right time—when her mate wasn’t stressed or tired or he didn’t have other, more important things on his mind—but now she realized she’d just been making excuses.No time would ever be the right time and she would much rather be honest with her mate, just like they’d promised they would be.
Even though his mind was no doubt filled with thoughts of his family and his brother…she knew she could put it off no longer.
Which was why, after they finally landed on their terrace and unpacked most of their supplies off the hovercraft, she asked, “Are you leaving for the council?”
She stood in their living room next to the pile of their supplies that she would unpack and organize while he was gone.A huge collection of the pods from the trees were rolled onto the floor.They had taken her mate almost three trips to unload and they weren’t light.
“Tev, I am sorry,” he said, inclining his head.“There is still much to be sorted even though I would never take back our time yesterday.”
She gave him a short, soft smile, but then sobered.“There’s something that I’ve been meaning to tell you,” she said, looking up at him.She knew she had nothing to fear from her mate, but whenever it came to her protection and her safety on Luxiria, if anything or anyone threatened that…he went absolutely crazy.She didn’t know how he would take the news.
He straightened.“Tell me.”
“I don’t know if it even matters, given what happened…but that male—the one who attacked you during the Trials…that was the same male from the marketplace.The one who grabbed my wrist,” she said, nibbling on her bottom lip, looking at him.
At first, he didn’t react, as if it took him some time to process her words.Then the lines of his face went hard and fury lined his body.
“You tell me thisnow?” he asked, his voice deceptively quiet.
Kate went quiet, feeling frustration eat at her.There was a good reason why she never liked to tell him these things.
“Let’s not do this again, Vaxa,” she said quietly.“Please.”
He didn’t hear her.“We promised that we would stop this.We promised that we would not keep things from each other and yet, it continues to happen.”
Her brows shot up.“You’re going to play that card?Really?Then let’s talk about all the things you’re hiding fromme.”
His lips pressed together, his shoulder muscles bunching.
“Let’s talk about why you’ve been having secret little talks with Lihvan.Or Rixavox.I heard you during the Lunar Celebration, Vaxa.I heard you tell Lihvan to prepare.What do you need to preparefor?You want to talk about not telling each other things?You didn’t tell me about the Trials until I confronted you about it.We’re both guilty of doing theexactsame thingso don’t act like I’m alone in this.”
Vaxa cursed under his breath, a string of harsh Luxirian words, running his hands over his horns.
Kate took a deep breath in and approached him, touching his arm.When he didn’t pull away from her, she continued, softening her tone, “Maybe this is just how our relationship operates, Vaxa.We don’t tell each other things because we don’t want to hurt each other.And maybe it will take a while for us to work on it, but I’m trying to.I just need you to meet me in the middle.”
Her mate inhaled and then let out a deep breath, trying to gain control of his breathing.One thing she’d learned about Vaxa was that while he had a quick temper, he could return to his usual level-headed self just as swiftly.
Kate felt herself relax when he clasped her shoulders, sliding his palms down to her wrists, where he circled them with his fingers.
“Forgive me,” he murmured.“You are right,luxiva.”
“I was hesitant to tell you at first,” she started, “because the bastard had injured you and you were recovering.I didn’t want you to do something when you were in that state…and then it just got easier not to tell you.I knew how stressed you were and I didn’t want to add to it.I knew I would need to eventually.I’m sorry it took me so long.”
He pondered her words carefully.She could practically see the way the wheels in his head were turning.Finally, he said in a gruff tone, “He will be punished severely.I promise you this,luxiva.”
