Emotion burned in his throat and he reached out to clasp his sire’s face in his hands. Blue eyes, just like his own, stared back at him, but there was no recognition there.
Kirov saw them narrow with anger, with confusion, and his sire bellowed, lifting a fist to strike him before he could react.
His jaw stung with the impact but Kirov caught his fist before he tried it again.
“Stop,” he said, looking deep into his sire’s eyes, before placing his forehead against his. “Stop, Sire.”
For a moment, his sire seemed to know who he was and little by little, his sire calmed.
“Kirov,” he rasped out.
“Yes,” Kirov replied, feeling that heavy guilt weigh him down, for being gone so long.
His sire said something to him, but it was all nonsense and Kirov recognized none of the words he spoke.
“Come,” Kirov said. “Come. Let me get you cleaned up, yes?”
He helped his sire up from his chair, wrapping an arm around his waist.
To Pilava, he said, “Go rest for a while.” Lixron moved to help him, but Kirov shook his head. “You as well, Lixron.”
And with that, Kirov helped his father to the washroom.
Forgive me,luxiva, he thought silently.I may be longer than anticipated.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lainey discovered that the sunsets in Troxva were even more beautiful than the ones in the Golden City.
The suns sank low and spread glorious colors across the land, reflecting off the calm lake. She sat among the fire pit cushions, watching through the glass windows in awe. Behind her, on the clear glass panel screen, the lake showed the same colors, telling her that the feed was, in fact, live.
She only wished she could go outside to the terrace to watch, but when she’d tried to leave, the front door had been locked. Or at least, she didn’t know how to open it, no matter what she tried.
And while she knew that Kirov wouldn’t have locked her away on purpose, Lainey couldn’t help but feel…well, upset. Slightly abandoned. He’d left her there, just moments after reaching Troxva.
Not only that, but she hadn’t seen him once since he’d left earlier that morning. Not to mention the fact that she wasstarving. He didn’t have a kitchen, hence he didn’t have any food. And she’d looked. She hadn’t eaten since the previous night, at dinner with Crystal, and she’d only picked at her food since she’d been so worried that Kirov wouldn’t be coming back.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to stay calm about it. She didn’t want to get so upset about it that she just exploded the moment he walked back through the door.
But the other thing was that Lainey knew he was just at the next house over. The hovercraft was still parked out in front and she’d seen him walk in that direction when he’d left.
So, who lived there? And what was he doing?
By the time that the glass front door finally slid open to reveal Kirov, it was already dark outside and Lainey was pissed and hurt and not hiding it very well, despite her best efforts.
Once the door closed behind him, she approached him from the living room, frowning, her eyebrows furrowed.
“Where the hell have you been?” she demanded. Then she stopped short, eyeing him. Concern softened her voice. “Kirov?”
Suddenly, all her anger left her body in one rush, leaving her a little lightheaded.
Because Kirov looked…well, drained. He had stopped in the entryway and was running a hand down his face.
He watched as she approached and he shook his head, “Luxiva, I am so sorry. I did not realize the time…I…there is no excuse for it. Forgive me.Please.”
“Kirov,” Lainey said softly, reaching out for him.
She cupped the back of his neck, making him look at her. His eyes were tired, his hair looked like he’d been running his hands through it all day and he smelled…well, he smelled awful, a strange scent emanating from him.
