“At first, it was because I needed you close,” I said. “After you delivered your message inDothik, theVorakkarshad decided that the Ghertun needed to be restrained. For years, they have been pushing their borders, attacking and raiding more settlements. We did not know they took slaves. Not until you.”
“You needed me close because I could give you information about the Ghertun,” she finished for me. “Because I had lived under the Dead Mountain and I might know their weaknesses.”
“Lysi,” I said. “I needed your trust. But no one except Lokkaru and I knew about the heartstone. I kept that information from theVorakkarseven because I never intended for it to be found. And the last thing we needed, on the verge of battle with the Ghertun, was for their king to be in possession of a heartstone.”
Vienne’s lips pressed together.
“You know how dangerous it is now,” I said, my throat tight. “You are theonlybeing alive that knows how dangerous—and powerful—it is.”
She swallowed, her eyes flickering in memory of it.
“And then, I did not tell you about the heartstone because I selfishly wanted to keep you near,” I admitted. “I wanted you as my own. I knew that I could protect you. I knew that I would never let you return to the Dead Mountain. I knew that I would bring you your family, so that you would stay.”
Her vision went glassy again.
“But I did not know about thevovicrunning through your veins,” I finished, my voice roughening. “I did not know that every moment I kept you here, it sickened you further. I did not know that lying to you about the heartstone was inadvertently harming you more.”
“Because I never told you about thevovic,” she whispered. “I lied to you too.”
“We have both kept secrets from one another,” I said, my claw brushing the softness and warmth of her cheek, “for reasons that were our own. But I do not want that anymore. I don’t want anything unspoken between us. From this moment forward.”
“I don’t either.”
My heart began to pump in my chest, nerves coiling in my belly. Because if there were to be no more secrets between us, I knew what I needed to do. And I had never talked about that night, or the ones that followed, to anyone before. I wasn’t even certain Iwouldbe able to put it into words.
Nillima approached us at the enclosure fence and when I raised my head to look at my bondedpyroki, my eyes caught on the darkness of the enclosure behind her, searching the shadows.
But my sister had not appeared to me since the Dead Mountain. I had seen others…faces I didn’t recognize. They spoke to me sometimes but never anything I could remember. Devina never came, however.
Nillima nudged my arm with her snout, though she ignored Vienne completely, something that brought a wry smile to my female’s face.
“You want to tell me now?” Vienne whispered. There was no one around. We were alone in the fresh, crisp air of the dark night. “Or later?”
This had been long overdue and I wanted her to know. I was ready to tell her what I’d done. I wanted to, so there would be no more barriers between us. After tonight, we would start anew.
“Once, you asked me to tell you the worst thing I have ever done,” I started. “The worst thing I have ever done was watch Devina die. And be powerless to stop it.”
Her hands settled on my chest.
“It is not a long story,” I said, my throat feeling like it was on the verge of closing up entirely. “There was a male. From our horde. His name was Jarun.”
“Jarun,” Vienne repeated, recognition flashing in her gaze.
I frowned. “You know his name?”
“The memory…the dream,” she said. “The one when you and Devina talked about her wanting to leave the horde, wanting to find a husband, and settle inDothikor an outpost. She talked of Jarun in that dream. She said she liked him. But you didn’t.”
“Truthfully, I would not have liked any male for my sister. No male would have ever been good enough for her,” I admitted gruffly. I had always been overprotective of her, an instinct I sensed and even admired in Vienne’s own brothers. “But Jarun had held her interest for a long while.
“I told you once about my horde failing when I was younger. Because of overhunting, we would have been hungry for the season and the otherVorakkarshad already claimed their land. The horde fell and we had to return toDothik, to await the next season before we could venture to the wild lands again.”
“Yes, I remember,” Vienne said.
“Devina got her wish, for Jarun never had any intention of rejoining a horde or living in the wild lands. He was a few years older than her, than us. He wanted to stay within the city, the city she had always been so curious about. He had his eyes on a position in theDothikkar’sprivate council. He had always been ambitious, with a taste for power,” I said, the words bitter on my tongue. “To him, serving at theDothikkar’sside was his ultimate prize. And Devina loved him, or at least believed she did. He had promised to make her his wife. They were going to marry before the end of the season, though she was young still and my father did not approve. Nor did I. But Devina had always had a will of her own. She made her choice and it was Jarun.”
Vienne remained silent, as if she sensed I needed to get this out quickly. I still remembered the day she had stood up to our father about the matter. I had never seen our father so angry, but she would not be swayed.
“My sister was beautiful. She possessed the kind of beauty that drew people in, even the worst of them,” I told her, fighting to keep the rage and grief contained within me. “There was a member of theDothikkar’scouncil. Ollisan. One day, he saw Jarun with Devina inDothikand from that moment on, he coveted her. He wanted to possess her as his. He grew obsessed with her. From that day on, he grew closer with Jarun. He offered to mentor him, to whisper in theDothikkar’sear to give him a place at his table, in his great hall, but Ollisan had a price. A single price for everything that Jarun ever wanted, an answer to his ambitions and security for his future.”
