MILLIE
“What?” I whispered, a sad, deadened thump beating within my chest.
I couldn’t say I was surprised, considering the reactions of the villagers whenever I’d asked about her. But there was heavy sorrow in my breast nonetheless.
“What happened?” I asked.
Kythel’s jaw tightened. He only shook his head.
“Do you…do you know the House she married into?” I asked. Maybe they were still in Erzos. Maybe I could ask them about her.
He was quiet for a handful of moments. Finally he said, “House Kaalium.”
I froze, my eyes rounding.
“My father’s youngest brother,” he explained quietly. “Thyri. He lives in Vyaan now. With his mate and children.”
“He…he has children?”
“Not with Ruaala,” Kythel said gruffly. “It’s better if I show you. Would you want that?”
“Show me how?”
“At my keep. There’s a book in the library with my family’s history and all those that comprise it. You can borrow it, if you’d like. There’s a section on Ruaala and House Loria.”
“Lesana…” I trailed off. “She wouldn’t…”
Kythel’s gaze sharpened like glass. “Lesana wouldn’t like you away from RaanaDyaan? Is she your keeper? And you must not disobey her?”
“Of course not,” I replied, spine stiffening.
“Then come with me.”
We locked eyes. I thought of the number I’d read on my Halo orb earlier tonight—5,470 credits. Halfway to securing passage to Horrin, but not enough to return to Krynn, not to mention all the credits I needed for transfer permits. For food. For lodging.
I’ll figure it out,I thought. The most important thing was reaching my father and claiming his body before they burned him and scattered him among the stars. If they did that, I would never be able to create his soul gem.
Lesana had wanted me to stay away from Kythel. If she found out…well, she might make good on her threat. I might be out of a job, a place to stay. I remembered that brief time when I’d been without a bed, without warmth and shelter, before Lesana had discovered me in the market. I didn’t want to go back to that.
But the challenge in Kythel’s eyes had me standing from the stump. I’d spent most of the night clearing out what I could from the cottage. My throat felt raw and swollen from the rotting damp walls. My legs throbbed, my back ached.
I raised my brow at his assessing look.
“Only for a little while,” I informed him, peering back at RaanaDyaanbriefly. “And I—”
The words died in my throat when Kythel stepped into me, the clasps on his vest brushing against my arm. Shockingly cool, though heat rolled off him in waves. He smelled like the spices we would dry in the summer. He smelled exactly like they had, swaying near an open window as a warm breeze perfumed the air with their fragrance. We’d lived on Rupon then, with its hot summers and perfectly lazy days.
My mouth watered. A heaviness bloomed deep in the pit of my belly before it sunk down…and down. Unthinking, I reached out a hand to touch his chest. Hard and firm. I missed touching. I missed being touched.
“What are you doing?” I asked softly.
His brow raised, but otherwise his features were expressionless. “How do you think we will get to my keep? By walking?”
“Oh,” I breathed. “Right.”
Kythel swept me up into his arms before I could take another breath. One arm went beneath my knees, the other supported my spine. I’d flown with my father before. And so I was used to the jarring leap as Kythel shot up into the air, the vibration that racked my body as his wings caught the wind, the way my belly dipped and swayed as he veered us south.
This also feltunfamiliar. Feeling Kythel’s heat pressed against me, the light, distracting tickle of his hair when it swept against my neck, and the power I sensed in every gust of his wings…I was highly aware of our closeness in the strong circle of his arms.
