“Okay,” Emmeric finally relented.“But watch over her, Kaz.”Both woman and cat rolled their eyes at the fussy man and left without another word.
Once they were out of earshot, Kaz shifted mid-stride without a second thought, her braids swishing around her shoulders.“Do you need a minute, sweetcheeks?I can find something else to do if you want to be alone.”
Iyana sighed.“I don’t really want to be by myself.It’s just…Em has been a little stifling lately.And I understand why.I would probably be the same if the roles were reversed, honestly.I only need to breathe without him counting every breath for a bit.”
“I get it.”
“I mean”—Iyana twisted her hair around her hand and chewed on her bottom lip—“I almost died in his arms.If we hadn’t done that magic transfer, I would be gone.Hells, he saw his best friend die in front of him.Take a killing blow for him.And I know he hasn’t processed that yet, because he’s been so wrapped up in me, and making sure I’m okay.I want him to be able to comfort his friend, but I also want to be selfish and keep him around me for when the nightmares get bad.He can always sense them and pull me out.But then I feel guilty, because Iknowhe has feelings for me, and I don’t want to lead him on or give him false hope.”
Kaz gripped her elbow, tugging her to a stop.“Iyana.”
“Then there’s Talon and Zane, and how much they’re hurting.I don’t know how to comfort either one of them when I’m the reason they’re suffering, and they honestly should hate me, but Tal is still able to smile at me, and—”
“Iyana,” Kaz said more forcefully, stopping the words from falling out of Iyana’s mouth.In a gentle tone, the shifter continued, “None of this is your fault.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but Kaz silenced her with a stern look.
“Noneof it, Iyana.Talon and Zane do not blame you for anything that has transpired.Emmeric loves you and is worried about you, because you’re placing this immense burden on yourself unnecessarily.If we’re going to point the blame on anyone, it should be Uther.That’s who Zane is holding accountable in his mind for all of his troubles.Tal, right now, I think, is trying to tackle his own personal demons, but don’t forone secondthink that he is in any way capable of hating you.”
“But, Altair…” Iyana said weakly, still unable to voice the rest aloud.
“Exactly,” Kaz said, giving her shoulders a squeeze.“Look me in the eye when I say this, Iyana.”Her dark brown eyes bored into Iyana’s own, and she could sense the intensity rolling off of the shifter.“Altair.Heis the one who murdered Talon—while trying to kill Emmeric, I might add.Heis the one who presented himself to you in such a way that he was basically irresistible.Heis the one who betrayed us all, and you are not allowed to take the blame for him.I won’t let you.We all love you, Iyana.All of us.To the ends of the earth.”
Tears fell freely down Iyana’s face as Kaz wrapped her in a tight hug.They stood that way for a few minutes, the shifter allowing her to process her emotions and use her shoulder to cry on.The embrace slowly loosened, but they didn’t quite let go yet.“That was oddly profound of you, Kaz.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”she mused.“You wanna kiss to balance things out?”
A laugh ripped free from Iyana as she shoved her friend away playfully.“Gods, you’re relentless.”
“I could show you just howrelentlessI can be,” Kaz said with a wink.They both chuckled, the heaviness of the moment evaporating.
“Thank you, Kaz.Truly.I don’t know that I completely believe you yet, but it means a lot to me to hear the words.”The shifter gave her a sad smile, dashing away unshed tears before they could fall.
“Well, now that we have that out of the way, shall we go look at these artifacts you wanted to study?”Kaz overzealously presented Iyana with her elbow, which the Aztia took with a grin, and they set off towards the array of pedestals.Each one was adorned with a plaque and topped with a glass box housing an artifact.Some of them appeared more sinister than the others, but the astmina had seemed innocuous enough, until it wasn’t.Any of these could be capable of terrible things.The pedestal that had previously held the astmina stood near the center of the room.The glass that had been littered around it was no longer there, as Altair’s storm had blown it all away.
Her throat tightened at the thought of that day, and what it had meant to her.Altair had been distraught over the astmina and had created a whirlwind.The tempest had threatened to tear the entire library down around them, but Iyana was able to get through to him, calm him.She had named herself as his astalle, and it was the first time he said he loved her.
What a load of shit that was.
The sensation of a warm hand alighted on her lower back, and Iyana knew Emmeric had felt her distress.This was his attempt to calm her, and Phaedros take her, it was working.
“What are we looking for?”Kaz asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Iyana blew a stream of air through pursed lips.“Honestly, I have no idea.Any of these could doanything.And all we have to go off of is a plaque with the name of the artifact.I’m sure there’s information about them somewhere in here, but I wouldn’t know the first place to search.”
Kaz nodded.“So we go off of vibes then.”
She peered sideways at her friend.“We’re supposed to pick things based only on how they make us feel?”
The shifter shrugged.“Why not?”
And Iyana didn’t have a good answer for that, so they perused around the room, searching for anything that may be of use.
Gaiztoa Eregia—A diadem with a center jewel glowing the brightest amethyst.
Har Mamur—What appeared to be a child’s stuffed bear toy, worn away at the edges, but instead of typical black buttons, it boasted a set of ovular red eyes, with vertical pupils in the center.
Beloved’s—A simple band of silver with etched filigree—there was no aura whatsoever surrounding it, and that was somehow more disconcerting.
