“Yougive somebody unlimited access to your thoughts and tell me that again.”
“Fair, but hear me out.”
Iyana grumbled, but allowed him to continue.
“There are so many times in a battle that I wished I could have others simply know what I was thinking and follow suit.If you could learn to control it so that you only use it to communicate when you want to, it could be a huge advantage.”
Iyana pursed her lips and said nothing.
“Come on, Smalls, you know I’m right.”
When she continued her silence, Talon began prodding her in her ribs until she giggled and slapped his hand away.
“Tickling isn’t fair.”
“Well then, admit that I’m right.”Tal placed a finger menacingly against her side without any pressure.
“Okay, fine!You’re right, there could be an advantage.”
His finger retreated.
“But what if we can’t control it?”
“You two have been working extremely well together lately.I think if you focused, you’re capable of anything together.”
Theyrodetherestof the day in silence.When they stopped for the night, Talon and Emmeric snuck off to hunt for their dinner.Iyana realized that Talon had divulged their conversation when the whisper of a hand stroked against her fire barrier in apology.
Iyana’s resolve wavered.While Talon did have a point, it terrified her to give anyone that kind of access to her inner self.She’d already given so much of herself to Altair, only for him to rip her heart to shreds.Realistically, she understood Emmeric was different and that he was incapable of that level of deceit.Still, she needed time to come to terms with this new aspect of their bond, so she kept her barrier in place and distanced herself from her Kanaliza.
The next few days were about the same—Iyana continued to ride with Talon and ignore Emmeric as much as possible.She blocked him out so that he couldn’t hear her thoughts, but Iyana could feel his hurt deepening the longer it went on.It wasn’t something she could do forever; it took too much energy to maintain, and it slipped while she was asleep, anyway.First thing in the morning, she wrapped the fire around herself again.
Slowly, she let it thin out so that Emmeric could sense her emotions again.His relief was palpable when Iyana finally let the barrier drop completely after five days.
“We’ll work on it,” he promised her, his blue eyes earnest.
And they did.As the weather warmed the further south they traveled, the more control they gained over their bond and their magic.Soon, they could communicate silently with ease, although some louder thoughts would slip through unbidden.Iyana would always throw her barrier up again during these times, but they became fewer and farther between.
She became confident enough in their ability to control it that when they decided to stay the night at an inn instead of on the road, Iyana was actually excited to spend some alone time with Emmeric.
Chapter 29
Altair
AfterslittingHadar’sthroat—whichwas one of the highlights of Altair’s extremely long life—he and Okab fled Athusia.He teleported them out of the city with no specific destination in mind, and had to bite back a laugh when he, again, appeared by the crater in which he first fell.Okab looked between Altair and the hole with an inscrutable expression before immediately transporting them to a small inn.
“Where are we?”Altair asked.
“A few days outside of Istoria by horse.I’ve been here before—there’s not much star traffic.We should be safe for a bit.”
Altair nodded, his mind still reeling from the brief visit to the crater where he’d first met Iyana.“Won’t the innkeepers be suspicious of us, then?”
“Like I said, I’ve been here before.We’ll be fine.You have a lot to explain, though, brother.”
He squinted his eyes at Okab.He wanted to dig into exactly why his brother had been there before, but Okab was right—Altair owed him an explanation.After all, Okab had just committed treason for him, no questions asked.Love for his brother swelled in his heart.
Once they’d secured a room, Altair told his twin the entire story.When he was finished, Okab ran a hand through his hair, stood, and walked out without a word.He returned a few minutes later with a bottle of bourbon.
“So, the Aztia is your astalle,” Okab said, pouring two glasses of the amber liquid.Altair nodded, slinging the drink back.Okab refilled it.“Why in the nine hells would you go through with Rigil’s plan?”
