“Don’t get soft on me,” Lorian laughed. “First time getting captured?”
Yes. By something like that creature—definitely yes.
“Jyuri. What. The. Fuck.”
I whipped my head around to see one of the most beautiful females I’d ever laid my eyes upon standing in the doorway, with one of the most pissed off expressions I’d ever seen painted on her face. Before I had time to get a better look at her, I heard a chair topple to the floor next to me, and saw Lorian up on his feet, his palms slammed down on the table in front of him.
“Z-Zorinna?”
She stared at Lorian, her green eyes swirling with emotions that were too complex, too quickly shifting to pin down. It was rage, sadness, joy, all in one. “Brother.” She turned to Kaelias across from me. “Kaelias.”
I had no clue that Lorian had a sister, but looking between them now, the family resemblance was obvious. Aside from the Elven heritage, their hair was the same shade of brilliant red. Lorian was much tanner from his exploits in the sun, but they both sported the same smear of freckles across their noses and cheeks. Their eyes were different, but the shape was the same. The nose. The lips.
“What the hell is that thing?” Lorian shouted, pointing to the creature, who was now swinging his head back and forth in amusement. “What did you do, Zorinna? Was the attack on The Phoenix Heart your doing?”
She sighed. “His name is Jyuri. He’s not some thing, he is… Fae.”
Jyuri looped his arms around Zorinna’s neck, resting his head on her shoulder. “I love when you say my name, darling.”
Zorinna cringed while Lorian exploded. “Are you going to explain nothing? I couldn't care less about it’s— his— name. I want to know why you had my ship attacked!”
The room dropped in temperature as havoc unleashed faster than I could comprehend exactly what was taking place. Jyuri was behind Lorian with a clawed hand wrapped around his neck.Kaelias had thrown his chair to the ground and had his sword pointed into Jyuri’s back. Makatza had shot from her seat as well and had both of her swords drawn, ready to strike. Each of them were holding their breath, unblinking.
Jyuri spoke first, not taking his eyes off Zorinna as he tilted his head to Lorian’s ear, “I suggest you watch your tone. You may be her flesh and blood, but I will only tolerate so much disrespect before tearing the skin from your bones, you pathetic, fragile thing.”
“Jyuri, stop.” Zorinna stepped forward. “I need to speak with Lorian privately about our situation.” She glared at the Fae as he finally released his grip on Lorian’s neck. “I wasn’t expecting you to bring additional… guests.”
“He smelled like you, and I was asked to save them.”
“Oh- uh- you know what? I’m choosing to ignore that statement. Please, if you don’t mind, I will meet with you later.” She pursed her lips. “Lorian, Kaelias, and,”- she pointed to Makatza “-you. Please come with me.”
I glanced around the room in confusion. I was not included in that summoning. “Am I not going to join?”
Zorinna darted her eyes away, avoiding my own. “Someone will come for you.”
My crew left me there alone with little more than a few pats on the shoulder and hushed words to assure me that everything would be ‘OK’. If I weren’t so flabbergasted, I would be furious. I assumed Lorian trusted his sister to know that leaving me alone was safe enough, but being left behind still reminded me too much of home not to hurt, of elders who spoke of my duty in cryptic riddles, never explaining what they truly wanted of me, of a Keeper who locked me in a room to ‘keep me safe’. Always sheltered. Always left questioning myself. Even now.
Always alone, except for each other. It has been you and I since the beginning.The distorted voice whispered in my head, answering my thoughts.
It had never spoken to me outside of the mirror—a problem I didn’t have the energy to contemplate. “Go away. I’m tired.”
I needed something to busy my hands while I waited, so I took to examining the books on the shelves. The first few I grabbed were books on magic theory, one in particular I recognized from an author I’d read once back at my village. A green leather-bound book on botany caught my attention, and I pulled it from the shelf and took a seat. This was one I’d never had access to in my village or on the ship. There were drawings and diagrams of rare medicinal plants I’d never had the opportunity to use in my work. I traced them with my finger, trying to memorize as much as I could.
I was so enthralled with the book; I didn’t hear the door swing open.
“Some things never change.”
It was a visceral reaction I had to the sound of that voice. Every nerve in my body lit up like it was on fire. My back straightened, and the air left my lungs in one quick breath. The voice I’d heard in my dream, the one that had sounded so far away, was now in the same room as me, clear as day. Deep and melodic, not in a singsong way, but in a way that settled in your mind, lulling you into the loveliest of slumbers.
And this familiar voice belonged to a face I’d never seen before.
The Elven male leaned against the door frame was stunning in every sense of the word. Staring at him, I couldn’t move or breathe, much less form words. His long, dark hair hung to his waist, over a navy-blue shirt haphazardly tucked into black leather pants that hugged every curve of his muscles. Perfect body aside, it was his gaze that truly struck me. His eyes, a clearand crystalline blue, were comparable only to the icy waters of the North.
We’d stared at one another for far longer than should have been acceptable, before I scolded myself for my debased reaction to seeing the male and forced my eyes back down to the pages.
I felt, before I heard him sit down in the chair next to me. He was closer than I could handle when he dragged a finger across the picture on the page and said, “this one is poisonous.”
“I see,” I think I said. It may have been more of a squeak than intelligible words.
