Khiran chuckled. “I’m still surprised you came tonight.”
They entered the room Del had set up for their card game. Velario frowned at the other men. “I was busy, not anti-social. Now that I’m not so busy, I didn’t protest tonight’s game. Why would I?”
“To have more time with Reyn.”
Velario frowned. It took him a moment to figure out why Khiran’s comment felt wrong. He hadn’t been teasing. He expected Khiran, Danten, and Del to rib him about how much time he was spending with Reyn. But Khiran had sounded sincere.
“I’ll see her tomorrow,” Velario said slowly. He sat at the card table. “I can manage a single day apart from her.”
“How many more days do you have?”
“What do you mean?”
Del began to shuffle. “She’s going back to Moial soon, isn’t she?”
Velario looked from Del to Khiran.
Khiran whistled. “She didn’t tell you?”
Velario’s breathing stuttered. He should have expected it. Reyn was Moialan. Of course she would go back—especially now that she had achieved her purpose in coming to Lhanaperi. But she hadn’t said anything to him, and he must have convinced himself that she would stay. He had assumed that her interest in identifying forgeries meant an interest in staying in Tryn. But she could continue down that path in Moial.
Why hadn’t she said anything to him about returning?
“What do you know?” he demanded.
Khiran shrugged. “Not much. Selona mentioned something to Lisca about it. I think she said Reyn started talking about returning home after she received a letter from her mother.”
“That’s what Roena told me, too.” Del added.
“You don’t know how soon she might be returning?”
Khiran shook his head. “No. I assumed you would know.”
“Haven’t you talked to her about such things?” Danten asked. “I mean, I wouldn’t talk about the future with any of my lovers, but isn’t that something you would do with Reyn?”
Velario bristled. “We’ve talked about the future.” Just nottheirfuture. “That’s why I’m so surprised. She doesn’t belong in Moial.”
Danten rolled his eyes. “She is Moialan.”
“By birth. She fits in with Lhanaperan society better.” Velario turned to Khiran. “Didn’t Lisca and Selona name her an honorary Lhanaperan, even?”
Khiran nodded. “They did, but her whole family is back in Moial.”
“And she prefers to communicate with them via letter instead of living her life under their noses.”
“She is also a guest here. As lovely as your aunt, uncle, and cousin are, she probably doesn’t want to be a burden to them or overstay her welcome.”
“They love having her.” Velario didn’t mention that she could always live with him. “Besides, she’s been talking about starting a business. She could easily find her own place.”
“But are those the only reasons for her to stay?” Khiran raised an eyebrow at Velario.
“Only? Those are good reasons to stay.”
“Maybe. But maybe they aren’t good enough. Are there any other reasons she shouldn’t return to Moial?”
Velario pretended not to understand. He wasn’t about to tell them that she should stay because he was in love with her. The entire night would be sly jokes and teasing if he admitted to such feelings. Not that it mattered, anyway. He wouldn’t try to trap Reyn in Lhanaperi because of his feelings. If she wanted to return to Moial, he had to let her.
To his surprise, Khiran merely shrugged again. “Let’s play cards already.”
