She wiped her mouth with the back of her wrist. “How did you know where to find water?”
He answered over his shoulder while he rummaged through the sack. “Survival training. Mandatory for the Vestians.”
“Did you always want to be a Vestian?”
“In a way,” he answered, sitting back against the rock, his knees pulled to his chest. He handed her an apple and her stomach growled.
She bit into the fresh fruit, then covered her mouth with her hand as she chewed. “You gonna elaborate, or are you gonna make me pry the answer from you? If you’ll recall, my teeth aredeadly.”
He snickered. “I want—well, wanted—to join the Vasilikans, the Emperor’s personal guards. I was fascinated by them when I was younger. They’d accompany the Emperor on his visits to Brachos to meet with my father. They were terrifying, so still and calm. Everyone avoided them. But when they gave an order, there wasn’t a single individual who wouldn’t listen. Including my fatherandthe Emperor. They had so much power.No one ever challenged them.”
Cael bit into his own apple, its juices spilling down his chin.
“They were so in control,” he continued. “Not only of their surroundings, but of themselves. Like nothing could rattle them. I…I envied them.”
His tucked wing rested in the sand and he’d propped his wrists on his knees, his long-fingered hands dangling between them. He gazed out over the dunes, his straight nose jutting out above his flattened lips, the lower poking out almost petulantly. Wavy strands of ash-brown hair cascaded down his forehead, brushing his brow.
Xenia’s chest squeezed as he stared off into the distance, grappling with his recently discarded dreams.
She’d never wanted to kiss someone so badly.
Xenia was fully aware of the concept of yearning, a frequent theme in the romantic adventure novels she loved so much. And she’d experienced yearning once before in real life. Or at least thought she had…
But nothing compared to the soul-deep ache she felt when she gazed upon her broad-shouldered, breathtakingly beautiful rescuer.
Cael turned towards her, and she chomped into her apple again, hoping he hadn’t caught her ogling.
“What dreams did you have for yourself? Before you, ah, joined the order?”
Xenia rested her elbow on the rock and propped her cheek in her hand. “I hadn’t really given it much thought, to be honest. Is there a job that allows you to read books for the rest of your life?”
“A librarian?” Cael offered sarcastically.
Xenia laughed. “Maybe. But I’m not that organized. I’d probably get too distracted reading while I was supposed to be re-shelving or something. I thought about becoming a healer when I was really young. Before I realized there were no humans in the profession.”
Once she’d arrived at the Temple, Xenia had already given up on her naïve childhood dream. She’d resigned herself to her circumstances, determined to make the best of her situation.
And there had been plenty to be grateful for as a Sister. She was never without shelter, never without food. Not every human in the colonies was so lucky. And she’d had Cass to keep her company, a friend to laugh with, share her life with.
And she had her books. Life was never dull with a book in her hand.
“For what it’s worth, I think you would’ve made a great healer,” Cael said.
Xenia snorted. “Says the male who barely let me rub salve on his wounds.”
And won’t talk to me about the loss of his wing.
Xenia kept that remark to herself. She certainly wasn’t done probing, but she was too tired and cold tonight to open that festering wound. But she did offer him some reciprocal encouragement.
“And I thinkyouwould’ve made a great Vasilikan. You’ve certainly got the wholestrong and broodingthing mastered.”
Cael snickered. “I don’t brood.”
“Are you kidding me? I think you may have invented brooding.”
Cael shrugged. “I don’t open up to many people. What’s the point? When someone knows what you’re feeling, they gain control over you. I’d rather be the one in control.”
“Seems like a lonely way to live. Never making any kind of connection with another person.”
