The lighthearted, funny moment we were having vanishes. Her face falls as she looks away from me. “Why did that upset you?”
“Boundaries are kind of my thing. Creating them, seeing them, knowing when to walk them or cross them.”
Despite her head being tilted toward the ceiling, her sigh flows through the room like the wind and I break out in chill bumps.
“I’m the only being in countless centuries to have a domain under the Beginning God of Boundaries.” A humorless laugh belts out of her. “You know, the one who up and decided to disappear and abandon the entire realm?”
Oh fuck…
Amick
13
A shift’s been made in the dynamic of our group.
I’m not referring to my Valtrue’s divide. That’s clear because of Kyzen’s and my relationship with Thayla. Riven and Creed lurk in the background with want and desire that they’re too scared to admit, which causes our obvious separation.
It’s the whole of our newly formed alliance between the five of us and Lambrit, Yemi, Rose, and Havar that’s changed.
Until this point, it was noticeable that the middle point that both groups turned to for connection was Thayla.
She’s still a neutral ground for us all. The difference now, though, is we have less hesitation, less tension crossing her comfort to embrace the others.
We discussed beforehand what we were okay with her telling them about us and it’s clear that however she presented the information to them last night made them view us in a new light.
A better light.
Apparently, this morning in training, prior to their start, Havar clapped Creed on the shoulder and thanked him for the cookies last night. My brother was both shocked and turned off by the touch but accepted the gesture without cutting his hand off.
I take that as a step in a good direction.
Rose spoke louder, laughed freely at Kyzen’s jokes, and walked hand in hand with Lambrit here to the Athenaeum. It’d seem the talk last night pushed them into their own relationship that they’re comfortable showing us.
The two of them make a good pair in my opinion.
Lambrit has always been more open with us, but he’s joking and teasing more than usual today.
I don’t know if I like that.
I do like the happiness on Thayla’s face, though, every time she looks at him and his new romantic partner.
Yemi surprised me the most.
She came to our home for breakfast this morning.
Creed, Kyzen, and I were already at the table and her appearance with Thayla shocked us still.
We continued to stare until she cleared her throat and—word for word—said, “You guys are making this really awkward.”
If I hadn’t been looking at them, I would’ve sworn those words came out of Thayla’s mouth. Her open sarcasm was a surprise to my brothers and me. It’s slipped through a few times around us, but that comment was purposeful.
An ice breaker, if you will.
The most unexplainable bit was, after Kyzen got her and Thayla situated at the table with food, she smirked, cut her eyes over at Thayla, and warned her Riven was about to scare her.
Even with the warning, Thayla still jumped when he appeared in his seat. His arms were crossed and eyes narrowed on Yemi.
Despite his pestering, she refused to tell him how she knew he was there.
