“It’s concerning that was both of your first conclusion. It should’ve been quite easy for you to determine that if you had a mark appear, all your Valtrue was still alive. That’s what happens when you let emotions cloud your thought processes. His whereabouts are none of your concern for now unless we don’t come back with him.”
“Amick,” I scold.
That was harsh, even by his standards.
“Yes?”
“A word, please.”
I toss my napkin on my plate and slide my chair back from the table. He’s still looking at me confused as I grab him by his hand and drag him to his bedroom.
“Judging by your grip on my fingers and the scowl on your face, I said something not to your liking and that’s why you excused us from the table.”
“Yeah, Amick. That was really harsh. Of course they’re both thinking more emotionally than logically. This has to do with the people who are tied to them for eternity.”
“I understand that, but anyone who knows even the basics of Valtrues knows you don’t get paired with dead people.”
“And I understand that, but given what we’ve all been through lately, please tell me you can see where they both would’ve considered the worst before any other explanation.”
He pauses his rebuttal and actually ponders what I’m saying.
“Did you act completely logical when you found out I was kidnapped?”
He bristles as though I smacked him.
“Of course not. I ran through the Athenaeum.”
“Aww,” I coo before shaking myself out of it. “I need you to put yourself in their shoes. Sevryn may not be the happiest in the realm about this, but Yemi’s excited that she’s a Binder. She’s also really nervous.
“We just dropped a massive shocker on her that we have to go help her Valtrue. If that were me, I’d be flipping out right now. I flipped out a short time ago over Riven. So let’s tone down the blunt, straightforward answers, and approach this delicately.”
He purses his lips.
“Maybe I should’ve let Kyzen talk like he volunteered to.”
“No, it’s okay that you wanted to be the one to address this. Kyzen doesn’t need to always be the bearer of bad news. Going forward, try delivering news the way you’d want to receive it.”
“Factual and direct.” He nods and I shake my head.
“Okay, deliver it the way I’d want to receive it.”
“Direct, but gentle.”
“Yes.”
“Very well. I’ll do that.”
“And maybe let’s apologize when we go back out there.”
“For leaving in the middle of the discussion?”
I curl my lips inward to stop from laughing.
“For being a little to blunt and direct a moment ago.”
“Ah. I understand.”
“Good, now give me a kiss.”
