“I don’t think so, Riven.” I place my hands on my hips and stare him and Yemi down as they share mischievous smiles with one another.
“Oh, come on. I need to be as prepared as possible before I go home and have to face all four of them.”
Her pleading eyes won’t work on me.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love nothing more than to tell her everything so I can talk her out of considering Nero’s offer before he can even tell her. That’s the problem, though.
I shouldn’t do that.
That’s going to be her decision, and I shouldn’t interfere.
Fucking taurnshit.
“I distinctly remember having this exact conversation once, but in reverse. I believe your words were, I’m liable to scare you more than inform you.”
“You asked her about us?” Kyzen asks with a smug grin.
“I did, and she provided minimal information.”
“Given your situation, I still stand by that decision. I don’t think it would’ve been best for you if I had spilled everything I had heard about them by that point.”
Yeah, I definitely agree with that.
“And now, I’m trying to do the same for—”
“If I may, Thayla, it isn’t like you to bite your tongue, so to speak. Why are you doing so with her now?” Amick asks as the wrinkles in his forehead deepen.
“I don’t want to influence her opinion of her Valtrue before she even has a conversation with them.”
He nods as his gaze bounces between the two of us.
“You should be honest with her. I don’t believe what you or any of us have to say will sway her. If that had been the case, she wouldn’t have gotten close to Sevryn at the start.
“One of the biggest differences between you and her is how you both receive information. You get overwhelmed byinformation overload, whereas Yemi gets frustrated with only knowing bits and pieces at a time. She likes it all laid out so she can compartmentalize and treat each new discovery as a task on a list.”
“How did you—”
“Oh, dear, sweet Yemi. Is this the first time he’s told you something about yourself?” Riven asks with a teasing chuckle.
“I mean, this is the first time I can recall him doing it to my face, yes.”
“I’ve done it numerous times just not so directly.”
She thinks about that for a second, probably attempting to identify a specific instance he did this and she didn’t notice. She doesn’t waste much time pondering it, though. With a fierce, determined nod, her gaze sets on me.
“I want to know everything you learned about them.”
I blow out my breath and my lips flap together as I perch on the side of my bed. Kyzen chuckles, scooting closer until my back is flushed to his chest and that settles the nerves inside of me.
“Well…”
From the moment we saw Doren and Nero at the tree line, I let the day unfold. I’ve never been the best at telling a story from start to finish without also telling a couple of other mini tangents in the middle.
She doesn’t get frustrated with me, though. Her eyes actually widen and she covers her mouth when I tell her about my freak-out over the black hole we had to jump in.
Honestly, though, that look is probably because of my comment about us going through it the first time unknowingly.
Other than that, she nods along. If I go too far off from the things I’m supposed to be saying, Kyzen gives me a little squeeze, and I get myself back on track. As I get to the part about the Soul Chamber, though, she holds her palms out, halting my rambling.
