“None of you have spoken to Derivius since that night?”
“We’ve tried apologizing, but we haven’t heard anything back,” Kyzen mumbles.
I haven’t allowed myself the opportunity to think about reaching out to him. Now that it’s presented itself, I know I’m not ready to have a conversation with him. I’m not mad at him, per se. I understand, but then again, I don’t. I don’t understand how the High Chancellor was granted the power to do this.
Their voices fade from my ears as I mull over the fact I haven’t allowed myself a moment to think about anyone outside of the four of them.
Not Lambrit, Yemi, Havar, or Rose.
I know Riven said they allowed at least Yemi and Lambrit to come to my door so I could hear them, but that didn’t feel…well, real.
I wasn’t one hundred percent sure the race in the woods was happening, so I didn’t give it much thought when I called out for Seismet.
I haven’t attempted to communicate since.
And V…
Gods, V.
A hoot flutters the air and spears me right in my chest. It snatches me out of my mind and my gaze snaps up.
“Thayla.”
I believe that was Kyzen who spoke my name, but I’m not sure. I don’t remove my eyes from the creature soaring toward me.
My breathing picks up as his small form lands in the middle of the table, and I stare down at him.
Tentatively, he waddles closer.
“V…”
My voice cracks and my lip trembles.
“Everything’s okay, my Vedae. I’m here.”
Tremors tear through my limbs as I reach my hand up and pull it back repeatedly. My fingers are both desperate and petrified to touch him.
“May I?”
“Please.”
He spreads his wings out, and my eyes map his feathers.
White. Frost blue. Lavender. Rich purple. Dark, dark indigo.
No black.
A harsh breath steals all the air from my lungs the second my palm rests against him. I squeeze my eyes shut, intending to fight off the water building, not make it fall.
His hoot sails across my skin, drying those tears before they even make it halfway down my cheeks.
“You’re alive.”
“Alive and well.”
I choke on my gasp as I pull him to me and hold him to my chest. The beat of his heart pounds against mine and I close my eyes to savor the feeling. It washes away the phantom pain I felt when his connection ripped from not only me, but the realm.
I’ll never let anything happen to him.
