“So who are you, and why is my mate staring at you like you’re his long lost lover?” I demanded.
Chapter Fifteen
BENEDICT
Kaida.
The name hit like a half-forgotten song, one that I’d heard before but couldn’t quite remember the words to.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
Because I knew her scent—or at least, parts of it.
Not Kaida’s scent precisely, that is. No specific memory matched it, not from battlefields or courts or even the old dreams the curse had left me, but my blood still knew it. It rose to meet hers like iron filings to a magnet, ancient, unbidden, and familiar.
Aunt Kavni.
Well, not exactly. Similar to Aunt Kavni.
Enya had gasped my dead aunt’s name, resurrecting a ghost I’d thought long gone.
Kaida’s eyes: gods, those eyes. Purple as dawnfire. My mother’s eyes. My sister’s eyes. My aunt’s eyes. My eyes.
Kieran’s shoulder brushed mine, grounding me before Ilost myself completely. He didn’t speak, but he’d caught the scent too; his nostrils flared, expression twisting in understanding.
Kin. Family.
“Like I said, I’ve been searching for him,” Kaida answered Wren calmly.
“Not possible,” I said even though every cell in me argued otherwise.
Kaida’s gaze snapped to mine. The wards hummed between us, alive and curious.
“This Kavni. She was related to you? I never knew my mother’s name,” Kaida said softly. She sniffed experimentally. “Canavar can’t remember either. You smell like home.”
My mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Nerissa was saying something to her—introductions, explanations, politics—but it blurred. The world around Kaida blurred. All I could see was the shape of her jaw, the arch of her wings, and the glint of gold broadcasting her as the mate of the gold draken for all the world to see.
“Benedict,” Wren said softly. Her hand was on my arm, stroking the scales softly.
I blinked and found her. The sight of her steadied me: the familiar curve of her body, her scent of sea and fire. I forced my wings to fold, to anchor myself in the now. My arms went around her.
I breathed.
Kaida stepped forward and it was like I was a young drakling again, trying to impress my father and not disappoint my mother. Everything simplified back to when my only worries were dinner and being the best at sword play. And impressing females.
Don’t cry.
Kieran bumped me. “You are allowed to be emotional,” he whispered.
I glared at him.
“You look like him,” Kaida said simply, distracting me.
My voice barely worked. “Who?”
She tilted her head toward the massive draken sitting between us. “Canavar. My brother.”
