His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her to lie atop him. She sank into him, cheek on his chest, letting his body heat melt away her trepidation.
“What did he say?” he asked.
Her throat tightened. She didn’t want to repeat the words.
“Many things. A blur, really. It was hard to make out,” she lied.
He stroked her back in slow, even circles. “If he speaks again—tell me.”
She nodded, knowing she might not.
Not yet.
Not until she understood it herself.
“Kailorien…”
“Hmm?”
“What…are we to each other?”
He made a sound of mild amusement. “I’ve known you for decades, sweet one, and somehow you still catch me off guard too often with your questions.”
She made circles over Ansuz with her index finger. “I just…worry, at times.”
“You worryalways,” he corrected, chuckling when she pinched him. “Forgive me, ask again, and I’ll do my best to answer.”
She hesitated now, but forged ahead. “Last week, the Council spoke of the Gliders and diplomatic relations with them. They spoke of Vessar and other words to label relationships between two people. The Matriarch has petitioned for Vessar with you for her daughter.”
“She does every decade or so,” he sighed. The topic wasn’t of interest to him, not now, and not when the Council brought it up. “Krystopolis always turns her down. Politely. Usually with plentiful supplies of Lustrals, tinctures, runework, and other luxuries.”
“You’ve never been interested in any of the candidates?”
He hummed. “Are you so eager to give me away?”
Her hand paused. “I do not own you. I simply adore you. If you chose to—” she stumbled over her words, pushing past the tightness in her chest, “to be with another physically, I would not block your way. As long as you come back to me and lay with me as you are now. Make love to me as you always do.” Her voice softened. Lowered. “And breathe for me. And touch me in passing. Kiss me…”
“That’s a long list of demands, starlight,” he teased. “With so many duties, I have no time to look elsewhere.”
Her finger started circling his runes again.
“I’ve never seen a Glider up close,” she murmured. “When they attacked at Stonewake, everything was a blur. Just wings and explosions. But…are Glider females tall? Strong?”
He scratched his chin. “It depends on the bloodline. Glider females are the warrior caste, and size and purity determines their place in society.”
“So you’ve rejected them, but they continue to petition?”
“For Vessar?” he raised a brow.
“Or Ketraan.”
“Ketraan is for those who’ve known each other for years and have formed a bond. How could I wear the Thread of someone I’ve never met?”
“Then…is that what we are?” Auryn reached up and tugged at the cluster of hair hidden close to his nape. The hairs were white, not black like the rest. Traces of the ribbon she'd Woven into his hair nearly half a century past. “Isn’t this…a Thread?”
He turned his hypnotic blue gaze to her. “If that’s what you wish, but my feelings for you reach much deeper than Ketraan.”
“That’s why I asked. Because the word we use…love…it isn’t used lightly in Elendria. It doesn’t even exist here in Krystopolis where children are Bred and there are no bonds between anyone.” She took a breath. “And Vessar…”
