We’llmakeit enough. I have it under guard. We’ll find a way.
“And the attackers?” she asked out loud.
“Dead,” Zarrek grimaced. “Most runed their tongues. Blood magic.”
Blood magic isn’t anything new, but I’ve never seen the Solutus this violent and determined. Not even the radicals.
Kailorien's lips thinned into a tense line.Something tells me we haven’t seen all they’re capable of yet.
They went back and forth like this for several more exchanges—words above the surface, sharper truths in the Bond beneath.
Finally, Zarrek’s eyes narrowed. “Voids’ sake, will you two stop going mute mid-sentence? It’s unsettling watching you stare at each other like statues.”
Auryn raised a brow. “If silence unsettles you, Zarrek, I could ask Lu’ma to beat on a drum.”
He gave a short, barking chuckle. Lu’ma’s lips curled—the smallest betrayal of amusement.
“It’s unsettling. That’s all. Since when did you two start reading each other’s minds?”
Kailorien shifted his weight, keeping contact with Auryn.
“It makes Council more entertaining,” Auryn smiled. “And tolerable.”
Zarrek crossed his arms. “Guessing it’s part of that trick you pulled with mana in the tunnels?”
Kailorien nodded, squeezing Auryn’s hand.That gold breath…it’s harder to reach than the azure. Like it’s buried behind more walls.
Stop using it for me if it strains you, my love.
Kailorien’s gaze sharpened.I’ll keep using it until I understand why it’s there. I won't ever let you be hollow again.
As long as I have you beside me, I will never be.
Lu’ma rose, crossed the room, and planted herself between Zarrek and the divan like a living barrier. Her hands moved with efficiency. 'It is time to leave, Scarred One.'
Zarrek gave her a suspicious stare. “You don’t get to say when I’m dismissed.”
“You’re dismissed,” Kailorien said without missing a beat.
Auryn nudged him on the arm. “Kail, what’s gotten into you? Zarrek wasn’t finished.”
“I was, actually,” Zarrek said, scratching his head. “This one’s grown too uppity, even in training.”
He glared at Lu’ma.
She glared back. 'His Quintessence wants to be alone with Her Radiance now. You are interfering.'
Zarrekarched a brow. “Do I get a translation of that, or should I guess?”
Her hands cut the air again. 'When His Quintessence makes the blue mist for Her Radiance, it is not just breath that joins.'
Zarrek blinked. Then, slowly, a grin curled his mouth. He tilted his body so he could look past Lu’ma at the two of them. “So that’s why you were both so moon-eyed afterward.”
Auryn’s ears burned. Kailorien’s head lifted, the warning in his voice low and precise. “Careful, Zarrek.”
The Reskala captain held up his hands in mock surrender, but the grin stayed as he backed toward the sparring ring door.
Kailorien settled more fully beside Auryn, arm curling around her shoulders.
