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“No. There’s no one.” Something settled in me.
“Good to know.” He smiled and we continued down the hallway.
We approached a large set of doors at the end of the hall, and he opened them to reveal a large study, not as large as Eamon’s, but still sizable. A beautifully crafted wooden desk sat in the center of the room with stacked papers in the corner.
“This is my private office. Would you mind waiting here for a few moments? I’ll be right back.”
“Oh, sure,” I said with a nod and he dashed out of the room.
I took the opportunity to look around. Shelves decorated the walls with books, and two deep chairs sat before a hearth. But other than that, it was devoid of anything personal. I perused the books as I waited. Most were histories and politics, nothing I would consider pleasure reading.
Ryker returned after several minutes, followed by a male. I straightened. He wore a dark suit and was about the same height as Ryker with broad shoulders and an average build, not quite as muscular. His light brown hair was long and tied in the back. But it was the color of his eyes that drew my attention the most—silver.
Ryker walked over and stood beside me as the male remained just inside the doorway, a hint of a smile on his face. “Kya, I’d like to introduce you to Mavris, chief Advisor to the Lord of Oryn.” He sighed, “And my brother.”
As if the eyes didn’t give that away.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I greeted.
He smiled warmly. “It’sverynice to meet you, Kya.”
I wondered if he knew that I was Ryker’s mate. He walked over and took my hand, kissing the back of it. Ryker growled, tensing his body and clenching his hands into fists. Mavris smirked tauntingly.
Yep. He knows.
Ryker looked at my hand longingly once Mavris released it, likehewanted to be the one to hold it. He shook his head, gathering his control. I tugged on the bond and gave him a look I hoped he understood.
He took a deep breath before he cleared his throat. “I’m sure you will be spending quite a bit of time together in the future. Right now though, I’d like to know where the Vaavi are. Have they returned from their mission?”
My eyebrows raised in interest at the mention of thisVaavi.
“Not yet. The Ihab pass has been…obstructed.” He eyed me warily. “They would have had to go around, on an…alternate route.”
“Stop speaking cryptically, Mav. I have no intention of keeping secrets from Kya,” he demanded. At that moment, Ryker wasn’t just some male who had followed me across the godsdamn continent, he was the Lord of Oryn, a Worthy, regal and powerful.
“Alright.” He gave me a tight smile before he continued, “The Ihab pass has been plagued by the Glaev. No losses have been reported, but trade and travel have been affected greatly between the northern and southern ends of Oryn. We’ll need to find an alternate solution other than going around the mountain range before winter arrives.”
Ryker nodded slowly, eyes distant in thought. Then he walked to the other side of his desk, guiding me by the hand, and bent over the map covering it, trailing a finger over the parchment. Mavris stepped up to the front of the desk to glance at the map as well.
“Hire as many terbis wielders as needed to carve out a new path here.” He pointed to one of the southern mountains and traced it directly north toward the valley. “They’ll need to tunnel through the mountain, big enough for people and carts to comfortably move in either direction, but small enough to be safe from cave-ins. Hakoa and I had discussed opening this passbefore as a safeguard during times of war, and this was the mountain that had the best stability for a tunnel. If our theory on the Glaev is accurate, then hopefully this new pass won’t be discovered and can remain free from threat.”
“I’ll order a team of manipulators right away. For that amount though, it could take some time to construct,” Mavris responded before bowing at the waist and departing with a wink toward me. I didn’t miss that Ryker rolled his eyes.
Now that we were alone, I spun on him and his eyebrows raised. “You said you had the book, the one I’ve been searching for.”
“I said I know where it is. And I do, sort of.”
A non-answer. I gave him a questioning look.
“You’ll have it soon,” he assured me. Though I was eager to lay my hands on the book, the idea of resting and staying in one place for more than a few hours sang to my weary soul. “But for the time being.” He stepped closer, my neck craned to meet his eye, and a wicked smile crossed his face. “We have some time to kill.”
“This was not what I thought you meant,” I growled at him.
Ryker had brought me to a sparring area outside the palace. It rested against the mountainside, isolated. He had given me thicker leathers, but I was still cold. Odarum joined us, wanting to be involved in me discovering my gifted abilities.
“We need to understand what you’ve received from Kleio so you can start working on trying to manifest on yourshifting, as well as what you have been gifted from Odarum.” Ryker thumbed over his shoulder at the Spirit.
“I already know what I have from Kleio. Why are you removing your shirt again? Aren’t you cold?”
