Page 154

“They don’t trouble themselves with those trivial matters,” Jyrion says. For the first time, I hear it. A strange tightness in his voice when he speaks about his parents. My gaze flickers down to his arms, and yes.

I see them.

Bruising that will eventually fade. Marks as a reminder of his place without being permanent or altering his appearance.

If Jyrion is aware I have noticed, he does not show it. “It is a concern of ours, and I wish you to look into it.”

I nod my head once. “I will see it done.”

“Personally,” he sneers. “Even if it means long nights away from your…companion.”

I do my best not to let my anger and anxiety show. “Of course.”

Jyrion takes one step back, nearly knocking into Vyrian, but then he freezes and reaches into his satchel, pulling out a small vial. He sets it on my desk. “One last thing. Your rut has been clearly delayed, which is upsetting the rest of the council. I have procured this for you.”

I stare at it, trying not to swallow too thickly. “Which is…?” I ask the question, but I recognize the blue, shimmering herb in the vial and my hearts sink.

“Tolyian, to bring about your breeding rut. I will schedule the guards to pick you up tomorrow at second moonrise to take you to the breeding caves.”

I thought I had more time. My chest feels tight, and my hearts are attempting to beat past my ribs. “I understand.”

I have only one thing to do now, which is to contact Sabik and see what we can do about moving up the timeline. I have no idea if he and the other Tarek are willing to aid us, but it is now or never.

And if it’s never…

Well, I cannot leave Luca now. I have held him, bonded to him, bred him in the only way a human can be bred. He is mine, and separating us could very well destroy us both. I will have to leave Erethar and never return.

And doing so may destroy what little chance my people have of breaking this cycle.

Jyrion blinks at me. “What are you waiting for?”

“I…you wish me to take it now?”

He huffs, and his eyes flash. “It will not take effect until just before the second moon rises. If you delay taking it, then you will throw the breeding time entirely off schedule.”

There is no getting out of this. “And if it begins to work sooner?”

Jyrion’s smile looks vicious, all fang and cruel joy. “Well. You’ll be with your companion, won’t you? And a Vyastil such as yourself would never be satisfied with a human mating. So you will endure until the guards arrive.”

I understand what he is doing now. He is hoping that in my rut—in the feral state I will find myself in—I will ruin Luca before I’m taken to fertilize an egg. The only comfort that brings me is that it means he does not know the depth of my bond to Luca.

I pick up the vial, say a prayer to any of the gods willing to hear me, then lay the herbs on my tongue. They dissolve almost immediately, and I wait, my tail tense around my thigh.

But I feel nothing. There is a slight warming sensation in my stomach, and then that too fades.

I have some time, possibly. If I am lucky. But it will be mere hours before I will need to find Luca and make whatever choice necessary to save us.

thirty-two

EISSA

It’s dark in the cave, my voice making the small githyn come alive from the vibrations. The walls are alight with them as I make my way farther and farther inside until I round a corner and see Rathyn standing there, something in his hand.

“Greetings,” I say to him as I approach, that item going into his pocket quickly. Our foreheads touch, and I cannot help but ask, “What are you hiding from me?”

Rathyn makes a small face at me. “I’m not hiding anything. It was a gift from Everest to remember him when I am away. It is a silly human thing and of no importance.”

I look at the place he disappeared the item into and then back at his eyes. “I do not think you mean that.”