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“Because she’s essential for your plan,” Amara eventually said lightly. But her eyes remained serious, as if she were probing him.
“I will always make sure Delphine is protected,” Nik’s voice sounded like granite, certainty in every line of his face, but I still struggled to make sense of his words.
They hadn’t exactly been a denial of Amara’s statement. But there was something so sure in the way he spoke about me.
I shoved another spoonful into my mouth, glad of an excuse to look down at my bowl. Since his return, Nik seemed like a different person—but only when we were alone. Around others, the old hardness and arrogance were still there.
I didn’t know what to make of it. Why was he so different with me? He had told me he thought about me during his absence, had even suggested he missed me. And I couldn’t ignore the new softness in his manner toward me. But neither could I be sure what it meant.
“So you intend to join us now?” Amara raised an eyebrow, her manner still challenging.
Nik shook his head. “As I said in Caltor, you need to make your travels toward the border look natural. Having me with you would destroy that impression.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“That was me,” I said quickly. “I insisted he come for a meal. We haven’t passed anyone on the road this morning, so there isn’t likely to be anyone overtaking us while we eat.”
“I’ll be leaving as soon as I’ve finished,” he said.
“Not straight away!” I protested.
When both of them gave me a surprised look—Amara’s with a hint of censure and Nik’s a spark of amused pleasure—I hurried on. “You clearly know something about caring for falcons. You need to instruct me before you disappear!”
“So this one is staying permanently?” Amara reached out a cautious finger to stroke along Phoenix’s back. “I suppose I’m going to have to resign myself to accumulating a menagerie by the time your apprenticeship is finished.”
I gave her a guilty smile. “I’ll try not to adopt any more wild animals into our ranks, but Phoenix is different. According to Nik, he was bred and raised by a healing mage, so I couldn’t just abandon him in the wild for a second time. Not if he wants to stay with me.”
“A trained falcon?” Amara looked at Nik who nodded confirmation.
In short tones, he outlined the reasons for his assumption, including his guess that Phoenix had lost his master during the bird’s adolescence.
“Oh yes! I’d totally forgotten about the legs.” Amara leaned closer to peer at the different tones of yellow between Phoenix’s two legs. “I used to see the falcons around the Guild sometimes when I was a child and apprentice. It seems like a long time ago now.”
“So he can stay with us?” I asked eagerly.
She smiled indulgently. “How could I turn away such an aristocratic fellow?”
Phoenix chose that moment to preen, as if he’d understood her words, and we both laughed.
“Welcome to our makeshift family, Phoenix.” I pointed first to Amara and then to Ember. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I tried to put the weight of my power behind my words when I added, “The fox is not for eating. And that goes for you, too, Ember. No bothering your new brother.”
Phoenix blinked, training one eye on Ember. After an extended tense moment, he ruffled his feathers and placed his head along his back as if he meant to sleep.
“I think that’s agreement,” I said with a laugh.
“He reminds me of someone,” Amara muttered, glancing at Nik, who pretended not to hear her.
We each had seconds, no one seeming to want to hurry the end of the meal, and Nik waited while I changed my gown and tidied myself up before he told me the little he knew of caring for a falcon.
“Since we’ll mostly be traveling through open countryside, he shouldn’t need much care,” Amara said. “He can hunt for himself and otherwise engage in activities normal for a wild falcon.”
“Like Ember.” I placed a hand on the fox, who was still regarding our newest arrival with displeasure.
“It’s fascinating how they bond with you,” Amara said. “I’m only now realizing how little I know about a healing mage’s connection with animals. Since most mages live in the capital, or at least one of the larger cities, I’m not used to seeing them interact with wild animals. I regret not finding the time to ask Clay more questions about it.”
“I’m not sure Phoenix truly counts as wild,” I said. “And both of them were near death when I healed them. I don’t think I could just bond with any wild animal I came across.”
Tears pricked my eyes as I thought of the eagle. If I could only have formed even a loose connection with him, I could have calmed him enough to save him.
