Wave-Touched, page 34
“Why is this happening to her?”
That was her mother. Hearing her parents’ voices was nearly enough to break her down into tears, but she couldn’t allow herself to indulge those emotions. It was still too hard to believe that she might be safe… and that she might have killed the others.
“Your daughter is an aberration.” Nerith spoke now, words that immediately made Veyl feel less confident in her safety than she had a moment ago. “It’s not common to have someone manifest an ability so powerful it can break people and wholly defy the wielder’s control the way hers does, but given her bloodlines, she is a prime candidate for it. Your father has this problem to a much lesser degree, Kas. In his case, it has proven more manageable. Even your ability is strong enough that, if you were anything other than a Feral, you might have been a Breaker too.”
Veyl walked to the door, Seyn at her side, and set her hand on the handle, waiting to hear what else they might say about the situation.
“A Breaker?” her father asked. “That’s what we call it?”
Her mother answered him, her voice strained by the tightness of unshed tears. “Instead of doing what its wielder intends, the ability flares out of control, like a violent gust in a windstorm, and breaks the minds of their victims. The damage is irreversible. We don’t talk about Breakers often because of how rare they are, but they have occurred now and then throughout our history.”
“How have we handled them in the past?”
Silence fell over the room.
Veyl opened the door and walked out. “They put them to death. Mercifully, of course.”
In seconds, her parents were on their feet, rushing over to wrap her in a careful group embrace. Her mother kissed her uninjured cheek. Even with how gentle they were, it hurt in places, but she still relished having their arms around her too much to care about the pain. Tears fell from her eyes. For her parents, for herself, for the people she had broken. Had she really broken everyone within half a mile? Did that mean her companions were dead or tucked away somewhere in a catatonic state? She couldn’t speak past the agonizing sorrow that clenched her throat.
“No one is putting you to death,” her father whispered in a voice ragged with emotion.
Almost as one, they stepped back to look at her. Irith sat beside the couch, watching her intently, but he didn’t approach, appearing uncertain what to make of the wave dancer at her side. Veyl held a hand out to the big predator, and he accepted the invitation, padding over to push his cheek into it. He closed his eyes and purred when she scratched behind his ears, snapping them open when Seyn took a step toward him, leaning out to sniff at him and making an odd, querying sound in her throat.
“We were so worried about you,” her mother said, drawing Veyl’s attention back to them. “The others told us—”
A desperate hope ignited in Veyl’s chest. “Others?”
“Gannon, Kyril, and his sister,” her father answered.
She could barely breathe. “But I thought… I didn’t break them?”
“Not for lack of trying.” It was Jhanik who spoke, the tall Feral cutting into her with his sharp words. The shaved sides of his hair were growing out, obscuring the ke’hanoath tattooed there. Down the center, his blond hair hung to the middle of his back. Though he had been a regular presence throughout her life, he regarded her with a stinging wariness now. “Ahnkreth Kyril believes the wave dancer protected them. I don’t know if the beast could have done that, but you only scarred their minds instead of breaking them like everyone else in the vicinity, so there might be something to it. They’ve all seen an Evoker now to erase the incident so they won’t suffer the worsening nightmares.”
After what the last Evoker did to Kyril, she couldn’t imagine that experience sat well with him, but at least he was alive.
“How did we get back here?”
“Jhanik’s unit is one of several we’ve had scouting the western portion of the Crimson Break since we learned of Thrasser’s attempt to eliminate Jaysen. They intercepted a couple of Eydarith making their way here who told them…” her father trailed off, nodding to Jhanik.
“They said they spotted a group of Vanrians in northern Sarket heading for the border who looked like they might be in trouble. Bastards couldn’t be bothered to help you themselves, but at least they alerted us.” He punctuated his words with a low growl, a skill Ferals seemed to pick up from their beasts.
Veyl set a hand on Seyn’s head, and the wave dancer sat beside her, no longer trying to sniff at the puzzled cliff cat. “They did help, in their way.”
“They clearly could have done more,” Jhanik countered, and she couldn’t argue the point. “We kept a closer watch on the area after that. When the overflow from your ability hit us, we went searching for you. Fortunately, we were far enough out that you didn’t break anyone in my unit, but most required a visit with an Evoker. Arkos protected me, and he’s the one who found you. He seemed drawn to that beast.” Jhanik gestured to Seyn.
Arkos, his kanodrak. Her father’s kanodrak had reacted strongly to the wave dancer as well. They owed Seyn a great deal, especially if the wave dancer truly had protected the others from her ability.
“They feared you were broken when they found you,” Nerith added. “Then you started coming back along the way. Kyril believes that was Seyn’s doing, too. If that’s true, you have quite a remarkable and devoted friend there. She’s refused to leave your side beyond allowing him to escort her out to relieve herself.”
“He’s not injured?”
Her father snorted a laugh. “He is, but he’s also strong, stubborn, and carrying a great weight of anger on his shoulders, though he hasn’t been willing to talk much about that.”
“All of which appear to be common traits among Ferals.” Her mother arched a brow at her father, who shared a brief look with Jhanik.
The other feral grinned, apparently happy to be lumped in with the strong, stubborn, and angry set.
Seyn got to her feet, her attention turning to the door a second before someone knocked. The tentative wag of her long tail caused a tightening in Veyl’s chest.
As the closest, Jhanik opened the door. Kyril stood there in casual Vanrian attire, which somehow looked more attractive on him than on anyone else she had ever seen dressed similarly. Maybe he just made all clothing look good. He had a brace on one wrist, likely injured when his horse fell, and fresh bruising and scrapes on one side of his face, but he was distinctly alive. His brows rose a fraction, registering a hint of surprise at seeing her standing there. If not for what Jaysen had done, she would have gone to him and thrown her arms around him. She might have even kissed him, regardless of who was watching, but their relationship had changed, so she stayed where she was.
“I’m pleased to see you awake, Khesran.” He met her eyes for a heartbeat before his gaze dropped to Seyn. “I was checking in to see if your wave dancer would like to join us for a walk.”
Her wave dancer? And who was us?
She could feel everyone watching her, forcing her to hide the dagger twisting in her chest at his formal tone. Then Ceris stuck his head into the doorway alongside Kyril, and her eyes widened at the implications.
She faced her parents. “Grandfather survived?”
Her father nodded. “Arhk arrived a few days ago with three ships from the fleet. The rest had sustained too much damage to make the return voyage. Their crews and soldiers stayed behind to repair them and help handle the situation in Dagony. He told us you disappeared the night the Ukhen’kya attacked, along with the Thaelian council and one of their fleets. He said Jaysen, Gannon, Kyril, and his sister vanished too. Arhk had his suspicions, but we didn’t know for certain whether Jaysen was another victim of the council or an accomplice until the four of you showed up.”
“Oh, he was most definitely working with them.” She couldn’t keep the anger and hurt from coming out in her tone. Fury threatened to fill the deep chasm of heartache within her, and she preferred it that way. She could no longer stand the sorrow.
Her father offered a solemn, sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to be betrayed by someone you trust. After all you’ve been through, I wish it weren’t necessary, but we will need to—”
“You needn’t be so tentative. I know how this works.” She snapped, cringing inwardly at the sorrow that rose in his eyes in response. “Apologies, Father. I shouldn’t have interrupted you. It only makes sense that I should speak to an Evoker. I have information the others don’t because Jaysen kept me…” She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, trying to push away memories of his lips on hers, his hands touching her. She shuddered. When she opened her eyes, Kyril and her father wore strikingly similar expressions of rage. “He kept me close to him.”
Her mother stepped forward and took her hand. “You don’t need to go through all of that yet. Dhomvalen Arhk is resting right now, but he wanted to be there when we spoke to you.”
Something in her mother’s words caused an unpleasant squirming in her stomach. “Is he all right?”
“He suffered severe burns in the attack, but they will heal,” Nerith answered. “I can check on him, if you like.”
Her father shook his head, the scrutinizing look in his eyes making Veyl instantly uneasy. “Let him rest. Do you feel up for a brief walk, Veyl?”
“Kas…” her mother gave a tiny shake of her head. “She only just woke, and she’s injured.”
“Yes, I do,” Veyl answered. Despite her pain, she yearned to feel alive and, more importantly, free to move about at her own discretion.
“Very well. I need to check on Niskenya. We can walk down together.” He swept Kyril into their group with his gaze.
Kyril stepped back from the door, misreading his intent, perhaps deliberately. “I’ll return to my rooms and give you two a chance to catch up.”
Her father’s gaze didn’t waver. “I insist, Ahnkreth.”
Despite the tightening of his jaw, Kyril inclined his head a fraction. “As you wish, Khemron.”
Her mother gave her a gentle hug before letting her follow her father from the room.
“Be careful with your daughter, Kas,” Nerith called after them.
The outing was slow, given that two of them were recovering from injuries, and awkward. Veyl and Seyn walked on Kasiel’s left, with Irith, Kyril and Ceris on his right, the Feral ahnkreth staying a respectful half-step behind. The amount of effort he put into not looking in her direction made it worse than if he had glared at her the entire way. When her father broke the silence by asking about whether Seyn had truly protected them from Veyl’s ability, Kyril glanced at the wave dancer, keeping his gaze low so he effectively avoided her eyes.
“Wave dancers can shield their bonded companions the same way I understand a kanodrak can,” Kyril explained, one hand absently resting on Ceris’s shoulders. “They can also form temporary bonds with others that would, in theory, allow them to defend those individuals. Whether they are capable of creating multiple bonds that quickly to use in that way, I don’t honestly know, but given how fully the khesran’s ability took over out there, I can offer no other explanation.”
The khesran. Not Seh’hali. Not Veyl. She wanted to assume that was simply because her father was there, but something in his manner and his voice made it hard to believe that. He seemed more distant now than he had even on their journey from Taro. Had scarring his mind and nearly breaking him been enough to destroy what remained of their connection? If so, she couldn’t truly blame him for that.
Veyl drew a deep breath, struggling not to relent to the desperate urge to excuse herself, so she might return to the privacy of her rooms to cry. Tears threatened to break through her determined resolve, and she clenched her jaw hard enough it made the healing cut on her cheek hurt.
A newly familiar sensation moved through her then. A cool wave of comfort and affection. Veyl looked down to find Seyn gazing up at her, a surprising warmth in her deep sea-foam eyes.
“Veyl, is everything all right?”
She looked up at her father, then at Kyril, who now waited between two tethdrak statues at the entrance to the massive building overlooking the tethdrak canyon. At some point, she had stopped walking, though she didn’t recall doing so. They stood looking at her, one with his cliff cat, the other with his wave dancer. She had always envied Ferals for their companions. Now, despite not being a Feral, she appeared to have a companion of her own. One who, as Kyril suspected, had made the choice to bond with her, and saved her and those dear to her more than once. Whether she had permanently lost Kyril, she had gained something priceless in this.
“Apologies, we got distracted.”
She walked between them into the towering building with a kanodrak statue at its center. The rear wall stood open to the canyon, with the viewing platform at the back. As they descended on the mechanical lift, she noticed a change of focus in Kyril’s eyes that told her he was reaching out to the tethdraks, the novelty of them drawing him in. If her father did the same, he hid it, turning his attention to Kyril instead with a scrutinizing gaze that didn’t appear to bother the other man, assuming he noticed it.
When they reached the bottom, Seyn and Ceris bolted from the platform and sprinted around the area between the lift and the bars at the front of the enclosure together, enjoying the opportunity to stretch their legs. Irith watched, leaning forward a fraction as if tempted to join them. When her father gestured toward the two canines in offering, the cliff cat merely shifted closer to him.
Veyl received a little of the wave dancer’s joy—a strange but pleasant sensation, like unto the happiness that could sometimes come through a tehnaak bond. It brought a faint smile to her lips. A few tethdraks near the front of the canyon stood and called out to the two in their odd clicks and shrieks.
“How did Ceris end up in Vanris?”
Her father set a hand on her shoulder, a gesture of support and perhaps a desire to reassure himself that she was truly there. “They let him out of the cell the council had locked him in when they found Kyril missing from the prison. Arhk said the beast wouldn’t let them leave without him. For whatever reason, he insisted on coming, as if he thought doing so was his best chance at reuniting with his companion. Perhaps he just believed we would help him find Ahnkreth Kyril.”
“Kyril is sufficient. My country is in far too shattered a state right now for my title to mean much.”
Her father’s regard was solemn. “Your title still carries weight in Vanris, regardless. However, I am fine with using your name if you return the favor. Come, let’s visit Niskenya. She’s impatient to see you,” he added with a smile for Veyl, offering her his arm as if he could tell she was already growing weary.
Accepting, she walked with him to the tunnel that would take them through to the kanodraks canyon. Kyril followed with Seyn and Ceris bolting in before the door could shut them out. On the other side, Niskenya was already at the front awaiting her bonded companion, the massive kanodrak pacing restlessly along the bars. The moment they emerged, she dug her deadly claws into the soil and pushed her cheek hard against the bars in a strikingly cat-like gesture, the deep rumble of her purr rolling out to them. The warm, adoring smile that crept across her father’s features had once made Veyl jealous of his affection for the kanodrak, but she had long since grown used to the idea that their relationship was something extraordinary.
As her father left her to walk to the bars, she noticed another of the massive beasts lurking nearby. A large male with the same silver-gray scaled hide as all the other kanodraks, but this one had a darker shading on his spine that dipped down his ribs and along the backs of his front legs. His milky white eyes had an unusual outline of bronze around the irises and pupils. The beast watched Kyril with an unnerving intensity that she suspected her father wouldn’t appreciate once he let his attention move away from Niskenya. For his part, Kyril returned the kanodrak’s scrutiny until it broke the connection to look down at the two wave dancers trotting up to the bars.
After a moment, her father turned to them, his wide-eyed gaze going from Veyl to Seyn and back. “That’s no temporary bond.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Kyril glanced at Veyl and Seyn, then looked at her father as if he were a recruit who had fallen behind in training. “I told you it wasn’t. Their bond is as complete a bond as any we share with our beasts.”
That meant he and her father had talked about her before she woke. How much had passed between them in that time? For that matter, how long had it been since they arrived in Etrion? Had the two spoken of anything more than the subject that most interested them—bonds with beasts?
“How is that possible?” her father asked.
“Wave dancers can form a bond with whomever they choose. Most commonly, if they decide to bond with a human at all, it is with a Feral because of the reciprocal nature of the connection. I am aware of only one recorded incident of a wave dancer bonding with someone who was not a Feral in our history on Thaelis. There may be others we weren’t aware of. Seyn senses that your daughter is special.” Kyril met Veyl’s eyes for an instant, then looked away, turning his attention to the male kanodrak that was prowling closer.
Niskenya growled a low warning at the other beast, and her father put his hand through the bars. She quieted, stepping in to press the bone-plating over her forehead into his palm.
“Go ahead,” he encouraged. “That one seems curious about you.”
Kyril approached the bars, Ceris trotting to his side as if prepared to protect him from the massive beast in the enclosure.
Veyl moved closer to her father, Seyn coming to stand with her now. “You’re letting him interact with a kanodrak?” she asked in a low voice.
