Wave-Touched, page 9
Her father looked taken aback by the instant bond between the two very different creatures. Kyril, however, didn’t appear even a little surprised, his lack of reaction taking Veyl back to the wave dancer’s interactions with the whales. She had assumed there was some natural relationship between the two ocean species, but maybe it was more than that.
“I’ve never seen Niske take to another creature like that.” Kasiel stepped closer to the bars, his attention riveted on the two.
“Something in the way wave dancers communicate seems to be like a common tongue for many beasts. Most intelligent creatures react positively to them.”
The other kanodrak crept a little closer, also watching Ceris and Niskenya. The wave dancer bounded back and forth along the bars as though inviting the larger beasts to play. Niskenya rose in a half-rear, landing with a grunt and vocalizing again. Ceris’s tail wagged enthusiastically.
Her father chuckled. “You are fortunate to have the favor of such a creature.”
“It appears we are both fortunate in the bonds we have made,” Kyril answered, his gaze flickering briefly to Veyl while her father’s attention was on the beasts.
She avoided his eyes and walked up to the bars next to Ceris. Niskenya calmed, her gaze settling on Veyl for an unnervingly long moment. Kyril approached on Ceris’s other side, his focus on the kanodrak farther back. The second beast huffed, staring at him and digging his claws into the ground.
“Don’t even consider it.” A hard edge came into her father’s voice.
“You needn’t worry.” Kyril’s grin was disarming and unfortunately handsome. “I’ve never been on a mount of any kind. I’m not eager to start that education with one of these.”
“Wise choice.” Her father’s laugh, though it still carried tension, gave her a glimmer of hope. Maybe this could come to a peaceful resolution after all.
CHAPTER SEVEN
On the way back, Veyl quietly observed while the two Ferals amiably chatted about the different beasts they had worked with. Kyril seemed most intrigued with her father’s ability to see and hear through the creatures he connected to, questioning him about it for at least half the walk. When they reached the guest hall in the palace, the guards escorted Kyril back to his room at her father’s bidding, and he continued with Veyl to hers. She didn’t need to go there, but she got the sense he wanted to speak to her in private, so she let him determine their destination.
“Well, what did you think?” she asked as they walked through the door into her sitting area.
“I think you were rather attentive to him.”
A flush of alarm swept through her. She had been so busy worrying about the impression Kyril would make with his words and actions she hadn’t stopped to consider what her own behavior might give away.
“I was merely…” she trailed off before the stern shake of his head.
“Niskenya could see a few threads reaching between the two of you. One similar to the link you have with Ahndhomen Jinau that looked to have been intentionally severed, and another more natural bond that appears to be in the early process of forming. Would you care to explain these to me?”
Veyl turned and walked to the empty pass-through fireplace that warmed the sitting room and bedroom in colder months. How careless could she be? She knew Niskenya had abilities akin to a Bondmaker’s, and that her father could see through her eyes, but her excitement for Kyril to meet the kanodrak and for her father to see the Thaelian Feral in a different light made her careless. She hadn’t considered exactly how much he might learn from watching them that way. That he had been willing to introduce Kyril to his cherished companion had struck her as a positive development, but in truth, it was just a clever method for extracting information. If she had thought it through, she might have tried harder to come up with a way to avoid going with them, though she doubted he would have allowed it. Now she had to give him at least some portion of the truth.
“After I broke one of his crew members in Deepwater, Ahnkreth Kyril had me made his zenyal to protect his fleet from my ability on the way to Thaelis.” Watching her father’s expression darken, it occurred to her to wonder why Jaysen hadn’t mentioned that detail. They really needed to have that talk, if for no other reason than to find out what he had and hadn’t told her parents. “In his defense, I did attack him in a manner that would likely have proven fatal after that. It wasn’t an irrational precaution.”
“And he deserved to be broken by you,” her father growled.
Any progress they had made today disintegrated before her eyes. Veyl absently touched the spiral shell in her hair, and his eyes narrowed.
“What about the other bond I saw developing?”
He would hate the full truth behind that, but she didn’t have to tell him everything. “I don’t have an answer for you that you’re going to want to hear. On the way to Thaelis, he showed me patience and stood by me in moments when most of his people would have written me off for being too dangerous. He defended and protected me. He saved me when…” she cut off abruptly, realizing what she had been about to admit.
“When what?” He took a few steps closer, the dread in his look suggesting a little too much perceptiveness.
“I…” This was one incident she had meant to keep from her parents forever, but she had to give him something, and it was either that or the truth about Kyril. She looked away, straining to breathe past the constriction in her throat. “At my lowest point, when I believed I would never see any of you again, I tried to kill myself. Kyril and Ceris saved me.”
“Veyl,” his voice cracked, and he rushed to her, pulling her into his arms and holding her as though he feared he might lose her at any moment.
Her head came to rest against his shoulder. There were no tears, at least not for her. Perhaps her eyes had simply run dry. She would never grow tired of knowing how deeply her father loved her, but it hurt to acknowledge how much pain this experience had brought her parents. Still, no matter how much of this was his doing, she couldn’t find it in herself to hate Kyril for it. What she felt for him was quite a long way from hate.
They stood there in silence for a time. Then he kissed her head before he spoke again. “How can you feel gratitude toward that man for saving you when he was the reason you were miserable enough to want to end your life?”
She gently extracted herself. “Because I understand now what his people lost, what he lost, that drove them to come looking for us. I also know a little of what they were told about us. Most importantly, I believe he regrets what they did, enough that he risked defying the council’s orders to come here and warn you. They grow up being taught to view the other original Vanrians—our people—as enemies. We are the descendants of those who tried to suppress their ancestors through violence. Their council drilled into them that the only way to bring us there without us destroying their way of life was to capture some and ensure the rest never discovered where they took us.”
“That’s absurd.”
She met his eyes, forcing herself to hold the contact. “Is it? Why don’t our history books or classes talk about the political strife that drove the people from the province of Thaelis to risk evacuating the homeland on their own? Why did we erase them if we did nothing wrong?”
He broke eye contact. “I don’t know. I wasn’t around when those choices were made.”
She could tell he was thinking about it, considering that there might be more to the mistrust the Thaelians had for Vanris than was immediately obvious. “But doesn’t it make you wonder?”
“It does, but we may never have answers to that, and it still doesn’t excuse what they did.” A sudden discomfort became apparent in the way he looked away and in the slight fall of his shoulders. “I hate to have to ask you this, but my understanding is that they took all of you to reintroduce pure bloodlines and more mind-crafters into their country. Were you forced to be intimate—”
“No!” She hoped he would take the coloring of her cheeks as embarrassment over the subject in general rather than a symptom of the truth she was trying to hide. No one had forced themselves on her, that was true, but she had been intimate with someone. “The Thaelians wanted us to integrate and become part of their society. They truly believed we would do so, given time, and I’m not sure that they were wrong about that.”
He arched a brow in question, so she elaborated. “It is beautiful there, and the people, at least in my experience, were mostly welcoming, generous, and kind, aside from the delusional, self-important councilors.” Should she tell him she suspected the council had given some of the Vanrian prisoners to the Ukhen’kya? Without proof, maybe that was something best left unsaid for now, especially considering how tense the situation already was.
“I’m glad some of them treated you well, and they at least didn’t sink to that depth of cruelty. I don’t think we could negotiate any further with them otherwise. It’s hard enough, given the things they did do.” His gaze took on a greater intensity, reminding her of his eagle when it was hunting. “Tell me you haven’t developed feelings for that man.”
How she hated keeping secrets from him, but nothing would make him understand and accept how she felt about Kyril or what she had done with him. Something she would be happy to do again if the opportunity presented itself. She sighed. “I am grateful for some of the things he did for me and what he sacrificed by coming here. That’s all.”
“That he saved your life in an intensely traumatic moment could explain the fledgling bond, but we should work to prevent any further development of that connection. Are you certain you can maintain an emotional distance between you while continuing to interact for the sake of these negotiations?”
“Father.” She gave him a flat look, lying to him with her eyes, her expression, and the set of her shoulders, even her tone, but not with words. She could at least avoid that.
He considered her for a few seconds, still apparently hesitant to take her at her word. Eventually, he nodded. “All right. You may wish to meet with the Thaelian contingent soon. We would like to start at noon today to see if we can make any headway. Our Delaphinian allies are eager to return to their own waters. If you can persuade the Thaelians to disclose to you whether they support their council, that might help guide our path forward.”
“I don’t suppose you would allow us to meet in a more comfortable space. One of the drawing rooms, perhaps?”
Kasiel’s lips quirked up in a smirk. “Are you going to teach them Feral’s Folly?”
His touch of humor relaxed the muscles between her shoulder blades that she hadn’t even realized were tense. Maybe someday she would be able to have a conversation with her father again without it inducing anxiety. “As apropos as that sounds, I was hoping the casual atmosphere might help encourage the openness we’re hoping for.”
“I’ll have attendants set up food and drink in the south drawing room. Just keep your wits about you while around them, all right? You’ve got a Charmer and an Evoker in there.”
He had a point, although it was the Feral who was addling her wits. “I am aware. If Ahndhomen Jinau were to try something, the zenyal bond would let me know, so there’s some benefit there.”
His scowl told her how little he thought of that. “Be careful and don’t give them more trust than they deserve.” With that warning, he gave her a hug and left her to prepare.
Veyl took a few minutes to don her Thaelian uniform. Doing her best to ignore the increasingly frantic flutter in her chest, she struck out for the south drawing room. When she arrived, two attendants were finishing setting up an assortment of fruit, cheese, and teacakes, along with tea and sweet wine. Veyl considered the selection and the people she was meeting with for a moment, then beckoned one attendant over.
“Could we exchange the wine for mead?”
“Yes, Khesran.”
As that attendant departed with the wine, she turned to the other. “Please ask Ahnkreth Kyril’s guards to escort him here.”
The woman bowed her head, but she didn’t leave. “Only the Ahnkreth, Khesran?”
“Yes, please. There are a few matters I want to clear up with him before the other two arrive.”
“As you wish, Khesran.”
The woman left her, and Veyl started pacing behind an elegant ivory and black couch, pausing briefly when the first attendant returned to drop off the mead. She traced her fingers along the carved, black-stained wood edging as she paced, feeling the notch toward one end on each pass. Tavin had dropped an ornamental dagger he wasn’t supposed to be playing with on it when their parents walked into the room. He had been about eight at the time. She and Jaysen had been watching him try to show off his skill with the weapon to Ellaris and giggling to themselves. Ultimately, they had also gotten in trouble for not intervening and setting a good example.
At a knock on the door, she took a moment to compose herself, then called for them to enter.
The attendant opened the door. “Ahnkreth Kyril, Khesran.”
She forced herself not to watch him as he entered with Ceris at his side, keeping her gaze on the attendant. “Give us ten minutes before you send for the other two, please.”
“As you wish.” She bowed out and shut the door.
Veyl counted down a few seconds, aware of Kyril watching her curiously from where he now stood near one chair. Then she went and slid the bolt on the door quietly into place before facing him.
He arched a brow in question, though he didn’t approach.
Veyl walked closer and met his eyes. “Is it safe?”
His focus turned inward, telling her he understood what she was asking. After a second, he nodded.
Clinging to her resolve, she stated, “There can be no more intimacy between us.”
“Because?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know the answer to that. I am a khesran of Vanris. I can’t have a casual fling with anyone, let alone a man who has committed crimes against my people. Should I someday be allowed to choose my own match, you would never be an acceptable option. You’re not even Vanrian.”
“No, I’m not. Nor am I noble, and I have no khesran.” He closed the remaining distance, his fingertips caressing her cheek as he brushed a lock of her hair back behind one pointed ear. “You realize that was one of the strongest arguments I had against coming here.”
“What was?” Her voice came out as a breathless whisper that lit a spark of hunger in his eyes. She should step back, look away, break the moment somehow, but she didn’t.
“Knowing I would lose any chance I might have had of a future with you in it.”
He leaned toward her, and she mirrored the movement as if enthralled. Their lips touched, engaging in the very intimacy she had just tried to deny him. His fingers traced a line of fire down the side of her neck, and she shifted closer, molding her body to his, ignoring the voice in her head now mocking her for how utterly she had failed at establishing boundaries between them. But she felt instantly stronger and more alive when his arms moved around her. He was the rocky shore she wanted to break upon. How had it gotten to this point?
She slid her hands into his hair, holding him close, and deepened the kiss, bombarded by heated memories of that afternoon in Thaelis. After a moment, she drew apart from him, lingering with her lips mere inches from his, their breath mingling.
“No matter what happens, I am yours.” She made herself step back. “But we are in Vanris now. Things are different here. What transpired between us in Thaelis… I believed I might never leave there. No longer a khesran. Just a woman like any other. If I could not have the life I lost, I hoped I could at least have you.”
“And were you ever going to stop trying to find a way back to that life?” He cupped her jaw, running his thumb across his cheek, the warmth of affection in his striking silver-blue eyes.
Veyl pressed into his hand, savoring that contact. “Maybe,” she whispered, “for the right reason.”
He chuckled. “Lie to yourself if you must, but don’t expect me to believe it. You would never have stopped fighting. That doesn’t change how I feel about you. If anything, your fierce determination is one of the things I love most about you.”
How she wanted to give herself to him again.
Responding to her unspoken longing, he captured her lips in another kiss. An achingly soft and lingering one this time that made her eyes sting with desperate tears. In Thaelis, there might have been a chance, but not here. Never here.
A knock on the door made her startle away from him.
“Khesran Veyl, the others have arrived,” the attendant called.
It was faster than she wanted, but there was nothing for it now. “One moment.” Meeting Kyril’s silver-blue eyes, she did her best to sound stern as she said, “No more.”
He brushed his thumb along her lower lip and winked, his grin making her want to slap him… or kiss him again. She pointed to a chair, waiting until he walked toward it to slide the bolt carefully free and open the door. She let Jinau and Nalika in as Kyril sat and poured mead into their mugs, Ceris settling on the carpet alongside him. The other two Thaelians wore knowing looks as they joined him.
“I understand you all had visitors this morning,” Veyl prompted as she sat in a chair opposite Kyril, far enough away to avoid the temptation for contact.
Nalika turned the mug in her hands, a faint smile curving her lips as she inhaled the aroma of the dark liquid. “Your dhomvalen is an intimidating man.”
“He’s my grandfather, and yes, most people feel that way about him. He was one of Vanris’s greatest assets in the war, along with my father.”
“Doesn’t that consolidate a substantial amount of power into one family?” Kyril asked before taking a drink from his mug.
