Page 18 of Shadow Wings
Tyrrik studied me with pursedlips.
We were back to that again. “You know, I’m pretty much over the whole let’s-keep-secrets-from-Ryn thing. In fact, I think I was really clear yesterday.” Was that only yesterday? “About how I felt. We had a good day today, as far as trust goes, up untilnow—”
Tyrrik took the goblet from my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. With a gentle tug, he led me to the pool. “It has to do with our kind. How our males and females balance each other’s powers. I can’t makevýživa, what you call nectar, for myself; no Drae can. This pool is water until one of us makes nectar for theother.”
“You’ve been making it for me this whole time?” I waited for his nod. “How do you doit?”
A teasing gleam entered his eyes as he waved a finger in the air. “I will it, knowing it will help you heal and replenish your energy. It’s just a matter of wantingthat.”
“For another Drae,” I venturedslowly.
He paused before giving a quick jerk of hishead.
“So we’re dependent on each other for nectar?” I asked. My thoughts, however, weren’t on how I could never make nectar for myself. All I could think was Tyrrik wouldn’t have hadanysince his enslavement to Irdelron. I also wasn’t sure I wanted to make it for him. It seemed . . . personal. Toopersonal.
A slow smile spread across the Drae’s face, his dark eyes lighting. “We’reinterdependent.”
He let go of my hand and knelt at the edge of the pool. He dipped the cup into the water, took a sip, and then handed it to me. “More?”It’s an honor to serve younectar.
My eyes widened at the errant thought, and I hurried to school my features, certain I hadn’t been meant to hear it. I took the goblet, and blinked at the deep sincerity I felt from him as our skin touched. I gulped the nectar to cover the moment, and the sweet drink soothed my throat and nerves, then my achingmuscles.
I drank every last drop, even licking therim.
With a totally straight face, Tyrrik said, “I guess this means you like mynectar.”
I blanched. “You did not just saythat.”
Tyrrik cracked a joke? Was the world ending? I thought back to my fake dungeon buddy, Ty, and his funny quips when we were in the dungeon. I supposed Ty was Tyrrik, so . . . It took a few moments for my head to wrap around my altered perspective of the Drae—all the funny quips really came from Tyrrik. If I hadn’t known Ty, fake as he’d been, I would’ve never known Tyrrik had a sense ofhumor.
He stepped forward until he was in my personal space and wrapped his hands over the jeweled chalice in my grip. “Oh, come on,” he said. “I could’ve said much worse thanthat.”
My heart pounded, running a race I would never win. “Here,” I said, thrusting the cup into his hands. “I’m goodnow.”
I fled into the depths of the cave, Tyrrik’s throaty chuckle chasing me. If I were to turn around, I’d see him, but some part of me, a rather large part, was terrified of meeting his eyes and standing too close. Why did I feel so unsure? Was it a Drae power thing? I’d never been unsure around him. At the start, I was so scared I could’ve peed my skirt, but unsure? Never. His place in relation to mine had always been clear and easy tonavigate.
I wandered through several caverns, searching for a secure place for my treasure. Plus, I wanted a comfortable place to sleep. I meandered for a while, not in any hurry to get back, looking for somewhere safe. Every room I entered felt off, and eventually, my Drae instincts led me back to the cavern with the pool init.
Tyrrik was lying in one of the indentations in the wall. His eyes were closed, and his chest rose and fell in a rhythmicpattern.
Disappointment and relief pulsed through me, but I told myself it was probably for the best—though what I meant by that I didn’t want to dissect. I paced around the cavern, letting my thoughts unravel the last few days. It wasn’t Tyrrik’s fault my emotions were all over the place or that I was irritable. For being so bodily tired, sleep was the last thing on mymind.
“You still don’t trust me,” he whispered across thedarkness.
“Hmm, what?” I responded, deflecting. There were three more indentations in the wall, all three near Tyrrik, which made me all kinds of nervous, but to not go over there would prove his point. I mentally kicked myself, wishing there was a way to block my emotions so he couldn’t readme.
“There is,” he said after a pause. “I’ll teach you tomorrow if you’dlike.”
“Will I be able to do it?” I asked, my shoulders sagging. “Or is it going to be like shifting? Because that would kinda defeat the purpose, right? If you had to help me block you.” My weak chuckle trailed off almost instantly. It hadn’t been my bestjoke.
He shifted, rolling to his side to face me. “What would it take for you to trust meagain?”
I grimaced. That question didn’t leave much avoidance wriggle room. “Forreal?”
Lying in a dug out hole was more appealing than facing Tyrrik, so I crossed the room, feeling his gaze on me.Creeper. I didn’t throw the insult with the same vehemence I had weeks ago. I guess the nectar and his help had softened me. That discovery unnerved me to no small degree. I climbed into the space farthest from him, a whole arm span. At least I could look at the ceiling of my cubby and know his eyes weren’t onme.
“Will you please tell me?” heasked.
I closed my eyes and thought of Tyrrik and our interactions to date. There were many of them if I included the conversations with Ty and Tyr—which I guessed I had to as much as I didn’t want to. Tyrrik must have felt so alone for so long with his only consistent company the twisted Irdelron or a few dozen Druman children Tyrrik had been forced to spawn. The blood oath had caused him excruciating pain, both physical and emotional, for one hundred years, and he’d no hope of escape. Until he found me. If I were in his situation, I might have been a little desperate to be free too. No matter the cost toothers.