Page 47 of Shadow Wings
He rose to his elbows and allowed me to tip the flagon to his lips. He drank and drank and drank, and as he continued to guzzle, my eyes widened, even though I accommodated his thirst by tipping the water skinup.
Once he'd drained the contents, he reclined and muttered, “Thankyou.”
His gratitude clenched my heart, and I cleared my throat, pushing back the emotions lodged there. With a nonchalant shrug, I said, “Noproblem.”
Apparently gratitude from others wasn't so easy to take either. Belatedly, I realized I was still touching his chest, and I blushed as a small smile tugged at the corners of hislips.
“How long have we beenhere?”
“A day,” I said. “And onenight.”
“A whole day and night?” Hefrowned.
“Yes, is that notnormal?”
He blinked, his eyelids heavy. “Never been this injured.Unsure.”
I nodded. “Tyrrik, the Phaetyn have . . . problems.” I thought of how I could sum up what I had learned thus far, but before I could say anything else, Tyrrik squeezed myhand.
“Be careful, Khosana,” he whispered. “Remember what you learned in Irdelron’s castle. Everyone has anagenda.”
His words slapped me, and I pulled my hand back. “Okay.”
The grip of his hand loosened as sleep claimedhim.
I returned to the washroom and filled the water skin again. After making nectar and leaving it next to Lord Tyrrik, I took note of my weary body and decided finding sustenance would bewise.
I exited the room, meeting the hardened gazes of the two soldiers in the hall with a glare of my own. “Listen, I don't really care what Kamoi said to you. I don't care if his threats are meaningful to you or not. I’m telling you, if anything happens to the man in there, you willwishKamoi had gotten to you first. Because you, and everyone you everthoughtyou might have the possibility of caring about, will be destroyed. I’m Drae, and I will chew on your family and spit themout.”
The two Phaetyn blanched, and the one on the right swallowed repeatedly, his Adam's apple bobbing in hisneck.
"Are we clear?" Iasked.
Both guards nodded, but that wasn't enough. I didn’t want them to simply humor me; they needed to know to cross me on this was a life and death decision. My heightened emotions, worry over Tyrrik’s state as well as the obvious hostility we’d walked into, allowed my Drae to peek out. My eyes shifted Drae, and scales climbed up my neck and down my exposed arms. In a voice more Drae than human, I growled, “Are weclear?”
The female Phaetyn inclined herhead.
They straightened and chorused, “Yes, YourMajesty.”
What thehay?
I heard the tread of footsteps and glanced down the hall, spotting Kamoi's friendly smile and glowing eyes as heneared.
“Ryn, come,” he said, waving me toward him. “Have you eaten?” When I shook my head, he passed me a plate containing slices of yellow fruit. “Here, it’s mango, a sweet fruit.” He watched as I bit into a slice and then asked, “Will you allow me the pleasure of showing youZivost?”
Perfect. I actually did want to explore and get a better sense of what I’d dropped into. I swallowed my mouthful and said, “Yes.” Picking up another slice of the yellow fruit, I added, “This isdelicious.”
“I’m glad you thinkso.”
I grabbed the remaining slices off the plate and handed it to one of theguards.
Kamoi led me out of the quartz house. There were more guards outside the house than when we arrived yesterday. Several were constructing a railing around the queen’s ash tree while more set up long tables aroundit.
“They are getting ready for a welcome party,” he said in his liltingvoice.
I smiled because I knew it was expected, but I wasn’t sure I wanted a party. I wasn’t sure I didn’t either. Not that it mattered what I wanted. As soon as we stepped off the elevated porch, I halted as every thought but one fled my mind. “Just a sec.” I bent over to pull off my soft boots with my free hand. As my bare feet touched the ground, I sighed. “I knew this would be amazing. It's almost like the energy radiates from thesoil?”
Kamoi smiled. “It actuallydoes.”