Page 55 of Shadow Wings
“Yes, I have no idea where he or she is or if the child is still alive. But there was a child.” I frowned, recalling the tree’s yearning during the flashback. “The forest wants the child back more than anything, which I guess means the child has ancestral powers. Do you think that means the trees know the child’s alivesomewhere?”
Dyter shrugged. “My mind hasn’t really gotten past the fact trees can talk in the first place. But if the child has ancestral powers, the child is a she,right?”
Inodded.
Someone knocked at the door, and we both started. This time our exchanged glance was wide-eyed. Had we beenoverheard?
I crossed to the door and swung it open. Kamoi stood in the hall, looking pristine. Andbeautiful.
“Hello—”
“I thought you were controlling your people in the southern part of the forest,” Isaid.
His brows rose at my interruption. “I was. The problems there are nowresolved.”
And not a speck of dirt onyou.
“Are you okay, Ryn?” he asked, and I realized I wasstaring.
I didn’t know what to make of the prince. His heart seemed to be in the right place as far as I could tell. He was being pressured by his mother, whom he loved as a son should. I felt like Kamoi was someone Dyter could convince to join the fight against the emperor but not while the prince’s allegiance was tied so strongly to his mother. If we could get Kamoi, we, I mean Dyter and the other rebels, would have more Phaetyn to help when the rebellion fought theemperor.
“We need to talk,” I said, crossing myarms.
He nodded to where Tyrrik was visible on the bed. “The Drae stillslumbers.”
“He does.” The twinge of worry I’d been carrying for the last two days flared, and I remember Tyrrik’s frown when he’d heard how long he’d been sleeping. “He should be recovered by now. Is there something wrong? Something else we should bedoing?”
Kamoi studied Tyrrik. “Not that I know of, Ryn. You’re doing all you can. Perhaps he was closer to death than youthought.”
I frowned. Hehadbeen near death, but still, he’d been speaking the morning after the injury, and again this morning. Phaetyn poisoning or not, I’d definitely seared all of the poison out. Something didn’t feel right, but maybe Tyrrik had woken up while I was out and then gone back to sleep. “You’re absolutelysure?”
“Of course.” He paused, pursing his lips. “I told you a similar thing happens to Phaetyn when we burn ourselves out. You must’ve felt it when you curedhim?”
The utter exhaustion? Yes, I had. I glanced back at Tyrrik, his face still relaxed in his stupor, chest rising and falling. “I really hope it’s not long until hewakes.”
“You wanted to talk with me? Tabor, my guard at the Sacred Circle, said you’d requested myattention.”
My eyes narrowed as I remembered exactly why I needed to speak with him. “Yes,” I said, teeth clenched. I called to Dyter, “I’ll be backsoon.”
I closed the door to the room, but before I could launch into my tirade, Kamoi reached out and wrapped a tendril of my hair around hisfinger.
“Am I in trouble, Ryn?” he asked, smiling. His gaze dropped to my lips, and his violet eyesburned.
I slapped his hand away, refusing to give in to his Phaetyn hotness. “Why do people think we’re going tobind?”
His smile dropped, and pink crept up hisjaw.
“Yes, I heard about that,” I continued, warming up. “Don’t spread rumors about me. There is nous. And the fact you did that, without declaring your intentions to me to begin with, makes me furious. You have no idea how mortifying it is to have people ask me questions about us. I was embarrassed when Iheard.”
He’d become progressively smaller during my rant, and his cheeks burned under my blazingglare.
He placed a hand over his heart. “You have my sincerest apology, Ryn. You are entirely,profoundlycorrect; I should have declared my intentions. My only defense is you are both beautiful and powerful, and I found myself at a loss as to how to broach this with you. Especially being in our currentsituation.”
Heat entered my cheeks at his compliment, though I wasn’t sure I wholly believed him. “You should have kept it to yourself until we’dspoken.”
His violet eyes gleamed, and he stepped closer to me, invading my space. In a husky voice, he asked, “Does this mean you’d consider a binding withme?”
I stared at him. Whoa, I’d never talked with a man about this stuff before. The fake thing with Tyr had been explosive, born of a desperate situation. There was never any courting, nor any gradual descent. We’d fallen suddenly and all at once. I knew the asking usually went first in these things. I mean, give me some credit; Mum had told me a tale or two growing up. Had I been in a situation where a gorgeous guy with pointy ears wanted to court me? Nope. But, I was smart enough to know that entertaining said situation was a badidea.