Page 179 of Sunsplitter

“Youcan wait. Take care of your business first.” She dropped to a whisper. “Then you can have me for as long as you’d like.”

His growl was, as usual, all bluff. Fi smirked at the resigned undertone.

He surveyed the room, gaze passing over the shelves, the table, a set of matching drawers. “There won’t be much. Some old books. Some records.” He cut her a wicked look. “Maybe some toys, since you seemed to enjoy them so much.”

Fi licked her lips but refused the bait. “I can grab you a crate? I saw some outside earlier.” While she’d been moping in the garden.

Antal hummed his displeasure. “I can go with you—”

“Relax, Antlers.” Fi slipped off the bed. “I’ll be fine. I ran into your shitbag father just this morning, alone, and he didn’t even attempt to disembowel me.”

“You…what?”

“This is a trust exercise!” she said sweetly, halfway out the door. “Be right back!”

To Antal’s credit, he didn’t come snarling after her.

ToFi’scredit, she crept down the hall as quietly as possible, loathe to invite attention anywhere in a predator’s den. The sitting room was empty. Syvr was right, that Dusk Council party dragged on a long time.

She stepped outside. Off the main patio, a smaller path followed the curve of the house. The storage area at the end was mostly screened by foliage, stacked with crates Fi had seen the human housekeeper carrying out of the kitchen earlier. Sheselected the box least dirtied with spider webs or coffee grounds— still on her priority list, bribing Syvr to tell her how to acquire proper daeyari coffee for the Winter Plane. Satisfied with her salvage, she headed back.

Fi was halfway to the patio when static hit her tongue.

“Be sensible, Yme,” came Avroz’s lowered voice.

“I’m theonly onebeing sensible,” Yme snapped.

Fi flattened herself to the wall fast enough to leave a bruise on her ass.

The voices came through an open window. Fi wasn’t as familiar with this section of the house, but yes, it did occur to her that she could be crouched outside Antal’s parents’ room. Who’d, apparently, just returned home.

She’d have to cross the window to get back inside. Fi could attempt Voidwalking to Antal’s room, but—what an inconvenient realization—she’d never asked if that left the same telltale static as daeyari teleportation. Maybe she could crawl under the window, but the voices inside sounded angry, and…

Oh no, Fi wascurious.

“Antal has done enough,” Yme said. Those were her light steps on stone tile, her whispering shawls as she paced. “He’s killed one aedari, he doesn’t need to face a second.”

Avroz spoke firm. “He agreed to this, ezria.”

“Andyouproposed it, Avroz! He’s done what you wanted. Let someone else track the other aedari.”

“The hunt isn’t over. Antal will see his responsibilities through.”

A knot tied Fi’s belly. While they’d celebrated one victory, the second aedari, the magician, was still out there. And Yme didn’t want Antal to be part of it? Fi had, perhaps naively, assumed hunting one stray would be easier than two, but the fight would still be dangerous. Yme’s concern was endearing.

Avroz, the crusty lichen flake, only ever spoke of his son as a means to an end.

“He already has his Sunsplitter bands,” Yme argued.

“And facing a second aedari will be even more impressive to the Dusk Council. He’ll be guaranteed a position.”

“He coulddie.” Yme’s teeth snapped. “Yourson, Avroz. You’d put him in more danger, for nothing more than padded odds?”

Fi eyed the distant patio door. Maybe she should try to sneak by. She’d caught hints of the strife between Avroz and Yme, but this was a new level of uncomfortable.

“He’ll be fine,” Avroz said. “According to Ixli, he hardly even fought the first one.”

Ok, but also, fuck him. That was Fi’s joke to make, with love, appreciating her soft little daeyari despite lackluster combat skills. Avroz and his spitting tone didn’t deserve it.