Page 20 of Infernal Bonds

After a long silence that made me wonder if they’d left me alone, I lifted my gaze to find Ardvaen grinning. Lymsrana had her hand over her mouth, glancing away as she leaned her elbow on the arm of the throne. Cornaith still hadn’t moved or changed his expression.

“Listen, I care about Ash and Zeke. If they need something from me, they can ask. I seriously doubt either of them would make me do anything.” I laughed. “Ash would probably stop me and do it himself.”

Cornaith’s icy voice made me tense. “And what of Ezra and Cyntrix?”

“I…” I licked my dry lips. “Well, it’s complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it.”

Okay, it seemed I’d pissed the king off. Nice one, Rae.

“So, I don’t exactly get along with Cyn. And Ezra…” I tugged at one of my sleeves, trying to think of how to explain the dynamic between us.

For most of the time on Earth, he’d acted indifferent to me. I wasn’t anything more than a tool to get him back to Elyrdin. But then he’d saved me even after we realized I couldn’t send them home.

I sighed. “If he needs something, I’d also be happy to help.”

“You separate my son from the others. Why?”

“Because I didn’t really get to know him while they were on Earth.”

“That can be part of your ‘job’ then.”

“Huh?”

Cornaith’s jaw ticked as if annoyed. “Learning to get along with my nephew and learning more about my son. If you are to be their mate, you must know who they are and how to make them happy with you.”

I wasn’t sure if getting to know Cyn was a good or bad idea. I’d decided to stay away from him since he wasn’t interested in bonding with me, and I wasn’t too keen on it either. While I trusted he’d stop someone who wanted to hurt me, I didn’t trust him with my emotions. He didn’t trust me at all.

As for Ezra, I’d started wanting to know more after seeing a shift in his demeanor before we left Earth. I couldn’t understand what had changed, but something had.

“More importantly,” Cornaith said, pulling me from my thoughts. “After the seal on your Shyrlivi powers broke, we have decided that until we know more about the display of power we saw in Cholian, you are to report to Quinfina whenever she summons you.”

“We’d like to monitor you for any changes,” Lymsrana said, likely attempting to soften the demands of her leader. “We don’t know how your human side will respond to Elyrdin, but we also don’t know what your powers mean.”

“We’ve seen nothing like it,” Ardvaen added.

“If we can stay ahead of things, we can avoid any harm coming to you.”

“Or our sons,” Cornaith said, cutting Lymsrana a look.

“Well, yes. But if their Nyrith comes to harm, they will suffer too.”

Cornaith sat back and tapped the arm of his throne, clearly dissatisfied but unable to refute her words.

I’d learned all about how the death of a Nyrith mate could drive the other mate mad or kill them. I wasn’t aware of physical harm affecting them, but I supposed it made sense if we felt each other’s strong emotions.

“I think we’re done here, yes, Brother?” Lymsrana smiled at Cornaith.

“For now.” He rose to his feet. “Treat your… jet lag, and be sure that when Quinfina summons, you do not leave her waiting.”

6

SEEING

RAE

For someone who made such a big deal out of my late arrival—which wasn’t late at all, just not as early as he wanted—Cornaith didn’t say much.