Page 30 of The Highseer's Mate

I can’t deny the need to know more. To understand Varek better. “Um, what exactly has he endured?”

Kylor hangs his head, his shoulders sagging as he speaks. “His parents were mated. They were so in love and one of the strongest pairings among us. Their union bore six heirs.”

“Any females?” I ask.

Kylor’s face turns solemn.

“No. When Varek was just ten, the Thachiens attacked. Varek’s father barricaded him and his mother inside a voralith to protect them, but they watched as he was cut down. His mother wailed until she was able to go to her mate’s body and then refused to leave his side. She died from the grief.”

My heart stalls, a lash of pain crashing through my chest.

Kylor continues. “Her glow refused to spark back to life without him. She withered until the land reclaimed them both.”

A lump lodges in my throat as I listen, thinking of Varek as just a small boy. He would have been so young. So innocent. And grew up watching his parents love each other so fiercely, only to meet such a tragic ending.

I reach up and press my palm flat against my chest, unable to get over the empty feeling. The painful feeling of not having him in my arms.

“How long ago was that?” I ask. I realize I’m not sure how old my mate even is.

“Twenty-seven years.”

“And his siblings? Where are they now?”

“Among us. But Varek was the youngest and he was never the same.” Kylor shakes the hanging sleeve of his cloak andcrosses his arms. “He threw himself into his duties, learning to hunt and protect the clan. He gave up hope of ever finding his mate.”

I think back to the instant we locked eyes in the ship. The moment his widened and his chest lit up. What could he have been feeling at that moment? Was he thinking of his parents?

I rub my chest, the ache getting worse until I can barely breathe.

I need to find him. See him. Hear his voice.

I bow my head respectfully to Kylor. “I’m sorry, I have to go find my mate.”

As I head off, clutching my chest and drawing in deep, ragged breaths, Kylor nods in understanding.

“Yes. The bond does not wait.”

Hurrying down the hallways, I search for Varek blindly. I don’t know where he is, but my body doesn’t care. I can’t stop my legs.

I think of Varek as a boy—terrified and huddling in the voralith behind hanging moss and vines. His mother wailing and sobbing as the threat still loomed.

My poor mate.

And if we were out there? In the marshes along the voraliths and I got the chance to flee? If I was able to run away and never look back…

Could I?

I grunt as the pain intensifies and I nearly double over. I’m clutching my chest and the rocky walls, anything I can to stay upright. The pain grows and flares, searing through me and wrapping around my ribs. It’s like I’m going to explode from the inside out.

I can’t stand the pain.

I need him.

In a last ditch effort, before I collapse to the ground, I open my mouth and cry out. I cry his name as the pain becomes too much to bear and little white dots dust my vision.

“Varek!” I scream.

My legs give out.

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