Page 89 of Glow of the Everflame

“Please,” I begged. “I can’t do this alone.”

He scratched at his chin. “I suppose if I’m advising a Crown, the army might rescind my orders to deploy for the war. I could stay with Teller until he finishes school.”

I beamed. “It’s settled. You’re my newest advisor.”

He grunted a reluctant agreement. His eyes wandered over my shoulder, and I glanced back to see Sorae watching him with curiosity.

My smile spread at the wonder illuminating my father’s eyes. “Do you want to meet her?”

Sorae puffed her wings in a show of welcome, though my father paled, taking it as a warning.

He hesitated. “I saw the Ignios gryvern a few times while in the army. He’s a mean, nasty brute.”

Sorae let out the faintest whine, and an odd pulse of emotion I didn’t understand came across the bond she and I shared. I walked over and itched the underside of her chin. “Sorae’s only mean and nasty to the people who deserve it.”

She huffed in agreement.

My father edged forward in slow, tentative steps. His hand hovered close to her and froze. I pursed my lips to contain my smile and sent a silent push of encouragement down the bond.

She arched her neck and abruptly shoved her snout into his palm, rubbing it along the soft spots where she loved to be scratched.

A surprised laugh erupted from my father’s chest. He brought his other hand up to her head, making gentle motions along the scales and spikes that lined her upper body. Sorae’s eyes squeezed shut as a loud purr rumbled out of her.

I grinned. “She likes you.”

He eyed the sharp fangs poking out from the edge of her mouth. “Thank the gods for that. Can you really talk to her?”

“In a way. We can sense each other’s emotions, but sometimes I swear she knows exactly what I’m saying. She gives me a surprising amount of shit for a beast that can’t talk.”

Sorae snorted and whacked me across the back of my thighs with her tail, earning another bout of raucous laughter from my father.

The sound of my father’s happiness ignited my own, and for a few blissful moments, all my problems fell away. I watched in delight as he spoiled her with a series of aggressive belly rubs and loud, affectionate smacks to her haunches. Sorae reveled in the attention, her contentment coating our bond like the sweetest honey.

As much as I hated to do anything to stain this cherished pocket of joy we’d managed to find, there was one more topic lingering between us I couldn’t put off any longer.

“Father,” I started. “I need to know the truth. No more secrets. What do you really know about Mother’s disappearance?”

He stilled, then sighed and slowly stepped away from Sorae. He scrubbed a hand across his face, looking suddenly weary. “She was planning a trip. She wouldn’t say where or why, only that she could be gone for a long time and she wouldn’t be able to contact me while she was away. But she swore she would warn me before she left. When she vanished without a word, I wasn’t sure whether...” He stopped, and the darkness of grief began to creep back into his features.

“Luther knows where she is,” I blurted out. His eyes grew wide. “But she made him promise not to tell me, and he’s determined to keep his word.”

His attention sharpened on the door, his body tensing, as if he might launch himself through it to go demand answers himself.

I stepped in front of him and gripped his hands. “He thinks she’s alive. He promised that if she hasn’t returned by the end of the year, he’ll get her and bring her back.”

“And you trust him?”

It was a question I had been asking myself over and over, reaching a different answer every time.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I think maybe I do.”

His eyes narrowed as he searched my face. I squirmed, knowing there was little that escaped my father once he fixed himself on a mission. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted him to see—ornotsee.

“I watched him down there with you today. I saw how he ran to your side when things went badly.” He cocked his head and gave me a pointed look. “When he came to fetch me... I’ve rarely seen a man look so desperate.”

I looked down and shrugged. “He’s helping me. As an advisor.”

Not entirely a lie. Not entirely the truth, either.

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