Page 57 of Smoke and Flame

He wasn’t present in the room.Kai told herself she was only trying to get a sense of his people when she scanned one table after another, but deep down, she’d been hoping to see the leader here.She shrugged it off.The man probably had a lot of responsibilities to take care of, especially since he’d spent so much time with her or helping Morlie.

As she poured herself a drink from one of the pitchers on the table, she chided herself for her needy, selfish attitude toward Aodh.She took two gulps of her drink and immediately realized the sweet fruit juice had a kick.

She glanced at Morlie on her second glass and noticed her sister’s glassy eyes and a wide smile.It was clear her sister was feeling the effects of the drink, even though it appeared Morlie’s new friends were not.

Reaching out, Kai took the cup from Morlie.

“Kai!”Her sister pouted.

“You’ve had enough.Your body is still healing.I’ll find you some water.”Kai rose, feeling a little lightheaded initially, but braced herself against the effects of the juice.She’d had alcohol more than a few times over the last five years.In the Dispatch district, it wasn’t hard to find a person who was making and selling it.When life was hard from long hours of strenuous work and death could come for you at any time, many people turned to the homebrew.

“Hey, the music is about to start,” Eilidh announced.

Kai glanced over her shoulder and saw five people gathering on stage with various instruments: a vihuela, fiddle, archtop, tin whistle, and a set of Ngoma drums.From what she knew of music from archives, the instruments typically would not be played together—they were from different countries.It seemed someone had the idea to combine Irish, Latin, and African music.However, the blended sound worked well when the musicians started playing to create a new, eclectic beat.

She enjoyed the unique music filling the room as she looked around at the tables for a water pitcher.Morlie needed to stay hydrated.

“Can I help you find something?”

Kai turned and saw a young man with shoulder-length straight black hair and jade eyes, who stood taller than her but thinner than others of his kind in the room.There were still muscles that stretched his shirt sleeves, but they were not as bulky as others.“Um...yes.I’m trying to find water.”

The man offered her a kind smile.“I think I can help you.I’m Yeongi, by the way.”

“I’m Kai.”She held her hand out.

The man did the same thing Eilidh had done.He only stared at her hand but didn’t take it.

“I guess your people don’t shake hands.”Kai pulled her hand back and rubbed it against her other, feeling awkward.

“No.It’s a human custom.Something we did at one time.But our people are not big on casual touches.”

Kai turned her head left and right, glancing pointedly at the excessive amount of touching.

Yeongi chuckled, his rumble not as deep as Aodh’s, she noticed.“Well, intimate touching is different and for a specific purpose.”

Biting her bottom lip, she nodded.She didn’t want to have a conversation about sexual desire with this man.“The water.”

“Right this way.There are usually stations set up along the walls.”He pointed to one not too far off as he led her to it.

“Oh.Good to know.”She walked beside him and was happy that he kept his strides short.“So, what’s your position in the territory?”

Yeongi smiled as a faint purple glow ran through his markings, lighting up the material of his shirt.“I’m the assistant to the Mckenna.Your mate.”

She blamed her tripping on the long dress getting tangled up in her legs or the effects of the fermented fruit and refused to believe it was her weakened knees’ response to the word ‘mate.’

The man beside her didn’t grab her instead held an arm before her to catch Kai if she fell.

Thankfully, she didn’t.She took a breath and drew her body back to a standing position.“Are you saying that because I am staying in Aodh’s suites?”

She wouldn’t deny the man’s words, but conversing with Aodh about it was better.Kai was more concerned with the people here seeing her as some whore to their leader.

“No.Mckenna declared it to the wyrms and the thunder leadership.”

“The wyrm’s?”She frowned, unfamiliar with the term.

“The wise one’s council of some of our oldest Drahks.Most were in high positions before the current leaders.”

WyrmsandDrahkswere terms she had never learned in her study of the archives.“Oh.Thank you for clarifying.”

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