Page 21 of Trial of Three
Next week. I sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Autumn asks quietly, her tone preternaturally perceptive.
“Next week’s trial is all River talks to me about now. As if I’m some child whose attention must be focused lest I should wander off and drown in a bathtub.”
“River—” Autumn cuts off, folding her arms over her chest. I brace myself for another River-is-the-commander lecture like the one Coal gave me, but Autumn just shakes her head. “River can get himself out of this mess. I’m not making excuses for the bastard anymore.”
I open my mouth to push her then stop. With my all-encompassing pain lifting, I finally mark the dull, cloudy look in Autumn’s eyes, the faint gray bags underneath. I’ve never seen the female like this before, not even during the intense aftermath of the second trial. “Autumn?” I say, my voice soft, the change of topic clear from my tone. “What is it?”
She looks at me, smiling quickly, though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s nothing. Just. It’s day two now. Kora and her quint have been out for a full night. I thought maybe... I don’t know what I thought.” Her hand goes to the little emerald stud in her ear, twisting it mindlessly. “I’m being silly.”
I squeeze her arm, though it’s barely a change from the pained death grip I already have on it. “She’ll be back,” I say firmly. “She has to be back.”
* * *
After Shade’sintimate healing touches, the Citadel healer’s magic feels uncomfortably intrusive. I all but bolt from the infirmary a few hours later, running in to Tye, who I discover waiting by the door.
“Not a fan of healers, lass?” Tye says, a hint of amusement glinting in his green eyes as he gathers me comfortably against his side.
I wrap my hands around my shoulders, snuggling into Tye’s pine-and-citrus scent. “I don’t know why it feels so different from Shade,” I confess before catching myself. Between coupling with Shade and now with Coal, I’m not sure where I stand with Tye.
“Of course it feels different.” Tye snorts. “You’d likely feel uncomfortable walking into the supper hall naked, though that little seems a problem at other times, aye?”
My cheeks flush and Tye chuckles softly, running a knuckle across my cheek in a way that sends a blaze of heat down to my toes. Maybe he does want me. With all the teasing and lack of follow-up, the confusion is starting to eat at me. Ask. I should just ask. I make my voice light despite my suddenly pounding heart. “If you are maneuvering to drag me into a bedchamber for the sake of testing Autumn’s theory, you should just confess now.”
The male stiffens, the sudden hurt flashing in his face almost too quick to catch. “I never confess to anything, lass,” he says with a wink. “It’s safer for me that way.”
I catch Tye’s arm before he can pull away, the humor leaving my voice. “What did I say?”
“Nothing.”
“Tye.” I pause, an unwelcome feeling now burning in the pit of my stomach. “Do you... do you not want me that way?” I ask quietly.
He pulls his arm back, his hands going into his pockets. His usually sparkling green eyes are opaque, the angles of his beautiful face carefully expressionless. “If bythat wayyou mean as a curiosity or a training aid or a bloody toy, then no, lass. I don’t.”
My breath catches. I open my mouth to protest but Tye shakes his head. For a split second, I see a whole new male behind the forever-amused mask, a whole life and past that I know nothing about. For a split second, Tye seems all of his five centuries old.
Leaning forward, he brushes a soft kiss over my lips. “We’ll know when it’s time, lass,” he whispers into my ear. “And it isn’t just yet.” The mask of mischief is back on his face before I can respond, and he pokes my newly healed ribs. “Let’s get back to the suite. Autumn wascleaningwhen I left, and if there is a greater sign of trouble than that, I’ve yet to learn it.”
Unfortunately, Tye proves correct, the suite looking disturbingly ordered when we arrive, a gray cloud of tension filling the air.
When, a few hours later, a knock sounds at the door, Autumn sprints to answer it so quickly that she steps on Shade’s tail.
The wolf yips his indignation, but when the door opens to reveal Klarissa, and Autumn’s body turns to stone, I know no apology will be coming. “Kora?” Autumn’s thin voice cuts the air. “Is... Are... What’s happened, Elder?”
14
Lera
“Kora?” Klarissa waves a dismissive hand. “I’m not here about Kora. It’s only been a day, and I would little worry about her just yet. I’m here to see—ah, River. There you are.”
I feel the large male’s steady footsteps behind me, an aura of responsibility filling the air as he steps closer to the door. With a small motion of his wide shoulders, he cuts the line of sight between Klarissa and me. “Yes, Elder?” he says. Low, respectful, and cold enough to chill ice.
“Have you given any more thought to our discussion?” Klarissa asks, her voice as smooth as her champagne elder’s robe. They must have had some official Elders Council business today.
“No,” River says.
I hold my breath, childishly hoping the elder will argue her point—whatever it is—here and now. Force River’s hand into revealing the truth.
