Page 156 of Mikoto and the Reaver Village
“The worst kind.” The dragon whispered, “Terrible andterrifying.”
She rested her hands on his shoulders and firmly said,“That’s not your fault.”
“But I told …!”
“The truth.” Lilya knew Kyrie better than she knew herself.“He would always rather know the truth. Secrets bother him almost as much aslies.”
Sinder looked like he really wanted to believe her. Butdidn’t trust her. Or himself.
Suddenly, she knew what to do. “Timur, go get water fortea?”
Her big brother grunted and hauled himself out of his chair,carrying Gregor out.
To Sinder, Lilya said, “Don’t tell.”
His brows shot up when she pushed her knuckle between hislips and past his teeth. “Li’ya?” he mumbled around her finger.
“Hush. There are so many wards, I can’t hurt you. It’s safe.Papka made sure.”
A muffled warble. He was uneasy.
“Tending will do you good.” She pressed firmly. “This is theonly way past the seal, so bear with it. And don’t worry about Timur. He neverstays grumpy for long. He’ll still be your friend.”
Sinder slowly bowed his head, letting it come to rest on hershoulder. Lilya felt him give in to trust. That’s when the first hot dropssplashed, and she knew he was crying.
“Don’t be afraid.” She petted his hair. “You have goodfriends.”
They pulled away from each other when Timur returned. He’dturned Gregor over to someone else, and he carried a tea tray. “I made it extrastrong,” he said grimly.
Swiping at wet lashes, Sinder adopted a meek posture. “Thankyou.”
Timur’s anger fled, and he sank to his knees beside the bed.First checking Lilya’s work with the bandages, he relented completely. “Lilya’sright. It’s not your fault that Kyrie’s father is a monster.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You will apologize to Kyrie, yes?” Timur ordered.
“I will.”
“Go on, then. Get back to it.”
Sinder stilled, and Lilya blushed.
Timur blandly said, “You think I can’t tell when a beacon isbestowing a blessing? It’s fine. She needs the practice, and you need theheartening. But first … tea.”
Choking down his dose, Sinder allowed them to chivvy himinto a more comfortable position, sitting against the headboard, propped onpillows. Lilya sat with him, tucked against his side, going through the motions,even though Papka’s and Uncle Argent’s sigils regulated everything.
After a scant half hour, Sinder removed her finger andkissed the knuckle. “Better stop there. Staying close is enough.”
She knew from Papka that some Amaranthine withheldthemselves from direct tending. A pleasant atmosphere was enough to lift theirspirits. Cossets were especially good at that sort of thing. So was AuntTsumiko, according to Kyrie. Except that Uncle Argent was forever shutteringhis beacon, keeping her all to himself.
“Don’t go falling in love with me.”
“Same to you.” She was relaxed. Eyes closed. Calm.
A few beats later, Sinder tentatively said, “I’m muchbetter at getting people to hate me.”
That was probably an exaggeration. “Like who?”
