Page 58 of All That Has Flown Beyond
“We all have jobs, so…” Emil said. Kaiyo wondered if he was used to taking the reins if Thea and Ahmik shut down or avoided a situation.
“What about Sundays? Meet here for training, and then some pack bonding.”
“Works for me,” Thea said at the same time as Ahmik’s, “Pack bonding?”
“Yeah. Pack bonding. You guys need to spend time together just…being. If you only see each other when you’re trying to defend yourselves from some threat, it’ll deteriorate your bonds,” Kaiyo said, as if it was a possibility instead of something that had already happened. “As for making connections with packs, I can reach out to the people I know. I’ll have people visiting me, and it’d be useful if you showed them some hospitality. A meal here would suffice.”
“That sounds doable,” Thea said, throwing Ahmik a look. After a moment, Ahmik nodded.
“It would also be useful to have a coven settle here—”
“You can’t just invite people to live here,” Ahmik interrupted.
“I didn’t say I would invite them—I suggestedyouinvite them.”
“This ismyland—”
“No,” Kaiyo cut in, immediately incensed. “That’s not how it works. You are of the land as the land is of you. It is a partnership, not ownership. You need to start making decisions that are uncomfortable for you for the sake of your pack and territory. It’s exactly how your mother ran the pack.”
“Well, my mother is dead now. So,” Ahmik bit out. Kaiyo looked back at him steadily.
“I know. She died the same night my father did, remember?” he said coldly. Ahmik’s face twitched before his eyes averted, losing their challenge. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t respect her legacy.”
There was a moment of silence.
“Sounds fantastic,” Amaya drawled, although her voice was devoid of sarcasm.
“Yeah. I mean…it sounds doable, I think,” Thea said.
They all turned to look at Ahmik. After a moment, he sighed.
“Yeah. Sure. Training on Sundays. Meals for packs. I’ll go with you to set up the wards.”
“Okay. And the witches—”
“I’ll have to give that some thought.”
“Sounds fair.”
Kaiyo glanced outside again. Isla had barely moved from her spot.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
CHAPTER TEN
The moon still pulled at Kaiyo. On nights like these, when it was trembling on the edge of fullness, the night seemed filled with nothing but potential.
Despite Ahmik’s ridiculously broody presence, the ward-building ritual was a balm to Kaiyo’s soul. He had already picked out six cornerstone points in the territory’s periphery and travelled to each under the glowing silver of the clear summer night.
Kaiyo knelt at each cornerstone. No correspondences, no catalysts, no enchanted objects. Just him and the land. Their history and bond thrummed between them. Kaiyo would feel for the little notch on the land’s Ousía and tie it to the last one he had visited. It was like an emotion being dragged out of you. Like those small, moving moments when you see someone you love. They are doing something completely mundane, lost in it, but a swell of affection suddenly rises. The urge to protect and comfort and appreciate.
That was how Kaiyo felt about the land and what it had given him once. To have a home and not feel alone. It was a delicate, diaphanous necessity. Something to be appreciated wholly when had.
Kaiyo poured all that love and will to protect on each cornerstone.
Kaiyo got up after his third one, feeling the thrum of the ritual still in his chest.
“You’re good at that.” Ahmik’s voice startled Kaiyo slightly. It was easy to forget he was there, sometimes. Those were the first words he’d spoken throughout the whole night.
