Page 64 of The Scribe (Irin Chronicles 1)

He saw Rhys begin to rise, but one look from Malachi had the other man sinking to his seat again.

He set down the book. “Fine.” He shoved back his chair and marched from the room, ignoring the voice inside that practically begged him to take her with him. He wouldn’t stay where he wasn’t wanted, even if everything in him said she was exactly where he belonged.

He calledDamien from the garden outside the scribe house. Phone reception was spotty in Cappadocia, but there was a corner of one garden that seemed reliable.

“How is the woman?” his watcher asked, by way of greeting.

“Coping.” He paced, frustrated and anxious for some activity after being cooped up in the scribe house for over a week. “Have you learned any more about Dr. Sadik?”

“The therapist seems to be on holiday, from what we can tell. No one is in the office, not even nurses or the receptionist. No sign on the door, either. Considering the summer months, it could be a coincidence—”

“Or it could be that his reason for remaining open left the city.” Malachi drummed impatient fingers against his thigh. Part of him craved the energy of the city. Part of him knew he was only looking to escape his own temptation.

Damien said, “Tell me more about the human.”

“She’s not human, and you know it.”

“She cannot have Irina blood. I spoke with Evren yesterday. There is no evidence from family history that she is anything but a normal human woman.”

“A normal woman who can hear the voice of the soul? A normal woman who can bear our touch? Who craves it, even?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

“To answer the question you didn’t ask…,” Malachi said, “Yes, I’ve been keeping my distance. Even though it has been difficult.”

There was still more silence.

“Rhys has been keeping an eye on her, though there was an incident where she became very upset yesterday. He told her about the Rending, and she… She became distraught, as you can imagine. I was eventually able to calm her.”

“Completely understandable,” Damien said quietly. “It is still upsetting for all of us.”

“We have been without Irina influence for too long,” he said. “We become too blunt. I don’t think Rhys expected her to become so upset.”

Another moment of silence, until the watcher said, “Rhys told her?”

“I told you, I have been trying to maintain my distance,” he snapped. “She was curious, so she asked him.”

“But you were the one to comfort her?”

“I sensed her distress.”

“And she asked for you?”

“Not exactly. But she wouldn’t let Rhys touch her, so… She reached forme. I held her until she calmed. Was I supposed to ignore her when I seemed to be the only one who could reach her? The only one who—”

Damien interrupted him with a low chuckle that grew into a longer laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Malachi asked.

“You’ve really been staying away from her all this time?”

“Of course!”

“When have youeverfollowed my orders so precisely, brother? At most, you take them as suggestions.”

“I was trying to do what was right for Ava. You told me—”

“I think you misinterpreted my advice.”

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