“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
* * *
Valek sat on the fourth set of stairs in Irys’s tower, waiting for Yelena. She had a busy day visiting with everyone and night had fallen. The soft sound of her boots on the stairs below him sent a fire through him. The good kind of burn.
She entered her rooms, and he padded down to the third floor. Standing at the windows with her back to him, she opened the shutters to let the air in. He approached.
Without turning, she demanded, “What took you so long?”
Valek pressed against her back, wrapping his arms around her stomach. “I could ask you the same thing.” He spun her around. “I didn’t want to share you, love. We have a lot of catching up to do.” He leaned in and kissed her, wishing the moment could go on forever.
Eventually, she pulled away and laid her head on his chest. His heart, full of joy, flipped in his chest. “That’s the second time I lost you,” he said. “You would think it would be easier, but I couldn’t douse the burning pain. I felt like my heart had been pierced by a spit and was cooking over a fire.” He tightened his grip.Please don’t leave me again.“I would beg you to promise never to disappearagain, but I know you won’t.”
“I can’t. Just like you can’t promise to stop being loyal to the Commander. We both have other duties.”
He huffed with amusement. “We could retire.”
“From being a Liaison, but not a Soulfinder. There are many lost souls to guide.”
Valek drew back enough to study her. “How many? It’s been a hundred-and-twenty-five years since Sitia crisped the last Soulfinder. Hundreds?”
“I don’t know. The Soulfinders documented in the history books were really Soulstealers. Guyan Sandseed could have been the only true Soulfinder in the last two thousand years. Bain would delight in helping me with that assignment. But I will need to travel around Sitia and Ixia to help them all. Do you want to come? It could be fun.”
“You, me and a couple thousand ghosts? Sounds crowded,” he teased, even though he longed to say yes a thousand times. “At least you already found one soul, love.”
“Moon Man’s?”
“Mine. And I trust you not to lose it.”
“The only magic to affect the infamous Valek.”
She studied his expression. “How old were you when the King’s men killed your brothers?”
He peered at her. It was a strange question.
“How old?” she asked again.
“Thirteen.” The second worst day of his life.
“That explains it!”
“Explains what?”
“Why you’re resistant to magic. Thirteen is around the age when people can access the power source. The trauma of seeing your brothers killed probably caused you to pull so much power you formed a null shield. A shield so impenetrable you can no longer access magic.”
She sounded so confident, but that was quite the leap in logic. Or was it?
“After a season in the underworld, you’re now an expert in all things magical?” he asked.
“I’m an expert in all things Valek.”
“Analyze this, love.” He drew her close and kissed her. Deepening the kiss, he pulled her tunic up.
She stopped him. “Valek, as much as I want you to stay, I need you to do a favor for me.”
“Anything, love.”
