“Okay,” Kian said, nodding and wiping angrily at his eyes. “I, um, I won’t bother you in your office again. Sorry.”
Adrissu laughed, pulling the notes from his desk. “I’m glad we see eye-to-eye now. You can come by my tower instead. If I’m there, of course.”
“I think your snake would eat me if I showed up without you,” Kian chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. Adrissu paused, wanting to ask just how much Kian remembered now; but he could hear the voice of Professor Stone behind the door, his words muffled and indistinct. The man was an excellent teacher and an indispensable part of Polimnos, but impatient and bullheaded, so it would be in Adrissu’s best interest not to keep him waiting. He and Kian could talk more at another time.
“That’s possible,” he conceded, stepping toward the door and raising his voice a bit as he did. “As I said, let me know if you have any further questions, and I would be glad to discuss this with you.”
Kian blinked, then nodded, playing along. “Thank you, Headmaster. This will really help me out.”
Adrissu grinned salaciously, then opened the door. “Think nothing of it. I’m always happy to help a student.”
Chapter Five
Asalways,Vesperwasenamored with his mate the moment Kian walked through the door of Adrissu’s tower. Adrissu had been reading absently in his study when he felt Vesper perk up.Stranger?
Then there was a knock at the door. He grinned over at the massive snake as she uncoiled herself from atop one of his chairs.
“Not a stranger,” he said as he headed for the door, and the slight thrill of excitement that he felt in response from her made his smile even wider.
“Sorry I’m late,” Kian said briskly, as Adrissu opened the door. “I—oh!” His eyes flickered just behind Adrissu, widening as Vesper slithered toward him.
“Gentle,” Adrissu warned her, but she barely slowed, bumping her head right up against Kian’s legs. He laughed nervously, then yelped as she coiled around his calf. “Sorry, sorry. She’s happy to see you.”
“I—I sort of remember,” Kian stammered, and lightly touched the top of her head with one finger. “What’s her name?”
“Vesper.”
“That’s right. I remember now.”
Adrissu watched them for a moment, distinct memories of all their past meetings running through his head, as Kian slowly began to scratch under her chin and run his hand along the length of her coiled body. Maybe this would be the last; never again would he need to watch them meet for the first time.
“I don’t think I can walk like this,” Kian said, shaking his leg, and pulling Adrissu back to reality. Vesper had curled all the way up his leg, her head resting on his hip and her tongue flicking out rapidly as she looked up at him.
“Vesper,” Adrissu said, snapping, and obediently she loosened her grip and lowered herself back down onto the ground, though he still felt her excited contentment bubbling away in the center of his chest.
His connection to her sometimes reminded him of the bond he had shared with Braern, though it was far more rudimentary. Being able to sense her exact feelings only made sense: as his familiar, she was part of him made corporeal, an extension of his arcane ability. He missed being able to sense his mate that way.
“Thanks,” Kian said, grinning sheepishly over at him.
“Come to my study,” Adrissu said, gesturing toward the staircase. He watched Kian glancing around as they walked, his expression part curious and part something that Adrissu could not quite place, perhaps nostalgia. His gaze lingered on the rug that covered the trapdoor entrance to his lair; Adrissu’s heart quickened, but Kian said nothing, only followed him to the stairs.
“It’s so weird being in here,” Kian said softly, as they ascended the staircase. “It’s like... I know I’ve been here before, even though it all feels new.”
“I am curious about how much you remember,” Adrissu said.
“Hmm,” Kian replied, considering the prompt as they entered his study. Adrissu sat at his desk; Kian glanced around for a moment, before sitting in a chair by the window, the one where Braern always sat. “It’s all bits and pieces, really. Stuff from dreams or... sort of like déjà vu. I mostly remember being an elf... A few flashes from before that, and maybe a little bit that’s different from even before that. That was my first... my first life, right?”
“Yes,” Adrissu said softly. “Before you was Braern. Volkmar before that, and Ruan first.”
“Volkmar,” Kian murmured, glancing around the study. “Ruan... I didn’t know their names. My names? I don’t know. This is all strange.”
“It is,” Adrissu agreed, stifling a chuckle. “We don’t have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“I mean, itisweird, but I don’t mind too much,” Kian said, looking back over at him. In the light coming through the window, his eyes were so green they may as well have been glowing. “Before I knew you were real, I tried to just... ignore the things I remembered, because trying to talk about them and make sense of them made people want to avoid me. Or worse. So it’s sort of a relief to talk about it now.”
“I understand.” Adrissu’s chest tightened with anger again. Someday, he told himself, someday he would destroy anyone who had ever harmed his mate. “And... What do you remember about me?”
Hesitance flashed across Kian’s face; it was only a minute change, but Adrissu recognized it instantly. A strange mixture of relief and apprehension flooded through him at Kian’s reaction. Kian knew who he was,whathe was—he wouldn’t have to confess, as he had with Volkmar. But his hesitance suggested that maybe he feared what he knew, or didn’t quite believe it, and that could be enough to drive Kian away from him all over again.
