“Not now, Lyanthis.I’m a little preoccupied,” Bastion answered, shoulders tense.Lyanthis’s nostrils flared, a precursor to the haughty sneer Bastion had seen so many times over the years.
“As am I,” the Yvri said, “with my daughter’s well-being.”
Bastion clenched the balustrade tighter, the veins on the back of his hands standing out in stark relief.He was in no mood for diplomacy.“Is she unwell?”
“Don’t be coy with me,” Lyanthis sneered.“I can smell the bond on you.”His lips drew back, putting his fangs on full display.“You have no idea what you condemn her to.”
He’d come looking for a fight.
Fine.Bastion would give him a fight.
He squared up to Lyanthis and folded his arms.
“I’m a quicker study than your dim-witted apprentices,” Bastion whispered.“Minato made it very clear what a disservice I would be doing to Ulla.”
Lyanthis let out a sharp, mirthless bark.“Ha!Minato?”He turned and paced the length of the terrace, his energy coiled and ready to strike.“You know he was the first in over a century to bond outside the Yvri?To abandon his people.”
“Perhaps openly.”
Lyanthis stopped short.He lifted his chin, his gaze razor sharp.“How would you know?
“BecauseI’mpart Yvri!”Bastion bellowed, spreading his arms wide.“I’mproofof another pairing!If you think there aren’t others now, you’re a fool.They just hide because of people likeyou!”
He barreled on, taking no joy in the shock on Lyanthis’s face.
“Do you think I asked for this?”Bastion cried, clutching his chest.“That I chose this unquenchable thirst?This sword through my heart!Perhaps if YOU hadn’t ostracized her, she wouldn’t have been in that godforsaken village, and our paths would never have crossed!”
“Hold your tongue, boy!You know nothing of what you speak.”
Bastion stepped forwards, crowding him.“Don’t I?I know that your own daughter would rather be alone than step into the prison you’ve made for her, however pretty.She found her voice, a way to show up in the world that matters, helping the weak and the wounded!Do you know how many she’s healed?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Lyanthis said, turning away.
“Itdoesn’t matter?”Bastion maneuvered to stay in his line of sight, forcing Lyanthis to look him in the eye.“You diminish her accomplishments and want to lock her away?For what?Your peace of mind?She will die slowly because of you!”
“And she will die quickly because of YOU!”Lyanthis spat.Bastion drew back a step.“In the hold of a ship, or run through in battle, or from a broken heart because you were killed first!”
All the heat exited Bastion’s body, leaving him frigid.The terror and the pain he’d felt in the belly ofThe Basiliskcompounded with the certainty he’d had on the battlements of Moonwatch, that he’d led Ulla to her death.
Minato’s words scraped against the inside of his skull:You will condemn her to a life of isolation!
The emotions escaped his grasp, as torrid as a sail in a hurricane.Lyanthis sensed Bastion’s hesitation and seized them, a triumphant light blazing in his eyes.A foreign sensation seeped over Bastion’s mind, and he felt the Yvri wind every fiber of doubt, insecurity, and unworthiness around his fist until it was so taut Bastion thought he might black out.
“Twice, she nearly died saving you!”Lyanthis’s fangs flashed as he leaned forwards.“If she had gone with Taro, she would’ve been safe.”
The mention of the Yvri warrior settled some of Bastion’s trepidation.He pushed Lyanthis away.
“Taro tried to kill me.”
“Of course he did!He’s her betrothed!”
Bastion staggered backwards.A knife in his back would have surprised him less.
Lyanthis stilled.His eyes raked over Bastion, and he moved closer, a predator ready for the kill.
“Ulla is not equipped to navigate this world alone.She needs a husband to protect her, a pod to support her.”The words came out matter-of-factly, as if feeling didn’t matter.Love didn’t matter.“You,” he said, “are not enough.”
Bastion’s fears swarmed over him like crabs on a corpse.With them came the words Taro had spoken onThe Basilisk: You need us.You needme.
