Kai couldn’t speak, entirely held by her gaze. From the weight of her tone, he knew there was more she wanted to say, and it dawned on him that she wanted to tell him something – perhaps the very samesomethingthat had been on his own mind just last night.
His chest ached.
And suddenly, he wasn’t so sure he wanted her to say it. Not if she’d regret it when he told her… Well. Everything else he needed to tell her.
“Kai, I –”
He was saved from having to stop her when a grizzled figure suddenly loomed over them.
“Ade, happy birthday.”
Adeline blew out a quick breath, fixed a smile to her lips and looked up at Edward.
“Thank you,” she said warmly, reaching out to squeeze his hand.
Edward nodded, his own smile tentative and tight. Then, hesitantly, he leaned closer, bracing a hand against the table to create a quiet huddle between the three of them.
“I also wanted to take this opportunity to speak to you privately. To apologise, I suppose. Mareda is hurting. I know she loves you, even if she doesn’t quite agree with your –” He paused, his eyes flicking briefly to Kai as he weighed his words. “Your politics.”
Adeline bristled visibly. But, when she spoke, her voice was forcibly cheerful. “That’s quite alright, I don’t agree with herpoliticseither. Or her behaviour.”
Edward tugged awkwardly at the loose collar of his robe, his fingers catching against a dull silver chain. Kai did not hear his dolefully muttered reply. Because there, unearthed from the low line of the Commander’s silk bedshirt, was a pendant.
A hollow glass vial, pulsing with faint, barely-there blue light. The air in the dining hall seemed to cool, to press against Kai’s skin, to roar in his ears like a tumultuous tide.
He was aware of Adeline speaking only because she laced her warm fingers through his own, breaching the chill that gripped him.
“Respectfully, ifI’mowed a few sorry words, it’s Mareda I expect them from. And Kai can surely expect a full blown apology.”
Edward’s gaze slid back to Kai – and only a moment too late did he realise that he was still staring at the pendant. The Commander blinked down at his own chest. He straightened abruptly, and all too casually, tucked the pendant deep beneath his robe and bedshirt.
“Yes, well.” He cleared his throat. “Many happy returns, Princess.”
Adeline watched him go, shaking her head.
“Do youbelieve–” She paused, eyes narrowing on Kai’s face. “Kai? What is it?”
Chapter 40
Adeline
Adeline was trying to be patient, but Kai had not spoken in at least fifteen minutes. His pacing was making her tense, and the scones and tea in her belly were curdling under the steady drip of dread that flowed through her.
“Kai,” she said finally, barely managing to keep the strain from her voice. “Please. The longer you spend wearing out my carpets, the worse I’m going to build this up to be in my head. Put me out of my misery. Sit down.”
He stopped pacing, but didn’t sit.
“Tell me what’s going on, Kai.”
His hands, when he dragged them through his hair, were shaking.Goddess. Maybe it was as bad as she was imagining. Maybe it was worse.
Kai crossed the room, and though she scooted over to make room for him, he sank onto the chair across from her.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“At the beginning.”
He nodded, not meeting her eye. “That was several hundred years ago, but - it’s a story you’re already familiar with. The First Frost. The Last Sorceress. Avette.”
