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Rhyan knew. He knew about Meera. He knew our secret. I didn’t know what he was going to do about it. I didn’t know how the magic was going to punish me. I didn’t know if Meera was going to be all right or how long we had before our escorts found us and questioned us. Or if someone at the party had seen something they shouldn’t. Or if Bellamy would talk. Tristan was probably looking for me by now and freaking out.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I gasped, unable to breathe. My vision blacked out and blinked back, but everything was too bright. The stars, the moon. There were spots on the ocean, exploding and glittering with starlight, and the light of the Valalumir buried in its depths was too bright, too much….
Rhyan’s arms were instantly around me. “Shhh. Hey. Hey,” he spoke softly. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. Deep breaths. It’s all right.” He pulled me closer, and my face buried against his chest while my hands remained protectively wrapped around my body. “Breathe with me. Come on, Lyr. You can do this. It’s all right, I’ve got you. Take a breath. In…and out. Lyr. Lyr, calm down. You’re safe. You’re safe with me. Nothing’s going to hurt you. I swear.”
My breath hitched instead of improving.
“You’re all right. It’s all right.” Rhyan slid his arm behind my knees, scooped me into his arms, and cradled me against his chest. He walked forward toward the lapping waves, their surface reflecting flashes of starlight. “I’ve got you.”
“W-What are you doing?” I asked.
“You see the waves?” His hand was on my cheek, brushing loose hairs away from my face. He angled his body, offering me an easy view of the ocean. “The waves,” he said again, his voice a whisper. His arms shifted and tightened against me. “Just watch the waves, rolling back and forth. Back and forth. Nice and easy. Just keep watching. I’ve got you. You’re all right.”
The full moon reflected on the water, and the wind picked up, icy cold but oddly soothing. Rhyan’s chest rose and fell against me, deeper and slower than before, as he breathed in and out in time with the rolling waves. We stayed like that for several moments until I found my own breathing matching his as it had so many times before. Together, our breaths slowed to the pulse of the ocean.
I closed my eyes, letting myself fall into the darkness, peaceful and soothing. I blinked my eyes open, meeting Rhyan’s. Immediate relief spread across his face.
“There you are, there’s my partner,” he said. “Nice and slow.” He stepped forward, the water rushing around his boots. “Hang onto me,” he said, hand pushing mine up around his neck.
I clasped my fingers together, the movement pushing my face closer against him. We dipped down, and I strained my head to see Rhyan cupping his hand into a fresh wave that rolled against his boots.
“It’s just the ocean,” he said, rising. “Close your eyes.” He let the water drip down my face. The sensation—cold, wet, but refreshing—pulled me back to myself. Small details. Being present. He smoothed his palm against my cheek. “Feeling better?” he asked.
I swallowed, mouth still dry. “I can breathe.”
“Good. Good. Breathing’s always a good start,” he said. He frowned. “You’re hurt.”
“No, I’m….” My body seized.Don’t let him see. Don’t let him know.
But he’d already seen. He already knew.
We four keep this secret. We four die by this secret.
Not any longer. Now I was forsworn.
“I know,” he said. “I know. I’m going to help you.”
Rhyan walked us back from the shoreline, just beyond the reach of the waves, before gently setting me down on dry sand and sitting beside me. He reached into the pouch of his belt, pulling out sunleaves and looking at me with his expression full of concern.
“HART!” Markan’s voice roared from Rhyan’s pouch as a blue light emanated from inside it. The vadati stone.
He scooped it into his palm, his eyes on me. “Markan, I’m here.”
“The fuck you’re not. We just landed in Cresthaven, and there’s no sign of you or their graces. You better be on your way with both of them intact.”
My heart caught in my throat, but Rhyan, still watching me, offered a single nod, one hand sliding to my thigh and resting just above my knee. He gave me a light squeeze, keeping his hand a steady, reassuring weight on me as he replied, “Their graces are having,” he wriggled his nose, “a bit of holiday fun. They decided last minute to direct the seraphim to Gryphon Island.”
“We’re on our way.”
I gripped Rhyan’s arm, shaking my head.
“No need. We’re getting ready to come back. It’ll take you longer to get here than for us to meet you at Cresthaven.”
“This is against protocol,” Markan sneered. “Lady Lyriana was ordered to have two guards, and Lady Meera three. I know you think fives beneath you, but you are one man.”
“Which is why I am bringing them back.”
