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His gaze held hers, giving added support to her weak legs and spine. “Two months.”
Her hands covered her face as she let out a cry of grief. “Two months. I left him behind. He’s… Someone needs to save him.”
“Whoa.” Renton wrapped his hands around her wrists, pulling them aside so he could level his gaze with hers. “What are you talking about?”
Lip trembling in anticipation of the hatred that would seep onto his face, Tenah uttered, “Your brother. He’s in Adra.”
Renton chuckled. “You mean the brother that is outside currently shoveling food into his mouth?”
“What?”
“Everyone is safe.” He pulled her flush against him, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Still recovering but safe.”
No, that wasn’t exactly true.
No one else had witnessed Hakkan’s death. But the memory would sit heavy in her soul for the rest of her life.
“When you’re ready—only when you’re ready—Aeyis may need your help healing. He extended himself pretty severely escaping Adra. And I’m certain he has a target on his back after stealing Cirel’s mount. Hiding that ferocious thing in the city has been a chore.”
A wild laugh escaped her, despite the panic curling in her stomach. “He has some explaining to do. And the others?”
“Waiting impatiently to speak with you. Two months has been like two centuries for us. Aeyis wore a divot in the yard with his pacing. Vesara left a few days ago. She and Izral are planning a meeting with the High Court regarding their next moves against Adra. She keeps trying to pawn Gireth off on us, but he’s persistent in his self-imposed duty to remain her guardian.”
A smile quivered on Tenah’s lips.
It quickly faded as she recalled Vesara’s crown. Against her will, the assassin had become the Queen of Vristar. An ache filled Tenah’s chest. The crew deserved their freedom after what they’d all sacrificed. They deserved a chance at happiness.
Renton stroked a hand up and down her back, stopping just below her wings. “She’s to wed Izral in a month. Apparently, he offered her the Embassy years ago in exchange for her hand. She’d refused him until we pissed her off with our selfless acts.”
“Ugh, can I stand up and protest during the ceremony?”
He chuckled, and they eased into a comfortable silence.
“Do I want to know about my father?” she finally asked.
“I caution you not to expect too much,” Renton warned. “He’s here in Elcana too, but he’s been troubled. Frequently, I catch him sneaking out for the night.”
Tenah wiped her nose and pulled away from his touch. “He’s never been one to settle down. I guarantee he’s plotting something.”
“Your father may have gone about things wrong, but he was trying.”
She nodded, eyes welling up with more tears. Her father’s words from the cavern rushed back in.I do love you, Tenah. It was and always has been my greatest fault and my deepest fear.
“Hey.” Renton smoothed hair back from her face and tipped her chin up. “We’re going to be fine. Why don’t we take a walk outside?”
Tenah slipped her hand into his. The scrape of his rough skin had become a necessity in her life. They maneuvered out of the bedroom, through a narrow hall with other doors crafted from lovely, fragrant pine, and down two flights of wooden stairs broken up by a landing.
She paused on the bottom step, and Renton gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.
“It belongs to Elder Nithril,” Renton explained. “He bought it decades ago after studying abroad. I doubt he even remembers he owns it, and after learning about his disclosure to Izral and your father about the shard in my heart, I don’t really give a shit if he tries to take it back. After I stood trial for an inexcusable charge of arson, Nithril brought me here to show me what I could have. What was in my reach for me and my brother if I applied myself.”
He squared up with her body, hands coming to rest low on her hips. With the added height of the stair, Tenah was almost level with him. She didn’t have time to get lost in the rich greens and yellows in his eyes.
Renton pressed a lingering, claiming kiss to her lips.
“What I want is you, Tenah,” he murmured, his tenor eliciting a slow shiver that rolled from the back of her neck down to her toes. “For as long as you’ll have me.”
Then he stepped back and let her absorb his dream.
