“But your mother?”
Kye tilted his head, staring at the corner of his bedroll. “Her father designed a ring for Emilius with a black diamond. More valuable than the Calderian mines at Winterlight. My mother was just the consolation that came with it. A way to insert Cressian blood into the Calderian line.” His expression softened, and the lines in his brow disappeared. “My turn.”
I opened my mouth, wanting to ask more. I knew so little of Kye’s mother.Another one, Cemre?The words had drifted in and out of my head since Kye shared his earliest memory. But I’d given him one simple rule—and intuition warned me that Kye’s memories of his mother were kept moored in elusive waters. I tilted my head, inviting his next inquiry.
Kye caught the blade of grass between his fingers, tossing it away to sit up higher. “What hold does Thaan have on you?”
I hesitated. My hands sank into my lap, fingers winding around invisible thatches of pili grass, the familiar motion of weaving a basket.
His brows twinged. “It can’t be that personal. You’ve only known him sinceTaurennos.”
“That’s true.” I gnawed my cheek, wondering how to answer his question.
“If it’s a matter of blackmail over Naheso’s death—"
I shook my head. “It’s not. It started that way when you arrested me on the island.” He stiffened, and I hastened to continue. “But it’s more than that now. Thaan…owns me.”
Kye frowned as leaves rustled in the breeze, hidden thoughts churning behind his eyes. “He owns you.”
“Yes.”
“In what way?”
“I can’t s—”
“You can’t say.” I nodded, and he rubbed his dark stubble. “Just so I’m clear, there’s something you can’t tell me, and it has to do with Thaan.” I fidgeted, and he reached across the patch of grass to grab the edge of my bedroll, pulling me toward him. “Let’s settle up, Leihani. I’ll tell you what I know, and you can either confirm or deny.”
“Okay,” I said, suddenly even more uneasy than I’d been the moment before. Here they were—the questions I’d been waiting for.
“You killed Aleksei by blocking the airway to his lungs.”
My mouth went dry. “Yes.”
“And saved Hadrian by clearing his.”
Not completely accurate, but— “Yes.”
“Can you hear my thoughts?”
That one surprised me. I let out a nervous laugh. “No.”
Kye tilted his head. “How do you always know where I am?”
I opened my mouth to deny I could, then stopped. “How do you know that I do?” His tongue ran the edge of his white teeth as he watched me in a way that, without warning, sent my pulse threading through my ears and electric sparks through my skin. What was the harm in answering? It might appease him enough to keep him from searching for answers I couldn’t give. “I can hear you.”
“Even when I’m standing still?”
I stretched an arm, my finger gently prodding his chest. “Your heart and lungs give you away.”
He caught my hand by reflex, holding it in place. “My heart?”
Golden eyes trapped me on the spot, oxygen abandoning me. Moisture popped in the air. Warmth spread under his fingers, whispering across my hand, sizzling into my knuckles. “Yes. I can hear it now. Talking to me.”
“Talking?” It thudded faster in response. Kye’s mouth curved into a small smile. “What’s it saying?”
The sensation of dry cotton plagued my mouth. Goosebumps suddenly lined my arms, and a frothy shiver ran the length of my spine. His eyes darkened, dropping to my mouth, and whatever his heart was saying, I felt my own answer wildly in my chest.
I swallowed. “Is this a mistake, Kye?”
