Nick’s brow creased. It shouldn’t have been so weird, realistically, given how strange everything here was to him, but the idea that the woman he’d met on the ship, who had him abducted, was centuries old felt wrong.
Kit saw the question in his eyes. “They hide it. Wearing veils if they will meet with someone who might have seen them as children. My people know their secrets, and we do not speak of them to anyone. The consequences are not worth paying.”
“You’ve just told me.”
Kit hesitated before nodding. His tail was wrapped around Nick’s ankle, a warm band. “If I am not going back to her, under any circumstance,” Kit said, soft yet fearful, “then I will not be forced to suffer the consequences of telling you.”
Nick’s breath caught. Kit’s implication bowled him over at once. Kit seemed so certain of Desre’s power that Nick had expected Kit to dismiss his promise, to take it as something fanciful. But he hadn’t. Kit trusted him. He believed in him. Kit had told him the secret, knowing that if he ended up back with Desre, she would be able to make him confess it.
That trust ballooned inside of Nick, his chest so full he could barely breathe.
“Thank you, Kit.” Nick’s voice caught on a swell of emotion. “I swear I won’t let you get hurt. Or anyone you care about.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The party was indoors, though a tall ceiling gave the room the feeling of being open and spacious. Long tables lined the outer edges of the room, and kits danced together in the middle. It wasn’t like the dancing at Vi’s party with orderly, practised steps, but instead something wilder, manic. A group of musicians played against one of the walls, firing out a lively jive, dancing along to their own tunes.
A dozen children raced by Nick, chanting, “Lua, Lua, Lua,” before breaking out into cackling laughter as if they’d made the funniest joke anyone in the world had ever heard. All Nick could think wasrebel army.Civil war. Rebellion.
A young teenager with shining blond hair caught Nick’s eye. He danced alone in the hall, moving freely, with enthusiasm, and—if the smile on his face was anything to go by—delight. Watching him had Nick’s own lips quirking up in a smile. Laurence would have taken to the floor in an instant; he would have been badgering Jasper to show him how to dothisdance, though Nick wasn’t sure if there even were set steps. It seemed more like the chaos of a gifted race of dancers enjoying the music together rather than anything rehearsed.
Nick dragged his gaze from the dancers and scanned the hall, searching.
“Kit’s at the main table,” a voice said.
Nick turned to find Ios had crept up to his side. The young man’s tail hooked in a friendly gesture, though his brows rose when his eyes slid to Nick’s shirt. “I delivered something fine, did I not?” he asked, his tone not censuring but querying.
“Too fine for me.” Nick had lucked upon a different shirt in the next room over from his own. “Thanks, though.” His attention lingered on Ios’s slightly swollen nose and the bruising that had spread beneath each eye. It looked sore. “I’m sorry for hurting you.”
“I forgive you for it,” Ios said. “As I hope you will forgive the pain I caused you in return. Come, this way. There is food and wine. Kit said you enjoy Lua?”
Nick followed closely after Ios. “I’ve only had it once, and I liked it.”
Ios hummed. “He also says that you are growing a plant that produces a very bitter tea.”
“Coffee. Should have asked you to grab it while you were kidnapping us.”
Ios’s tail brushed playfully against the back of Nick’s leg. “You should have,” he agreed with mirth. “Kit also said that you are brave and clever –”
“Has Kit talked about anything except me?” Nick interrupted, feeling himself redden.
“No.” Ios peered sideways at Nick, a cheeky smile in place. “He wishes to show off. He has netted himself a prize and wants all of us to see.”
“Literally netted me,” Nick muttered, still feeling embarrassed. Kit wasn’treallygoing around saying all that, was he?
Ios stopped walking, his smile fading as his eyes darkened. “That is not Kit’s fault. Lady Desre –”
“I know,” Nick said. But there was a wariness in Ios’s eyes now as he regarded Nick, a worry, like perhaps it had suddenly occurred to him that Nick might not have Kit’s best intentions at heart. “Ios, if I blamed Kit in any way, I’d have brokenhisnose when he tried to scent-mark me.”
“Kit is too skilled for you to manage that, though I understand your point.” Ios relaxed.
Nick thought about that remark and decided on how best to phrase his question. ‘Kit is stronger than you’ seemed a tad loaded. “Kit’s a skilled fighter?”
“He is the best among us,” Ios confirmed, a distinct note of pride in his voice. It didn’t seem to bother Ios to admit that Kit was stronger than him. “That is why we sent so many to capture him; he is difficult to overpower.” Ios lowered his voice, leaning in close enough to Nick that their shoulders brushed together. “I believe he is even stronger than General Valor. If they were to fight, I think Kit would best him. Do not tell anyone I said that.”
They stepped around a group of kits, and a crowded table with Kit at the centre came into view. Kit’s gaze was already fixed on Nick, and he suspected Kit had been watching him through gaps in the crowds as Ios showed him the way. Kit stared at Nick’s shoulder. Then his leg. Discontent flashed in his eyes.
Without looking away from Kit’s unhappy expression, Nick tapped Ios’s elbow. “Move your tail off me.”
