The Silent

by Elizabeth Hunter

  She smiled against his chest. “I would like that.”

  “And I belong to you.” He tilted her chin up and kissed her. “You know that’s part of it, don’t you?”

  “What can I do for you?” she asked. “If I am your reshon, what does that mean for you?”

  “Your touch will heal me,” Leo said. “When I am wounded, your touch will make me stronger. Your song…”

  His expression went blank, and Kyra’s heart sank.

  She asked, “It won’t be the same, will it? It won’t be the same as it would be if your reshon were Irina. Because I don’t know the same magic.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does.”

  “Ava was able—”

  “Ava was human. Or at least she was to the Irina. She has no ties to the Grigori world. No one would ever question her loyalty, Leo.” She rested her ear over his chest and listened to his heart beat. “They taught her magic, but it’s not the same for me.”

  He said nothing, because he knew she was right. It didn’t matter how much Leo loved her; he could not teach her the magic she needed to be what she wanted to be for him. She also knew he wouldn’t let her go. Their connection was unique. She believed that.

  “I love you, Kyra.”

  Would it be enough?

  Leo set her on her pillow and put the tray on the low table beside them. They took turns feeding each other until they had eaten everything. Kyra couldn’t finish what Leo had brought her, but she smiled and fed him the rest.

  “You are what they call a bottomless pit.”

  He stretched out next to her. “There is a lot of me to fuel.”

  “Most Irin I’ve met aren’t as tall as you. Most Grigori are taller, but they’re not as strong.”

  “It’s probably simple genetics. Everyone in my family was tall. But my cousin and I…” He winked. “We may have written a few spells to give us an edge. I don’t know if they worked or if it’s just in our blood.”

  “So your parents were tall as well?”

  “I believe so. I didn’t know my mother, just a few things about her. She was a healer. Sometimes I think I have memories of her, but I don’t know if I’m really remembering or whether they’re memories others have told me. Both of Max’s parents were killed in the Rending. Our mothers were twin sisters. I think that’s why we look so much alike.”

  “Your father?”

  “I did meet him when I was seven. He was a mystery. Everyone assumed he was dead for many years. And we were never close. I don’t think he was ever the same man after he lost my mother. Our grandfather is the one who raised us. He wrote our first spells.” Leo turned over to show the line of spells that ran down his back. “Until we went to the academy, he cared for us. And he was very tall. He was our mother’s father, so Max and I were all he had left.”

  So the Rending had taken Leo’s family from him too. Though it happened before her birth, Kyra still felt a pang of guilt anytime one of the Irin mentioned it.

  “It had nothing to do with you,” Leo said.

  “Are you sure it’s not carried in the blood?” Kyra asked lightly. “Like genes for being tall?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “There will always be some who don’t see it that way.”

  “Probably yes.” He rolled over and laid his head in her lap. “But there will be more who understand.”

  “I hope so.” She ran her fingers through his hair and felt his chest rise and fall in a steady, relaxed breath.

  She could do this for him. She might not have magic, but she could do this. She could love him so well he wouldn’t feel the loss. She would shove back her anger and swallow it whole to make room for loving Leo, who brought her flowers and fed her from his own hand.

  I love you so much. I will make myself deserving of it.

  After dinner, Leo ran a bath and put frangipani in the water, which filled the air with its heady scent. Then he lifted her and brought her to the bathroom.

  “One step at a time,” he said. “Tonight we try for no clothes.”

  Her face heated immediately. “No clothes at all?”

  “Only if you want to, but I am curious why you are reluctant to let me see you.” He teased her, trying to keep it light. “Do you have an embarrassing birthmark you don’t want me to see? A tail you’ve been hiding?”

  “No,” she said. “My body is perfect.”

  Leo made a sound low in his throat. It was a hungry, raw sound that both thrilled and frightened her.

  “Kyra—”

  “Right now you see me. All of me. My face, but my mind and heart too.” Her voice grew softer. “When men look at me… It’s as if I don’t exist anymore. They don’t see me. Only my body.”

  “Hmm.” Leo didn’t say anything. He took her by the hand and walked to the bed, sitting down and putting his hands on her hips.

  For the longest time he only looked at her, as if he was trying to see beneath her skin.

  “I can’t promise I won’t lose my head a little,” he said quietly. “Because, Kyra, I know you will be beautiful. When I see your bare skin, it will be overwhelming. But I will always see you first.”

  She nodded.

  “When you see me without my clothes—”

  “I’ve only seen you without your shirt,” she said. “Not the whole of you.”

  He smiled. “Fine. Then imagine me right now. The whole of me, without a stitch of clothing on my body.”

  Kyra closed her eyes and imagined it, surprised when the same hungry sound left her own throat. Her eyes flew open.

  Leo was smiling. “Good.”

  “You’re saying that when I see you naked, I’ll forget who you are too?”

  “Hunger doesn’t mean we forget who we’re with. It only means that our bodies recognize each other like our hearts do. Do you think I’ve ever wanted a woman the way I want you? I haven’t. Other women do not interest me.” He brought his mouth to her belly, lifted her shirt, and nipped at the sensitive flesh. “This need is only for you.”

  She let out a low breath. “Okay.”

  He lifted her shirt again, running his fingers along her waistband. “May I?”

  She nodded. As he peeled down her leggings, she felt the tiny hairs on her legs stand up. He lifted her feet and tossed the leggings away before he stood and brought her shirt over her head.

  Kyra stood before him in her bra and panties, wishing she’d thought to put on the nice pair. She hadn’t been expecting this that morning when she dressed.

  Leo sat again, letting her become accustomed to the air on her bare skin. He put his hands on her hips and toyed with her panties, kissing along her belly. His hands moved back and cupped her bottom, his warm fingers sliding under the fabric that covered it.

  “Yes?” he whispered.

  “Yes.” Feeling bold and impatient, she reached back and unclipped her bra.

  Leo heard the fabric slide off and raised his eyes, devouring her breasts without a sound. With his gold hair and sharp gaze, he reminded her of a lion eying his prey. She dropped the bra to the floor and rested her hand on his broad shoulders.

  Beautiful. He formed the word with his mouth, though no sound came. Beautiful.

  He didn’t touch her, but his gaze made her skin warm. Her heart pounded, and the liquid breeze caressed her skin.

  Leo tugged at her panties. “May I?”

  She nodded, and he slid them down her legs. He lifted one long leg and set it on the bed beside him, baring every part of her to his eyes. Leo ran the tips of his fingers over her legs, her knees, her bottom, her hips.

  He bent and kissed the inside of her thigh, sliding his tongue up and making her gasp.

  “May I?” he whispered, eyes closed as he breathed her in.

  “Please.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Leo tried to banish the sensual feast from his mind as he watched Kyra meditate in Sura’s cottage the next morning. They were all gathered in the small room except
for Niran’s two soldiers who stood watch outside. Niran and Alyah stood by the door. Leo sat behind Kyra. They’d decided to experiment with his touch to see if contact increased her range or focus. Sura sat opposite her, legs folded in a meditative pose.

  With his hands on her hips, Leo slid his fingers under her loose shirt, letting her feel his touch against her skin.

  There?

  No, lower. There.

  Tell me.

  I feel… everything. Everything.

  Good?

  So good.

  Their hours of sensual exploration sat in the front of his mind, and Leo found it difficult to concentrate. Part of him had wanted to rush her. He’d felt desire before, but nothing like what he felt with Kyra. Part of him was intimidated by her. She was so beautiful, and he loved her so much. When the time finally came, would he embarrass himself?

  “Focus,” Sura said quietly.

  Leo looked up. Sura wasn’t talking to Kyra.

  “Focus,” he said again with a pointed look at Leo.

  He nodded and shifted his attention, not to the pleasure of Kyra’s skin but to the energy he felt coming from her. Her power, should she ever truly control it, was immense. He could feel her magic like an electrical current beneath her skin. He put his palms against her sides and imagined grounding her. He touched his talesm prim and felt his own magic come alive.

  He could feel it. Leo sat behind her, sitting at the edge of her power and tasting the vast scope of it. He could feel when her mind opened and her consciousness flew upward.

  He opened his eyes and met Sura’s gaze. “She’s having an out-of-body experience, isn’t she?”

  “I believe it’s something like that.”

  Leo glanced at Alyah, but he could see the singer was as fascinated as he was. He could feel Kyra’s consciousness leave her body, her soul resting like a banked fire in the center of her being. But her mind and power flew up and outward. He gripped her waist, and she leaned back into his chest, using his body as a cradle for her own. He felt her chest rise and fall. She was present and away, all at the same time.

  Within minutes, her breath was slow and even. Leo looked down and her expression was restful except for a thin line between her eyebrows. He reached around and slid his palms under her own.

  Their hands met and their fingers knit together; Leo was unprepared for the jolt of power that hit his chest.

  His eyes rolled back and his body went limp.

  He tasted the wind. Heard the rustling of trees.

  Voices came from the distance.

  He heard Kyra’s breath in time with his own.

  “…more than the others…”

  “She was dangerous.”

  “—had to be moved.”

  “Arindam will not be pleased when he hears—”

  “He must not hear.”

  “…protect the others. The children…”

  A cacophony of thoughts entered his mind, a jumble of the Old Language and a dialect he’d never heard before. The rush overwhelmed him and his head swam. Thoughts beat at his mind. Voices came too fast. Too loud.

  Slemaa.

  He sucked in a breath at the sharp command.

  Domem.

  It was Kyra’s voice in his mind. Her thoughts layered over the cacophony, untangling the threads like a weaver sorting her loom.

  Domem.

  He matched his breath to hers and found his thoughts again.

  Four male voices. No, five.

  Three women.

  He couldn’t count the children.

  Muffled laughter.

  “Leo.”

  Kyra.

  “Leo, let me go.”

  Can’t.

  “You can. Let me go. I need to return without you in my mind.”

  Safe.

  “I am safe. I’ve done this before. Imagine taking a step back.”

  He pictured her as she’d been in the cottage before him, her body resting against his, their hands knit together.

  “Let go of my hands.”

  In his mind’s eye, he let go of his white-knuckle grip on her hands and—

  —blinked awake with Sura, Niran, and Alyah crouched around them, staring at Leo.

  “Where is she?” Sura asked.

  “At the compound,” Leo said, flexing his hands to return circulation. “She’s listening.”

  Niran asked, “Prija—”

  “Moved.” He focused on her breathing, which did not change. He traced a spell for clarity on Kyra’s shoulders. Another for peace. “She will be able to tell you more. I was too overwhelmed by the number of thoughts, but she didn’t seem to have trouble sorting them out.”

  Alyah asked, “So you were with her? You heard what she heard?”

  “Yes.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her neck, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “She’s like Ava. Kyra can let me hear what she hears like Ava can share what she sees. The only problem is I don’t have the tools to sort through all the thoughts.”

  Alyah nodded. “It takes time.”

  Leo tucked a strand of hair behind Kyra’s ear. “She’s a long way from here.”

  Sura’s gaze sharpened. “Could you see—”

  “I couldn’t see anything. I only heard.”

  Niran stood and leaned against the door. “So we wait.”

  It was only a few minutes later that Leo felt Kyra return to her body. Her breathing changed and her body lay more heavily against his.

  “Leo?” she murmured.

  “I’m here.”

  “Too bright.”

  He gathered her up and put her on his lap, tucking her face into his chest to shield her eyes while Niran and Alyah closed the shades in the cottage. He ran a hand over her arm and felt goose bumps.

  “She’s cold.”

  Sura stood and retrieved a blanket from the end of his bed. He put it around Kyra’s shoulders while Leo rubbed her arms.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “You sound tired.”

  She took a deep breath. “I went a long way. Leo helped me get farther.”

  “Where are they?” Niran asked.

  “Around seventy-five miles north of here, but Prija is already gone.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Kyra nodded. “I couldn’t understand their thoughts exactly—I don’t speak the Old Language—but I heard her name. I didn’t hear her voice. I think they were afraid of her.”

  “They were,” Leo said. “I heard them mention protecting the children.”

  “They have other women and children there?” Alyah asked sharply.

  Kyra nodded.

  Sura asked, “How many?”

  “I’m not sure,” Leo said. “Kyra?”

  “I heard two children’s voices. I think three women. I’d estimate there were perhaps ten Grigori with them.”

  “How sure are you?” Niran asked.

  Leo looked at him sharply. “It’s not an exact science.”

  “I’m ninety percent sure,” Kyra said, putting a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “It’s fine, Leo. I was trained to be precise.”

  He stood, still carrying her. “You need to rest.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I can feel how tired you are,” he said, walking to the door without a glance at the others in the room. “You’re taking a nap to get your strength up. Don’t argue. If I know these three, they’ll want to go running over the border as soon as you’re well enough. Nap, then fight.”

  Kyra was already falling asleep on his shoulder.

  After he’d put her to bed, he walked out to the porch and looked at the others. They were gathered on the porch of Alyah’s cottage, a short way down the path from theirs. Leo walked over to join them.

  Sura asked, “Sleeping?”

  “Out before her head hit the pillow.”

  Niran nodded. “Over one hundred twenty kilometers.”

  Alyah shook her head. “I can’t imagine that range. We need to teach her the Old Langu
age. She’ll be far more useful when she understands their thoughts.”

  “It will also let her perform magic,” Leo said. “Are you prepared for her to do that?”

  It gave Alyah pause.

  Sura said, “We’ll need to cross the border before dark if we want to make it to an inn where I know the hosts. Do you think Kyra will be ready?”

  Leo shrugged. “I have no way of knowing, but if she’s anything like Ava after a vision, she’ll sleep hard but it won’t be for very long. A few hours maybe.”

  Niran was brooding in the corner.

  Leo turned his eyes to him. “You’re thinking very loudly.”

  The corner of Niran’s mouth turned up. “You sound like my sisters now.”

  “I’ve had a glimpse of their minds,” Leo said. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Sura said, “He’s debating what to do about the women.”

  Niran nodded.

  “What debate?” Alyah nodded. “We take out the Grigori and rescue the women.”

  Sura cocked his head. “Is it so black-and-white for you, singer?”

  Niran said, “Their sire is not dead. It’s not so simple.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because,” Leo said, “if their sire is living, they will do whatever he wants. Almost without question. They are virtual slaves. Do you want the slaves of the Fallen in your house?”

  Alyah didn’t appear to like that idea.

  “If we’d already killed Arindam, it would be one thing,” Niran said. “But those women are compromised. Their children belong to the Fallen. Their Grigori protectors are loyal. If we take them into our camp, we have no way of knowing if they would betray us. Neither would you. Geography might provide some protection, but that depends on how powerful Arindam has grown.”

  “But we can’t just leave them there,” Alyah said. “They’re human. They will die if we leave them among the Fallen.”

  Leo asked, “How deep are you willing to dive in here?”

  Alyah said, “We have our mandate from the council. The protection of the kareshta—”

  “Is not your job,” Niran said.

  “I don’t agree.” Alyah’s chin jutted out. “If you’re not willing to do anything about it, then the scribe house will.”

  Sura raised a hand. “It’s not a question of being willing, Alyah. It’s a question of putting our own sisters in danger. Humans under thrall to a Fallen only think of the angel. They would betray us without hesitation.”