Chapters (46)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
“Tell me again what happened with James.”
His tone was casual, but Kyra didn’t miss the suspicion behind his question.
“We disagreed about my job,” she said. “James wanted more than I was prepared to give.”
“And when he tried to kill you, what happened?”
“We had an argument, and it turned into a fight.”
“I see,” said Leyus. “What puzzles me, Kyra, is why this happened at that hour, halfway through the meeting with Pashla and Czern. And Pashla says James called you a traitor.”
Kyra struggled to keep a tremor out of her voice. “James stretches his stories sometimes.”
Leyus turned to face her. “And if I talk to James myself, will he give me a similar account of what happened?”
She didn’t answer. Leyus held her gaze, daring her to look away.
“The truth is, Kyra, I don’t care about your relationship with James. Our alliance with him will only last as long as it is useful. Neither do I hold you accountable for your actions before you learned what you were.”
There was an edge in his voice as he continued. “What I do care about is your loyalty to the clan. Pashla is a strong clanswoman, and capable, but her past affects her judgment. It is important to her that those with our blood have an opportunity to be in the clan, and I honor her wishes because she won the Challenge. We spared your life, and we will even teach you our ways if you desire. But make one step that harms the clan, and we will deal with you like any other human. Are we understood?”
Kyra forced herself to meet his eyes. “Aye.”
He studied her face, as if mining for answers. A brisk wind blew around both of them, swirling dust and leaves about Kyra’s ankles.
“Good. Do not forget our conversation.”
The conversation with Leyus brought things into sharp focus. Pashla’s kindness and Kyra’s own curiosity had taken the edge off her urgency, but she saw that she needed to leave, and leave soon. Kyra heard another roar the next evening, a summons to yet another meeting she couldn’t attend. This was her chance. Everybody else would be at the gathering, possibly for several hours. And she was well enough to travel.