“It hasn’t got any better, has it?”

Leiard rose. “I have not lost control to him in weeks. That is an improvement. I expect it will take time.”

“If there’s—”

“Hello? Leiard?”

The voice sent a shiver down Leiard’s spine. Auraya’s voice. He had not heard it in months. It brought memories of dreams they’d shared, echoes of that first night together. His heart began to race.

All he need do was invite her in. He drew breath to speak and paused, waiting for Mirar to protest, but the other presence remained silent. Perhaps out of caution. If Mirar spoke, Auraya would hear him and…

“Leiard?”

“I am here. Come in, Auraya.”

The flap opened and she stepped inside. He felt his chest slowly tighten, realized he was holding his breath, and exhaled slowly. Her hair was pulled back into a plait, but wisps of it had blown free in the wind—or more likely in flight—and hung about her face. She was even more beautiful like this, he decided. Tousled, like after that night of…

“Greetings, Auraya of the White,” Jayim said.

She looked at the boy and smiled.

“Greetings, Jayim Baker. How is your training progressing?”

“Well,” the boy replied.

Her smile was warm, but it faded a little when she turned to regard Leiard.

“I heard you had resigned.”

Leiard nodded.

“It was nice to meet you again, Auraya,” Jayim inserted. “I’d best be going.”

She watched as he hurried from the tent, then turned back to Leiard.

“He knows.”

“Yes. A weakness of our mind-link teaching methods. I trust him.”

She shrugged. “Then so do I.” She took a step toward him. “I understand why you resigned. I think I do, anyway. You had to in case we were found out and my people reacted badly.”

“I did not resign only to protect Dreamweavers,” he told her, surprising himself with the force of his words. “I also did it so that we might…we might continue to meet.”

Her eyes widened, then she smiled and her face flushed. “I have to admit, I was a little worried. The dream links stopped and it’s taken me two nights to find you.”

He walked to her, then took her hands. Her skin was so soft. She looked up at him, and her lips curled into a small, sensual smile. The scent of her was teasingly faint, making him want to breathe in deeply.

What was I going to say? He blinked and thought back. Ah, yes.

“I had to make some decisions,” he told her. “Decisions best made alone.” He could feel the tension within her through her hands.

“And what did you decide?”