The Silent: Irin Chronicles Book Five(39)

He tangled his hands in his hair and gripped hard, wishing he could take her pain into his own body and knowing that every moment that ticked by could be her last.

The thought of it pushed him toward madness.

Her door opened, and Kyra came and sat beside him, being careful not to touch. “You aren’t shielding your thoughts very well.”

“I have nothing to hide from you.”

She drew in a long breath. “Leo, what were you asking Ginny?”

“To give you the spells you need to save your life.” He paused, kept himself from looking at her. If he looked at her, he’d want to hold her, and he didn’t think she wanted to be touched. “It seemed like a reasonable request at the time.”

“Irina were targeted for centuries,” Kyra said. “Hunted down. Forced into hiding. They have reasons for their secrets.”

He let out a rueful laugh. “Trust you to be understanding about someone withholding magic that could save your life.”

“It’s not about me.”

“It should be!” He couldn’t help himself. Leo turned toward Kyra and cupped her cheeks in his big hands. She was so small. So delicate.

Like a fairy princess, Ava had once said.

“It should be about you,” Leo whispered. “Because you’re kind and wise and beautiful, inside and out. You deserve more than to have your life taken away just as you’re beginning to really live.”

Tears fell down her cheeks, and Leo’s heart went to his throat as he brushed them away with his thumbs.

“It should be about you,” he whispered. “Hasn’t anyone told you that before? You deserve that. You deserve everything.”

“Leo.” She closed her eyes.

“Please don’t stop looking at me,” he said. He kissed her cheeks, felt her tears hot on his lips. “Please stay with me.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Be my mate, Kyra. Let me give you my magic. Let me give you everything.”

“I can’t,” she said. “Not yet.”

“Because you might be taking advantage of me?” He curled his fingers around her shoulders. “Please take advantage of me. I’m begging you.”

Kyra let out a watery laugh and sniffed. She lifted a hand to Leo’s cheek and let it rest there.

Leo let out a long breath, grateful that she hadn’t pulled away but still frustrated at her stubborn sense of honor.

Even though it was one of the things he loved about her.

He loved her. Everything about her. It wasn’t just about her being his reshon, even though he was nearly certain of it. He loved her. Her goodness and her loyalty. Her quiet determination and pride.

The words were on the tip of his tongue when he heard a child running toward them.

Leo let Kyra go and stood, sweeping his eyes through the trees. There was something about the panicked breath of a child that put every instinct on alert. He brushed a thumb over his talesm prim and activated his magic between one breath and the next. His heartbeat slowed and steadied. His eyes became sharper. His hearing keener. Power rippled over his skin like armor.

“There.” Kyra stood next to him, pointing into the forest. “It’s Intira. She’s terrified. The others are already coming this way.”

Leo bounded down the stairs and toward the sound of the frightened child crashing through the forest. He saw her stumble over a rock and caught her as she fell. “What’s wrong?” he said, going to his knees. “Intira, what has happened?”

“It’s Prija.” Her face was dirty and tearstained. “They took Prija.”





Chapter Eleven





Terror tore through Kyra at the girl’s words.

They took Prija.

Anselm is gone.

Gina took some poison.

We don’t know where Sana is.

Barak killed Lazlo.

Diman.

Jarrod.

The mothers. Gone.

The brothers. Gone.

Her sisters. Gone.

Gone gone gone.

Kyra fell back into the nightmare. Someone caught her arms, and there was shouting. Voices pounded against her mind. Scraping pain along her arms. The careful shields she’d built around her mind closed in on her and she was left with chaos. Intira’s panic. Niran’s spike of anger. An inky black flood of power rippling from Sura. The bright flash of Alyah and Ginny’s magic like a flame in the darkness. Thoughts from every direction attacked her, and she felt herself falling inward.

And then…

Slemaa.

Two hands gripping her arms.

Slemaa, reshon.

A single voice, like a deep bell tolling in her mind.

Slemaa.

He enclosed her, lifted her. Kyra reached for him and pressed her face into his chest. She tightened her arm around his neck as he surrounded her. The silence gave way to white noise, which gave way to Leo’s voice.

“Breathe, Kyra.”

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Leo was carrying her toward the porch.

“Intira,” she said.

“The others are with her.”

“I collapsed?”

“I think her panic must have unraveled your shields. Everyone came running, and you collapsed when they got close. I can’t imagine what all our thoughts were, but they must have overwhelmed you.”