The Silent: Irin Chronicles Book Five(9)

“It’s very beautiful.” Leo couldn’t stop his smile. He liked meeting people, particularly new Irina, who—he was forced to admit—still left him a bit tongue-tied. He’d spent the majority of his life believing most of the Irina were gone. Women of his own kind were still a novelty. “It’s nice to meet you, Alyah.”

Impatience gave way to amusement, and the corner of her mouth lifted. “It’s very nice to meet you too. Leo…?”

“Just Leo.” He lifted his duffel bag to his shoulder. “Should we go? Please tell me you’re driving. I’ve never grown comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road.”

“You mean the correct side?”

“You remind me of my sister Ava,” Leo said. “I suspect that the Bangkok house will feel very much like home.”

“I hope it will,” Alyah said. She maneuvered through the crowd, walking toward the packed parking lot in the distance. “We’re very grateful you were able to come so quickly. Thailand has not had a focused Grigori threat in years. There were still random predators preying on tourists, but Anurak’s reputation—along with Dara’s leadership—kept the population from growing.”

“I know that Anurak is on the Elder Council,” Leo said. “Is he also the watcher here?” It would be unusual for an elder to head a scribe house as well as serve on the council in Vienna. They reached a small silver Honda that Leo prayed he wouldn’t have to bend himself in half to enter.

“Officially? Yes.” Alyah clicked the remote on her keys, and the car chirped in response. “Unofficially, his mate, Dara, has led the scribes and singers in Bangkok for decades. She and her brother share duties, but she’s a brilliant strategist even though she no longer fights. The warriors follow her gladly.”

“An Irina watcher in a scribe house?” Leo’s smile grew. “Perhaps I can learn as much from the Bangkok scribe house as you can learn from me.”

“I hope you can.” Alyah got behind the wheel, and Leo opened the passenger door.

He didn’t have to fold in half, but it was close.

“As I said,” Alyah continued, “we have not had a focused Grigori threat in years, much less a Fallen flexing his power. And yet in the span of a year, it appears we have both.”

“Grigori presence and one of the Fallen?” Leo asked. “It’s likely the two are related. If there’s some shift in Fallen territory, the angel could be increasing his offspring in order to fight off a challenger.”

“That would be the most logical conclusion. The problem is these Grigori are the sons of an angel we know to be dead. The Fallen is pressing east from Myanmar. We’re not sure if these Grigori are acting in collusion with him or not. They could be looking for protection and power since their own father is gone—”

“Or free Grigori just trying to live their lives,” Leo said.

“The lack of attacks in their city lead us to hope,” Alyah said. “But until we know more, Dara and Rith need to know more about free Grigori and how to approach them. Some in the house are willing to give them a chance, but there is no agreement.”

Alyah maneuvered the car through the traffic of the parking lot, pausing to let pedestrians and scooters shoot across the lanes.

“One thing you’ll need to consider,” Leo said, “is whether or not they are protecting kareshta.”

“Kareshta?”

“Female Grigori,” Leo said. “In my experience, free Grigori are as protective of their sisters as the Irin. How long has the Fallen who sired them been dead? Do they have children in their group?”

Alyah had stopped to let a group of tourists cross the road, but she didn’t move forward again until a waiting driver honked behind her.

“Alyah?”

“I’ve heard the rumors,” she said. “We received the mandate after the Battle of Vienna like everyone else. ‘Scribe houses are charged to find and protect any female offspring of the Fallen who seek shelter or succor from their sires.’ I read it, but…”

“You don’t really believe it?”

Her chin went up. “I’ve never seen one. I’ve been a warrior for over one hundred years, and I’ve never seen a female Grigori.”

Leo said quietly, “Probably because most of them are killed.”

Alyah’s jaw tightened as she left the parking lot and maneuvered through traffic. “Why?”

“They call themselves kareshta,” Leo said. “The silent ones. Only the ones who learn to be silent survive to adulthood.” It was a sad litany he’d repeated many times in the previous two years. “And they are killed for three primary reasons. First, they serve no purpose for the Fallen because the Fallen will not use them as fighters. Second, they are considered a threat because their magic is uncontrolled. And third, they don’t instinctively hunt humans as Grigori do. So they are killed.”

Alyah steered the car onto the highway, joining the late-afternoon rush of commuters filling the roads. “I have more questions.”

“We all do.”



Rěkaves, Czech Republic

One year earlier



Leo watched her glide across the courtyard of the castle, nodding at the solemn guard before she climbed the staircase to the walkway along the eastern wall. She spoke to no one, and no one seemed to bother her. There was an air of aloofness that surrounded her. It wasn’t anything she intentionally projected, but it was as clear to others as her dark hair, luminous skin, and crystalline gold eyes.