Shadow Wings (The Darkest Drae Book 2)(21)

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “How about when you are able to partial shift, I’ll give you a choice from my horde?”

He had a horde? Why did he have a horde?

He jumped forward again, and we continued leaping boulder to boulder down the hill.

My mind boggled at the possibilities of treasure. He had to have a decent collection. “Is it a Drae thing to collect?”

“No. Not all Drae do it. Male Drae collect items during their life, but not for themselves.”

I wasn’t really collecting shiny stuff for myself either, now that I thought about it—more because the objects deserved to be protected.

He landed on the rocky ground below, and I thudded next to him, not half as graceful, though I thought I was doing pretty well for being skill-less Ryn from Harvest Zone Seven. They didn’t cover boulder-bounding in turnip toddlers.

We walked on in silence for a bit. If walking could be applied to what we were doing. If I glanced to my side, I couldn’t ignore the fact that the sparse trees and patches of grass were literally blurring by. Yes . . . walking was certainly a loose term.

You said we’d fly.

I want to put some distance and a hill between us and the caves before we shift and go airborne.

But it’s faster.

Yes, but the emperor doesn’t know about that cave system, and I’d like to keep it that way. Also, we’re more vulnerable in the air and easier to spot. But it will mean one day of flying, instead of four days running, so I believe we must risk it.

The trees continued to blur by until Tyrrik slowed his steps, and we began picking over boulders again. He was leading me around the base of another hill.

“You know what you said about teaching me to shield my thoughts from other Drae?” I paused as he stiffened. “Could you teach me?”

Tyrrik remained still, his back to me, and when he spoke, his voice was icy. “If you wish it.”

My thoughts hadn’t been my own for a long time. Irdelron had seen through my lies, and he’d filled my mind with pain and horrors. Tyr had been able to hear me though it hadn’t bothered me before I knew he was Tyrrik. I didn’t want to rely on others to give me privacy. I needed to have power over who I let in and who I didn’t. And though I was used to Tyrrik speaking in my head now, I wasn’t sure I wanted him in there. At least, not all the time. And definitely not at his whim.

Tyrrik had already shown his jealousy of Kamoi, and we were headed to his kingdom. There were so many risks. This journey to the Zivost forest was apparently a risk, and I imagined a friendship with the Drae before me would be a risk too. Not to mention my evil Drae father. I needed to be prepared. Even if it hurt Tyrrik’s feelings, I needed this. I took a deep breath and said, “I do.”

His shoulders didn’t relax, and he stayed rooted to the rock he stood on.

I bounded onto another boulder. “Look, I just want to be in control of my mind.”

“Against me,” Tyrrik said shortly, heaving a sigh.

I puffed out a breath and turned to face him. “Against everyone, okay? I want to know I have control of my innermost thoughts, and no one will know them unless I will it.”

He jumped, moving from stone to stone ahead of me.

I hurried to catch up. “Surely you of all people understand?”

He stopped, and I pulled just short of barging into him. He glanced at me over his shoulder, black eyes searching my face. “If I do this, will you trust me?”

I clenched my jaw, keeping the scream of frustration inside. He was always manipulating me. “How about, for once, you give something with no strings attached?”

Darkness flooded his eyes, but I stayed where I was, staring up at him defiantly. He spun and continued over the boulders at a faster pace.

Another no-answer, but I wasn’t about to retract my words.

We reached the apex of the bend and began around the other side. Hopefully we’d take to the air soon. I was eager to stretch my wings again and maybe score that ruby.

“Think of our telepathy as flow of energy,” Tyrrik said when I landed next to him.

I ground to a halt, watching him continue. “What?”

He inhaled through his nose, his face fixed in the mask I knew too well. “You wanted to learn how to block me.”

Everyone, I immediately corrected.

“Do you want to learn or not?” he asked, jaw clenched.

Sheesh, someone wasn’t used to not getting his way. I couldn’t understand his tone. He was offering to teach me but also didn’t want to, and there was another element I couldn’t identify.

“Yes, Tyrrik. I would love to learn,” I said demurely. I peeked through my lashes as he threw me a suspicious look through his narrowed obsidian eyes. When he turned back around, I poked out my tongue.

“When you communicate with me, you send a bolt of energy through our Drae connection. If you send a lot of energy, if your emotion is high, not only do I hear you, I also get a sense of the sentiment behind the words. If you put a lot of energy in and focus, you’d be able to send a visual too.” He faced me, his features soft and open. “Maybe even a smell and touch.”

“Whoa.” Those threads actually did mean something. Staring up at him, I scooted closer as I asked, “Really?”

He grinned, a wide carefree smile, and the boyishness it lent his face stunned me. I stumbled on the uneven ground, and my heart flipped.