Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)(75)

It flowed through me and I wiggled my toes. Dramin leaned over to look inside my cup, chuckling to see it already empty.

“You have the appetite of a child,” he said, smiling. “It’s quite refreshing.”

I smiled back at him, handing over my cup. My body was already calling for more.

“Oh no,” Dramin smiled. “Not anymore, your body is healed. You can do this on your own.”

He grabbed my hand and placed it firmly over the top of the mug.

“Think of the water, and how you would like to see it: warm, cold, or maybe iced. Now pulse that thought into the cup.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, looking more confused than I felt. He continued to laugh at me.

“It’s easier than it sounds. It is second nature. Give it a shot.” He smiled and I nodded my head at him before closing my eyes.

I followed his instructions to a T, surprised when my body seemed to respond instinctively. I felt warmth fill my hand for a moment before opening my eyes to look at the cup, the steaming liquid filling it right to the rim.

“Good job! Now, if you will go into your T?uha every day, you will continue to have the energy to sustain yourself.” Dramin took a drink right after he spoke, his eyes digging into me from over his mug. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. I lowered my mug.

“How did you know?” I asked softly before taking another sip.

“The question is not how I knew, child, for that should be obvious. But, why are you avoiding your mate?”

I couldn’t look at Dramin so I chose to look at the thick contents that swirled slightly inside my cup instead. I guess if I had to confide in someone while Ilyan was indisposed, I should. Besides, I had started opening up to Thom. I suppose I needed to be more trusting.

“Well, for one, Ryland keeps pushing me out. Two, I am pretty sure Cail is controlling them.” I sounded so dejected, I tried not to cringe at the sound of it.

“You mean he is controlling the T?uha as well as your dreams?” I couldn’t miss his surprise. I had been beginning to think there was nothing that would surprise Dramin.

“Yes.” I was suddenly feeling very cramped in the tight bunk. I slipped off my bed and walked right past him, my mug still clasped between my hands.

I moved to the large chairs that surrounded the fire, trying to avoid looking at Thom who was busy healing Ilyan.

“But, how do you know?” Dramin asked.

“Ilyan pieced most of it together, but what you said about Edmund’s ?tít inside Cail – it kind of fit it all together for me.” I sat down in what had become my trademark chair, draping one of the many furs that were piled around the space over my legs.

“But what does he want from you? Does he know...” Dramin finished abruptly, I lowered the mug from my lips to raise an eyebrow at him in question, but he didn’t answer right away.

“Does he know that you are one of the Drak?” He finally finished, his voice oddly distant.

“No, I don’t go screaming out random bits of information for them to hear. I am a bit smarter than that.” I spat the words out a bit icily, but good grief, someone needed to have faith in me.

“Mostly, Cail enjoys messing with my mind.” I tried to keep the tone of the conversation light, but I could already feel the desperation creeping into my own voice. “He finds different ways to torture me. In the dreams he plays little games or makes me relive bad memories. In the T?uha he has been telling what is left of Ryland’s mind to get rid of me. They are trying to get me to break the Z?lství.”

Dramin dropped his mug to the stone floor in surprise, where it promptly shattered. I jumped at the noise, startling even more when I saw his face. For a moment I was worried he was lost in a sight.

“Who has told you this?” Dramin asked, panicked. His jaw was open and his eyes wide, the bright green thankfully still there.

“What?”

“Who asked you to break the connection?” I sunk away from his panic, keeping the mug tight in my grip. I didn’t want mine to break.

“Ryland asked me in the dream last night, but I’m not sure it was him. There was something off about him.”

Dramin nodded enthusiastically. “And in the T?uha?”

“What’s left of Ryland’s mind in the T?uha doesn’t know enough, but I can tell someone is trying to break us apart. Ryland told me the man with the dark eyes told him to get rid of me.”

“And you’re sure he means Cail?” Dramin leaned forward eagerly, his eyes boring into mine.

“Either Cail or the Ryland that they are controlling.”

“Or Edmund,” Dramin provided, his voice oddly eager. It sent a chill up my spine.

I nodded, not wanting to give him an answer. I emptied my cup and refilled it, hoping that Dramin’s excitement would leave him.

“Are you going tell Ilyan of this?”

I glanced toward Ilyan’s bunk at Dramin’s words, my heart dropping a bit to see him still unconscious. Thom had disappeared somewhere.

“Tell Ilyan, what?” I asked, unwilling to rip my eyes away.

“That someone is trying to convince you to break the connection between you and Ryland.”

“I suppose I will. I tell Ilyan everything.”

Dramin paused before speaking. “I am not sure that is the best idea in this instance.”