She groggily sat up. “What?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.
“There is no rest for the weary. Alcander has decided to leave this morning.”
Gratitude and relief rushed through her. Craning her neck, she asked, “Why are you so tall?”
Drustan usually kept to the same form. Today, he looked a good foot and a half taller.
“I got tired of looking up to Alcander, so I adjusted.”
She grinned. “How did he like that?”
“He didn’t.” Drustan smirked. “But he was too proud to say anything about it.”
Kiora was in no hurry to see Alcander this morning, but anxious to leave. Running her fingers through her hair, she went to find him. His thread was near, and as she popped her head out of the tent, she saw him talking to Einar.
“Why won’t you tell us who she is?” Einar was asking. “The whole island is talking about her.”
“It doesn’t matter who she is, Einar, just do your job and I will do mine.”
Einar looked over Alcander’s shoulder to Kiora before averting his eyes.
She pursed her lips. She wanted to tell Einar that she didn’t care what Alcander had told him—he was allowed to look at her if he wanted. Instead she made her way over and stopped just out of Alcander’s reach. “Can I talk with you a moment, Prince Alcander?”
“Of course.” Alcander inclined his head in Einar’s direction. Understanding his dismissal, Einar left without a word.
Alcander reached out to touch her arm, but she neatly sidestepped. His lips tightened, but he didn’t say anything.
“Why are you so worried someone might find out who I am?” she demanded.
He eyed her, clearly debating whether to share his reasons or not. Finally the stiffness of his back relaxed. “They are asking too many questions about you here, and rumors spread quickly.”
“Your village knew.”
“My village did not interact with others. These people move from place to place. I don’t want them taking the news with them.”
She chewed at her bottom lip. “Fine.” She turned to head back to the tent.
“Kiora?”
“What?”
“You are going to have to touch me. We can’t train if you are avoiding me.”
Gritting her teeth, she marched back and grabbed his arm. Magic immediately flowed between them, much to her chagrin.
“There,” she said, her voice hitching. “Happy?”
Unabashed, he looked her directly in the eye. “Yes.”
Jerking her hand back, she stomped to the tent where Drustan was taking every last second he could to rest. He lay stretched out on his bedroll with his eyes closed.
As soon as Drustan heard Kiora enter, he picked up the conversation right where they had left off. “Not only are we leaving this morning, but, now I have to carry luggage too. Apparently we can’t summon things or everyone starts hunting down rebel camps. Clever, I suppose. Things go missing, you know a camp must be close enough to summon. Narrows down the search area. Although it’s a pain in the—”
“Can I ask you a question?” she blurted.
Drustan must have heard the seriousness in her voice because he sat up, looking again like the distinguished leader she had first met. She realized he hadn’t looked like that since they had met Lomay. “Of course. I am at your disposal, my lady.”
“When people of magical abilities kiss,” she blushed, clenching and unclenching her fists at her side, “is it true that magic only flows when both parties . . . when they feel the same?”
His eyebrows rose. “One can feel stronger than the other, but there must be feelings by both parties for the magic to do what you are describing.” She wrung her hands in front of her. “Why?” he asked.
Dropping to her bedroll, she buried her face in her hands. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I have to assume we are talking about you and the Tavean.”
“He has a name,” Kiora moaned, leaning back. “And I really don’t want to talk about it. It was an accident, I don’t know how it happened.”
“That’s exactly why we need to talk. Taveans aren’t like humans.”
She snorted. That was an understatement.
“There are no ‘accidents’ with Taveans. They don’t—” He ran both hands through his hair, growling “Taveans only bond with one person.” He looked at her. “Ever.”
Understanding began to tingle inside her. She wished it would stop, because her stomach was tying itself into knots. “What do you mean, bond?”
“The magic flowing between two people. It’s called bonding. Did he—” Drustan’s eyes searched hers. “Did you?”
Her stomach finished tying itself into knots, and the world began to swim around her. “He