kissed me,” she said weakly, “and I . . . I kissed him back.”
Drustan let out a long slow breath. “And your magic flowed? Both of you, together?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
Nodding emphatically, she dropped her head back into her hands, closing her eyes. “I am so confused,” she moaned.
Drustan was quiet for a long time. She was scared to look at him, sure she would see disgust in his eyes. She had betrayed Emane, and she couldn’t even deny she had feelings for Alcander. The magic didn’t lie.
“Sometimes,” Drustan finally dragged out, “when you spend a lot of time with someone, the love grows so slowly, so unexpectedly, that by the time you realize it—it’s too late.”
She nervously peeked at him through her fingers. He was reminiscing, staring at nothing but seeing everything. “You sound like you understand,” she ventured.
A smile flitted across his face. “A long time ago I was betrothed to a beautiful Shifter. She was everything I ever wanted. I loved her.
“At the time, we were in the middle of a war and I was commander over the army. One of my head lieutenants was named Lamia. She was pretty, and strong too. We spent a lot of time together: fighting, training, planning.” He blinked at Kiora. “One day I realized I loved her. I was torn for weeks, confused and guilty.”
Kiora bit the side of her lip. “What did you do?”
“I called off my betrothal to pursue Lamia instead.” Drustan shook his head. “I think Lamia was as surprised as I was, but the feelings were mutual. She was the strongest, most amazing woman I had ever met. She made me very happy.”
“What happened to her?”
Drustan sighed heavily. “You remember I told you I worked closely with Dralazar?”
She sat straight up. She knew Drustan had been holding back earlier, when he had first spoken of what Dralazar had done to permanently turn Drustan against him.
“Lamia and I both did. She had started to see Dralazar for what he was, and had started to waver in her allegiance.” He shook his head. “I could tell her thread had changed, but I thought it was so slight, so minimal. I thought the only reason I had noticed it was the bonding between her and I. Dralazar summoned Lamia one day without me, which was odd. We always went together.
“I immediately wondered if I was wrong, if perhaps Dralazar had noticed her thread. I told her my concerns, but she insisted I let her go alone. I accompanied her as far as she would allow me to, and then I left. But the nagging feeling that something was wrong was too much to ignore. So I returned, bubbling when I got close to Dralazar’s lair.
“I found them inside, leaning over maps, discussing battle plans. After a few minutes of listening, I thought my worries were for naught. I was preparing to go, as my bubble was running out. Dralazar waited until Lamia turned to leave, made sure she was completely at ease. And then—” Drustan stopped, his mouth opening and closing several times before he finally formed the words. “He pulled out a dagger and plunged it through her back.”
Kiora gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
“She died almost immediately. Her thread extinguished before I could take two steps.” Drustan closed his eyes, taking a long jerky breath before exhaling. “I could have fought him right there. But I would have lost. My bubble had already used almost everything I had, so I left. I pulled our forces back from the fight, just like I told you and Emane. Dralazar told me that Lamia had led a force into battle after their meeting and had been killed. I decided I didn’t care how long it took, or what I had to do, as long as I could get revenge.”
Kiora had known Dralazar was evil in Meros, but the truth was—she’d had no idea. Orrin’s mother, Drustan’s wife. Tortured, killed without remorse. And now Emane. Dralazar had to be stopped. “Drustan,” Kiora whispered. “I am so sorry.”
He shrugged, smiling weakly. “I would appreciate you not sharing that little bit of information with Alcander. He would look at it as a reason to replace this with a real one.” He held up his bracelet.
She shook her head, looking at the bracelet with distaste before sitting straight up. “How can I have feelings for someone who thinks that is okay?”
“Kiora,” Drustan said gently. “As much as I dislike him at times,” he paused,