“I have always had a problem with that particular part. I had hoped the crazy old man got the prophecy wrong.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said bitterly. “Is there anyone you don’t have a problem with, Alcander?”
His eyebrows pulled together momentarily before relaxing. “Why do you ask?”
“Since I have met you, you have hated Emane and disliked Drustan. You’re obviously not fond of Lomay either. And where I am concerned—” She bit her lip. “I don’t think you have figured that out yet.”
Alcander looked forward with a blank look, too blank. It made Kiora question what he was hiding.
“Perceptive too,” Alcander stated, mildly amused.
“Well?” Kiora said. “Is there anyone you actually like?”
He shrugged. “Lomay is eccentric. You met him.”
“I have never met anyone like him.” Kiora smiled despite herself.
“Nor will you.” Alcander stood and gave her a stiff bow. “My lady.” The bow looked more awkward than the first one had.
Kiora sighed. Clearly she wasn’t going to get an answer. “Please, no bowing.”
“It is a sign of respect.”
“No, it is a sign of submissiveness. I don’t need anyone to feel less than.” Kiora picked at the step she was sitting on, freeing a small sliver of wood before tossing it to the ground. “They do not need to bow to me.”
Alcander looked at her with a truly puzzled face. Then he abruptly turned and left.
“Goodbye,” Kiora muttered as he walked away.
CHAPTER SIX
Slaves
KIORA AND EMANE HAD dressed and were preparing to leave for dinner when Kiora felt Lomay’s thread at the front door. There was a knock and Emane opened it.
“Hello, Emane. I apologize, but I need the pair of you right now.” Lomay turned and hobbled as quickly as he could without looking back.
Kiora glanced at Emane before running out the door. Emane followed, close on her heels.
“Lomay!” Kiora called, catching up to him. “What is the matter?”
“Nothing is the matter with me, dear, but we have a problem with Drustan.”
“Drustan?” A lump immediately formed in Kiora’s throat. “What happened?”
“He wandered somewhere he shouldn’t have.” Lomay shook his head. “I should have spoken with you all about it earlier, but I thought it better if I waited until after you were settled. It seems you still make mistakes when you are as old as I am,” he said, as if genuinely surprised by that fact.
Kiora glanced over at Emane who shrugged his shoulders. They hurried across the canyon floor. For a minute Kiora thought Lomay was leading them back up to the rope bridge. But they veered left, heading towards an opening to what looked like a separate cave cut into the side. The entrance was perfectly ached, the rock smooth. They were nearly there when Kiora felt Drustan’s thread rapidly approaching them. A moment later he came flying out of the cave as a sparrow.
“Drustan, stop,” Lomay commanded.
Kiora could feel the threads of the other Shifters gathering around the door, but she could not see them through the shadows. Drustan the sparrow did not stop, but flew higher, heading towards the opening at the top of the canyon they had entered through. Lomay reached out his hand, magic rolling forward. It was not something Kiora had seen before. This magic undulated through the air, connecting with Drustan and sending him plummeting back to the earth.
Kiora ran over to him as he morphed back into a man.
Drustan’s eyes flashed murderously. “I thought Alcander was trying to goad me. But it’s true. They are slaves, all of them.”
Kiora’s gaze flitted to the cave opening. “The Shifters?”
Drustan’s voice rose, pointing over her shoulder to Lomay who stood silently next to Emane. “The Shifters warned me to leave. They said Lomay would give me only two options: slavery or death.”
Kiora turned around slowly, her eyes meeting the old man’s. “Lomay? Is it true? You have enslaved the Shifters?”
“Yes,” he answered calmly, as if he had done nothing wrong.
The noise Drustan made was more of a snarl than an objection.
“How could you do that?” Kiora asked in shock. “You took their freedom.” Her comment earned a faint murmur of approval from the shadows.
Lomay glanced in the direction of the Shifter’s cave, his head turning curiously to the side and his mind clearly wandering elsewhere before looking back at Kiora. “My dear, you judge things you do not understand. Desperate times.”
“Desperate times!” Drustan pushed up to his feet.
“Please,” Lomay said pleasantly. “Join us for dinner. Drustan, I assure you, you will be safe enough. After dinner I will explain everything.”