tells me to run for my life, and the next he has it “handled.” Kira rolled her eyes and veered away from Ryon. Men.
An angular structure appeared through the trees, tall and wide and gleaming with reflected sunlight. Kira hurried forward as the forest surrendered to a large open clearing.
A pyramid made of glass ascended into the sky on silver struts. At its peak, a statue of a woman held a bowl full of fire.
Inside, the glass was stuffed with enough greenery to make the surrounding forest look pale. Trees and vines Kira had never seen before pressed against the panes as if trying to escape, like a jungle trapped in a giant museum exhibit.
Kira had never seen glass forged so it was transparent. Nor had she seen glass designed with such perfectly arranged holes in it, like the dozens near the top that she’d seen depicted in tribal scrolls for airflow and cooling. How did they build this thing?
“Home sweet home.” Waelyn swung his arm out in a grand gesture. “What’s the matter? You’ve never seen a triangle before?”
Kira closed her gaping mouth. “It’s beautiful.”
Sylendrin sniffed. “You should see the ones back home.”
“How far is this from Jadenvive?” Ryon asked.
“You should calm down if you want that wound to heal, buck,” Waelyn said. “Let’s get you two inside and fire up some dinner.”
Stepping into the wide pyramid opening, the humid air made Kira feel like she needed gills to breathe—and her hair would be hopeless within seconds. Trees bore fruit in all manner of shapes, sizes, and colors, as did the thick vines crawling up several of them.
If we had a greenhouse like this back at the ranch, we’d never be hungry again. Kira recognized lemon balm, sage, and mint. She ran her hand through a rosemary plant as she passed, bringing her fingers to her nose to relish the familiar, strong sent. What’s a place like this doing in the middle of the d’hakka territory?
“I’m about to start making dinner, everybody!” Waelyn yelled. “We’ve got some guests!”
“You sent them out this morning, remember?” Sylendrin grumbled.
“Oh, yes! Old noggin’s not what it used to be.” Waelyn knocked on the side of his head. “It’ll just be us for dinner then. Sylendrin, why don’t you go show them to one of the empty rooms while I start cookin’?”
Kira glanced at Ryon. He was wide-eyed as a barn owl. She followed his gaze to a clearing of flowers topped with red puff balls that covered a third of the pyramid’s growing space. She wanted to smack him for seeming rude to their rescuers.
“Thank you so much,” Kira told Waelyn. “If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
Waelyn nodded his gray head. “You just make yourself at home. You’re welcome to stay here as long as it takes to recover.” He turned and hobbled down a path through the herbs.
“This way.” Sylendrin led them around a frothy brook and pond filled with lily pads.
So they built this place on top of a spring, Kira mused. Suddenly she wasn’t in such a hurry to get home.
“One room is over here,” Sylendrin said as he jogged down a flight of stairs that descended into the earth, “and the other is across the hall.”
Kira couldn’t believe how cool and pleasant the air became as their feet met smooth stone. The hall and all its doors were made from metal with a wavelike pattern, as if molten metal had been poured into place instead of forged.
She cautiously chose a door and stepped inside. A wide bed lay in the center, crowned with a long, thin window that ran between eye-level and the ceiling. It revealed an ant’s perspective of the dull grass outside, which contrasted with a scarlet rug underfoot. A desk and bench sat in the corner, and a dark armoire stood next to an open door that appeared to lead to an indoor bathhouse.
Kira blinked as if that would make the luxurious space more believable. This is just an extra room?
“We don’t need two rooms,” Ryon said as he walked in behind her. “We’re married.”
Kira’s heart hiccupped. “No we’re—”
Ryon pulled her close, kissed her, and shut the door behind them.
20
RYON
Ryon kissed Kira harder, trying to drown out her protest, as he listened for receding footsteps behind the closed door. She pounded her fists against his chest, and when that didn’t work, her fingernails dove for his wound.
Ryon broke the kiss and slipped a hand over her lips to smother her cry of