fade away as the chatar was implying. He hadn’t simply avoided finding a mate. He’d gone so far as to look for women to bond with so that he wouldn’t chance finding her.
“I think you’re wrong about how he’ll handle it, but arguing about it won’t get us anywhere. We’ll have to wait and see.” She shifted restlessly in her seat. She didn’t want to be trapped here in a room. All right, so it didn’t help that the chatar had an annoying habit of asking questions she didn’t want to answer. She still wanted to be moving, preferably outside, but that wasn’t an option.
“We’ll see. I’m not saying that he won’t have a few problems. You will fight, but it’s not going to be a huge stumbling block as you expect. Colm isn’t going to let it stand in his way long. He’s not the type of man who’ll allow it to hold him back from what he really wants.” The chatar took a book from the top of one of the piles near him and pushed it across to her. “If you want to read about your ancestors and the glowing in your eyes, it’s all in here. I have a thin piece of string marking where it begins.”
She bit her lip. Her fingers almost itched to pick up that book and open it. She wanted to know everything, especially since she’d known nothing up until this point, but she didn’t want to sit and read now.
“Could you keep that separate for me? I’ll be back for it. I want to explore a little.” She stood and smoothed her hands down her pants. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the chatar. “If they come here looking for me, tell them I’m just walking around their home. I’m not going outside. I know that they don’t want me to go out alone, but I do want to see more of this place, even if it is simply the inside.”
“They’ll look for you.” He smiled and put the book to the side. “This will be waiting for you when you’re ready to read it.”
She nodded. “Thank you, chatar.”
“You can call me Vin.” He laughed. “I don’t stand on formality.”
“You’re a real chatar. I think that should merit some respect.” She shook her head. She didn’t know if he realized just how many people faked the abilities he used so easily.
“Respect doesn’t mean you can’t relax around me and call me by my name.” His smile widened. “I’ll convince you eventually.”
She didn’t know why it was important to him. Surely most people called him by his title. “Maybe. I’ll be back for the book.”
“It will be waiting here for you.”
She nodded and left the room. At first, she simply walked down the hall. She had a lot on her mind. It wasn’t so much what she’d learned from the chatar. Even learning that she was probably descended from a powerful line of Santir magic didn’t hold her attention long. No, what had happened with Colm was still at the forefront of her thoughts. She didn’t know what she was going to do.
The sex had been great. She couldn’t deny that. Going back to the way things were before was impossible. He wouldn’t forget what had happened or what he’d felt. She had to decide how she was going to handle their pursuit.
It would happen. They’d circled around her, trying to find a way to get her to reveal any of her secrets since they’d met her. Now she had. The predators in both men would take that slip and grab for more. They weren’t about to let her step back and act as if nothing had happened. She didn’t know if she could simply shut her eyes and pretend, even if Colm would keep what had happened secret. Things had changed.
Chapter Fourteen
Cami headed up the stairs. She knew there was a third level to this place and she wanted to see it. At the end of the hall on the second floor, she found the steps leading to the third floor and grabbed a lamp as she climbed the stone staircase. There was no light up here other than the flickering glow of her lantern. She explored. More because she needed something to occupy her thoughts right now than from sheer curiosity. If she didn’t do something, her mind would be running in more directions than it already was.
Dust coated the floor and covered the top of the sconces along