Canto so much. He’s had company.” The way the bear drew out the last word made it clear the company had been female.
“Family?”
“No. I know the Mercant scent—you all share a thread. This is new.” A deep breath. “Different. Layers to it. None of them are Mercant layers.”
Which meant whatever the relationship, it wasn’t one that involved physical intimacy. “Tell me if he wakes,” she said before hanging up.
Silver would talk to Canto directly about this, warn him about the predator with whom he was tangling.
But when she mentioned her decision to Arwen later in the day, after he dropped by Denhome, her brother threw back his head and laughed so hard that he fell back on her and Valentin’s bed. He’d followed her into the bedroom when she went inside to take off her jewelry.
“What is so amusing?” she asked in her iciest tone.
It had zero effect on her empath brother—he knew she loved him down to the bone. “You. Mated. A. Bear.”
“You’re currently playing with one,” she pointed out.
“I’m not the one thinking of poking my nose into Canto’s business.” Sitting up on the bed, his fashionably cut black hair tousled but the pale blue of his shirt still crisp against the dove gray of his suit jacket, Arwen raised an eyebrow. His eyes were the same silver as hers, but uptilted sharply at the corners, his bones striking. “Do you really think Canto can’t handle himself against Payal Rao if something is going on?”
“He has no experience dealing with people like her. Not when it comes to a personal relationship.”
“Bear.” Arwen pointed. “Alpha bear.”
Silver gave him a quelling look, but she got the point. She’d keep from interfering. But she’d also do some research on Payal Rao that wasn’t about the business or the work, but about who she was as a person. Because while Canto might be grumpy and nonsociable, he was family. He was also one of the rocks on which she stood—one of the quiet foundations of Mercant power.
Silver would cut Payal Rao to pieces before she allowed her to harm Canto.
“What if she’s Canto’s person?”
Silver stared at her brother. “Payal Rao?”
“Bear.”
“Be quiet. I’m your elder.”
“By ten minutes.” Laughing, he came over to hug her from the back, her brother with his snobby taste in clothes and a heart huge enough to contain the world. “But what if, Silver?”
Putting aside her need to protect, Silver made herself consider the question. “I want Canto to have what I have,” she said at last. “He has such aloneness inside him. If Payal can reach him in a way I don’t think even Grandmother has … then I’ll back her all the way.”
“And they call me the empath.” Arwen squeezed her tight. “I want that for him, too. He’s one of the best people I know—his heart, Silver, it’s a thing of courage and loyalty and stubborn will.”
“Payal Rao took over five corporations last week in a bloodless coup.”
“Alpha bear who can break you in half with his hands.”
Silver took off her bracelet. “I’m still going to spy on her.” Just in case.
“It’s the Mercant way.”
Chapter 26
A well-read bear is a dangerous creature.
—Unknown bear philosopher
PAYAL WAS GOOD at putting things in boxes, at shutting off parts of herself so the others could function. But though she crashed that night, a single need pulsed continuously at the back of her mind when she woke the next day. She kept on wanting to reach out to Canto even knowing he wouldn’t hear her.
She was all too aware it was dangerous to be so distracted, especially when she was summoned to a meeting with her father. Lalit was already in the room, as smooth and polished as ever. Neither one of them spoke as they waited for Pranath’s attention.
“Payal,” Lalit said when their father continued to ignore them, “you’re hiding out a lot in your room lately. Being overwhelmed, are you?”
Before Payal could point out that they were here to discuss a major deal she’d negotiated, Pranath lifted his head from the organizer on which he was working. “This is work, Lalit. If you wish to play games, do so on your own time.”
Lalit took a step forward, his hands in his suit pockets. A shove of telekinetic power pushed him back past Payal. That was … unexpected. Their father was a Tk, but not at the level evidenced by the strength of that shove. Which meant he had guards who were watching the goings-on in this room.
Watching, not listening.
Pranath