“Egg?” Roarke asks, trying to snatch it back out of my hands.
What is with these guys and snatching!
“No, this is my project. You’re on bubble-popping duties, and I get to work out the weird glass ball thing that I think looks like an egg, and I’m pretty sure came out of Eydis’ chest.”
Rourke's eyes almost pop out of his head. All the pieces of a puzzle he didn’t even realize existed are falling in front of him. And he looks pretty desperate to solve it, too.
“Not currently important,” Killian says, tapping it before I manage to pull it out of his reach.
“Fine, but we’re done out here. Bring it inside with you,” Roarke says.
His hand trails across my back as he walks off, a sensation I mostly miss out on because I’m wearing two shirts. Then he’s outside my bubble, and I’m left with the distinct sensation of Killian. Leather and safety, an odd combination.
“I need a shower,” I say.
Killian chuffs.
“Like, a proper one. Not a rub down with a towel or a dunk in the cold stream. You have to stop doing that soon – winter will hit, and there’ll be snow on the ground, and I’m not built for swimming in frozen lakes.”
“Maybe I like seeing you cold,” he says, ambling back to the cottage.
“Maybe I don’t.”
“Maybe I don’t care what you like.”
“Don’t lie, you care.”
He just grunts, reaching back and tugging me out of his shadow and in close to his side.
“Maybe,” he says.
I take my books and detour past where Pax is strategizing. Four logs have been carried in from the forest to form a square of seating beside the cottage and the stream. Enough room for our impending guests and important meetings – because there’s little chance Pax will let them sit inside. He’s claimed that space for his pack, and aside from tasks involving serving us, there is no room for others, even allies.
I wave the book in the air, and Pax nods, following me inside and up into Eydis’ attic workspace. An attic which, I admit, is a mess.
“The Origin Spring is close. I found more of Eydis’ notes. She talks of building her cottage here to watch Kitten because she was frightened that bringing her through the border would eventually kill her. She didn’t know if Kitten would have a Seed or any kind of power or if just being here would drain her life.”
He reaches for the book, and I pull it out of reach.
“You don’t want to read her notes. It’s like a journal of Kitten’s life – none of us wants to read this.”
He clenches his fist, then slowly lowers his arm.
“I will read it,” Thane declares.
“But not now.” I put my foot down on the subject.
Thane backs down, but Pax presses on, “One of us needs to read it. The answers might be in there.”
I shake my head. “I looked at the last entry. It’s like Eydis just gives up on taking notes when Kitten turns sixteen.”
“So you flicked through it and discovered that the Spring is close and that Eydis was watching Beautiful, and that being in Silva might be killing her. All of that information, but you don’t think it’s worth reading the rest of the entries?”
Okay, so there is a lot of useful information in there. He’s right – but, “It doesn’t feel right,” I try to explain.
“Then get Beautiful in here and read it with her. I don’t care. Find me that Spring!” he shouts. Thundering down the stairs, he keeps shouting, “Shade!”
Moments later, I hear her arguing about needing a shower. I don’t move, just listen. Pax lets her have about a minute in the water on the next level down, and it’s barely five minutes from the water turning off ‘til Killian escorts her up the stairs.
All of which is rather amusing.
Killian stops at the top of the stairs, his eyes set on me with a vague question in them.
Do I need to stay?
I feel around the edges of my power, calm, settled, almost peaceful, then I shake my head. I’m in control.
“Check the sequoia tree again,” I say. “I’m sure the Spring is there; where there is one water source maybe there is another. And ask how Seth is going with his Sigil Seek Potion.”
Kitten glances between Killian and me, a confused crease on her otherwise calm brow. She looks young and innocent, but doesn’t get to ask her question before Killian has begun to vanish down the stairs.
“What tree?” she asks. “What potion?”
I wave in the vague direction of the enormous pine outside. “The big one, and Seth was looking to see if Eydis used some kind of sigil to help conceal things. She could have used a potion, that would make sense from a Potion Master, but there is no Potion Seek Potion that we can make.”
“Oh,” she says.
Her gray eyes do a quick flick around the room. The work stations are completely rearranged for either research or experiments, the floor covered in trip hazards, and the window seat now piled with half-read books.
“Right,” she says, drawing out the syllables and stepping over or around the piles, subconsciously running her fingers through her damp, vibrant blonde hair. The color catches the rays of light and makes the whole room seem lighter.
“Showered?” I ask her.
“Much better,” she says.
“With Killian?”
“No,” she snorts. “I showered with water, thank you. And soap. Found Eydis’ soap.”
“Where’s the egg?” I ask.
She pats her left pocket in answer.
“And your weapons?”
She pats her ankle, then pulls a karambit from her right pocket. It’s not a very popular weapon – small, just as easy to use as any other blade for a beginner, but with a lot more potential in the hands of someone who has skill.
The sheathed knife fits nicely back into her pocket as she asks, “Why so many questions?”
“Because you have a habit of leaving things lying around.”
She bends over, flopping all of her hair forwards and trying to struggle it
