“How do we locate them?”
“I do not know.”
She gives me a hesitant look. “There’s something I remembered… when we touched earlier.”
“What was it?”
Chapter 14
Kyra
He stares up at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer, but I’m nervous about telling him. What I remembered felt so intimate. I must take too long to answer because he begins instead.
“We were very close in our other life. We knew each other before you became queen and before I became your guard.”
I release the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, relieved he already knew what I was going to say.
“I remember that too,” I whisper. What I do not tell him is that I believe we may have been lovers. I cannot be certain though because my memories are not whole. I only see bits and fragments of images and emotions, but there is no mistaking the pull I feel toward Cael.
It is not one to someone who is simply a friend. It feels like so much more. If he remembers this, he has said nothing… but, then again, neither have I.
He lifts his gaze to me, his eyes full of sadness. “I also believe that my relationship with you had something to do with your death, but I do not understand what. I only know that I felt like I had failed you.”
I still. “How do you know this?”
He places a hand to his chest. “I feel it here. And… Talina suggested as much when I talked to her.”
“What did she say?” I ask, curious to understand.
Cael clenches his jaw as he looks down at the floor. “She spoke in riddles. Just like her mother and Lynx and Astra. She said there were things we needed to discover for ourselves.”
“There has to be a good reason why Lynx never told you anything all these years.” I pause and then lift my gaze to his. “When did you realize we had a connection?”
“To be completely honest with you, Kyra, when you first walked into the café the other day, I already recognized you somehow.” He sighs. “I can’t explain it. I just felt a… a pull to you. Then when we touched, images of my recurring dream flashed in my mind, and I… I knew it was you.”
“I felt the same… I was drawn to you,” I admit. “I mean, you look just like the man in my dream, but when we touched it was as if I knew for certain you were him. And I felt the connection then, but I… did not completely understand it.” I pause, trying to think of the best way to explain, finally settling on, “Like a familiarity, a trust I shouldn’t have so quickly with someone I just met. But… with you, I already do.”
“I feel the same way.” He gently tucks a stray tendril of hair behind my ear as his teal eyes stare deep into mine. “Whatever happens, I promise you… we’ll figure this out together, Kyra.”
“Do you think Astra and Lynx are all right?” The question has weighed heavily on my mind since we got here. They sent us through the mirror to save us, and I hope and pray they’re all right. “I thought they would have found us by now if they were.”
Cael grins. “If anyone knows how to take care of himself, it’s Lynx. He’s a sly one, that fox. I’m sure he and Astra are okay.”
“How did you two meet?”
Cael lies on his back and places his hands behind his head as a smile tugs at his lips.
“I was walking home, and it was dark. I decided to cut through the city park to save some time, and this fox just runs out in front of me from out of nowhere and stops right in my path. He stared up at me as though he was waiting for something.”
“What did you do?”
He shrugs. “I thought he was a cute little guy and figured he was hungry or lost. I had some crackers in my pocket and offered them to him. He sniffed my hand, then arched his little fox brow, and told me: ‘That’s the best you can do?’”
“Oh, my gosh.” I laugh. “What did you do?”
He shakes his head. “Well, naturally, I thought I was crazy at first. I was so convinced I’d lost it, I called Aris.”
“Why Aris?”
“He’s like a brother to me. I trust him with my life, and…” He grins. “Apparently, I trust him with my mental health as well.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me about Fin, his… familiar.”
My brows go up in surprise. “So, he already had Fin before you had Lynx?”
“No, he found Fin the same night I found Lynx.”
My mouth drifts open. “That’s incredible.”
“We thought so too. I mean, it was already strange enough we shared the same nightmare, but even more odd, we’d each get a familiar on the same night.”
I think of Astra. “I wonder why I just found mine.”
“I don’t know,” he says. “But there’s one thing I do know.”
“What’s that?”
“Lynx, Astra, and Fin have a lot of explaining to do when we see them again. It seems they kept a lot of things to themselves.”
“Well, according to Talina there’s a reason they did that.”
“But why? Wouldn’t it be easier just to tell us?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
With a heavy sigh, he lies back on his bed and stares up at the ceiling. “Even though I’m a bit irritated at Lynx for all the secrecy, I can’t stay mad. It’s strange to be without him; I miss him. I mean… he’s become such a huge part of my life,”—his gaze darts to the foot of his bed—“I’m so used to Lynx being around all the time, you know? He’s like family, like Aris and Fin.”
I swallow against the sudden lump in my throat and lower my gaze. His words stir dark memories I’d rather not face tonight. His warm hand cups my chin, lifting my
