They waited in silence, though Jaure stared at Eiren with an unreadable expression. The scuff of boots heralded their approach, and Skye twisted around to watch them enter. Cai’s protective hiss and Neal’s gaping mouth made Skye grin. To put them at ease, he stood up and stretched out his right arm. Neal looked down, hesitated, then clasped him in a warrior’s greeting. When the man released his arm, Skye dipped his head in silent acknowledgement of the paka.

“Sire,” Neal said, “you commanded our presence?”

Jaure replied, I did. We have a new development, and Eiren and Skye need your assistance. Take a seat.

Neal studied Eiren for a moment before turning a chair around and sitting. Cai paced the small room, his lips lifting to bare his teeth. Eiren’s tail whipped behind her, her steady gaze on the other paka. When Cai glanced at her, she raised a foreleg and unsheathed her claws, warning the other paka away from attacking her Ai.

Amused at the stalemate, Skye kept his face blank, afraid the slightest provocation would damage the tentative truce in the room. When neither paka retreated from their standoff, Skye reminded Eiren, “We don’t have time for this.”

Cai’s ears flattened against his head in distaste. Sire, neither Neal nor I will work alongside the Pyranni warrior. I do not trust him.

A loud feline hiss filled the room, and everyone froze. Jaure said in a low growl, You take orders from me, Cai. Take care, for your temper is no match against my own. Turning his back on his subordinate, he continued, There is no time to explain, so Skye and Eiren will fill you in after you leave.

Neal spoke up, “Where are we going?”

“To Gharra,” Skye said. “You are taking us to Gharra.”

Neal and Cai shared a long look. “And who else is going with us?” Neal asked.

Skye leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Clenching his jaw, he stared back at the two Kurites. “One other. We are attempting a rescue, not a battle. The fewer the people, the better.”

The woman’s Ai? Jaure asked.

“Yes. There will be no stopping him.”

Jaure warned, Neither Neal nor Cai can enter Gharra. The city is heavily patrolled.

Both Eiren and Skye shook their heads. “Don’t worry. I am the only one who will enter Gharra. Your spies will be safe in the tunnel. We ask for their help solely to guide us straight to the place where I was taken captive.”

Skye pointed at Neal and raised an eyebrow, silently asking him if he remembered the location.

Neal’s lips curled into a semblance of a smile, and Skye dropped his hand in relief. Eiren’s sigh mixed in with his own. Skye shifted his eyes to Jaure, reassuring him once again. “You’re right. We dare not give away the presence of Kurites within Gharra’s walls. The only one who will be in danger is me. Not even Eiren will join me in the search. My heritage will protect me while I look for our companion.”

“How long until we leave?” Neal asked.

Jaure answered, Now. This cannot wait. Packs are waiting outside the door for you as we speak. Eiren, if you would stay behind a moment.

Skye paused at the door, waiting for Eiren to make up her mind. He felt the resignation behind her assurance. Go, Skye. Check our packs, replenish our supplies. Chion waits for us even now.

Outside the small cave, Skye took a breath and focused his magic outward once again. Hobi walked over with a bulging pack. “This pack has everything in it you need.”

When the Kurite reached to take the worn one from his hand, Skye stopped him, “Wait.” Dropping to his knees, Skye rummaged through the sand-covered pack to the bottom. Feeling the soft material around the treasure within, he cupped the wrapped coil and pulled it out of the bag. Holding it to him like it was a newborn, he told Hobi, “Put the pack you have on the ground.”

After storing the coil out of sight and safe from harm, Skye tossed the new pack over his shoulder, loosening the ties to better fit his large frame. Giving the man a brief nod of thanks, he let his magic roam the hallway, filtering the information so that he knew where each man, woman, and paka stood.

When Eiren emerged, he processed how her muscles bunched and her ears lay semi-flat on her head. Before he could ask what happened, she instructed with a plea, Not here, not now. We must reach Chion. Have you asked them to take us to the village—to Avu?

“Not yet, I couldn’t remember the name of the village.” He dusted off the last bit of sand from her coat before strapping the paka pack onto her back. While he worked, Skye called out, “Neal, do you know the way to the village called Avu?”

“Avu,” he repeated with confusion. “I thought you needed a guide to Gharra?”

Running his fingers inside the straps, testing that they weren’t too tight, Skye shrugged, not looking up from his task. Once he was satisfied, he bounced up to his full height. “We must first collect our companion. He is the one I mentioned earlier. He waits for us in Avu. Do you know the way?”

Without the benefit of light, Skye wasn’t certain, but he thought the Ai’s features changed into a frown. “Of course, but Cai and I will need more details if we’re to assist you.”

Cai’s golden eyes moved to stand next to his bondmate. The paka’s distrust and disapproval of their assigned task gave weight to the air. Both Neal and Cai remembered him as a Pyranni warrior. They had no notion of what he’d survived and overcome in the last few months.

Impatient with it all, Skye glared at the paka and said, “Cai, I understand your cynicism. I respect your concern regarding your Ai. We didn’t part on the best of terms. Eiren, Chion, and I will explain what has happened once Chion joins us. I consider you both allies, not enemies. I swear on the life of Eiren—my bondmate—that rescuing our companion from the Malirrans is vital to Kureto’s continued safety. So, I warn you, do not interfere. If you do, it won’t matter that you are a Kurite. I won’t let anything or anyone impede our journey.”

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Movement and chatter up and down the hallway ceased as everyone overheard his threat. In the next instance, peace descended, starting as an incremental, barely discernable feeling that soon encompassed the entire hallway. Remembering Eiren’s words about Neal’s Tal’Ai power from the first time he’d ever spoken to her, he turned toward Neal. He bowed his head in recognition of Neal’s effort to stop the coming skirmish.

Eiren said as a gentle reminder, Avu?

Leaning over to pat the top of her head, he repeated their request, “Will you guide us to Avu?” Once Skye realized the other Tal’Ai silently argued through their bond, he trailed after Eiren down the hallway. The other two had no choice but to follow.

Walking through the city, it took all his energy to minimize the information threatening to override his brain. Tryvor and Audren were right to worry. Skye lacked the experience necessary to use his magic as a gift instead of a curse. The longer he used the second sight, the higher the likelihood he’d feel the pain. He just hoped they reached Gharra before it hit.

“You tricked us,” Neal accused.

Skye raised his eyebrows, taken aback. “What do you mean?” Eiren’s growl rolled through their bond. He held up his hand to stop her from doing anything she’d regret.

The man waved his hand around the U-shaped cavern. “When we found you in the tunnel, you could have escaped, but you didn’t. Why didn’t you?”

He hid his bewilderment behind a dark frown. Neal knew why he didn’t. The only time Skye had attempted an escape occurred when they stopped in the Gais Desert.

My Lord, they think you tricked them with your blind act.

Ah, the accusation made sense now. He uncurled his hands, hooking a thumb on the belt around his waist. Despite everything he’d done to help the Kurites, suspicion swayed many from believing his new status.

“It was no trick. I couldn’t see. It is why I waited to attack you and Nyah in the desert. Without the magic of the Tal’Ai, I couldn’t walk without help.”

Cai admitted, We heard the rumors, but having already met you, we dismissed them. You and Eiren are now one of us—the Tal’Ai?

Eiren nodded for them both, and Skye said in a dry tone, “Much has occurred since you handed me over for interrogation. My journey, the things I have seen, has changed me from the man I was to the person you now walk beside. Eiren and I are Tal’Ai, but our destiny doesn’t stop there. Neither of you trust me, and I can almost feel Cai’s reluctance for the task given to him. And yet, I would die before I betrayed Kureto to the Malirran invaders.”

How about Kureto to Pyran? the paka asked.

Skye’s sharp laughter echoed back to them along the length of the hallway. “When I bonded with Eiren by accident, I lost Pyran, my family, and my friends.” The smile dropped from his face like it never existed. “Eiren claims Kureto as home, so it is now mine as well.” Skye shrugged. “As I am bonded with Eiren, how could I not protect Kureto from every conceivable enemy?”

Turning the conversation back to less turbulent topics, Neal asked, “How does your magic work? I’ve never heard of the ability to see as a Tal’Ai gift.”

Coming to an intersection, they turned left, leaving Luthis behind. Skye internally sighed with relief as the influx abated.

He figured his willingness to share personal information would alleviate at least some of their suspicion. Another Kurite could have taken the three of them to Gharra, but Skye respected Neal and Nyah. While he was under their control, they’d treated him well. He knew the majority of Kurites wouldn’t have expended the time or energy to do the same. He wouldn’t have if the situation were reversed. If he gained their trust, Skye felt confident they’d do everything in their power to help them when the rescue went down.

“It isn’t a second pair of eyes. My magic does not provide me with the same sight as my regular vision. I can’t read facial expression, but I pick up on every physical object around me. I don’t have to face a direction to know what is taking place. Difficult to explain, but every piece of information hits me at the same time, which requires me to sift through the facts. The more people there are around me, the longer it takes for me to process.”

When no further questions came, Skye turned to Eiren. What happened between you and Jaure?

Her bitterness lashed through their link, and he steadied himself by sinking his weight into his legs and ankles. Leaving the question for later, he asked another. Why did you never tell me? You know the Council of Nine. We could have asked for someone else by name with the knowledge you hold, so why him?

Suppressed rage flashed through her eyes when he looked down at her, yet he waited her out. She had left Luthis without a backward glance, hurtling herself into an uncertain future with him, trusting in the God and Goddess to keep her safe. Despite discussing her return before reaching the city, her past had caught her unaware.

Skye should have known. He should have known how formidable confronting the past could be, how weary the soul could become. In a few days, his own past would rise up before him, ready to tear him asunder if he let it.

A long sigh escaped her before she answered, I knew word would travel to Jaure about some of our exploits. He runs the spy network. If he didn’t receive news of my entry into the Tal’Ai ranks, then he doesn’t deserve his position. She paused for a moment before sighing again. My Lord, you sought one of the spies under his command. Knowing time is of the essence, I refused to allow my repugnance at facing blood kin to delay our journey. I told myself that the Pack has no hold over me. I fooled myself by believing that having a new family—one where I am both loved and needed—would stop the old feelings of insignificance I had internalized before meeting you. I was wrong.

You handled the encounter with dignity. I just wish you would have told me.

He heard her wince, though he’d said it without censure. My fault, My Lord. When his office door opened, I immediately realized my pride was at fault.

They fell silent for a few minutes before Skye added, Will you ever accept his apology?

I don’t know. For my own sake, I should forgive them. But then I remember the abject loneliness. You truly don’t understand what meeting you did to me, for me. You found me. In a single moment, you saved me. My mind was spiraling into madness. Can you imagine? I was a ghost living inside a city of hundreds of people. My own Pack rejected me, forcing me to live on the outskirts, always looking in. Wishing, hoping someone would hear my screams.

Skye jerked to a stop. The way she spoke and the words she used suddenly made sense. With dawning horror, he whispered, The third ritual. The third ritual forced you to revisit an incident with your family.

When her eyes met his, her sorrow said it all. The day her family, her Pack, tossed her out was her worst memory. Reliving it must have been agony. Skye had relived the moment of his banishment. Although a fresh wound, he was an adult when it happened, and Eiren’s steady presence helped him through the worst of it. Somehow, he knew she’d been young when the life-changing event occurred, possibly even a kit. He could now envision what happened with such clarity. Skye had a sudden desire to return to Luthis and kill them all.

Knowing how protective Pakas were with their young, they had damned her twice. Once, by physically removing her from the safety of the den; twice, by spreading word of her undesirability. No one wanted responsibility for raising a kit denied by her own Pack. They had cursed her to a half-life, but she had taken it and molded it to her will. Where others would have cursed the God and Goddess for her fate, her faith in them strengthened her, allowing her to survive.

Awe of his bondmate had him leaping toward her and taking her feline head in his hands. Ignoring the other Tal’Ai’s presence and their sharp queries, Skye held her until he stopped his uncharacteristic shaking. Nothing mattered in that moment except Eiren.

My Lord?

He whispered in her ear, “Never again. You will never again return to Luthis without me. I vow it. They don’t deserve your forgiveness. If I ever meet a paka from your Pack, I might kill them for their transgression. Do you understand me? They aren’t your family, they never were. You are stronger than even I imagined, and I am humbled to be your bondmate.”

Her whiskers tickled his neck when she tucked her head into his shoulder. You truly believe that, My Lord?

“Yes.” The decisiveness behind the single word was enough. The sadness hanging over her dissipated, and she lifted her head with a carefree laugh.