Chapter Forty-Four

Interrogations and Intrusive Thoughts

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For all their utility, there were drawbacks to soul bonds. For one, there was a distinct lack of privacy for both parties when it came to most everything. Thoughts themselves were not exempt, nor were emotions. So when Tanuzet eyed Rhydian in that all-too-knowing way of hers upon his return, he wasn’t entirely surprised.

Someone is looking decidedly pleased with themselves, she said.

He smiled to himself as he tossed the towel he’d been using to dry his hair back over his shoulder.

“I no longer smell like blood and sweat and skies know what else. I’d say that’s worthy of some celebration, wouldn’t you?”

If I recall, you went off with the intention of mending relations and resolving tension, not indulging in luxury baths.

“To be fair, I accomplished all three,” he said.

And a fair bit more, it would seem, she said, craning her neck as she preened her wings.

“I’m afraid I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”

Oh come, do not play coy with me.

He hid a smirk as he ducked into his tent for a fresh shirt.

“Me? Coy? I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, reemerging in time to catch the aggrieved roll of her eyes.

Spare the curious mind and share the details, would you? The poor girl returned flush-faced and mute. What did you do?

Some small, selfish part of him was glad Inerys had retained that peculiar form of blush through her transformation. The color of it may have changed, but the effect was still the same. Still unique. As were the strange spots– the freckles, she had called them– that persisted, dusting the silvery complexion of her nose and cheeks with hints of dark grey.

The thought of them made his heart flutter in a way he’d willfully overlooked of late. Funny, how resolving tensions could bring so much into focus. He wondered, briefly, if their subtle attraction had been as obvious from the outside as she and Ephaxus’ growing bond had been.

He leaned into the wyvern’s wing, trying and failing to quell a giddy sort of smile.

“She kissed me, Tanuzet.”

Kissed, she said, drawing out the word as if it were foreign to her before her eyes suddenly widened, Oh. I see. Was it an accident?

He chuckled with a shake of his head, “Believe it or not, it was deliberate.”

“What was deliberate?” Ayduin asked, materializing on his flank.

Rhydian nearly jumped out of his skin.

Skies, where had she come from?

Inerys kissed Rhydian, the wyvern said helpfully.

The woman’s jaw went slack.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“No, she– I mean, we . . .” He sighed, knowing he’d already lost this particular battle, “We sort of kissed. In the forest. Against a tree.”

Ah, that would explain why I sensed–

“Tanuzet, please.”

Ayduin held up a finger as she glanced between the two.

“Wait, what exactly happened? Did you kiss kiss or did the two of you trip and knock heads or something?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “The former, Ayduin. That’s what deliberate means. Or it used to, at least.”

“Just want to make sure I have it all straight,” she said, then leaned in, “You sure you didn’t hit your head?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” he drawled.

He half expected her to perform her own inspection. Or smack him upside the head herself for good measure. Instead, she took a half step back and crossed her arms.

“Right. So what led up to this, exactly?”

Tanuzet dropped her head down beside them and rumbled her own curiosity.

This was beginning to feel an awful lot like an interrogation, one both women were far too eager to explore.

“Inerys and I were talking and one thing simply led to another.”

“Men,” she groaned, “You’d think details were not quite such a foreign concept to them.”

They are rather dense, Tanuzet agreed.

“And women are inherently nosey,” he said.

Ayduin shrugged, “We enjoy intrigue.”

“I think you mean drama, but fine. Our discussion grew more personal than I expected. One moment, she was opening up to me, the next she was kissing me and thanking me for saving her life,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “It wasn’t anything serious at first. She apologized and I . . . kissed her back.”

“I’m assuming that’s when the tree came into play?”

“Around that time,” he admitted.

“So it was mutual?”

“Surprising as that may sound, yes.”

Tanuzet and Ayduin exchanged looks.

“Huh. You’re more daring than I am, I’ll give you that,” she said, “I’m surprised that pretty face of yours survived the encounter.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“There weren’t any teeth involved, if that’s what you’re suggesting,” he muttered, immediately regretting the opening he’d left for her.

“Mmm, but maybe a bit of tongue?” She crooned, waggling her brows.

Tanuzet barked a laugh that had the other wyverns glancing up and around in alarm, including Ephaxus.

“You two are insufferable.”

“Oh please. I’ve more than earned the right to give you a little shit every now and again.”

“Who knows, maybe I’ll choose Cydan to be my secondrider, going forward?”

“Funny,” she sang, “Now tell me, did the tree survive the encounter?”

He patted her shoulder as he passed her, “I’m afraid we won’t be getting any new sitting logs.”

“What a shame,” she sighed, falling into step beside him, “In all seriousness, though, how did everything go?”

“Better than I thought they would. We’re all on the same page now, so things should go a bit more smoothly. She’s more anxious for what the future holds than anything.”

“Aren’t we all? At least everything’s out in the open now.”

“There’s something to be said for honesty, unpleasant as the fallout can be,” he agreed, “What do you make of the blood memories?”

“Honestly? They worry me. I don’t like the idea of someone taking a nibble and learning all my secrets. Or any of ours, for that matter.”

She wasn’t the only one.

“It’s definitely disconcerting, but I don’t think she’s eager to capitalize on the ability.”

“Neither do I,” she admitted, “She was reluctant to explore it in the first place.”

“She was?”

Ayduin nodded, “It took a bit of coaxing. She’s put up with me so far, so we’ve made decent progress. She can’t really control what she sees, but she can recall some specifics if she meditates.”

When he’d found her floundering in her tent, it seemed she’d had access to a fair number of his memories. Most were recent, from what he could tell, but he wondered if she could look back further into one’s past with the right training. Could she discern motivations? Intentions? A thought suddenly struck him, though it turned his gut more than it excited him.

“Have you tested her with your own blood or with what you’ve gathered from hunts?” He asked, though he already knew the answer.

Her brow knit.

“We’ve only done so with animal blood, why?”

He pursed his lips, “I’m wondering if we can teach her how to seek out specific memories by asking the right questions.”

“And why would we want to do that?”

She was going to hate this, but he pursued the thought anyway.

“How much do you think we’ll actually learn from the Wardeness when we arrive?”

She paused and shifted her weight from one foot to another as she glanced elsewhere.

“Next to nothing, provided we’re even given the time of day. For all we know, she may snatch up Inerys and never look back.”

“Exactly. There’s a decent chance we’ll be left in the dark.”

“Where are you going with this?”

He hesitated, “What if we were able to do our own investigation before we ever arrive in Cyllicia? If Inerys can access memories through blood, then . . . we have everything we need.”

It had been waiting within his annex this entire time.

“I don’t think I like where this is going,” she said slowly.

“Neither do I, but we have an opportunity.”

“Rhydian, we’re not desecrating our dead to satisfy our own curiosity. Searching the bodies was one thing, but what you’re suggesting is too much.”

“I know, but I wasn’t talking about the Talhavar,” he said, “I was considering something closer to the source.”

“What, the woman?”

He nodded.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I wish I wasn’t,” he admitted, “but think about it: we have both the woman and someone capable of deciphering her memories. She’s bound to know things those supposed first wing riders don’t.”

She sighed, “I see your point, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea. The woman was mad. Who’s to say it wasn’t something in her blood? If Inerys drinks it, we could lose her to the same affliction.”

He rubbed at his stubble, considering, then shook his head.

“With how much the two bled on one another during the attack, we would have seen signs by now, if that were the case.”

“Maybe, but still, that’s a lot to ask of anyone. Especially Inerys,” she said.

“It is,” he agreed, “I’m not saying it’s something we have to act on, but we should at least consider it. I doubt we’ll have an opportunity like this again.”

“Have you mentioned it to the others?”

“No. Honestly, I didn’t think about it until now. You could say my mind was . . . elsewhere, tonight.”

“A bit of an understatement, don’t you think?” She asked, dropping her hands, “Look, if this is something you really want to pursue, talk to Inerys about it first. At the end of the day, it's her decision.”

She wasn’t wrong, he knew that. And he’d promised to do better.

“I will,” he assured, “but I’ll give it a few days. Between Ephaxus and that spiritual core of hers, she has enough to worry about right now.”

“She can hold her own, even if she doesn’t see it yet,” she said.

“That’s high praise, coming from you,” he noted.

Her shrug was a bit too nonchalant.

“Let’s just say she’s earned a bit of slack and call it good, hm? Can’t have everyone knowing I’ve gone soft.”

He chuckled, “There’s nothing soft about you.”

“And you’ll do well to remember that,” she said, eyes narrowing.

“No need to tell me twice,” he said, but added on a more serious note, “Thank you for taking care of her and the others in my absence. You did well, Ayduin.”

She gave a single nod.

“Don’t leave everything to me again anytime soon, hm? Your job is terrible. I hate it.”

“Well, these days I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.”

“Fair enough,” she said, though he sensed there was something more she wanted to say.

She began to toy with her necklace, mind in some apparent deliberation.

“Can I show you something?” She asked.

“Of course,” he said without so much as a moment’s hesitation.

She glanced around, perhaps to ensure there were no prying eyes, before opening her annex. The disembodied doorway appeared a healthy distance from Tanuzet’s wing, the room beyond dark and smelling of soap. He followed her inside, ever impressed by how much she insisted on carrying with her.

He’d always known she had a workstation within, but it was usually stacked with spare leather hides and bolts of fabric. However, today it was clean and neatly arranged. Sinew threads and leather lace were organized in one corner along with several oversized threading needles, but those weren’t what had immediately drawn his eye.

Resting upon a specialized rack, was a wyvern saddle. It was far from finished, but the bones and concept of it were there. He walked a slow, deliberate circle around it. It wasn’t the first he’d seen her construct, but it had been some time since he’d seen her craft anything that wasn’t required for maintenance on any of their equipment.

“I’ve had some extra time on my hands,” she said by way of explanation, “thought I’d put it to good use.”

“A replacement for your own?” He wondered.

She hesitated for a moment, but shook her head.

“No. I was thinking of giving it to Inerys, actually. When I’m finished, of course. She won’t be able to use the training saddle forever and Ephaxus needs something that will fit his back better than that old thing, anyway. I managed to dig up my original design for Keishara’s saddle, so aside from a few adjustments, it should fit him just as well.”

He brushed a hand across the leather, “Ayduin, this is–”

“Too much?”

“I think it’s perfect,” he said.

Her expression relaxed.

“You really think so?”

“I couldn’t have thought of a more fitting gift if I tried. They’ll love it.”

Provided they chose to seal the bond, but he wouldn’t mention as much now.

“I won’t have it ready before their first flight tomorrow night, but I could present it to them once she reins in her spirit. Before we leave for Cyllicia, maybe?”

“Tomorrow night?” He asked.

“Wait, did they not tell you?”

“I’ve only spoken with you and Tanuzet since I came back from the lake.”

Her lips curled into a smug sort of smile.

“Well in that case, you didn’t hear it from me,” she said.