Page 69 of Forsaken Secrets

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Kaiya

The feminine voice tugged at me, pulling me deeper. I pushed against it desperately.

Wherever it lurked was not good … it was cold and empty.

I shuddered.

"Stop, little thief. Fight it!"Lynk's voice was hard in my mind, hard enough to break the pull the darkness had on me. "Come on, Kaiya!"

I came back to my body, noticing how one arm held me to his chest while the other hand pressed into my forehead, the warmth oddly comforting. It was like sunshine in my skull, and the longer it stayed there the more the pain and exhaustion faded until all that was left was him.

Intrigued, I pressed back against the feeling, exploring along the connection until I reached something colder … something dark and icy. "What is that?"

"No, little thief. That's not for you. Never you …"

Then it was all gone.

Warm sunshine washed over me, soothing all my frayed nerves as my breath slowed to a normal pace.

Finally whole, I opened my eyes to see three concerned faces around me — two human and one very reptilian. I smiled at them, then focused on Lunei. "I'm so glad you're okay, little one!"

"Thanks, mage! You saved me!"

"I suppose so … no more of that death talk, though. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Would you care to get down now, little thief, or do you plan to stay in my arms forever?" Lynk's voice rasped against my ear, sending prickles down my neck and arms. Oh gods. I'd somehow forgotten he was carrying me.

The heat of his chest enfolded me and I fought the urge to sink in.

Wriggling, I dropped to the ground and stepped away, glaring at him. The ass just stood there, those silver eyes emotionless. Of course! He was just saving some idiot kid. What was I thinking?

"Lunei?"Solyn's voice was tentative in my mind. Happy to ignore Lynk, I turned to watch as the young vrytra moved towards her mother. Lunei squeezed through the metal bars and I practically felt the love as the two embraced.

Heart aching, I turned to Eli and Lynk and motioned to the dozen remaining cages. "The rest. We have to help them." Most seemed to contain vrytra of varying sizes, but a few had other creatures, too.

Lynk nodded. "Kaiya, talk to Solyn and find out what's going on here. We saw the past, but it would help to know what idiocy spurred those mages to do this."

"Me?" I asked, heart hammering, "Wouldn't Eli be better at it? That's his gift!"

"And you just saved her young. I have a feeling she'll be more inclined to talk with you, right now …" He tipped his head towards the cage and the two vrytra embracing. "Besides, you're still weak from healing her. This will be a good rest for you."

Grimacing, I turned towards the cage. Gods be damned, why was he always right?!

"Thank you, Weaver, for helping Lunei."Solyn's voice was quiet and almost reverent.

"Weaver?"Why did creatures keep calling me that?

"Our people's name for your kind — those who bind."

A lump formed in my throat. What a nice way to describe whatever it was that I could do …"Of course. Anyone would have done the same."

"I think not — especially not after what you've been through. I hope you get the happy ending you deserve."

I could only nod, my throat too tight to speak.

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