Page 58 of #Resort Love
“Samian,” I said carefully.
“I failed, Kieran,” Samian breathed, his voice cracking. “I failed her.”
I moved to Samian, pulling him into the room and checking the hall for any bystanders. Finding none, I closed the door behind me, locking it, throwing a shield of air around the room. This was something that needed to be contained between the four of us.
Viv was helping Samian into a chair, her face grave. I exhaled, returning to my chair. Samian was quiet, his eyes locked on the table. I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing my magic to stay calm. I knew after seeing Sybil in the forest that something wasn’t right, but nothing could prepare me for the consuming rage and fear I felt for her.
“Tell me,” I said gruffly. Still fighting to keep my emotions at bay.
“I don’t have all the details yet,” Samian breathed. “Aster sedated her before we could learn everything. She was attacked by a beithir, I believe. Although how she survived, I’m not sure.” My jaw ticked, but I held my tongue so that Samian could continue. “They took her to Lowbrook today. I couldn’t go with her, but from what I could gather, Arianna attempted to attack a newcomer in the village. Sybil tried to help them, but lostcontrol of her magic, killing one of the villagers.” Samian leaned back in his chair, rubbing a trembling hand down his face. “My informant was with her and brought her back to the palace, but he was taken away for interrogation before I could get more answers.” Samian paused, his throat bobbing. He curled his hands into fists on the table. “She agreed to his bargain, Kieran. That bastard now has control of her magic.” Finally meeting my gaze, fire blazed in his eyes as he seethed.
“Actually,” Orin said carefully. “She didn’t kill the villager.”
Everyone whipped their heads to Orin, his face darkening at our sudden attention. Grimacing, his eyes met mine, waiting for my consent to continue. I gave him a small nod and Orin took a deep breath, bracing himself before continuing.
“I was the newcomer she was trying to protect,” Orin said. “I found Silas’s grandchildren trying to sneak back home after losing track of him. Commander Fenleth stopped me while I was taking them back. I told them I had just moved to the village after my parents passed. It backfired, though. Commander Fenleth thought that I was a rebel, and she was going to take me and the children for questioning. Sybil got in her way, and General Darktree tried to defend her, but there was another child close by. One I didn’t see in time. One of the villagers was edging their way to the girl, and Sybil moved to keep the focus away from him when the fight broke out. Sybil lost control of her magic, and the blast threw everyone back. No one really got hurt though, just a few bumps and scrapes. But Silas saw Commander Fenleth kill the villager before blaming it on Sybil.”
The room buzzed in the silence. I slid my gaze to Samian, his body so still that I wasn’t sure if he was even breathing. Suddenly, the table groaned as Samian’s magic started bending the wood. My own magic responded, the pressurein the air around us growing thick and heavy. Viv cleared her throat, glaring at the two of us, forcing us to pull our magic back.
“I’m going to kill her,” Samian whispered furiously, his lip curling. “I’m going to fucking kill her.”
“Kieran,” Viv interrupted, her voice too calm. “What happened in the forest?”
Samian’s gaze clashed against mine, but I kept my face blank and looked back to Viv.
“Arbus went missing. I snuck into Volmire to find out what happened.” Pausing, I glanced back at Samian. “I found Sybil in the forest. She was running from the beithir and it was closing in on her. Before it struck, I called out to her, hoping she would move. She didn’t, and the beithir stabbed her with its tail. She lost focus after that, so I distracted it and hauled her ass to the lake. We beat the beithir there but once we made it to land,” I breathed out, rolling my neck, careful to keep my emotions concealed. “She had Arbus’s necklace and his ring. She got away before I could get more information from her.”
Viv’s mouth thinned. “She got away, or youlether get away?”
“I don’t see the difference,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I think you do,” she pressed, her eyes narrowing. “I’ve never seen anyone escape from you, Kieran.”
My mouth popped open, ready to fling back a retort when Samian inhaled sharply, his face and body tensing.
“It seems I have to return,” Samian muttered, his lips curling in disgust. Standing, Samian’s chair scraped against the floor before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and shadow.
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes, preparing myself for more of Viv’s questioning.
“So,” she said, annoyance coloring her tone. “Are you justgoing to sit there or are you going to explain why the hell you let someone escape?”
I slowly opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling, trying to come up with the words. I still didn’t know if it was true, not spending enough time with her to be completely sure. But the way time seemed to stop when I saw her running along the forest floor being chased by the beithir, the way my magic seemed to sing when I was close to her, when I touched her—I had never felt anything like it. The rush, the pull, theneedto touch her was overwhelming. The feel of her underneath me, the way those hazel eyes watched me still made my blood pulse.
Viv huffed with irritation, waiting for me to answer.
“I think she’s my mate,” I murmured.
Orin’s eyes widened, shock brightening the gold in his irises.
Viv sputtered, blinking at me. “But isn’t?—”
“Yes,” I said quickly.
“Are you sure?” she asked softly.
“I’m sure, I think. Our meeting was brief, but it was enough time to know that something was pulling me to her. Even when I watched her in the city, there was an instinctive pull to her. That’s why I let her go. Just touching her made my body feel like it was on fire.”
“It’s not unheard of to have more than one mate. Rare, yes, but not unheard of,” Viv whispered, biting her nail. “Shit! And now she’s under Ambrose’s control.”
