Page 158 of The King is Dead
“I don’t know,” I murmured, glancing up at Gall who was holding Istral now and glaring at anyone who looked at them. “But I know that I don’t want to see any of the women in my life unhappy with each other. And maybe… maybe we need to listen to them.”
Yilan turned in the circle of my arms and looked up at me, craning her head back, staring at me, her brow furrowed and lines appearing at the sides of her mouth. “You must be joking?”
“At least they’re safe for now.”
“Not for long! We’ll reach the border tomorrow! No, this isn’t—Harris can take her back.”
“No,” Gall said.
And Istral turned, pressing herself against him, shaking her head.
Yilan was about to launch into them again, so I spoke quickly.
“Gall, what makes you so sure that Istral is your mate?”
Gall’s brow furrowed. “She has a piece of me.”
I blinked and I heard Yilan’s breath catch.
“Can you… can you explain that?” I breathed.
Gall shrugged. “A piece of me… right in my chest… it… broke off and went to find her. And I have a piece of her, too. Now we can feel each other.”
Yilan’s breathing became very quick and shallow. I held her, sending every reassurance through the bond that I could.
“Anything else?” I asked him hoarsely.
“I can speak in his mind,” Istral said quietly.
“What?!” Yilan gasped.
Istral raised her chin, but she was trembling. “I can speak in his mind, even though he’s Neph. He’s my mate. And I’mnotleaving him.”
59. Heart to Heart
~ YILAN ~
The shock of learning that Istral could speak in Gall’s head was the last straw.
My body went weak. My head spun. I was a mess.
This couldn’t be happening.
I couldn’t make my mind work. All I could see was my sweet, unassuming sister. Her bright smile, her childlike joy.
How the fuck was that going to translate to amatebond?
And Gall… I loved Gall.Adoredhim. He had the sweetest heart. But as a mate? A protector? Aprovider?
I wasn’t sure whether to cry or scream.
I was frozen. I stood there gaping as Melek urged Gall to go with Istral to get her horse and her things. That was a good idea. We would send her back with Harris and figure this out later. Clearly the two didn’t need more time together.
But as soon as they were out of sight, Melek turned on me. “We need to talk.”
I just stared at him as he took my hand and pulled me aside, the others all watching us closely, but not speaking up. Even Diadre looked stunned.
As soon as we were out of earshot, Melek turned on me. “We have to talk to them.”
