Page 24 of Warrior's Reign
“Sir.”
He stopped.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
He didn’t acknowledge her words by anything other than another beat of stillness, then left.
10
Vykhan gaveher permission for personal time to see Numar. She covered her uniform in a dove gray alumni’s robes, the darker gray trim denoting her junior rank. Before she approached, she drew the hood over her head and activated her blue skin tint. Unless she gave her name, no one would know she was any other than one of the many warrior devotees who walked these halls.
The Way of Silence, Yna Ipaluk, had seen a handful of human entrants over the years, and even more human-Yadeshi hybrids, but they were few enough.
Reign pressed her palm against the door panel leading to Numar’s afternoon garden, requesting entrance. He was available during this time for students to seek his counsel, though it was known that if you chose to disturb his noon meditations, you would get exactly what you came for.
The door slid open with a soft chime, and she stepped outside. There was no roof here, and the sun bathed the garden in light and warmth, fragrance from carefully tended plants filling her nostrils. She wandered down a gravel path until she came to the center, a circle of cropped grass surrounded by taller plants to lend privacy. A small shrine sat off to one side and somewhere in the garden the trickle of water joined the gentle music of birds and insects.
She paused on the edge of the grass circle and closed her eyes, allowing peace to flow into her, soothing the worst of her edgy mood. It would be a mistake to approach the male in the center emotionally unfettered.
Opening her eyes, she stepped forward, pausing several arm’s length distance from him and sank into a sitting position, legs folded, arms at her sides. And waited.
In the past, he’d made her sit for hours until she learned to control her impatience. Today he was kind; or perhaps more respectful of the constraints on her time. He opened his eyes after fifteen minutes, and speared her with a look.
“Aja’eko,” Numar said, smiling gently.
When she’d first come here, she’d thought Silence meant a lack of emotion, complete self-containment. But this male walked the planet with an abundance of joy; it leaked from his fingertips, radiating from blue eyes that crinkled when he smiled. Like any Yadeshi elder, his skin was smooth and unlined, displaying only the barest touch of what humans considered age.
“I haven’t seen you in many years,” he said.
She bowed low from her seated position. “I have no excuse.”
“Your work took you away from this province.”
“It had.” The inflection of his tone made her aware he had kept up with said work. Her jaw tightened. She wasn’t proud of herself. “I’m here in Beysikai for the foreseeable future though.”
“Tell me.” He gestured and she rose smoothly, approaching, then knelt back down next to him.
“BdakhunIbukay has taken me into her service.”
“Then you’ve achieved what you sought.”
Reign frowned. She knew better; that wasn’t a statement. “I’m on the path,” she said finally.
“Wise to know the difference.”
She shifted, then cursed herself for showing even that much unsettled emotion. “I don’t know if it’s the right thing for me. The palace, theBdakhun.”
“Is Ibukay not worthy of your service?”
“Of course she is.” Reign scowled at him. “That’s not the question. The question is ifI’mworthy to serveher.”
He turned his head, looking at the shrine. “Few of us start out worthy for the positions we are given.”
“Okay, but I’d rather not be in a position I got because I was university friends with someone powerful.”
Numar shrugged. “It happens.”
Reign blinked.
