Page 117 of The Eye of the Fifth
‘Kawai…’ Kyra whispered, but just sat watching him with her arms clutched around herself. ‘Please,’ she quietly begged him. ‘I swear I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even know I could do that-’
Furious eyes found hers. ‘Don’t lie to me.’
‘Iswearto you, I’m not!’ she cried, jumping up as he moved for the door. ‘Kawai, you have to believe me, I couldn’t control it-’
He whirled on her, Not an ounce of affection to be found on his face. ‘You can’t blame everything on being a shit Warden, Kyra.’
Fuck.
He ripped the door open and slammed it behind him, the noise sending a sharp reverberation through her body.
For a moment, she just stared at the wood, unable to comprehend how it had all gone to shit so quickly. A crumpled piece of parchment sat by the door. She thoughtlessly picked it up; it must have fallen from his pocket when he’d undressed.
Unravelling it, she blinked at the scrawled title at the top of the parchment that spelled the words: “For Kyra: Eye of the Fifth references”,then below it, a list of book titles and quotes from each respective one that he had found.
He’d researched the subject for her. Just because she’d mentioned itonce.
She balled the note in her hand. The cabin was unbearably empty.
Numbness spread through her.
She didn’t even make it to the bed -his fucking bed- before she was curled over on the floor, tears flowing freely down her face as she shuddered, heart shattering.
And for the first time, she hated, truly hated being the Earth Warden.
Chapter Thirty Three
Nevatis
???
The Thilene, Loros.
Naal.
The sun had barely crept over the horizon, no telling soft light had spilt through the little porthole of Naal’s cabin, and there was already a none too gentle knock at her door.
Naturally, Naal was already awake. There was a reason she always rose before the sun did. To bask in the glorious peace of the early morning, in that time when the rest of the world still slept.
Someone was adamant on disturbing that peace, however, as whoever it was rapped their impatient knuckles on the door again.
Naal sighed and stretched her wings, resigning herself to the day ahead.
To her surprise, Kyra stood on the other side of her door, already dressed in floating black trousers and a light beige shirt, complete with three blades in sheaths at her hips and thighs. One was her own crooked dagger she’d brought with her from Avaldale, though the other two were new. She must have acquired the attire and the blades from Kawai at some point. Her eyes were puffy and tired, and she looked very much like she hadn’t slept at all.
‘Can I come in?’ Kyra mumbled.
‘Of course,’ Naal replied, moving aside for her to pass and closing the door behind her. ‘I don’t think I have ever seen you up this early. Not by choice, at least.’ It was as though Kyra had not heard her. She merely glared out of the porthole, unblinking. ‘Is everything alright?’
Kyra turned around, expression unnervingly blank. ‘Kano’s in Nevatis.’
Carefully, Naal said, ‘I see. Does this revelation have anything to do with your door slamming late last night?’
They had not exactly been quiet about it. Naal’s cabin was opposite Kyra’s after all, and she had been forced to create an air bubble to block out the sound of their… escapades. Her knowledge of the door slamming was purely due to the fact it had rattled her own cabin.
Clearly the night had not ended well.
Kyra glared at her, and Naal realised the puffiness of her eyes had nothing to do with lack of sleep. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
