Page 42 of Of Songs and Silence

No one is around, but it’s still best to be as discreet as we can. He doesn’t bother to look surprised that I know what he really wants is to escort Natia back to her home.

He’s always had a soft spot for the quirky Mayima who harbors an insatiable curiosity about humans. This is hardly the first time she has joined the ranks of people he has had to watch hurt by the king—has had to personally escort to be hurt by the king.

But it never gets easier, for any of us.

“That’s the one,” he confirms.

“I’ll grant you leave to visit your parents,” I tell him.

I’ll cover for you, I’m saying.

“But I need you to make an additional stop,” I add.

Kala was trying not to think about it for most of breakfast, but of course, I hear her better than most. She’s worried about her sisters, and worried I’ll have no way to make good on the deal I made her now that Natia was tortured for doing not much more.

I don’t want to ask my cousin to take this risk, but I gave her my word, and there’s no one else I trust as much. Besides, he’ll already be there.

“The sisters?” Kane asks, already knowing where I’m headed.

I raise an eyebrow.

“They’re the ones she helped,” he says, not quite an explanation.

I know instinctively that he’s talking about a differentshenow. Natia.

I can’t help but marvel at the irony of Kala’s sisters being the reason she was found—or that Kala’ni Ursula was, anyway.

If Natia hadn’t spotted Ursula, I would never have found Kala. She would still be in the hands of Damian—the vile man who dared to touch her and believe that she belonged to him.

My fists clench at my sides, my blood pounding in my veins.

“Easy,” Kane cautions.

I take a breath, clearing my features of the rage that had been overtaking me. Kala looks over, and I quickly rein back the emotion I inadvertently let seep into her consciousness.

“How do you know Natia is the one who helped?” I ask, reverting to the topic at hand when Kala returns her attention to her aunt.

“It might have escaped your notice, but Kala is not so great at controlling her thoughts,” he says, his tone a bit lighter than it was when he came in. “I heard more than I needed to about her sisters and where they might be in the day we traveled together. For that matter, I heard more than I needed to abouteverything.”

I glare at him, but it doesn’t deter him.

“Not that I haven’t often admired the defined ridges of your muscles myself. Or the way your eyes gleam in the wan shafts of sunlight. Or the way your very skin sparkles with the luster of a thousand—”

“Are you quite finished?” I cut him off.

Kane shrugs, an imitation of his usual smirk tugging at his lips. “I hadn’t even gotten to her reactions.”

I give him a flat look. “Don’t.”

“You don’t want to hear about how heat surges through—?” he trails off meaningfully.

Shaking my head, I sigh. “You should probably get going if you want to leave quietly.”

His face darkens again, and I instantly regret stealing his much-needed moment of levity, even if it was at my expense.

“Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on there?” he asks, gesturing to Kala.

I don’t bother to hedge. “You already know.”

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