Page 12 of Storms of Allegiance

I smiled back and put an extra honeyed carrot on her plate. I had been right to label her brave, although I’d never thought of her that way during our shared youth in Tarin.

Eating herself into somnolence, Serena was the first to finish and head for her room. We exchanged goodbyes before she left since she would have an early start in the morning, and then I took my seat again. I waited for Clay to also take his leave, my impatience growing when he made no move.

Instead he sat back in his chair, looking relaxed as he chatted with Amara, a wine glass in his hand and his long legs stretched out beneath the table. Even when Hayes began to make murmurs about wrapping up for the night, he remained in place, merely raising his glass at the other man in a casual way, as if bidding him goodnight without any intention of following suit.

I frowned between the two of them, wondering if there was any way for me to send Clay on his way while hinting at Hayes not to leave. I would prefer him to be present for the meeting since I felt sure Amara wouldn’t agree to anything involving Nik without consulting Hayes first.

My worry regarding Hayes was unfounded, however. As soon as he saw Clay intended to stay, he also remained in place. Apparently he didn’t want to leave before the party broke up for the night.

He didn’t seem to be in a celebratory mood, though, sitting straight in his chair on the other side of the table and making no move to eat or drink. My attention was distracted, wondering where and when Nik was going to show up, so it took a while to realize Luna was trying to signal me, her movements somehow both frantic and subtle.

My first instinct was to look around the room for some hint of Nik, but when I saw nothing, I looked back at her, frowning a silent question. Her eyes were gleaming as if she was bursting with news she couldn’t verbalize.

Once she saw she had my attention, she inclined her head sideways at her master. I glanced at Hayes beside her, but he looked just as he had a minute ago. I frowned back at her, and her eyes widened. She gestured at Hayes again before tilting her head across the table and raising her eyebrows.

I blinked, looking from Hayes’s stiff posture and watchful eyes across to the object of his attention. Clay still leaned back, relaxed, laughing at something Amara had just said. His body was angled slightly toward her, giving her all his focus.

My mouth fell open as I looked back at Luna. It was easy to read her delight that I was finally receiving her message.

Had I been too distracted all evening to notice the dynamics between the older members of the group? It seemed likely.

But now that I was paying attention, it was hard to dispute Luna’s obvious interpretation of the situation. Hayes seemed uncomfortable at Clay’s presence—even…territorial.

But weren’t they all old friends? I remembered his strange manner in the morning, and my curiosity grew.

I could see Luna was bursting with interest, but after a moment she glanced once at the door and then at me, tilting her head toward Clay with a question in her eyes. She was obviously fascinated by whatever dynamic was going on between our two masters and the new arrival, but she was also the only other one at the table who knew Nik was coming.

“Enough conspiratorial glances, you two,” Amara said suddenly.

Hayes’s eyes snapped to hers, a hint of guilt showing in his expression, and Clay straightened, his hand tightening around his wine glass. But Amara’s attention was on me and Luna.

I winced, but Luna didn’t look in the least abashed at being called out. She seemed more curious at where the conversation was going to go, looking from Amara to Clay and finally to Hayes.

But Amara’s eyes had landed on me and stayed there, her expression commanding. It took me a moment to realize that while she had been speaking to me and Luna, she hadn’t been referring to our silent conversation about the three of them.

“I don’t know what happened in our absence and what you have to tell me, but you don’t need to be so jumpy. Anything you can say to Hayes and me, you can say in front of Clay. I promise he knows far more state secrets than either of you.”

Clay chuckled lightly at this endorsement and even Hayes nodded, whatever earlier antagonism he had been feeling swallowed. It seemed that if Hayes had an issue with Clay, it was definitely personal and didn’t cause him to doubt the reliability of the other healer.

I cleared my throat, unsure what to say now I had everyone’s attention. After a moment, I glanced around the dining room, which still held a couple of other groups of diners.

“Let’s go up to our room,” Luna said. “Since it’s the biggest.”

Amara looked once more between us, her eyes narrowing, but she ended by nodding agreement. Rising to her feet, she signaled to the rest of us to follow, leading the way to the stairs.

At the top of them, she glanced at me, a smile in her eyes.

“Why do I have a terrible feeling about this?”

I grimaced. “It wasn’t my idea.”

Both her eyebrows shot up. “You know that only makes everything seem worse, right?”

I chuckled reluctantly, unlocking my door and ushering the small group inside. The room had always felt spacious, but so many bodies inside made it shrink. I cast a quick glance around, hoping not to see any mess I might have left out, and instead encountered a dark shadow in one of the corners—a hulking figure that couldn’t entirely blend with his surroundings.

Hissing, I slammed the door shut behind us, making the rest of the group start and look toward me. When they saw me staring into the corner of the room, they all followed my gaze.

Amara immediately stepped forward, one arm raised in a protective gesture, holding me and Luna back. But the figure stepped forward into the light, a provocative gleam in his eyes.

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