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“Lucas, I’m not crazy. You heard all of my evidence in there. Surely that can’t all be made up.”

He crossed his arms. “Avenay, you want so badly for this to be real that you’re not even seeing the other arguments against it. It probably started as an oral tradition and we just don’t have evidence of it yet.”

“What of Toler’s poem?”

His nostrils flared, but his voice was steady. “The Tales of Lemiaprobably borrowed from Toler’s poem. Maybe Evolis existed, but it wasn’t some ancient city of healing.”

“Lucas—”

“Leave. Leave now. You’re fired, Avenay. You just made me and the whole department look like a laughingstock to the brightest minds in the world. Doing a presentation on a fable? Are you a child?”

Avenay clenched her fists. She would not cry here, not in front of him or the others standing at the door, gawking.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, then turned and stalked out of the building in a fog.

She could barely breathe, everything in her built and built, tormenting her. One tear came down her cheek, then another. Soon her face was wet and she could barely see, but she kept walking, on and on as anguish pelted her.

Chapter 8: Enid

Kaemon was not happy.

Enid’s eyes pinged from one brother to the next. They sat across from each other in Aife and Jorah’s parlor, arms crossed, brows furrowed, neither budging. Melina fidgeted in her seat next to Kaemon, her eyes darting between them as well, occasionally hopping to Enid, questions swimming there.

“You expect me to leave my pregnant mate?” Kaemon asked, jaw clenching and unclenching.

Oh, he was mad.

Enid crossed her arms and sat back, watching with an inordinate amount of glee. Finally, another person to see and fight Dryston’s control.

“It will be two weeks at most. She has the colony to watch her and my personal guards,” Dryston said.

Melina laid a hand on Kaemon’s arm,and he placed his own over it, glaring at Dryston. “Enid is an excellent fighter. Let her go with you.”

Dryston’s eyes clicked to Enid for a brief second, then back to Kaemon. “I think it’s better if I have you there as well.”

“She doesn’t need your supervision or mine.”

Holy shit.

Enid sat up straighter. Damn, those words felt good to hear. Her eyes smarted, which was terrible because if she cried, then it would ruin her tough image. She shoved all those lovely and overwhelming emotions down.

Then the room darkened, and Enid shrank back. Dryston’s anger. He really, really didn’t like to be questioned.

“I know Enid’s skill, but I think we should all go. There are many things you don’t know.”

“Kaemon,” Melina whispered, clearly hoping no one heard her but him, her precious little hands shaking from the tension in the room. All eyes turned to her, her cheeks flushing and eyes going wide.

Kaemon placed a hand on her cheek, guiding her gaze back to him, and her whole body relaxed. “Yes, love?”

“Can we talk for a moment? Outside?”

Kaemon nodded and stood, helping her up, his hand on her lower back to guide her out. Dryston sat moodily in his chair, nostrils flared, lips pursed. She knew he was listening to their conversation in the hall. And she knew she shouldn’t, but… she focused her hearing, letting it amplify so she could listen to Kaemon and Melina.

“If it weren’t for me, would you want to go with your siblings?” Melina asked.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“That’s not what I asked.”