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Something about that made me want to leave her there.

I felt suddenly burdened by this, by having to fucking hold all of their emotions, too, when I couldn’t even hold my own.

“I’m sorry,” she said, touching my arm.

She removed her hand when I flinched, but I felt pain on her again, and looked away.

“I thought we should talk,” she said. “Away from everyone else. We don’t have much time today, and unfortunately there is business we must address.” Her voice caught, and while I didn’t look at her that time, I felt her looking at me. “I truly am sorry, Alyson. I hadn’t meant to shock you like this. It really is not your mate’s fault. I hope you know that.”

But that brought a flush of real anger from me.

Anger I still couldn’t fully catalogue.

Or maybe I just didn’t want to.

“Please stay out of things between me and Revik.” I heard a colder edge creep into my voice. “I get that you know each other. I get that you like him, so you want to protect him. But I really don’t want to know anything about that, to be honest.”

I felt her flinch at my words.

Even so, after the barest pause, I felt her acquiesce to them.

“Of course,” she said. “My apologies, sister.”

Grimacing at her phrasing, it hit me that I was having to fight not to yell at her. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to yell at her about. Maybe I was just confused. Overwhelmed. Or maybe something else was going on with me, something a lot less rational.

Whatever the cause, I mostly just wanted to get the fuck out of there.

“What do you want from me?” I fought the muscles of my face, trying to keep my expression still. In the end, I looked out over the water. “You and your ‘Children of the Bridge.’ What is it you want from your Bridge, exactly?”

Sarcasm leaked into my voice, without my really meaning it to.

Fighting to make my tone more polite, I ended up stripping it of emotion instead.

“Balidor said you have some people who know Dubai.” I cleared my throat, making a vague motion with one hand. I continued to look out over the water. I focused on a curl of white and dark blue wave that crashed lower down on the beach. “…Infiltrators, specifically. Balidor said you might be able to help us out.”

“Yes.” Kali answered at once, giving a seer’s single nod. “Dalejem was just there recently. Also, one of our other infiltrators, who is––”

But I let out a humorless laugh.

I couldn’t help it.

Stopping dead on the sand, I stared out at the water, shaking my head in disbelief. The look I gave her that time was openly hostile.

“Dalejem,” I said. “Of course.”

Kali frowned, stopping on the sand when I did.

I saw her study my face cautiously. I didn’t bother to hide my anger.

“And what is it I can do for you…sister?”I asked. My voice carried a harder edge. “I’m assuming you want something from me, in return? What is it?”

“You are hurt.” Tears filled her eyes. “I understand, Alyson. I do.”

“I really doubt that,” I said.

My words were openly bitter.

Even so, I think I said it more to shut her up, to get her to stop talking than to hit out at her. Realizing I was crying too, I wiped my face with a hand, looking back out at the water. Shaking my head, I gave her a harder look.