Page 31 of Hunger in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr #3)

CHAPTER 31

KALDUR

T he building keeper’s hands fumbled with the lock on the door when he tried to open it.

“But like I told you, Kyzaire ,” he was saying, “she left last week.”

Ikrin, the Kylorr male’s name was. The inhabitants of the building had all come out to peer curiously, their eyes widening when they saw me, standing on the landing of their home.

“And where did she go?” I asked, frowning.

None of this made sense.

“And was she with someone?”

“With someone?” Ikrin asked. He shook his head. “No, she was alone. I don’t know where she went. She paid by the week, and when that week was up, her things were gone. That’s just…how it’s done here.”

I leveled Ikrin a hard look, and he hurriedly pushed open the squeaking door to let me inside the small room.

Immediately, the remnants of her scent hit me hard, and I nearly gasped. With memory, with longing. I was certain I looked as hungry as a starving lyvin because Ikrin stayed well out of my way, though I tried to keep my temper reined. But it had been volatile lately. Unpredictable, even, without my female around to soothe it.

But her scent…her scent certainly helped. Just knowing she’d been here, recently.

Even if her accommodations made me scowl. A small room, no bigger than a washroom. An old, sagging bed and a small dresser. The rug was nearly threadbare, and there was a chill in the air, a draft funneling in from the window.

My kyrana had lived here ? I lamented.

“How long was she here for?” I asked through a clenched jaw, trying to keep my anger and frustration stable.

“Three or four weeks, I think,” Ikrin replied. When I peered at him carefully, he said quickly, “But I can look back at my records and find out for certain, Kyzaire .”

I was surprised he had records for a place like this, but I supposed it was Laras law.

“Of course, if they weren’t taken.”

“Taken?” I asked.

“We—we had an incident nearly two weeks back,” Ikrin stammered out. “Some of the rooms and my offices were robbed.”

“Was hers?” I demanded, stalking toward him.

“Y-yes,” Ikrin replied, making me growl. “Her money was gone, or so she told me. I don’t think anything else was though!”

So she didn’t have any money left? Was that why she’d left?

Fuck, I thought.

“And you don’t know where she went?” I asked, alarm driving me. It had already taken me a good week to locate this place, and that had happened entirely by chance. Someone I’d asked in passing, an older male, who happened to live in the building. He’d told me a human female matching Erina’s description had been renting here, and I’d decided to check it out personally. Luckily there were very few human females in Laras with red hair.

“She worked at an inn, I think,” Ikrin supplied. “One off the main market square. ”

“What’s it called?”

His eyes flickered back and forth, as if trying to recall. “A little one, with rooms on the upper floors. Down the street with the dyaan . Kyndri!” he said in a rush. “Kyndri’s…Landing. That’s the one. I’m sure of it.”

“Good,” I said. “Anything else you can tell me?”

When he saw me pull credits from my pockets, his eyes widened.

“She was looking for someone when she came here,” he said quickly. “One of my old renters. Luc, his name was. And I know she got a letter. A real fancy letter with thick paper. She left shortly after.”

A letter? I wondered, frowning.

“Thank you,” I said. I pressed the credits to his palm, which he took eagerly. “That’s all.”

After one final deep breath, drawing her scent in deep, I left.

Finding Kyndri’s Landing was easy, especially when the people of Laras kept gawking at me. When I stepped inside the inn, I saw it was quaint. A single hearth was lit, casting the room in firelight, though it was a little dark in the corners. There was a polished bar to my left, a Kylorr female dressed in trews and a tunic manning it, and to my right was a plethora of small tables and booths. Toward the back was a set of stairs, leading to what I assumed were the upper rooms.

“What can I get you?” the Kylorr female asked, running a cloth over the bar to clean up spilled foam.

When I stepped up to the old lacquered wood, I saw the female finally look up at me and her eyes widened.

“ Kyzaire, ” she breathed. She frowned. “But what are you doing here ?”

As if she knew that her inn and tavern were a little less…savory.

“Kyndri, I presume?” I prompted.

“Yes,” she said slowly. I could see her mind working, mentally conjuring up all the reasons why a son of the Kaalium would be walking into her establishment on the dockside of Laras.

“I’m looking for Erina Denoren,” I said. “I was told she might work here.”

But I didn’t scent her, so I wondered if Ikrin had gotten it wrong. If she was here, I would know it.

“She did,” Kyndri said, sparking my hopes.

“Does she still?” I asked, pressing further into the bar.

“No, she left last week,” she replied. “A shame too. She was a good worker. Trustworthy. Those are hard to find these days.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“Yes,” Kyndri asked, “but can I ask why you’re looking for her?”

My brow almost rose at the impertinence…but I thought it was good that this bar keeper was protecting Erina. It meant I could trust her.

“She’s my mate,” I finally said, the words dropping like stones. The first time I’d voiced the words out loud to a stranger, but I needed to find out where she’d gone. If Kyndri had loyalties to Erina, which I suspected she might’ve, I needed to make her understood how vital it was I find her. “It’s important. To bring her home, back to Vyaan.”

Kyndri studied me. I was certain she’d seen all kinds of people come through her doors, and I was equally certain she could read each and every one. If she was surprised by my admission, she didn’t show it.

“As far as I know, she’s already back in Vyaan,” Kyndri said quietly.

“What?” I asked, freezing in place. “She told you that?”

“Last week she caught the last caravan back. I assumed she’d arrived already.”

I’d already been in Laras by then, searching for her. Scouring the villages and the main holdings around the capital.

Had she…returned to the keep ?

No, Maudoric would’ve contacted me if she had.

“Thank you,” I told Kyndri, inclining my head. I turned to leave, intent to return to my territory quickly now that I knew, against all odds, Erina was there . “Was she…was she happy here?”

She barked out a humorless laugh. “No. She was sad. And alone. And scared, given her…circumstance.”

Her circumstance? I wondered, frowning.

“But she’s a strong one. She held her head up high and never complained once, no matter what she had to deal with here.”

Every word felt like a jab in the chest. She never should’ve had to deal with anything. I should’ve protected her from this. She shouldn’t have been living in a small, cramped, drafty room, paying by the week, or working in an inn for hours on end, putting up with who knew what.

I slid credits over the bar, nodding at Kyndri before departing.

Out on the street, I sucked in a deep breath, peering around the darkening market. Erina had been here. She’d looked at this view, walked this road, and been surrounded by these buildings.

But she was still out of my grasp.

My Halo orb chimed, and I fished it from my pocket.

Maudoric.

Her face was illuminated in perfect color when the projection sparked.

“Good,” I said. “I found?—”

“Erina’s back in Vyaan,” Maudoric said quickly.

Relief nearly made me sag.

“Where?” I asked quickly. “At the keep?”

“No, she’s staying at House Terasyn. One of the keepers spotted her in the village. I thought you would want to know immediately.”

“I’ll start heading back tonight,” I informed her. But the distance to Vyaan was over a day still, and that was without flying breaks. “Have my scouts keep an eye on her until I arrive. ”

“Be careful,” Maudoric told me after nodding. “There’s a storm brewing in the Southeast. You’ll catch it.”

I didn’t care. Nothing would keep me from her.

When the Com call ended, I shot up into the air. I’d send word to Azur once I returned to Vyaan. He would understand my sudden absence when I didn’t return to his keep tonight.

Once I was over Laras, I maneuvered south and began the long flight back home, back to my kyrana .

And once I got there, I knew it would only be the beginning.