Page 26

KINSHIP

SERYN

A s we moved toward the music, a thick breeze wafted through my hair, goosebumps sprinkling over the back of my damp neck.

I pushed my arms through the sleeves of Marek’s coat, rolling one.

Gavrel reached over, tugging at the cuff so the edge was crisp and even, then rolled the other sleeve so they both hung loosely under my elbows.

My mouth quirked as he placed a gentle kiss against my temple and slung his arm around me, tucking me into his side as we walked.

“About damn time,” Breena declared as we rejoined the festivities. She smoothed her palm down the side of my curls. “Hopefully, all that fun will make you both less twitchy.”

Pinching her arm, I tossed her a deadpan look. She chuckled, swatting my shoulder and heading toward Rhaegar at the bar.

I scanned the revelers as they danced and laughed. A lively bunch of young men were arguing and guffawing at the edges of the dance floor. A group of older citizens watched the merrymaking from the sidelines with wistful looks misting their eyes .

Although there were so many things to worry about, I was at ease. I felt alive. A part of something.

These people.

This place.

Gavrel .

I peeked at him, the corner of my mouth curling as he gazed down at me. His body wasn’t tense as it usually was, in a constant state of battle.

I was sure that wouldn’t last long. We needed to make plans.

To find Kaden once and for all.

To figure out how to defeat Melina and her cronies.

But these were thoughts for tomorrow.

Tonight, I’d relish being in this place with people I cared for. I’d savor Gavrel and I beginning anew.

My eyes caught a glint of silver at the opposite end of the dancing space.

Neoma smiled dreamily, her chin lifted in a stubborn line as she sipped her drink and studied the crowd.

On my tiptoes, I kissed the base of Gavrel’s jaw.

“I’ll be back.” He followed my line of sight and nodded.

His stare lingered as I made my way over to her.

“Marek mentioned you wanted me to find you,” I said with a smile.

“You remind me so much of my eldest,” the older woman replied as I approached.

The music wove around us, her words almost drowned out by the lilting notes.

Gliding over my face and hair, her eyes misted as she took a nearby seat.

My stomach flipped. I’d never seen Yaya look nostalgic. Or was it regretful? I wasn’t sure.

“Oh?” I took a seat next to her, scraping my chair closer so I could hear her better.

She took a sip from her cup and then balanced it on her knee, fingers gripping the metal tightly. “She had the same coloring. As did I once upon a time.” She clucked her tongue, fingers idly toying with the end of a graying curl.

My heart flipped, emotions welling in my throat. She wasn’t one to open up much, and I wondered if the tart mireberry wine had anything to do with it. I leaned forward, placing my hand delicately on hers. “Tell me about her. ”

She glanced at me with a sentimental smile, and her hand turned, weaving her fingers with mine.

Her touch was soft and warm. She watched the others commune and laugh, a dreamy look slackening the usually stoic line of her mouth.

The reflection of the tiny, flickering orb lights danced in her burnished eyes, making them appear to be a smoldering campfire.

“One time she wept. She wept when her younger sister brought home fireflies in a jar. We called her ‘Bug’ after …” A quiet sound of amusement tumbled from her. She rocked, digging her heels into the floorboards as if bracing herself against the memory.

“Marek’s mother, Deitra, was my sensitive one.

But …” She crushed her eyes closed, breathing deeply.

I slipped my other hand under our joined ones, encasing hers.

Her lashes fluttered open. “But as soon as Bug caught sight of Deitra’s lightning bugs, my oldest broke into a fit of tears.

It’s one of the few times I ever saw her cry …

beyond her earliest turns. She was eleven turns old. ”

Yaya ran her thumb under her lashes and smiled wistfully.

“She scolded Deitra, who was nine at the time, saying it wasn’t right to keep such majestic creatures trapped.

Deitra freed them at once and never caught fireflies again.

But they’d watch them for hours, giving them names and telling stories about their imagined adventures. ”

My brows squeezed together as a deep sadness burrowed underneath my ribs. It made me think of Letti. “What happened to them?”

“Deitra passed on moments after giving birth to Marek. At least, that’s what I was told.

I hadn’t known she was with child. You see, she ran away with her lover when she was twenty.

And this was turns after we’d lost Bug. Deitra was never the same after her sister disappeared.

She found solace in bad decisions and worse men.

I didn’t know how to help her.” Her mouth twisted as if she held a bitter lemon between her teeth.

“I failed both my children. But I’ll be damned if I do the same to my grandchildren. ”

Unease crept over my skin, mingling with the prickles skittering over my nape.

“I didn’t even know my grandson until he was already a broken, unruly teenager.

Made his way here, escaping whatever voidish nightmare he grew up in.

Said he’d had a dream, and it guided him to me.

There was no doubt he was my kin—looks just like his mother—and well, it’s clear he’s inherited our family’s gifts.

The Augur confirmed it anyway.” Her hand slipped from mine, and she waved it in the air dismissively.

Yaya turned to face me, her eyes boring into mine as she took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

My heart stopped, the air in my lungs throbbing as I forgot to breathe. “What was Bug’s name, Neoma?”

Ignoring my use of her real name, her hand cupped the side of my cheek briefly before she drained her cup and set it on the ground. “I know my eldest is alive. The Augur shared a secret with me earlier as she’s wont to do. That blasted female is never wrong.”

I swallowed the burning taste pooling in my throat. “What was her name, Neoma?” I snapped, my heart slapping against its cage.

A dry laugh tumbled from her, and she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

Slowly, she looked at me from under long, light-colored eyelashes.

“It’s Yaya to you, girl, as you well know.

” I squinted at her, and she smirked. “Our family has been hiding behind the Skiya name—among others—so long, our true surname feels forbidden, as if the Fates’ll curse me if I dare speak it. ”

My arms crossed snugly over my chest, and I counted the pulse thumping in my neck, trapping my ember within me.

She sat straighter, hands clutching her knees.

“But we’re cursed as it is. It’s high time we’re honest with one another before our time runs out.

My eldest’s name was Maya. Maya Nightshade. And I’m told you’re my kin.”