Page 16

“I tried to release him back to the wild, but he doesn’t want to go.

” She paused again, but this time it appeared she was weighing a decision to confide in me.

“Apparently, I have a bonding power with canines. Up until recently, I thought I was just a dog person. I had no idea that I was calling them by magic. Is there a way to turn off the calling so that Wolf isn’t compelled to follow me everywhere? ”

The question nearly made me laugh. Normally, it would be an insightful inquiry, but not when we weren’t dealing with a real wolf.

“I could help you temper your bonding power enough so that you will only be able to call dogs at will, but as for this wolf, his will is too strong for you to be able to dissuade his inclinations to be near you.”

“You can sense that?” All hostility had vanished from Sylvis as she peered at me incredulously. If circumstances were different, this could have been the key to befriending her. Now, the most I could do was ensure she wouldn’t blame me for her pet not being what it seemed.

“I can see it, plain as day. Also, I’ve gained some knowledge about wolves from a luminite who bonded with them even more than you.” I stood and crossed my arms over my chest, doing my best to convey useful expertise. “Are you still calling him ‘Wolf,’ or have you gotten around to naming him?”

Sylvis sighed as Gabriel’s tongue lolled out in a big doggy grin. “I suppose I should give him a name.”

“How about Gabe?” I couldn’t help but joke.

Gabriel lunged forward, head-butting me in the legs, nearly making me fall. Sylvis’s shoulders shook with repressed laughter. It was the most cheerful she’d been around me.

“Gabe is a nice name…” she said tentatively. “But I don’t know if it fits a wolf.”

“What about ‘fluffy?’”

Gabriel growled, finally sounding like a real wolf.

Sylvis shook her head. “Since I’m only now coming around to the idea of keeping him, I’m going to need time to think of a suitable name. Time alone ,” she added pointedly.

I chuckled and rocked on my heels, undeterred. “I notice that you like to come out here by yourself. Is there a reason why?”

“To think and practice my guitar.” Her eyes and tone accused me of being ignorant. “Everyone needs a little space. Especially when it can get crowded and noisy in there.”

“That’s why I came out here instead of going straight inside the tower.” I continued to grin, willfully ignoring her hints that she wanted to be left alone. “Watching all those happy couples can be tiresome.”

“Yeah.” Sylvis agreed aloud with such fervor that I blinked.

“Are you currently seeking a mate?” The look she gave me was so hostile that I quickly held up his hands in reassurance. “I’m not asking because I wish to pursue you. I was only curious since the rest of your friends are paired up.”

“I don’t have to do everything my friends do.” Her voice held a defensive edge.

“I would never presume to accuse you of being a follower,” I assured her. “I merely thought that, with your closeness to the Queen and other important persons, the Prophecy likely already has a mate in store for you. And I wanted to know if you were looking for them.”

“Nope.” She looked down at the grass and plucked out some random notes on her guitar. “I’m not interested in having a mate at all.”

Her words made me blink in surprise. Though she was kin, we were very different people. “I thought that Kerainne and I were true-bonded the day we met. Perhaps my taking that for granted was why I foolishly let her slip away. I continue to hope that she is my destined mate.”

“Oh no.” She held up her hands in a warding-off gesture. “I am not going to put in a good word for you to Kerainne. She’s like a second mom to me, and you hurt her.”

“She hurt me first.” I knew I should shut up, but my pain refused to be restrained.

“I am not getting involved.” At the sound of approaching footsteps and Gabriel getting up from his perch behind her back, Sylvis continued in a hushed tone. “And you better drop the subject. The Queen is approaching, and she thinks less of you than I do.”

She then turned away and rose to her feet. “Hey, Xoch’.”

Xochitl gave her a friendly grin that immediately vanished when her gaze drifted to me, then back to Sylvis. “Is he bothering you?”

Sylvis’s eyes darted to mine, then away. After too long a pause, she shook her head. “No. I figured out the riffs and melody I wanted before he showed up.”

Xochitl crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. “Can’t you ever learn to ring the gate stone? It’s really rude for you to keep coming in through the forest unannounced and uninvited.”

Her Siamese cat, Isis, trotted over to Gabriel, and they touched noses before engaging in some silent communication. Was my friend managing to fool the cat as well?

I bowed low before Kerainne’s daughter. “My most sincere apologies, Highness. I’d meant to ring the gate stone, but I was called to my dear cousin’s music.”

Xochitl ignored me and kept her amber eyes on Sylvis. “Aurora heard you playing from the balcony. She told me to tell you to play those riffs again next time we’re jamming so we can work it into a new song. I really hope you retained them because they sounded badass.”

“I’ve had it in my head for a few days, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” She shifted her guitar strap and picked up her amp. “Wanna go ask the others when they want to jam?”

As they headed back to the tower, Sylvis glanced over her shoulder to see if I was following them. I’d make my way in later. Right now, Gabriel and I needed to have a few words.

I inclined my head back in the direction of the forest, so we could speak privately. “I can’t believe you’re still doing this.”

Once beneath the trees, Gabriel Leonine transformed back into his luminite form. He shivered and released his wings to blanket his nude body. “I wasn’t going to let you take a vacation from our tedious families in boring Luminista without me.”

“I’d gathered that. But you could have accompanied me here without disguising yourself as a wolf and following my newly discovered cousin everywhere.” I frowned at him and kicked a tree limb that tried to grasp my ankle. “She’s not going to be happy when she discovers your subterfuge.”

“I don’t follow her everywhere,” Gabriel argued. “You’re behaving as if I invade her bed and watch her when she bathes.”

“You don’t?” I was doubtful.

“No. That would be too far.” His sincerity convinced me of his honesty.

“While it’s a relief that you do have some scruples, you’re still being dishonest with her, and more importantly, the King and Queen.

If they find out…” I paused, remembering seeing Xochitl’s cat touching noses with him earlier and Zareth’s cat’s seeming indifference before that.

“Wait, how did the cats not know that you aren’t really a wolf? ”

“I had a conversation with the Queen’s companion, Isis, right when I arrived.

She promised to keep my secret as long as I didn’t hurt any of her people.

Which from what I’ve gathered, is everyone who enters the tower except for you.

” The corner of Gabriel’s mouth lifted in a mocking half-smile, rubbing in the fact that I was disliked by most of the tower’s residents.

“But enough about me. Did you get around to asking your newfound cousin if she is willing to be tested on how much luminite blood flows through her veins?”

“I have not. Sylvis seems to dislike me for my part in destroying my relationship with Kerainne.” Speaking her name brought the old twinge of pain.

I closed my eyes a moment to compose myself.

“That said, I agree with your suspicions that she has more of our ancestry than her friends, except for your cousin, the Queen.”

Gabriel nodded. “Did you observe that Sylvis was able to sit so close to the forest without being affected? That makes me wonder if she has somewhere between a quarter or a third luminite blood.”

“I did notice that. I hope one of us may accompany Sylvis on her next visit to Earth and possibly meet her parents.” Though the thought of going to Earth filled me with distaste. The things that world had done after losing its magic were often beyond the pale.

“I’d thought of that. I would have the greatest chance since you’re so disliked.” Gabriel stepped on a slithering vine until it retreated.

“You’re also a wolf. From what I know about Earth, those aren’t welcome in their villages.”

“That’s true.” Gabriel seemed unconcerned. “But I’ll allow her to put me on a leash, and then I can project the idea that I’m nothing but a harmless dog to human eyes.”

“Or you could reveal your true form.” I swatted a fist-sized spider away and gave him a look of disapproval.

“The cat may not understand that your promise not to hurt Sylvis can’t be fulfilled.

I’ve seen how happy she is with the wolf.

She loves having her new pet. Discovering that you’re not a wolf at all, but instead a luminite who’s been using subterfuge to follow her around and invade her personal space will hurt her. ”

As I voiced my concerns I realized I wasn’t only worried about getting blamed for this debacle, but that I also genuinely cared about my newfound cousin’s feelings. The idea of her being hurt upset me in ways I was only beginning to understand.

“Maybe I should just stay a wolf for her,” Gabriel muttered.

“What?” Surely I hadn’t heard him right.

“What?” Gabriel echoed, blinking in feigned innocence.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration as the situation grew even more dire. “You’re in love with her.”

Gabriel shrugged. “I’m fascinated with her.

The magic she wields on that guitar…the emotions a piece of wood and steel brings forth at the touch of fingers have me captivated.

And the life she’s lived…I may be nearly three centuries old, yet somehow in a quarter-century, she’s experienced more than I. ”

“You’ve been watching her before you followed me down to Aisthanesthai in your wolf form.”

Gabe’s chin lifted with defiance. “I’ve been watching Rage of Angels through the observatory spheres ever since they became famous on Earth. You know how I love the tantalizing varieties of music that world has to offer. Music is one of the bits of magic they have left.”

My dread worsened. My best friend had been hiding more from me than I’d ever thought possible.

“That means you’ve been watching the band before we, in Luminista, were aware that the singer is Kerainne’s daughter.

Before the Prophecy declared that her voice would bring the sun back to Aisthanesthai, crown a king, and lead an army of blood drinkers to battle their own creator. ”

Gabriel winced and his shoulders hunched with shame. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to us about a singer with the last name of Leonine and a guitarist with the last name of Jagwolfe?

” Guilt softened my voice. I’d never made him feel bad like this before.

“That information would have been greatly appreciated by the council, not to mention both the Leonine and Jagwolfe matriarchs.”

“Because I saw how my cousin Kerainne was treated after the last time she died on Earth and was imprisoned by our grandmother.” An edge of anger tinged his voice, and he refused to attempt to hide it.

“And I heard the ugly words she said about Xochitl. If the Leonine matriarch was so disgusted with a halfling, how do you think your matriarch would speak of Sylvis?”

For a moment, he had me. My own matriarch had some choice words about Xochitl.

However, Lucretia was interested in Sylvis.

But I wasn’t going to mention that until I found out why she was.

Besides, Gabriel had been keeping things from me for much longer.

“You could have said something when the Prophecy regarding Xochitl saving Aisthanesthai and becoming queen was transcribed.”

“I did say something.” Gabriel said defensively. “To Kerainne. She deserved to know how her daughter was doing and what the fates had in store for her. No one else did.”

“Including you,” I reminded him.

“I told you that I was first observing Rage of Angels for the enjoyment of their music. Their family names did not dawn on me until halfway through my first year keeping track of their band’s tours.

” He waved away a ghost that appeared between us.

“When their significance to our families struck me, I immediately went to Kerainne. After that, I observed on her instruction.”

“And not at all for your own…edification,” I taunted.

“All right. You don’t have to needle me any further. I am well aware of how challenging it will be to confess all this to Sylvis.” Gabriel shook his head. “I see why you’ve failed to make inroads with Queen Kerainne.”

I raised my hands and mock pushed him away. “Oh no. Don’t shift this back on me.”

“You’re right.” Gabriel caught my gaze and held it. “You do it all by yourself.”

I opened my mouth to unleash my righteous indignation, then closed it. Loathe as I was to admit it, my best friend had a point.