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“Fine.”
What were we talking about?
“Umm.” She couldn’t think.

“Did that answer your question or do you need
more convincing?” He took a step toward her, but she dodged him,
throwing her hands up to ward him off.

“No, no—that did it.”
Holy crap! He kissed
me
. She’d never been kissed like that before. And then to give
in like she did—she had to be more careful.

“And so we are clear,” he added. “I would
never fake my feelings—for you or anyone else.”

“Got it.” She gave him a thumbs-up, still
trying to calm her nerves.

He crossed his arms again, now more serious.
“So you will stop this fighting nonsense?”

Kira took the same stance, but with shaky
knees and a spinning head. “No.”

He let out a low rolling rumble from
somewhere deep in his gut, snarled at her, then turned and began
going through his display of bottles again.

“Did you just
growl
at me?” Kira
asked.

He chuckled. “No.”

“Growl all you want…
Dimples
. You
promised to teach me to fight and I’m not backing down.” She
stepped to the bench and sat.

When he turned around, he held the bottle she
recognized as Gyllrue in his hand. “I said I would teach you, but
you will not fight.” He motioned toward her pouch. “You need to
keep this with you always.”

“Are you trying to change the subject?” She
opened the pouch and took the concoction from him.

“Do you want to learn about this or not?” he
asked.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” He’d made his point and so
had she. Whether or not she would come face to face with one of
their enemies was yet to be seen.

Afternoon turned into evening and they’d
spent several hours going over herbs and their uses. At some point,
Lydia returned and quietly stepped to the other side of the cave.
She plopped down on one of the remaining animal hides, and brushed
out her hair with her fingers.

By the time Octavion finished his lessons,
the chill of night had crept into the cave. Kira was exhausted from
trying to memorize everything she’d learned and sleep couldn’t come
too soon.

“Lydia, are you finished with your little
project?” Octavion asked.

“Yes, I think so, but you need to take more
blankets out.” Lydia stood and brushed off her jeans.

“If it’s that cold, why can’t we sleep here
in the cave?” Kira asked. “Wouldn’t it be warmer here?”

Octavion gathered an armful of blankets. “We
could, but the thick walls of the cave make it difficult to hear if
someone is approaching. I feel much more comfortable out in the
open. The fire will keep us warm enough.”

“Can I help?” Kira offered.

“I think I can manage.” He winked at her as
he breezed by and slipped through the opening in the cave.

“What was that all about,” Kira asked. “And
what are you guys up to?”

Lydia smiled. “Nothing.”

Kira nudged Lydia with her elbow. “You better
tell me.”

“I can do better than that. Come on, I’ll
show you.” Lydia took Kira’s hand and led her out of the cave,
through the trees and into the clearing.

At first, Kira didn’t notice anything
different. Octavion stood by the fire and Toran lay a few feet
away, grooming himself. As they walked to the center of the
clearing, Lydia stopped and turned Kira to face the shelters. Right
there—next to Lydia’s lean-to—stood a new one.

Kira’s hand flew to her mouth as she forced
back tears. “You did this for
me?
” She stepped closer to
take in every detail. It was built much the same as Lydia’s only
slightly larger. It was also decorated with beads and feathers, but
the biggest difference was on the front opening where a dark piece
of thick fabric hung as a curtain. She pulled it back and flipped
one corner up on top of the shelter to get a better look
inside.

She also had several animal pelts as her
mattress, but in addition to a few light blankets, there was a
quilt—her grandma’s from her bed at home. They had also retrieved
two of her pillows and her bow. It had been restrung.

Kira spun around, tears now flowing freely.
“You went to my house?”

Lydia wrapped Kira in an embrace. “Don’t cry.
It’s supposed to make you feel more at home, happy.”

Kira shrugged out of the hug and wiped the
tears from her cheeks. “It does make me happy. It’s just . . . my
life will never be the same, will it?”

Lydia shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. With mom gone, there’s nothing
there for me anyway.”

“So . . . you’re not mad?” Lydia asked,
cringing slightly.

“Mad? No. I love this. It’s perfect.”

Lydia smiled so wide, the crookedness that
usually set off her grin disappeared. “We thought you’d be mad
because Octavion went to your house without you.”

Kira turned her attention to Octavion,
stepped closer. “Thank you.” She leaned against his chest and he
wrapped his arms around her.

“You are welcome,” he said.

When she let go and looked into his eyes,
there was warmth there she’d never seen before. That one intimate
moment they’d shared in his lair had changed things between them.
He’d found his way into her heart and by the look on his face he
felt the same connection. She looked away, embarrassed by the
length of time he’d held her stare.

“When did you do this?” Kira asked, going
back to examine the structure more carefully.

“Octavion built the shelter while I shared my
memories with you,” Lydia said.

“But, when did you go to my house?”

“Before I started,” Octavion said. “After I
realized how upset you were, I wanted to make sure your house was
secure. I fixed the doors.” He walked to the shelter and drew the
curtain back a little more. “Lydia did well with the decorations.
This curtain is to give you more privacy. Do you like it?”

“Of course, I do.” Kira scanned the area
around the shelter and inside. “Where are my clothes?”

“You said not to go through your things,” he
said.

“But,
Octavion
, I need something to
wear. It’s not that I don’t appreciate this—it’s great—I just can’t
wear these clothes anymore. I’m starting to stink.” And she needed
to get the photo.

She looked at Lydia, who still wore her worn
out jeans and not-so-white T-shirt. “Don’t you need some things
from your house, too?”

Lydia shrugged. “It’s not like I can take
anything home with me. I have a few things in the cave if I need a
change, but they’re from Xantara and I don’t think you’d like
them.”

Octavion rubbed the fine stubble on his chin.
“I didn’t see any new signs of them being there.” He paused for a
moment. “Can you give me one more day? I’ll go tomorrow night. If
there is no sign of them, I will take you the next morning. You
won’t have much time—only a few things. Do you understand?”

Kira nodded.

“Now, you both need to get some rest.
Tomorrow I shall teach you to fight.” Octavion stretched his arm
toward Kira’s shelter. “Let me know how you like it.”

She climbed in and snuggled under the covers.
“I already love it—it’s all
mine
.”

The sun had barely risen when Kira woke. She
leaned forward and pulled the curtain back so she could see out.
Octavion lay peacefully in his shelter, but Lydia was gone.

Lydia?

Oh good, you’re awake. I’ll be there in a
sec. I’m getting something for us to eat.

Okay, take your time. I’m not awake
yet.
Kira flipped the edge of the curtain over the top of her
shelter, propped her pillows up, and pressed her back against the
side of the lean-to. She wanted to watch Octavion sleep.

The crisp morning air felt good rushing
through her lungs, clearing out the cobwebs from a long and
peaceful sleep. As she waited for Lydia to make her appearance, she
thought about how scared she’d been the first time she’d seen him.
So much had changed since then, so many wonderful things that
filled her mind—and her heart. She wondered if her life would ever
be the same—or if she wanted it to be.

As a morning chill crawled up her legs she
let her gaze leave Octavion’s face long enough to retrieve her
quilt and pull it over her legs. When she returned to watching him,
his eyes were open.

“Are you cold?” he asked. His first words
after waking sounded rough and broken.

She simply nodded, then went back to
memorizing the contours of his face.

He pulled his covers to the side and patted
the empty space beside him. As if tethered by an invisible thread,
she felt pulled toward him as she snuggled to his side, and draped
her arm over his chest. He replaced the covers and pulled her
close. The warmth of his skin felt good against her cheek as the
air she drew in mixed with his scent. They lay in silence until
Lydia stepped into the clearing from behind a tree. When she didn’t
see Kira in her shelter, she froze.
Kira?

Octavion cleared his throat causing Lydia to
jerk her head in their direction.

“Ugh! Why did you wake him?” Lydia asked.

“She did not wake me. I heard you trip over
that bench in my lair fifteen minutes ago. You are as quiet as a
mule.” He tried to slip out from under the covers. Kira protested
by letting out her best impression of his growl.

“I need to stoke the fire.” He gently
released her and let her body sink to his empty bed. At least his
warmth remained. She felt so at peace that she stayed there,
watching him do his chore. She had no desire to move.
Unfortunately, Lydia had other ideas. She sat on the blanket next
to Kira and laid out a breakfast of the usual fruit, cheese and
bread.

“Sit up, lazy,” Lydia ordered.

“I don’t want to,” Kira complained. “Can’t I
just stay here?”

“A lot of good it did to build you your own
shelter. Now get up and eat with me.” Lydia grabbed the covers and
yanked them back.

“Lydia, I was comfortable.” Kira pushed
herself up, brushed her hands through her tangled hair and rubbed
the sleep from her eyes. She was still tired and even though she
was hungry, she would have preferred something else, like bacon,
eggs and a huge portion of hash-browns. She reluctantly bit into an
apple.

“I want to ask you something,” Lydia
said.

“Do I have a choice?” Kira asked after
swallowing her first bite.

Lydia didn’t answer, just continued speaking
as if Kira hadn’t said anything. “We never really talked about all
this.” She gestured to their surroundings with a wave of her hand.
“I was just curious about, ya know, how you feel.”

“You mean besides the fact that there’s no
shower and I’d give anything for a juicy burger and fries?” She
held up her half-eaten apple and frowned.

Lydia smiled. “Yeah, besides all that.”

Kira shrugged. “I’m not sure what to think. I
mean, you being from another world is kinda cool and it’ll take me
some time to get used to all the magic and stuff, but the rest . .
. I don’t know. I guess it’s the unknown that’s got me worried. I’m
terrified of what’s coming—of Shandira. I don’t understand why she
wants you dead or how Bastian fits into all this. It doesn’t make
sense to me.”

“We’ve been trying to figure it out for years
and it doesn’t make sense to us either. At first we thought she was
jealous because I had Bastian and she didn’t have anyone to love
her like that. But then we found out it was all a lie and he was
actually working for her, so that theory was thrown out of the mix.
It’s so confusing. If she’d make a demand or tell us what she
wanted, we’d tried to work it out so we could be done with this and
go home.”

Home.
Kira tried not think about what
that meant—that they might go back to Xantara and she’d have to
find a new place to live. A little piece of Kira’s heart broke when
she thought of Lydia and Octavion leaving. “At least you have a
home.”

Lydia touched Kira’s hand. “If it makes you
feel better, I’m sure Octavion will find you someplace safe before
we go.” She withdrew her hand and lowered her eyes. “Being my
friend has ruined your life. He warned me, but . . . I felt so
connected to you, I couldn’t resist.”

“You didn’t ruin my life. I felt a
connection, too. Almost like we’d always been friends. Sisters.”
Kira fingered the tiny strand of silver that sealed their
friendship forever. “Will the Crystor still work . . . between
worlds, I mean?”

This time Lydia shrugged. “When we’re not
blocking our thoughts to keep Shandira out of our heads, we can
communicate with our father, but I don’t know about the Crystor.
It’s different between you and me. You’re—”

“A commoner?”

“I was going to say, ‘not Royal’.”

“But it might work?” Kira asked.

“You have to admit it would be kinda cool. We
could chat anytime we wanted.”

“Yeah. Cool.” Kira couldn’t quite get as
excited as Lydia seemed. After all, Lydia would return to a father
who loved her and a home where she probably had a ton of friends.
What did Kira have?

Nothing.

“Look on the bright side. At least we’re
getting out of school.” Lydia grabbed an orange and dug her thumb
under a section of peel, stripping it away from the fruit. She
tossed the chunk of rind toward the fire, not quite hitting her
mark.

“But I like school,” Kira said. “And I want
to graduate. At least I did.” If for no other reason than to
accomplish something her mother never cared about. She’d dropped
out when she was a junior because she was pregnant with Kira.

Lydia stuffed a huge section of orange into
her mouth and bit down, squirting juice down her chin. She used the
hem of her shirt to wipe her face. She mumbled something, but Kira
didn’t quite catch it. Her attention had switched to Octavion.