Guardian of Calandria | ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Four

           Kira sat on the porch with her feet hanging over the edge, watching Addrick teach Sabina how to use her magic. Removing the bind on her magic had an added effect, the life Sabina once shared with him, however brief it was, returned with her memories. Both cried, laughed, shouted—Kira wasn't sure how many emotions a Wilder experienced, but she knew the two had gone through all of them. Sabina had stepped on the stump, but Alyssa had come off it. She no longer had any doubts she was Addrick's sister.

Kira pushed back from the porch edge, leaning against the creaking wood wall of the cottage. One arm draped over her knee, the other arm curled in her lap, she wasn't sure how many more days they'd have to casually banter about. It seemed unlikely they'd have many more. Dirt scrapped against the wood planks as Ry slid in beside her. Both hands were caked even darker with mud and grime, his clothing even filthier. Kira wasn't sure what he was up to with her father. The two wandered off together, Ry usually discussing the bond a human had with a Wilder.

"Have a nice date with Dougary?"

"I did. And don't be jealous, you shared my parents for years. It's only fair I get to share yours for a while." Ry nudged her side.

"Couldn't care less, actually. I'm in the same boat Addrick was, just because he's alive doesn't make him my father."

"Fair enough, though he appears to have changed his feelings on the matter of Alyssa being Sabina." He picked at a patch of dried mud on his pant legs, plucking it off in small scales of crumbling earth.

"You need a bath. How can Sabina like such a filthy animal?"

Ry laughed, one end of his mouth lifting in a grin. Kira hated that grin. She knew what it meant, most of the time Ry used that smile when he was on the prowl for women. He hadn't used it since they were reunited; Kira wasn't sure if that was because of the magic bond with Sabina or if he'd finally grown up. Perhaps it was both. He leaned his head on her shoulder, placing one hand over hers.

"No witty retort? How Sabina likes a good romp in the hay with a fox like you?"

Ry's fingers traced the back of her hand, running over each knuckle with a tender touch. "Do you think I'm making the right decision to break this bond I have with her?"

"I think you're many things, Rylanne. A man whore, a jokester, and sometimes an ass, but there is one thing you're not. A liar."

"Not exactly an answer, Kira."

"What I mean is you don't want to have to lie to her. Part of you isn't sure if what you feel is real and you want some way to know that it is." She turned his hand over to lock fingers with him. "There's one thing that you haven't factored into this decision."

"What's that?"

"Why did you do it in the first place? You hardly knew her, at the time she was nothing but a whiney pampered brat. There was no reason for you to go into that vision or whatever it was. Were you doing it in hopes to bed her? Or was there something else? Ask yourself that question before you make any decisions. That answer might tell you a lot, or it may tell you nothing."

Ry laughed. "You're terrible at love advice."

"What do you expect? Addrick is the first relationship I've ever had."

"Are you two going to sit here all day discussing boys and girls?" Dougary asked, walking out of the cottage eating a chunk of meat.

"If you have a better idea, we're all ears. Until then, look at that sexy woman over there. The way she holds a dagger." Ry pointed to Demitra sharpening her dagger blades at the other end of the porch and shuddered. "I'm surprised I haven't ripped her clothes off already."