Aeromancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 3)

When they approached the front of the castle, the dogs made a big show of announcing their arrival with loud barking. Lann was waiting outside on the steps. He walked over to meet them.

“I was worried,” he said, taking Kat’s hand.

“We went for a walk,” Clelia said.

Lann looked at the horizon. “Bad weather is coming in.”

Clelia followed his gaze. “Storm?”

He nodded.

“I’ll go put the animals in their enclosures.”

Clelia left to execute the task while Lann led Kat back inside.

He rubbed his hands over her arms. “Cold?”

She shook her head.

He took her coat and scarf and hanged them on the coat stand. “Sorry I left you sleeping. Joss and I had business to discuss.”

Motivated by Clelia’s encouragement, Kat said, “I need to talk to you.”

“Of course.” He took her to Joss’s study. “We’ll have privacy here.”

Suddenly nervous, she wrung her hands together. Lann eased her down on the sofa facing the fireplace. Pulling her fingers apart, he rubbed a thumb over her palm in a soothing gesture.

She hesitated. It was a difficult subject. What was the best way to broach it?

“What is it, Katherine?”

She studied him. Even dressed in a jersey and casual slacks, he looked elegant. With his hair hanging loose around his face, he looked like a model for Calvin Klein. He was such a beautiful sight he made her mouth go dry.

“I need to see my parents,” she finally said. “We need to decide how much we’re going to tell them.”

Letting her go, he scrubbed a hand over his face. After a moment, he said, “You can’t tell them about me, at least not about what I am.”

“I realize that.” Her agreement had to have surprised him, because he glanced at her quickly. “And I’m not going to tell them there’s a good chance I’ll die at childbirth.”

He pushed to his feet and walked to the fireplace. With his back turned to her, she couldn’t read his expression.

“They don’t deserve to live with that kind of pain for eight months,” she said. “It’ll be easier this way, if they just believe there was a complication of some kind. You can make up something.”

He spun around. “And you deserve this kind of pain?”

“This isn’t about me. This is about my family. I know this isn’t easy, but we don’t have much time.”

He lifted his hand as if to silence her, but curled his fingers into a fist.

“Lann,” she said softly, “they’ll want to be with me for the birth, but I don’t think I can handle that. I want you to break the news to them when the time comes.”

He pressed his fist against his mouth, not saying anything.

“Will you please tell them there was a complication? Eve can help us come up with something. We need to talk about the funeral, and about the arrangements. We have to decide where it’s going to be. We need to decide about our baby’s future. My parents will want to know their grandchild, but someone will have to—”

He held up his hands. “Enough!”

He looked so angry it broke her heart, but they needed to plan these things. Life carried on. “Lann, we need to—”

Before she could finish her sentence, he walked to the door, and left the room. Jumping to her feet, she hurried after him. When she got to the entrance, she was just in time to see him rush outside, almost knocking Clelia off her feet as she came back inside.

Clelia shot Kat a worried look. “Are you all right, Kat?”

Tears she didn’t want to shed burned in her eyes. Kat could only shake her head as she escaped to the privacy of their room.

She ran a bath, stripped, and lowered herself into the welcome warmth of the water. Only then did she allow herself to cry. She allowed herself to grieve for all of two minutes before wiping away the tears. This was no way to behave. She’d made this bed. She took a deep breath. More than ever, she needed to be strong. She was done crying. For as long as she could, she chose life.

Chapter 6

The pain was unbearable. Lann had never experienced anything like it, not even when he found out what he was or why his mother had died and his father abandoned him. A dust devil twirled at his feet. It took some effort to let the particles settle. As he regained control of his emotions, the dust died down. Facing Katherine’s death wasn’t something he could deal with. He’d certainly never forgive himself.

Joss and Clelia approached him where he stood on the steps of the forest chapel. The wind had picked up. Rain would follow soon. Clelia’s hair whipped around her face. Joss draped an arm around her, sheltering her against his body. They stopped in front of him.

“You have to tell her about us,” Clelia said, “and about your part in the team. She already knows what I am.”