Page 167 of Sunsplitter

“Syvr. The last time a daeyari surprised me, I ended up with ten claws in my stomach.”

“I would never.”

Fi stared at their proffered hand, curiosity creeping under her skin like a wood splinter. Curiosity had always done her in with these creatures.

With a huff, Fi grabbed Syvr’s hand. “Fine. But this had better not—”

They lurched into a teleport.

Fi jolted through black, words dead on her tongue, no air in her chest. Just as fast, she staggered out the other side, gasping, formulating several strongly-worded complaints about giving a person some Void-damned warning before jumping across reality.

Instead, she inhaled ocean air.

Syvr had brought her to a cliff. A dull roar of surf sounded below, seabirds drifting beneath a lilac sky. On the Winter Plane, the wind on the coast was cold and slicing. Here, it whispered against her cheeks, filled her nose with salt.

A staircase was carved into the cliffside. A railing. A patio. Planted pots around a door.

Syvr always smelled faintly of salt.

“You live here?” Fi asked.

Syvr nodded, and she let the weight of this sink into her. Daeyari were protective of their homes. Syvr knew she could Voidwalk, what they risked by showing her this place.

“Antal trusts you,” Syvr replied to her squint. That simple. Then a sniff. “Speaking of…”

They led her up the stairs. The patio and door were carved of light stone, surprisingly quaint, compared to the daeyari residences she’d seen.

“So why did you bring me here—”

The door swung open, Antal and Ixli emerging on the threshold.

Fi’s heart did this little thing—embarrassing, really—like a flip in her chest. An untrained trick, triggered the moment Antal’s eyes landed on her, when they widened, as if beholding nothing else but her.

His antlers bore two crisp golden bands.

“What are you doing here?” Fi said. “Syvr said you’d be gone all day—”

Antal interrupted by cupping her chin, his nose tapped to her cheek. She dragged a suspicious squint from him, to Ixli, to Syvr leaning smugly against the patio rail.

“Did your father see you leave?” Syvr asked.

“No,” Antal said. “We should still be quick.”

“He’ll be livid when he finds out,” Ixli added.

“Let him,” Antal said. “Here?”

Syvrtsked. “Of course not. I’ve got a better place in mind.”

“What are you talking about?” Fi demanded.

Three daeyari shared a conspiring smirk. Was this stomach squirm what Antal felt, every time Fi forged alliances with his friends?

He took her hand. “Come with us. We’ll show you.”

Syvr named the destination.

Antal visualized the spot, then set off with a teleport, Fionamara’s hand warm and borderline aggressive in his. Impatient creature. Though he didn’t fault her frustration. He’d felt the same when he’d had to leave her behind, had berated himself for not thinking of this plan sooner, ever since Syvr had slipped him that note.