Page 325 of Awakened

“Wait… just a moment,” she requests, bright blue eyes gleaming with earnestness. “Please?”

The Alphas exchange a fleeting glance, communicating somehow without either one of them saying a word. My jaw clenches.

“Of course, Little Mate,” Soren murmurs, inclining his head. “We can wait.”

“Are you alright?” The words fly from Caelan’s mouth like he just couldn’t hold them back any longer. He doesn’t apologize, just stares at her and waits for her to answer.

“I’m alright,” she answers, smiling indulgently. “I just… I need you to trust me.”

“Of course we trust you,” Caelan answers, and Idril relaxes, exhaling in relief.

What the fuck is going on?

Idril turns back around and faces the sinkhole. She’s still standing at the edge, and instead of backing away, she crouches and peers over the side.

“A’lax shälock,” she murmurs in a melodic voice. The sound makes me jerk like I’ve been shot, but I don’t know why.

My breathing picks up as she reaches out, extending a graceful hand over the edge. “A’lax quitôy, Vharax.”

There’s a ringing in my ears. A melody I can’t ignore. I can fucking hear it in my mind—a soft chanting. What is that language?

When did Idril start speaking it?

And more importantly, who is she speaking it to?

“Shay’dar,” she whispers, making a clicking noise at the back of her throat as she unfolds from her crouch and stands, taking a tiny step back. “Shay’dar mailōng ay’dōr dolvex. A’lax… a’lax.”

I don’t know why I do it. Maybe it’s something about the way the foreign language rolls from her tongue, calling to me, beckoning me home.

Maybe it’s just the overwhelming need in my chest to be close to her.

Whatever it is, it overrides my judgment, and before I’ve decided to do so, I take a step forward.

Idril whirls around so fast I flinch. Her eyes snap to mine and narrow into a glare so fierce it makes the hairs on my neck stand on end.

“Do. Not. Move,” she snarls, jabbing the finger with each word. “Stay back.”

The pain in my chest flares to life. It throbs sharply, and I press my palm against my sternum, praying for the pain to stop.

Idril follows the movement and her mouth curves into a frown. When she lifts her eyes to meet mine once again, they’re brighter than I’ve ever seen, gleaming with a fire I yearn to feel burning against my skin.

Swallowing thickly, I raise both hands in supplication and step back. The way she’s looking at me… It’s not haughty. Not condescending, either. More like… like she doesn’t trust me to do as I say.

It makes me feel about three inches tall.

A soft trill unlike anything I’ve heard pulls Idril’s attention. She turns, giving me her back, dismissing me.

The way she moves is new, too. Just like the way she holds herself. They’re fluid. Unbothered. A graceful confidence she looks born to.

Watching her, I feel something deep inside of me waking up. Stretching its muscles before turning its attention to Idril.

“What the fuck is happening?” Vae asks, but I don’t have an answer. I’m just as confused as he is.

“What… the fuck…”

Idril takes a step back from the edge, then another. She’s not retreating, though.

She’s making room.