Kaelen lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing.
"I have another beast, a goat. A demon," Kaelen said, changing the subject, his mind still reeling shock. "I sent it to deliver a letter to the Ambiourious matriarch. I got news someone was planning to harm them."
Beside him, Lysander was silent for a long moment. His chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm. The bond hummed, warm and patient.
Then Lysander lay back down and asked, "Where did you get the news?"
"From the cultists."
Lysander laughed.
It was a soft sound, low and warm, and it vibrated through the bond like a plucked string, a resonance that started in Kaelen's chest and spread outward, tingling through his fingers, his lips, the tips of his ears.
"It's funny," Lysander said, "how the bond tells me when you lie."
Kaelen's heart stopped.
"What."
He turned his head so fast his neck cracked. Lysander was looking at him not with accusation, not with anger, but with something like amusement.
