Owned by Luna Voss

24

Melyta

Korva visits us at home the next day. I’m still basking in the glow of the night Barion and I had together after the funeral, and honestly, all I want to do is cuddle and be close to him. But I like Korva, so if someone had to visit, I’m glad it’s him. He’s Barion’s best friend, and I trust and respect the hell out of him after everything he’s done for us.

“Hey, Korva,” I greet him, answering the door. We hug briefly. “I suppose you need to talk to Barion?”

“I need to talk to both of you,” he says, looking worried.

I lead him to the living room where Barion and I have been snuggled up on the couch. Barion initially looks happy to see him, but his face falls as he catches Korva’s expression. “Korva, what’s the matter?”

“Maybe it’s nothing,” says the other vostrat cautiously, “but it could be something, too. Sarizor just put Nullion in charge of finding Gurt’s killer.”

Barion shrugs, his face impassive. I know he won’t have told his friend about his role in Gurtion’s death, but Korva is smart enough that he must assume. “That shouldn’t be a problem for us.”

Korva nods. “Good. But I thought I should tell you. The whole thing is pretty secretive. Apparently, they suspect the killer might have had inside help.”

Barion stays cool, but my imagination immediately starts going to some bad places. We might have to worry about this.

“You mean like from inside the Dultaz Family?” I ask.

“Yeah,” says Korva.

“How do you know about this?” Barion asks.

“I’m Nullion’s right-hand man,” Korva admits with a grimace.

Barion looks furious. “What? He can’t assign you without my permission.”

“Sarizor’s orders. I didn’t have a choice. Although. It’s probably beneficial to you that I’m there, right?”

He gives Barion a meaningful look.

“Has he uncovered anything?” I pipe up nervously.

“No,” says Korva, “but I’ll let you guys know the moment he does. If he does. I have to admit, I just don’t quite feel motivated to do my best work on this one.”

Barion claps him on the back. “Good man. Sorry you have to work with Nullion.”

Korva laughs. “Yeah, seriously, what a creep. Have you ever seen him smile?”

We move outside to the balcony and I offer our guest some iced tea, which he accepts gratefully. When I return with three glasses and a pitcher, Barion scoops me onto his lap and puts his arms around me, holding me affectionately as we spend time with Korva. I’m content to just sit there and listen to them discuss Vostra business for a while, feeling wonderfully cared for in Barion’s arms.

It’s a while later that I realize they’re talking about me.

“Do you and Melyta have any plans for after you’re mated?” Korva asks Barion, glancing at me.

I perk up at the sound of my name. “I suppose I would need to talk to Melyta about that,” he replies happily. “We haven’t really discussed it too much, with the way things have been.”

Korva sips his tea. “Yeah, I don’t blame you. And hey, I don’t know if I’ve actually said this, but I’m happy for you guys. You’re a really sweet couple.”

I laugh. “You didn’t seem so keen on me the night we met.”

He laughs, too. “Yeah, well, I think I had pretty good reason to disapprove. I’m glad you proved me wrong.”

I decide to tease him, feeling a sudden rush of affection for Korva. “And what about you, mister bachelor? When are you going to find yourself a mate?”

He sticks out his tongue. “When I meet someone Fated to me, obviously. I’m not just going to have any old woman wearing my mark. But hey. When I do, you’ll be the first to meet her.”

My mood is lighter when Korva leaves, but I’m still uneasy about what he told us.

“Do you think—” I stop myself, hesitant to voice what I almost just said. The past day of intimacy with Barion has been so nice that I don’t want to spoil it.

He gives me an encouraging smile. “What?”

“I mean, this could be ridiculous. But do you think the reason Sarizor chose Korva to work with Nullion might be that he knows Korva is close to you?”

His smile falls slightly. “What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I just got thrown off by what Sarizor said at the funeral. But are you sure he still trusts you? If he was trying to figure out whether or not you had a hand in things, wouldn’t it make sense for him to try and get inside information from your closest lieutenant?”

“Korva would never betray us,” Barion says quickly.

“I know that. Believe me, I do. But does Sarizor know that?”

He scratches his chin, and to my dismay, he doesn’t dismiss my idea out of hand. “It’s possible,” he admits, “what you’re saying. I guess I don’t really know what Sarizor thinks anymore. We’ve never been close, but I always got the impression he respected me. It’s not like he had to promote me to underboss. Honestly, I try to interact with him in person as little as possible.”

I guess he can see the worry on my face, because he kisses the top of my head, trying to reassure me.

“It’s going to be fine,” he promises. “I didn’t leave any evidence when I… you know. I didn’t leave any evidence. We’re all good.”

In other circumstances, I might worry that he doesn’t trust me enough to be open. In this case, though, I know he’s trying to protect me. To protect both of us. The less I know, the smaller the possibility of anything somehow slipping through the cracks.

So I just nod, and try to take his apparent lack of concern as a cue that I don’t need to worry, either.

“So, I was thinking about what Korva said,” says Barion, and there’s genuine excitement palpable in his voice. “We are going to be mated soon, after all. Would you want to keep living here, or maybe find a new house to move into together?”