“Well… the Irina would keep an oral history, wouldn’t they?”
Leo looked as if he’d never considered the question. “Of course. I suppose they would.”
“So, the Chief Scribe wouldn’t know all the history. Just what the scribes had written down.”
“Yes.” Then Leo grinned. “But we write everything down.”
“And the council. Can they see it?” Malachi was wondering whether or not there was some clue about Ava’s past in that great library. Perhaps, if they asked the Chief Scribe, there might be some other incidence of a human turning into an Irina somewhere in the past.
“I suppose they could see whatever they want, but they’re hardly historians, are they? The council is made up of politicians. No avoiding them, no matter what race you are. But the Irin council… it has a spiritual purpose, too. Or it’s supposed to.”
“You said there were seven singers on the council. What happened to them after the Rending?”
Leo’s face paled. “No one knows. I mean, we know that some were killed. The others? There were no official reports, only rumors. Some say they were all killed, but I don’t think that’s possible. Most lived in Vienna and they were highly guarded. Others say that they withdrew when the retreats were ransacked. That they took their most trusted singers and formed havens around the world. Havens like Sari’s, where the remaining Irina could hide.”
“What do you think?”
“I think some were killed. Some formed havens.” Leo crossed his arms. “Anything is possible. All I know is they’re gone. Now the council is only old men.”
Malachi narrowed his eyes, trying to measure Leo’s mood even as he drove the car. “You’re… resentful of them? The Irina?”
“What me?” Leo’s eyes widened. “No, I—”
“You are. You blame them for leaving. Or, at least, a part of you does.”
Leo stared at him, stared at his profile so hard that Malachi could feel his eyes. Finally, he said, “They left us alone. Irin and Irina were never meant to be separate. We were always meant to fight together.”
“So many had been lost, Leo. It must have been a huge shock. They were frightened.”
“We’re all frightened sometimes.” Leo’s voice was barely over a whisper. “But you don’t run away. You never run away.”
They drovefor another three hours. Rhys snored in the backseat, and Leo and Malachi had turned to more pleasant topics of conversation.
“You must remember some of this,” Leo said with a laugh. “She was so angry with you.”
Malachi grinned. “I don’t. She really stood up, drunk in a bar full of Grigori, and told them you were a catch?”
“And criticized their grooming. Don’t forget that part.”
Both men burst out laughing.
“And there was some comment about makeup, too.”
“Was I laughing this hard then?” His sides ached with the vision of the tiny human woman he’d seen in pictures telling off six Grigori while Leo looked on, helplessly wondering what to do.
“Are you joking?” Leo wiped tears from the corner of his eye. “You were furious. Ava was ready to call the police when you threatened to stab one.”
“It sounds like she didn’t like me very much.”
“Well, she didn’t know the truth then. She still thought you were an out-of-control bodyguard. Trust me, she liked you very much.” Leo couldn’t contain his smile.
“What did she do after that? She didn’t call the police?”
“No, she took you out to an isolated monastery on the Prince Islands and pulled a gun on you.”
His eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Then she kissed you. Or you kissed her. You were vague relating that part of the story.”
He couldn’t laugh anymore, but he did smile. “I should think so.”
“When you brought her back to the scribe house, Damien was livid. But you stood up to him. You were certain of her identity. Even though it took some convincing, you were certain. And you were right. You and Ava belonged together. I knew it.”
“I loved her, didn’t I? Even when I thought she was human, I loved her.”
Leo opened his mouth, but no sound came out at first. Then he said quietly, “I believe you did. Even when you thought she was out of reach.”
“Come back to me.”
Malachi nodded, ignoring the tight clutch in his throat. “I, uh… I dream about her, you know?”
“About Ava?”
He just nodded.
Leo angled his shoulders toward him. “What do you dream?”