Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice by Robynn Sheahan Page A

to his
nightstand, producing a reader. He flipped the device on, a faint
hum rising with a silver light. The holographic pages opened to a
predetermined spot, and he handed it to Erynn.
    What looked like an A lying flat and crossed
over an L glowed up at her. She gazed up to Cace, grinned, and
raised her eyebrows and her shoulders, shaking her head.
    Cace chuffed. “It’s the old language. You
don’t know Comhra, though, do you?”
    “What do they represent?” Erynn’s brow
knitted, and she stared at the symbols. She recalled similar
markings on a statue above the underground entrance to the portal
of water. The one portal she’d located and actually been through.
Symbols also covered the walls in precise lines in the chamber
below the strange statue.
    Were these similar ? Could they be a
marker for another portal, as she had thought ?
    “It’s the symbol for air,” Cace said, shaking
his head.
    Erynn frowned. “Air? But it’s in the water.”
She bit her lip.
    “It’s the symbol for air,” he repeated, his
voice strong.
    Erynn nodded. She would check this out now
that she had more information. She leaned in to Cace. “As to my
knowing the ancient language…Mide feath lafhar an teansa.” She
picked up the reader and frowned at the symbols. “Mide bode leagh
se toraith mide meas.”
    Cace blushed and ducked his head. “I’m not
sure what you said. I’ve never heard the old language spoken. I can
only read Comhra.”
    Erynn nodded, her grin widening. “I see.”
    Nev was on his feet. His gaze darted between
Cace and Erynn.
    “What I said was, ‘I do speak the language. I
don’t read it well, I guess.’” Erynn frowned, considering the
implications. Her innate ability to speak and understand Comhra
fell short when it came to reading the symbols, increasing Cace’s
importance to her and Arranon.
    “Wow. I’ll teach you to read Comhra if you’ll
teach me to speak it.” Cace tipped his head, his eyes
narrowing.
    Erynn held out her hand. “Deal.”
    Cace laid his cool, dry fingers over hers and
grasped them. “Deal.”
    Nev moved forward. He turned to Cace. “Enough
excitement for today. I want you to rest.”
    Cace still held tight to the helmet and
reluctantly pushed it toward Erynn. “You’ll want this back.” He
stared at the rumpled blankets on his bed.
    “I’m not carting the helmet to you every time
I need you to fly with me. You’d better keep it.” Erynn took a step
back.
    “Really?” Cace all but squealed. “Thanks,
I’ll take good care of it. Promise.”
    Nev turned on Erynn. His smile showed he
wasn’t angry. “You’re not helping.” His whispered voice rose
slightly on the last word, accenting both syllables. He nodded to
the hall. “Can I talk to you?”
    “Sure.” She preceded him into the
corridor.
    “What’s wrong? What happened?” Nev asked as
soon as Cace’s door slid shut.
    Erynn gazed down the empty hall. “What makes
you think anything’s wrong?”
    Nev took her chin and turned her face to his.
His voice was low, gentle. Again, he invited her to talk. “You’ve
been crying. Was it Jaer?”

Chapter 10
     
     
    CALE GLANCED UP FROM HIS DESK as Erynn
entered his office. “Erynn, it’s good to see…” His brow drew into a
layering of creased Vs. “Hmmm.” He stood up and met her in the
center of the small room. “What’s wrong?”
    Erynn smiled. “I keep forgetting I’m not the
only one who can sense emotions.”
    He guided her to a chair in front of the desk
and leaned against the edge, arms crossed. “You want something.” He
wasn’t asking.
    “Yes.” She glanced down at her hands and then
back to Cale. “I want to leave the base for a while.”
    Cale nodded. “I see.” His blue eyes studied
her, and his lips drew into a thin line. “How long?”
    She twisted a string from her jacket around
her finger and bit her lower lip. “Just a few days.”
    “Is this about Jaer…and Nev?”
    “No.” Her gaze dropped. She studied the