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“Silver tongue,” Layala teased.

“It’s this silver tongue that made you fall hard.”

“Actually, it was your pretty words that made me wary, as much as your pretty face. If you remember, I thought you made your lovers go mad and murdered young females.”

He laughed. “Ah yes, the sacrificial use of beautiful young maidens, what a beast I am.”

He slid his hand up the back of her arm, across her elbow and took her hand, then spun her around. Sweeping a hand behind her back, he dipped her low and then with a tug pulled her back up. “You say you don’t know how to dance but you move like the wind.”

“I have a wonderful partner.” As they swayed and moved to the beat of the drum and the violin’s wistful melody, she got lost in it. The crowd around them seemed to fade away and with it, the pain and sorrow of the past month. Right now, it was them and a song. She pressed her cheek against his chest and reveled in his woodsy masculine scent, an escape from the acrid smoke.

“Since we’re intimate now, one of us should get a preventative tonic. A baby is the last thing I want to bring into this chaotic world of ours. I can’t even imagine what your father would attempt to do.”

Thane stroked her hair, twirling a piece of the black strands around his finger. “I’ve been drinking a tonic since Doonafell. You don’t need to worry.”

Layala looked up at him, one eyebrow arched. “Since Doonafell, huh?”

He laughed at her. “I’m prepared and since I’m irresistible I knew you’d give in to me eventually.”

“There’s that big ego of yours popping up again.”

A hand gripped Layala’s shoulder. “Mind if I cut in?”

The playful smile on Thane’s face faded to dark thunderclouds and those brilliant-green eyes of his shadows and the object of nightmares. The human man standing beside them, with his hand still on Layala’s shoulder, was tall, taller than even Thane, broad shouldered and had massive arms. He looked like he could lift a horse, and the low partially-unbuttoned beige shirt revealed a hairy, barrel chest. He had a patch over one eye but looked young, maybe in his late twenties.

“I do mind,” Thane said, holding her a little tighter around the waist. The growing tension was palpable, and she knew exactly where this was headed if the man didn’t back off.

“I don’t want to dance,” Layala said, pushing his hand off her. “Now run along and find someone else.”

Completely ignoring her, he kept his gaze trained on Thane. “Come on, elf. There are only so many wenches in here, and I want this one.”

Oh, here we go.A blanket of raw power coated the air around them so thick she could taste the bitter tang of it. Even the floorboards creaked as Thane’s power leached out. To her it felt like a gentle caress of a lover against her skin, but fear flashed across the man’s face. Yet he was either drunk or stupid because his feet didn’t move. Layala stepped out from between them. No way was she about to get into the middle of this one. As soon as she was out of the way, Thane’s fist cracked the jaw of the man. His body went slack, his eyes rolled back and he hit the ground with a bang. The stillness of the man was a little unnerving. Layala wasn’t sure he was even alive until he groaned.

“Damn,” Layala murmured to herself. The music came to a screeching halt and the loud chatter quieted down almost as if someone had snapped their fingers for silence. Several men at tables stood.

“Hey!” one man yelled, rising to his feet. “That’s my captain, elf!”

The scrape of many knives and swords being pulled from their scabbards lilted around the room. Layala’s magic itched down her arms and tingled her fingertips. A swell of joy filled her chest. She had her power back and Maker above; it felt good. Not that she would use it here. Kail’s place would be utterly destroyed if she let loose her destruction.

Thane’s mouth quirked into a half smile, and he held out his arms. “Your captain was in need of a lesson in manners.”

Maker above, I love him.Layala stepped to his side, bumping her shoulder into him. “Nice punch. We should call you the one-hit wonder.”

Thane’s smile only grew, and he announced to the room. “And I’ll be happy to oblige anyone else who needs enlightenment.”

“Are you trying to start a brawl?”

“Why not?” He rolled his shoulders back. “I’m feeling agitated.”

“Oh, and here you told Leif and Gunner not to start a fight.”

Chairs scraped and clattered to the ground as several men shoved away from their tables. At least twelve moved in with wicked grins as if they were going to enjoy this fight. Layala withdrew her dagger and pressed her back against Thane’s ready for the first assailant. He didn’t pull any weapons out, but he didn’t need them.

Leif slid in front of Thane, rolling his red head side to side. “All you little petered humans better step back.”

Gunner, Siegfried, and several other elves from around the room joined the line of defense.

“Your captain is scum and had no business even asking her to dance,” Gunner said and shoved his finger into the chest of a man with mangy brown hair and yellowed teeth with bits of black in between.