Page 22

"Rowen," Sierra whispered, clutching the sheet to her chest as if I hadn't just watched her writhing naked beneath Archer's touch.

I pushed away from the doorframe and entered the room, the door closing behind me with a thought. "Don't bother covering up on my account," I said, gesturing to the sheet. "Nothing I haven't seen. Nothing I won't be seeing again, very soon."

Her cheeks flushed pink, but she didn't release the sheet. Stubborn little necromancer.

"How was the meeting?" Archer asked, sitting up beside Sierra, a protective hand resting on her thigh over the sheet.

I bared my teeth in what could generously be called a smile. "The council, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that the troubles in the Fae realm are not our concern."

"Bullshit," Archer muttered, his free hand instinctively moving to where one of his daggers would normally be strapped. Finding it absent, his fingers twitched with annoyance.

"My thoughts exactly," I agreed, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped beneath my weight, causing Sierra to slide slightly closer to me. The heat of her skin reached me even through the sheet, a reminder of the fire that still burned within her, temporarily banked but far from extinguished.

"The Fae realm?" Sierra asked, her voice small but curious. "What's happening there?"

I exchanged a look with Archer. How much did she need to know? How much could her still-awakening mind comprehend?

"My half-brother rules there," I said finally. "Or at least, he's supposed to. There are... complications."

"Callum," Sierra breathed, and something in the way she said his name made both Archer and I stiffen.

"You know of him?" Archer asked, his voice carefully neutral.

Sierra frowned, pressing a hand to her temple. "I... I don't know. The name just came to me. When I was with you, I thought..." She trailed off, looking confused and slightly embarrassed.

"You thought what?" I prompted, leaning closer to her, drawn by the power that pulsed beneath her skin, stronger now than it had been even an hour ago.

"I thought that I needed him here too," she admitted, refusing to meet my eyes. "But that's crazy. I don't even know him."

Archer's gaze snapped to mine, a silent question in his ice-blue eyes. I gave a small nod, confirming what he already suspected.

"That's what we need to discuss," I said, my voice rumbling from deep in my chest. "What's happening to you, what it means for all of us."

Sierra's eyes widened. "All of us?"

"There's a bond forming," Archer explained, his fingers drawing small circles on her thigh through the sheet. "Not just between you and Rowen, or you and me. It's more... complicated."

"How complicated?" Sierra asked, wariness replacing the confusion in her expression.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "It seems that you are bonded to all three of us. Me, Archer, and Callum are all your fated mates."

Sierra's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "Three mates? Like, all at once?"

"Yes," I confirmed.

"That's why you thought of Callum," Archer added. "The bond is trying to form, pulling the four of us together."

Sierra looked between us, her silver eyes bright with questions. "I barely even know him!" She growled, some of her fire returning. "He had me kidnapped just so he could get a fucking message to you."

"Just like we knew you were ours. It's instinctual."

Her eyes narrowed. I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, sorting through the implications, the possibilities. Finally, she looked at Archer.

"When does he join us?" she asked, her words and tone razor sharp now. "Callum, I mean."

Archer glanced at me, and I saw the same question in his eyes. "When indeed, Rowen?"

I gritted my teeth, fingers digging into the bedspread. The council's decision complicated things, but fated mates didn't give a damn about politics. If Callum was meant to be with us, the bond would find a way to bring him here—with or without my assistance.