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She hadn’t thought twice about running into her father’s arms. Arianna honestly hadn’t admitted to herself how much she’d missed having an authority figure she could trust.

“I guess we’ll find out soon.”

Rion rubbed his eyes and studied the rest of his breakfast. She’d eaten a few bites of her own, but the silence in the room felt too heavy to finish it.

“I, um—”

“What is it?” Rion asked, suddenly alarmed.

“I didn’t want to ask last night, but my shoulder.”

Rion almost shoved the tray off the bed in his haste then seemed to remember himself and slowed. “What do you need?”

She eyed the tin and bandages on the night stand beside him. “I can’t really wrap it myself.” And it was burning, each little puncture mark feeling as though venom had laced the creature’s pointed teeth. Arianna knew it hadn’t.

Rion took the tin and bandages, then waited.

She took a breath. Her mate. Rion was her mate.

Slowly, Arianna pulled her shirt over her head, leaving her in nothing but the wrap around her chest. But Rion didn’t look at her half naked form. His gaze flew to the wound and assessed the damage. She’d been lucky. One shake of the creature’s head could have left her incapacitated.

She held the sweater to her chest and inched closer.

Rion studied the mark. “You said a Dark Fae attacked you?” Arianna nodded and Rion unscrewed the lid before dipping his fingers in the salve.

“I don’t know what they were. Talon seemed like he’d encountered them before.” Her friend had claimed he’d explain later, but they’d been running nonstop since they’d leapt from the edge of Ruadhán.

Rion applied the balm with a feather-light touch. “I used to hear rumors from my warriors about strange creatures, though I never encountered any myself. I often thought they were being dramatic.”

She huffed a laugh. “They’re very real and very scary.”

“Tell me about them.”

So she did. Arianna recounted every single detail while Rion wrapped her wound, then moved to rebandage her foot. He listened intently and claimed he’d never faced anything like them even during his time in the mountains.

The thought didn’t sit well. Perhaps they were some sort of abomination of nature. Or maybe they’d been created by someone other than the gods.

***

They left their trays on the dresser and Arianna changed into a short sleeve gray top. Blood from her wound had stained the sweater and she didn’t want anyone fussing over her any more than her mate already had.

Rion didn’t bother changing. His clothes were comfortable and after months of discomfort, he deserved the small luxury.

When she opened the door, Rion didn’t growl at the guard stationed down the hall, nor did the guard snarl at him.

That was a nice change.

Saoirse was already in the living room, standing before the crackling fire. Her mother, Eimear, sat in the beige arm chair to the left of the hearth with the little girl on the floor between her feet. Her round eyes looked up and Arianna couldn’t help but smile at the crumbs covering the child’s face. Someone had brought pastries.

“Morning,” Saoirse said by way of greeting. Eimear looked better, but Arianna could tell from the way Saoirse stood that the female hadn’t left her mother’s side.

A smile ghosted Saoirse lips when she saw Arianna and Rion’s joined hands.

“Morning,” Arianna returned. Morning. Which meant they’d slept longer than she’d realized. A lot longer. She hadn’t even dreamed. Rion waved an arm, looking like he could use a few more days’ rest before he tackled the world and its problems. Let alone a meeting with her father.

Arianna plopped into the loveseat across from Eimear and angled herself toward the warm flames. Rion sat at her side. His posture wasn’t rigid as she was so accustomed to seeing. It was as if all the fight had been torn out of him.

Maybe it had.