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“Never thought I’d see the great Tiber fall for a wisp of a woman.” Kirkurte was grinning as he and Cordro readied to leave outside the cave.

Mia was still sleeping inside with Ilmari, and Tiber wanted to let her sleep as long as possible before waking her.

Cordro snickered slightly as he pulled out another bag of dried fruit. “I’m officially giving this to you so if you give it to her, it’s a gift from you, not another male.” His tone was amused.

Though Tiber wanted to ignore it, he’d seen the way Mia had glanced at the bag, interest in her green eyes. “Thank you for the gift,” he ground out.

Which made the two of them laugh in unison.

But then Kirkurte straightened slightly. “Is it… difficult with a human? With her being so different physically?”

Protectiveness swelled inside him even though the other man hadn’t insulted her. “She’s one of the most talented and kind people I know. The realm is lucky to have her presence.” Him more than anyone, even if he hadn’t claimed her yet. But after yesterday, he couldn’t deny it any longer.

She was his.

“I wasn’t insulting her.” Kirkurte raised his palms slightly, a grin playing at his mouth. “I was just curious. She is quite attractive. I only wondered if perhaps she had human friends or a sister and—”

“Sweet Goddess,” Cordro muttered. “He’s going to take off your head. And you’ll deserve it.”

“She does have a sister,” Tiber said. “And I’ll make sure to warn her against you. Where are you two headed anyway?” Dawn had just broken and there weren’t any storm clouds in sight.

But around here, he knew that could change in an instant.

“To the castle. Starlena recalled us for a while.” Cordro shrugged. “Said she might have use of us.”

That was news to him, but not a surprise.

“Good. While you’re there, perhaps you can do me a favor.”

“Anything,” Kirkurte murmured practically in unison with Cordro.

He laid out why they’d left and as many details as he thought were pertinent about Charles and his coven. When he was done, they both nodded, their expressions dark.

“We’ll keep our ear to the ground,” Cordro said.

“Indeed. Now unless you want to see my glorious cock and weep for how lacking you are, I’m going to strip and shift now,” Kirkurte said.

Tiber rolled his eyes as he said, “Safe travels,” but didn’t smother his laugh as he headed back inside. It had been an age since he’d seen the two of them and he hoped they’d still be at the castle when he returned.

More than that, he hoped Charles was gone so he could get about the business of hunting him down in New Orleans and taking care of him for good.