Page 74 of His Retribution

She is back.

She is here, she is back and she is mine.

"How is your head, little one?" Henrich returns to the bed, looks over her face, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"I also need to stop giving everyone reasons to ask me that,” Cora smiles. "A little sore. Mostly the lump, to be honest."

"Do you remember how you received the lump?"

My head snaps toward Henrich and I'm about three seconds from asking if he's gone mad but when our gazes clash, I see his game. My dear brother is going to test her mind, her memory, and he is going to do it slowly.

But my light rolls her eyes and removes my hands from her face. "No, but I didn't really remember it the first time either." Then her electric blue high beams narrow. "And I hate it when you guys do that."

I frown.

Henrich frowns.

We share a look.

"That!" Cora points between us. "I hate that shit!" Then she drops her voice to mimic one of us if not both. "'Did you see that, brother? Yes I did, brother. Good, this is what I'm thinking. Excellent, I'm thinking the same and we aren't going to use any words and exclude everyone else from our conversation.'" Then she grunts a couple of times, rolls her eyes again and folds her arms against her chest. "I fucking hate it when the five of you have your silent broody caveman conversations."

I blink.

Henrich blinks.

We share a look.

"Well, it's nice to know some shit never changes. At least now I remember the other languages I speak, can't talk around me in Slovakian anymore, jackass."

Henrich grins. "That always did irritate you."

"No shit!" Cora half scolds, half laughs. "I mean, I get it. The five of you are like brother-husbands or some shit, know each other better than you know yourselves but my god all the times I wanted to strangle each of you from all of the conversations had, with nothing but shared looks..." She shakes her head with a smile. "It gets old quick."

Now I'm smiling like an idiot.

A relieved, lovesick idiot who has been blessed once again by the opportunity to bask in my light.

"I'm afraid we've perfected it in your absence, my love.” I scoot higher over her lap, careful not to bare down and crush her. "We rarely have to speak to one another to convey our thoughts."

Another eye roll. "Wonderful."

Henrich snorts."But you are not alone in your distaste for it, little one. My Grace hates it as well. And Casey chides us about using it to plan disgusting secret orgies."

"And Posey!" I exclaim like a child. "The queen has taken to smacking us upside the head when we do it. Mostly just Kai but still, it seems as though their females share your feelings on the subject."

“Good." She grins. "One broody asshole is nothing compared to the five of you together and even though I got pretty fucking good at deciphering your code, I'm rusty as hell. I'll need the backup to break the habit."

Somehow my smile grows even wider and I can't take my eyes off my beautiful blue light.

Gods, this is the same. The same banter we've always shared and though she still carries her American accent, the dialect that she has adapted to over time, she speaks with the same sharp tongue I love so much.

Henrich grabs a chair and slides it up to the bed. "I'd like to see how much you do remember, little one, see where you're at cognitively before you move around too much, before you see anyone else. Would that be alright?"

Cora smirks. "Are you calling me stupid, Henny?"

He blinks a few times then shakes his head. "Not at all. I just, well, I just want to be sure, want—"

My light bursts into laughter and I'm half tempted to continue scooting up her body and seal her lips with mine so I can save that sound for all of forever.