Page 21

AREK

K yrie’s nervous.

She’s accepting the bond, slowly to be sure, but more quickly than I thought possible.

The woman is stubborn enough that I thought it might be decades before she let me touch her again, not mere weeks.

It is a gift.

Every moment with her is a gift, and I won’t take any of them for granted. Ever.

The taste of her lingers on my tongue as she paces in the receiving room.

“Remind me why we can’t just go out and meet them?” she asks, as snarky as ever. The expensive fabric of her skirt swishes with every step.

“Because they deserve a moment to wash their journey off of them, too.”

She scoffs, pausing momentarily to stare daggers at me before resuming her pacing in front of the hearth.

“We can force them in here first, if you would prefer to use your power as my queen to make them bow to you,” I needle her. I know that’s not what she wants, but I also know that pissing her off is one surefire way to keep her from the bitter anxiety that leaks through her emotions.

She thinks they hate her.

She’s angry at Lara, too, for lying to her.

As if Lara had a choice in the matter, as if Lara even knew what I had to do.

I force a grin on my face as she scowls at me, fury radiating from the stubborn set of her jaw to the way her slippered foot taps the expensively carpeted floor.

“Of course I wouldn’t do that.” She chews her bottom lip, turning it pink, then white, as she bites down harder.

I cross over to where she stands quicker than thought, lacing my arms around her.

Something inside me settles immediately at the contact. “I know, Kyrie. I was teasing you.”

Her breath rushes out of her, warming the fabric stretched across my chest.

“What if it was all a lie?” she asks, pulling back to look me in the eyes. There’s a desperation to her voice that makes me hurt for her. “What if Lara wasn’t ever my friend—” Her voice breaks.

I shake my head, unable to resist kissing her, tugging her bottom lip from her worrying teeth.

“It wasn’t a lie, golden tongue,” I tell her, pushing a lock of her red-gold hair behind one ear. “Lara thinks of you as a sister.”

“A sister who lied to me,” she grouses.

“That makes two of you, then. Maybe twins is a better descriptor.”

She huffs in outrage, but a small smile curves her lips. Gods, she’s beautiful.

“She didn’t know what I would do, my love,” I tell her.

“Don’t call me that,” she says, but there’s no real heat in it.

“She only knew I would save you,” I continue, ignoring her. “She’s probably going to be livid once… once she knows what really happened.”

I rub the back of my neck, and Kyrie slips out of my remaining hand.

I’ve had plenty of time to consider how Kyrie’s friends will judge me for what I did. If she told them she wanted to run from me, they would try to make it happen.

And with Kyrie’s new powers, new status… they might succeed.

“If you wanted to leave me, with them, I mean, I wouldn’t chase you,” I say abruptly.

She stops her pacing again, her long red hair swinging around her shoulders as she absorbs that.

“You just told me it pained you to be away from me.” An eyeroll punctuates the statement.

“I would endure pain if it meant you were happy.”

“I think you’re fucked up enough to really believe that, too,” Kyrie muses, green eyes narrowed at me.

“Fucked up enough to believe what?” Lara’s voice rings out, the door flying open as she sprints in. “By Nakush, Kyrie, you’re well now.”

The last comes out on a choked sob, and Kyrie goes still as Lara wraps her arms around my mate.

A low growl rumbles in my throat, possessiveness causing my hands to fist at my sides.

That’s new.

Fuck.

Every bit of this is new.

The need for her is all-consuming, the need to touch her so fucking strong that half my energy is spent thinking about it.

Kyrie’s stiff in Lara’s arms, though, not returning the hug.

“You’re…” Lara steps back, her dark brown eyes wide with surprise.

Surprise, and fear.

“You’re different.”

“You didn’t know,” Kyrie says, and the words are tight with pain.

“What happened?” Morrow asks.

The huge knight’s stance is wide and easy, but his battle-hardened expression gives him away.

He’s clocked the tension in the room, and he’s ready for a fight.

Caedia is next into the room, peeking around Morrow’s barrel chest. “What’s wrong? Kyrie’s a Fae now?” Her nose wrinkles, and she slips around Morrow, appearing in front of Kyrie faster than thought.

Her green nostrils flare as she inhales deeply.

“Not just a Fae, then. A mated Fae, and one with…” Caedia trails off, taking a step back.

“What happened?” Morrow repeats, blue eyes darting around the room between us.

“He sacrificed me.” Kyrie’s tone is easy, but there’s nothing relaxed about the words. “Stabbed a knife through my heart. I woke up different.”

All hell breaks loose the moment she’s finished her summation of events, and I snag her up in my arms before anyone else can touch her again.

Kyrie is mine .