Page 41 of The Mating Quest

Ethan looked fascinated. “You sing? Mages are supposed to be excellentsingers.”

She wanted to scoff, but he seemed sincere. Ilana knew she had a good voice, but seldom sang before others. Not since the day the Dark Fae forced her to entertain hisfriends.

Turning the attention away from her she pointed to Ethan. “What about you? Do you have a favoritesong?”

Mischief danced in his blue eyes. “Not really, but I have a song running through my head… since last night when you shared mybed.”

Damn, I opened a door I shouldn’t have. “Oh?”

Ethan began singing “Strangers in the night.” Heat suffused her face as he sang, a teasing look on his face as he gazed at her. Hamming it up, putting a hand to his chest, then grabbing her hand and holding it to hisheart.

Everyone laughed, even solemn Tristan. Ilana yanked her hand away. As he stopped singing and applause sounded, she gave him a singularly sweetsmile.

“Funny. I have a song running through my head as well since last night. “You’re so Vain”by CarlySimon.”

Ethan didn’t look offended. He laughed instead. Ilana had to admit his teasing was better than the earlier hostility. She didn’t like any attention thrown her way, though. Ilana tossed the bag of marshmallows at Aiden. “Here. I bet you can use thesugar.”

The alpha stuck two of them on a toasting fork and watched them burn. He grinned. “I like my marshmallows like I like my enemies. Extracrispy.”

Laughter resoundedagain.

Tristan poked at the fire with a long branch. “Ilana, what’s your favoritesong?”

So much for diverting attention away from herself. She sensed a deeper meaning to the question, but would play along. “It’s not a favorite, exactly, but one I know well. “Zombie”by the Cranberries. It’s a 1994 protest song about the killing of two children in England,’” sherecited.

She didn’t expect these Others to understand the impact of Skin violence, especially Tristan, whose concern was with his charges, but the wizard leaned back against the dead tree. “Tell us about theincident.”

Ilana pushed a hand through her hair. “The Cranberries are a rock band and lead singer Dolores O’Riordan is Irish. She wrote the song in memory of a three-year-old and a twelve-year-old, both boys, who died from the IRA bombing in England. Bombs were hidden in trash bins and when they detonated, the boys were killed. They had gone shopping to buy cards for Mother’sDay.”

Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she swiped through her Spotify list and found the song and playedit.

Ilana began to sing along with lead singer. It was such a powerful, sorrowful and angry song that reflected everything she felt seeing - the anguish, unfairness and crimes in her travels. Nothingchanged.

The emotion in the song gripped her more than ever, and she began swaying back and forth, remembering all the injustices and horrible deaths she’dwitnessed.

When the song ended, she switched off her playlist. No one spoke. An eerie stillness came over her audience. Ilana felt embarrassed at revealing something so personal. But Ethan slid closer to her and grasped her hand. In the shadows in his eyes she saw completeunderstanding.

Nikita and Nia’s eyes were wet blue gems. The twins, mothers both, had their arms around eachother.

Tristan’s face was hard to read, but Aiden’s wasn’t. The Mitchell alpha’s expression tightened as his gaze went from her to his mate’s. It didn’t take a genius or a mind reader to know he was thinking of his own child, and perhaps the children they had yet toconceive.

The Silver Wizard pushed to his feet. “I’m going for a run. Aiden,Ranger?’

The men also stood. Tristan looked at Ethan. “Coming?”

Ethan glanced at her. “Youokay?”

She waved a hand. “I’ll befine.”

He squeezed her hand, the move reassuring and tingling. The wizard shifted into a large black wolf, eyes gleaming in the firelight. The other men shifted into their wolf forms and they all ran off, silent asdewfall.

“Aiden doesn’t worry about you being alone?” she askedNia.

Nia smiled. “He knows I can protect myself. He’s learned along the way. And with Danu’s fairies from Tir Na-nog guarding all our babies, I’ve learned to relax aswell.”

Ava poked at the fire with her toasting fork. “Ilana, I’ve been meaning to ask you. How did you know Plyx? He said you’ve known each other for centuries. But surely, you can’t be thatold.”

Ilana stiffened as all gazes centered on her. Then she smiled, speared a marshmallow. “Oh, he was probably exaggerating. And you know that a girl never tells herage.”