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Byrgir sighed. “She told me that you were important, that you might be the key to it all, although she never said what ‘it all’ was. She said you were destined for something, and told me to protect you. Keep you safe. It’s why I rode away from her cottage with you that day.

Why I didn’t go back for her. She told me if anything ever happened, I was to get you to safety above all else. So I did.”

“So she must know something.”

“Or suspect something, like I did,” El added. “Do you think Zisorah got something out of her?”

“Maybe,” Crow mused. “I wouldn’t put it past her. The more political influence she gains, the more forceful her methods will get.”

My stomach lurched with nausea at the thought. “We have to get Eilith out of there,” I said.

“We have to figure out what she knows about you.” Crow looked pointedly at me. “You need to go talk to your mother.”

I sighed and leaned back against the counter next to El, sipping my wine. It tasted expensive.

“There’s no way around it?” I asked. I had been enjoying my anonymity, the separation from those painful family memories. I was not eager to reopen old wounds.

Crow and El shook their heads.

“Fine. I’ll go tomorrow.”

∞∞∞

I climbed the spiraling staircase to my room. Rain battered at the round leaded windows set into the stairwell and hallway, pale light leaking through. The sun was still up, but I was exhausted.

I ran the bath, grateful for the instant stream of hot water heated by the enchantments of the house. I would never take for granted how lovely it was to be able to slip into a hot bath without heating it over the hearth and hauling it by bucketfuls into the tub.

I pulled open the heavy black curtains, and then the gauzy, sheer white ones that covered the two glass doors to the balcony.

The rain was relenting, slowly, and swirls of mist and cloud hung in the evergreens all around me.

The neighboring treetops faded away into fog.

To the northwest, I could see distant whitecaps of ocean waves fading into an invisible horizon, mist blending sea and sky.

I pulled off my damp sweater and unraveled my hair from its braid, doing my best to gently untangle it with my fingers. I was about to pull off my pants when there was a soft knock. I padded barefoot across the smooth wood floor and plush rug to open the door.

Byrgir smiled at me from the hallway. “I wanted to check on you,” he said. “El said Crow gave you a rough time before I got here.”

I held open the door for him. “He was just doing his job.”

He had changed from his traveling clothes into a deep moss-green linen shirt and his usual trousers. The green matched his eyes perfectly. He stepped in, looking around at the cozy room and its expansive view, before crossing to the balcony doors and looking out.

“This room is amazing,” he said. “Why doesn’t El take this one as hers?”

“Hers is bigger. And less of a climb up the stairs. But I far prefer this one.” I ducked into the bathroom and turned off the bath tap.

“Me too,” he agreed, leaning against the wall, still looking out the window.

“I get the impression that Crow doesn’t want me here,” I ventured.

“I could see how he would make you feel that way,” Byrgir said. “He’s clever, but his social skills are rusty. I’m sorry he was hard on you today. He shouldn’t have approached it like that.”

“Thanks. I’m not sure how else he could approach it though,” I said. “I appreciate that he was direct with me, was blunt about it. I’d much rather he bring it to me right away than talk to anyone else about it first and leave me the last to know.”

“He would agree with you there.” Byrgir smiled at me. “And he wants you here. He just takes a while to trust people. But he trusts me, and El. And we’ve told him he can trust you. He’ll come around.”

I nodded. “He doesn’t have to like me but, if we’re all going to work together, it would be easier if he did.”

“He already likes you. Choosing to bring that information directly to you, without poking around first, without talking to us first, means he respects you. He’ll cool down, with time. His… intensity will dampen, a little. Or maybe I’ve just gotten used to it.”

I chuckled. “I guess I’ll get used to it eventually too. If he doesn’t drive me out of town before then.”

“He’d have to go through El first,” Byrgir joked. “And he might seem intense, but his heat is no match for her bonfire, that’s for sure.”

I grinned; Byrgir smiled back from his casual post against the wall.

“You don’t have to go tomorrow,” he said.

“I think I do,” I answered. “Crow’s all twisted up about his lack of information. Seems like he’s quite uncomfortable with all these unknowns. All these possible threats.”

“I suppose you’ll have to go soon, you’re right, and it’s best we don’t leave this discussion to written correspondence. But we just got home. You don’t have to leave right away.”

I rubbed my forehead, pushed my tangled hair out of my face. Gods I was tired. “I know. I don’t want to go right away. I want to spend some time just holed up in this room. Feels like I could sleep a whole night and day.”

“It is a beautiful room. I’m jealous mine doesn’t look like this.”

“The other rooms are still nice. Almost as nice as this. Almost,” I said with a smile.

“Are you teasing me, Little Lamb?” he asked, standing up from his casual lean against the wall and stepping toward me.

My heart fluttered, but I shrugged casually. “We can’t all be El’s favorite, don’t feel bad.”

“I was her favorite until you showed up.”

“I thought Crow was her favorite before me,” I said. But I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly he meant.

“Maybe he was.” Another step closer with a slight shrug, a playful smile on his face. “Perhaps I’ll kick you out of this room. Take it as my own.”

“I’d like to see you try,” I said.

Byrgir raised his brows and inclined his head in questioning surprise, then smiled devilishly. “Or maybe I’ll just move in here with you.” He stepped closer still. “That bed is big enough for two, right?”

He was close enough now for me to catch his scent on every inhale. Warm spice, leather, tobacco.

“Maybe big enough for two normal sized people, not big enough for you,” I told him.

“Oh, come on, you and I could fit in there just fine. We can sleep head to toe. I’ll be very respectful,” he joked.

“You can have it all to yourself tomorrow, if you must. Since I have to leave.”

“You don’t have to leave,” he replied.

“If we don’t want Crow to die of stress, I think I might have to leave tomorrow,” I said.

He sighed. “Fine. Do you want me to go with you?”

“You’re exhausted too. You should stay and rest,” I answered automatically, and then immediately regretted my response.

But Byrgir didn’t let my polite dismissal dissuade him.

He stepped to me, his large frame blocking out the fading light from the balcony windows behind him.

Raising a hand slowly to my cheek, his fingers gently cupping it, he tilted my face up to meet his gaze.

His eyes lingered over every curve of my face all the way down my throat, then back up to meet mine, as if he were searching for something, looking beneath what he saw.

His thumb slipped down, touching the edge of my lip so softly it began to tingle.

“Halja, do you want me with you?” he asked again. He leaned close and I watched his lips part, just slightly.

“Yes,” I breathed.

“Then I will go where you go.”

His hand dropped and he stepped back. My heart hammered so loud he must have heard it. Every piece of me was sparked into roaring life by his touch, my body burned with heat, color, and an awakened seed of desire.

“We’ll leave tomorrow, but not until you’re well rested. Have a good sleep, Little Lamb.”

And with that, he was gone.

I let out a long breath, staring at the door after him.

Longing pulsed through my body, a beginning with no discernible conclusion.

I went to the bathroom and turned the hot water tap back on, stripped off the rest of my clothes, and climbed into the tub.

The anxiety over my impending trip and difficult familial conversations had been entirely erased by Byrgir.

Fantasies of sharing that room, that bed, that tub with him tortured me for the rest of the night.