He coughed but didn’t cover his laughter.
I sighed. “You’re shameful. And stop being nice to me.”
“Okay.”
“And stop smiling.”
His smile grew wider. “Sure thing, purie.”
I sniffed, holding back my own smile. “We have more pressing matters to deal with.”
“I suppose.” He sat next to me on the bed, the short towel around his waist driving me to distraction. “Why don’t you tell me about your dreams?”
Chapter 16
Aerolus
Alandra’s eyes widened, and I fought not to smirk. Bonding with her had brought us together, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.
I’d been in her dreams earlier, an observer watching the fascinating world of the Aellei and the Dark Lord insidiously worming his way toward their queen.
Whoever the Dark Lord was, he brought another dimension into Tanselm’s battle with the Netharat, a precarious playing field growing more crowded with unknown foes flushed from other worlds.
I gazed at Alandra, sidetracked by her loveliness. The Light only enhanced her soul, pure at its core yet hardened by adversity and firmed into a devious strength.
As Trudy Warner, she’d tricked me and Arim. But she could never pass for a mortal in Seattle without a glamor, too beautiful not to command attention. Was she mischievous? Oh, yes. She enjoyed her fun but had no inclination to harm anyone who didn’t deserve it.
She frowned at me. “What’s going on in that mazelike mind of yours?”
I was still unsure what I’d felt when she’d accused me of being an underhanded Light Bringer. How could she so easily read me? Even my brothers, with whom I’d lived all my life, couldn’t predict my actions, at least not without using the gift of clairvoyance.
But Alandra knew me.
Just as I knew her.
The key to handling her would be to always have the upper hand, or at least, be perceived as having it.
I didn’t like that she panicked after our bonding. Her worry tore at me, and I wanted nothing more than to soothe and reassure my affai. Pretending it was all a game made her feel safe. Games and competition were familiar to Alandra, and by playing by her rules, it was as if she still controlled our relationship.
Light forbid I actually confess what I was starting to feel about her.
Though the woman had seemed impressed I might be behaving underhanded in some way. There had been a gleam of affection in her eyes. I thought. Maybe? Trust Alandra to make life complicated.
Just the thought that she might care deeply for me blew life into my tired mind and body. I couldn’t help my stiff cock, but I could try to ignore it. If only she would.
I bit back a smirk as she kept staring down at my tented towel.
“I want to know about you, Alandra. Tell me more about the Aellei, and about the queen and her new lover.”
Alandra blinked up at me. “I only know what I dreamed, and I’m not sure how that happened. I’m not exactly clairvoyant.”
I cleared my throat but spoke softly, knowing the truth might upset her. “Actually, I believe you tapped into my abilities.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can sometimes view another’s dreams. This perception is rather new, and until now, it’s only extended to my brothers and Arim.” My uncle didn’t know that, and I didn’t intend to tell him. “But I don’t think you had a dream, more like a vision.”
She cocked her head to the side, in thought. “It did feel real, didn’t it? That was my aunt, Queen Lidra. Though she doesn’t really look like that. She deliberately projects an air of…”
