"We have some time to ourselves now," Torion murmured.
"Tonight?"
"Mm, the next week or so. Dragonkin will be busy resettling after the rut. No one will be hammering at the door with demands. What would you like to do?"
I closed my eyes as dozens of ideas floated to mind. Staying in bed with Torion was at the forefront. Flying along the coast. Maybe even a little trip to the city to shop. Strolling over brick roads with Torion's warm, heavy arm over my shoulders.Waking up early for the sunlight stretches I'd caught him at a few times.
It was all too sweet. It would be too tempting—an illusion that a part of me never stopped wanting to believe in.
I cleared my throat and leaned my head against Torion, his chin resting on my now damp shoulder. I found his hands with mine, braced over the ledge of the tub, and tangled our fingers together.
"I thought…I thought I might go back to the cottage," I said as gently as I could.
I was too cold with Torion sometimes. Whatever he might deserve in the future, I didn't have it in me to punish him now. Still, I felt him flinch, his hands tightening in refusal around mine and then going limp.
"The cottage?"
"Mm. Just for a little while. See to my usual patients and work on a new harvest. Different plants come up at…different times of the year," I said, realizing how stupidly obvious the claim was. Torion knew the Hills as well as I did. "I can come back whenever you need me, but it would be… It would be nice to be back there."
Torion was quiet, still surrounding me. He swallowed, his throat working against my shoulder. Steam rose up off the water, and the fire crackled.
But the room had gone chilly, stale. I'd dampened the magic of the evening until it died away to awkwardness. I mourned the loss even as I breathed a little easier.
"Very well," Torion said, his voice hoarse. "When will you leave?"
I held my lips between my teeth for a moment, blinked against the sting in my eyes. It was absurd, absolutely nonsensical that his easy acquiescence should hurt with a deepstab tucked up under my ribs. That didn't stop the knife from twisting as I answered.
"Tomorrow, I think."Unless you refuse. Unless you drag me into the nest and chain me there with you.The teasing words were on the tip of my tongue, and I knew they would be enough. If I gave Torion so much as a hint of opportunity, he would seize on my reluctance, make the decision for both of us. And the temptation was poisonous. I swallowed it down like necessary medicine.
Cool air breezed over my shoulders as my alpha pulled away, heavy wings whispering and stretching to cast shadows as he rose up from his crouch behind me. "I'll see that there's a wagon readied to take you," he said, the words flat.
I shivered in the warm bath and shut my eyes to seal the tears as the bedroom door shut behind him.
Chapter Twenty
TORION
Iscowled down at the proposal in front of me, at the list of names I recognized, and the astonishing numbers alongside them. Acreage, miles of it. Beautiful land, forests and farmland, grazing hills and fishing streams, now listed on offer for potential sale. With a quick glance up, I caught the exchange between Francis Keane and Damian Worthington's aide, Mr. Dunkley—smug, knowing, Keane reassured the other man with a faint nod, as if my agreement was already settled. Behind them, in the shadowy corners of the room, the stormy beta and Worthington's bastard half-brother, Bennett Reeves, watched us all.
"You must admit the prices are fair, my lord," Mr. Dunkley said, drawing a pair of delicate spectacles from his nose and wiping them with a handkerchief.
"More than that, I'd say," Keane echoed, grinning at me and waggling his eyebrows, as if it werewegetting away with something and not Skybern.
"Indeed," I said, scenting the triumph off the two men and resisting the urge to growl in answer. "In fact, such a high price per acre reeks of bribery."
In the corner, Bennett Reeve's head ducked, hiding what I almost thought might've been a smile. Mr. Dunkley, a human in a room of dragons, blustered nervously, twisting to look at Reeves before quickly correcting himself. "Sir, I assure?—"
"So what if it is, Torion?" Keane asked, cutting the Skybern solicitor off. His smile remained silky, but I could tell he hadn't expected me to put up an argument and he was sharpening to the conversation now. "Our own lords struggle to make ends meet while the gentlemen of Skybern and even Bleake Isle prosper in trade. An exchange like this one—one in Grave Hills’ favor—will provide wealth for generations."
"Is it in Grave Hills’ favor?" I asked, sitting back in my seat, flexing my wings behind me briefly, ignoring the sharp ache of my muscles. I'd been flying too much, hieing off to every corner of the region, trying to keep myself busy. Trying to stay out of the empty nest my omega had abandoned.
The one you let her run from, my dragon grumbled irritably.
Keane's eyebrows raised. "You said yourself?—"
I ignored him, turning back to Dunkley. "These Skybern lords looking to acquire our land, would they remain Alpha Worthington's subjects while living here under my rule? Would their sons? Would they be dragonkin gentlemen of Grave Hills or of Skybern?"
Keane's mouth snapped shut, his eyes narrowing on me.You bastard, I thought, refusing to look back at him.You'd sell the Hills to the highest bidder.
