The flat look Dane gave me was more of the old Dane I remembered—grumpy and skeptical. “I already have one female to babysit and she’s a full-time job.”
“Take her to the Grove. Let her sit with the Danu tree. I don’t have to tell you to feed and water her, right?”
Dane sighed, looking over at Ruby. “I guess since you’re mated, and we fixed the bar exactly as she wanted it. Without you, by the way. She’ll want another project.” Dane glanced at the rest of the brood. “I’m not taking everyone, though! Especially not his Highness. We already put up half of Evie’s village at the Grove and the Danu can only grow the house so much at once.” I tried not to laugh at Dane’s panicked look.
A chuckle still leaked out. “Evie’s townspeople are here?”
“We had to round them up and protect them when Maggie and Fallon went missing. We feared someone would take the rest. The elves couldn't care less about their safety as long as they stayed hidden, and I can see why. They have been an absolute pain in the ass. Gawking at everyone, startling at the slightest magic. Like having a feral flock of infernal chickens.”
“I will settle the others. But if you have some time, I have some questions about human weddings.”
Dane’s spooked expression almost made me laugh. “What do you need a ‘you-know-what’ for when you’re in mated bliss? You can’t lie and say you didn’t get the job done. I can sense the bond.”
I wouldn’t be ashamed. We were as good as mated and Evie was by my side. “We haven't actually completed the bond and I won’t pressure her. So a wedding it is!”
Dane jumped out of his skin, tackling me to cover my mouth. “Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Why would you do that?” he growled at me.
“Wedding?” I mumbled through his hand.
Rustling sounded nearby, and Ruby appeared like she grew out of the ground. She stared at Dane with his hand still on my mouth. “Did I hear… wedding?”
Dane hustled to her. “No. No. We’re celebrating their return already. That’s what he meant. You like Ward, remember, love?”
“Our deep and abiding union was pure bliss. Everyone should have a ceremony like that,” Ruby said. “Right, husband?”
“But there was barely any ‘marrying me’ part! We almost denuded the entire forest of flowers. Give the Godds mercy to him, wife.” Dane tried to distract her with a sound kiss.
“We put the flowers back.” Despite the stars in her eyes, she pulled away and screamed, “Girls! Bring your sister.”
Dane narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re on your own after this. Come on, Mór!”
The bolt stepped forward. She at least understood her name.
Dane’s wedding had been beautiful, even if Dane might have preferred a more private ceremony. As giant as Ruby had made her wedding dress, even she couldn’t compete with the Grove’s live tree sculptures and a magic-grown meadow. The Grove loved her so much they conspired to make her wedding as unforgettable as possible. As long as Evie loved it, and she felt it binding, I didn’t care what they did.
The rest of the trip back to town filled with non-stop chatter. Everyone was excited to stop. As we wound through Harrowood, monsters came out of their homes and showered us with good cheer and rose petals. Monsters handed us gifts and food, promising to show up at the party tonight. Fresh banners waved from the keep. Townspeople cheered at the parapets. The keep looked completely different, even though I left it only a short time ago. I checked in with Evie and her eyes said the same.
My rooms seemed just as strange, but it helped that Evie entered my space without hesitation. She spent some time picking up my books and inspecting them. I surreptitiously hid some clothes I had on the floor in a basket and cleaned up my desk. I hadn’t had a female in my room for a long time, and this was Evie.
“They don’t realize how close they came to having a shifter army overrun the Harrowlands, do they? All of this is just because we came home?” Her gesture encompassed the hum still going on downstairs.
“There are too many canny monsters here for them not to knowsomethinghappened. We came back alive, so they guessed we were successful, but it’s mostly for us.” I smiled down at her. She took my breath away every time.
“This won’t be like that wolf mating ceremony we skipped, is it? I’m not going down there to fight to the death, or get covered in blood, or have them watch you fuck me in public, right?”
I growled. “No one is watching us have sex. Ever. One quest will not erase a lifetime of what your village told you, but we’re really not that different, Evie. Especially in Harrowood.”
Evie set my book on algebraic magic down on my desk and clasped her hands behind her back.
“How long do you think they will wait for us?” Evie stood on her tiptoes and lightly scratched her nails through my hair.
All thoughts other than her left my mind. She was the only thing grounding me at the moment. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go back to Ward the King after I had been Evie’s travel companion and champion. Those jobs sounded much more enjoyable.
“Long enough to get you on my cock again, viper.”
She giggled, and I pushed her against the wall as she kissed me. We lost ourselves to each other for a spellbinding couple of hours. I had to say having Evie wrapped around me in an actual bed was better than the hard ground and destroyed cot. Not as good as if the bond had finished, but I refused to bring that longing between us.
Most of her awkwardness was gone as I told her where to put her knees and how to spread her legs. I was so glad she finally agreed to be mine because her orgasms ripped through the mate bond, just as she could feel mine. I fell back into the mattress and drew Evie up my chest. Petting through her hair, I relished the small, contented sounds she made as I fell asleep. Evie shook my shoulder. I would get back to loving her in a minute.
