Alice walked over to the bed and picked up the now empty tray. “I’ll see what I can do.” She headed for the door, her face pensive, as if she was already attempting to work out a way to convince the vampire king to allow Finn and Lizzy to see one another.
“Feels like a conjugal visit.” Lizzy mentally laughed.
“Had many boyfriends in prison, have you?” Even though she knew Finn was teasing, she could feel the jealousy roll through the bond. She might have taken a little too much joy at giving him a taste of his own medicine.
“Just the one. But don’t worry. He was nothing to write home about.” She just couldn’t help herself. She heard the door open and rushed over to grab Alice’s arm. “Don’t forget not to act weird if you suddenly have voices in your head or, I don’t know, if your phone rings even though the batteries are dead. Be cool. Just roll with it.”
Alice nodded. “Got it. If the Conjuring starts happening, just pretend I’m not scared out of my brain and act normal around the vampire king.”
“Exactly.” Lizzy nodded. “And no more mental breakdowns. Your face gets all puffy when you cry. It’s not a good look.”
Alice shook her head. “Like I said, Lizzy, you’re a peach.”
Lizzy watched the door close and forced herself not to lunge for it. She didn’t want to attack Alice, not really. Though whatever it was inside of her that was clawing its way to Finn was quite okay with ripping the scientist’s face off. She wondered if that was partly because it didn’t like Finn’s fascination with gypsy healers. “Okay, if that’s my wolf, she needs some serious counseling about what is and isn’t okay.”
“Welcome to being mated to a Canis lupus. We typically are peaceful, except when it comes to our true mates. Then, well, things can turn bloody in a hurry.”
“Sounds like a good time. Sign me up.” Lizzy walked back over to the bed. The agitation that had come on like an abrupt storm seemed to have zapped her of what little energy the food had given her. “Before we get to the ‘things turn bloody in a hurry’ part, I’m going to need a nap. Wake me up before you go fangs and claws on someone, or if you hear anymore from this Fane guy.”
“We still need to discuss your irrational idea that I desire a gypsy healer.”
“Best not to call a pissy woman irrational. And we can talk about it later. I’m tired. Like really tired.”
She felt his hand run down her hair. “Rest, my mate,” Finn told her gently. “I will keep watch through our bond.”
“That sounds creepy, but at the moment, I don’t care.” She yawned and crawled up onto the bed and laid on her side. Lizzy felt an arm wrap around her waist and the warmth from a body she knew wasn’t actually there seep into her back. “Again, should be creepy, but you feel too good to let something so trivial get in the way of my comfort right now.”
“Go to sleep, female,” he ordered, though his words were soft, which took the bite out of them. “Quit worrying about what should, or shouldn’t, be creepy. I’m a werewolf. You’re my true mate. You hold the other half of my soul as I hold yours. Without you, darkness will consume me. There is nothing creepy about that.”
“Oh, you’re right, that’s not creepy at all. No, that’s just freaking crazy.” She heard his rumbling voice as sleep took her.
“I would choose to be crazy with you than sane without you.”
Chapter
Ten
“Sometimes we think the past will never catch up with us. Fool. That is what I am. To think that my past would never catch up with me because it happened thousands of years ago. If you think wisdom comes with age, get ready for disappointment. Sometimes we get dumber the older we get.” ~Peri
“You’re a fool.” Peri whipped around, her long, black robes flowing with her movements as she walked back and forth in front of the veil to the djinn realm. “How could you think that visiting one so old, the Knowing One, on your own, would be wise?”
“I never claimed to be wise,” Nissa responded coolly. “I simply want the truth.”
The truth. Bile rose in Peri’s throat. She wanted the truth, as well, but at what cost? What would it get them? Would it explain any more than they already knew about the cold fire and why she’d been able to spare some and not others? Or how it had kept her bond with Lucian from being destroyed and killing her? And even if it did, what was the point? It’s not like she was ever going to use icy fire again.
“Understanding our past helps us navigate the present and the future.” Lucian’s deep voice was calm. Though it got on her nerves at times, Peri also knew that his response was something she craved in her chaotic mind. Ever since the cold fire, Peri felt as if she was becoming unhinged. Or maybe it was this crap Nissa was digging into. Did Peri really want to know what happened? The answer was yes as much as it was no.
“I think I’m navigating the present just fine,” Peri grumbled. The problem was she was tired of navigating all together.
“Is that why you went off the deep end and burned an entire complex to the ground?” There was no fluctuation in Nissa’s voice. Just a statement of fact. No judgment or hostility. The other high fae was simply pointing out exactly what Peri had done. Not that Peri needed to be reminded. She was reminded every time she closed her eyes and heard the screams of those that burned under her power.
“Do you think this is where we should start? Considering you’ve already been here, Nissa?”
“Where would you suggest, Lucian?”
His voice was gruff as he spoke. “The draheim realm.”
Peri looked at her mate.
