Her eyes widen, wrinkles riding all the way up her forehead to her silver hair. “How’d you know my name?”
“Because—”
My words are cut off as the black head of a great beast is thrown in front of me. I draw my sword and push Clotty behind me.
Turning, I find a grinning Beth. “I committed a murder!”
12
Beth
“Imean, is it really a murder if it’s a vampire hound? Probably not, right? And Parnon helped. But I’m the one who killed Kizriel!” I whoop as Parnon lurks around me, still on alert. “I stabbed him! He killed one of our mules, though.” Despite the loss, I still want to kick up my heels and do a little jig. “I stabbed him, Gareth. Okay, yes it was in the leg, but that was pretty much the killing blow. Parnon broke his neck and pummeled his body to mush, but I stabbed him in the leg, which brought him down.” I clap, mainly because I can’t control my glee. “And now he’s dead, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life!”
Gareth frowns. “You mean our mating wasn’t the happiest—”
I grab his shirt and pull him down for a hard kiss.Of course our mating was the best day of my life, I send the thought to him. He must receive it, because a low purr rumbles through his chest as he pulls me into a tight embrace. I pour every bit of exhilaration and love into this moment. I’ve been free ever since Gareth saved me from Granthos. But now that Kizriel is gone? I can breathe easily, can stop looking over my shoulder. Now, my past can’t hurt me. Those nightmares can be put to bed.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I nip at his bottom lip, then tangle my tongue with his.
“Wait.” He pulls back and looks so deeply into my eyes I swear he can see my naked soul.
“Wait?” I have half a mind to drag him into one of these fancy villas and ride him like a horny unicorn.
He puts me on my feet and steps aside.
There, standing behind him, is Clotilde.
Was my heart full before? Because now it is overflowing.
“Clotty!” I almost bowl her over with the force of my hug.
She squawks and returns my embrace. “What are you doing here? Did you get sold?”
“No.” I can’t explain, not when tears are running down my cheeks and I can’t seem to stop clutching her to me. She’s alive. This whole time she’s been alive. My faith wasn’t misplaced. My optimism—even if it was fake half the time—wasn’t in vain. Clotty is here. Even under the dirt and sweat, I can smell her familiar scent. Like warm baked bread. She’s thinner now, her body slight in my embrace. But it’s her.
Arin is so cruel. Innocents die, and the vicious are rewarded. But this time.This one time, Arin has seen fit to grant a reprieve, to give me my most fervent hope.
I send thanks to the Ancestors, then wipe my nose on Clotty’s shoulder. “Did you miss me?”
“Oh, Lenetia. Did I miss your constant belly-aching and terrible cooking?” She wrinkles her nose, her eyes watering. “Every Spires-damned day.”
I hug her again.
Gareth’s warm hand strokes my back, and I finally let myself believe that this is real. That I’m mated to a winter realm fae, that Clotty is safe, and that I might be more than a changeling slave who has to fake her bravado just to survive. Maybe … Maybe, Iambrave. Maybe Gareth was right.
“Iamright, my beloved.” His thought is a crystal in my mind, solid and beautiful. Constant.
“Thank you.” I say it out loud and finally release Clotty only to turn around and jump into Gareth’s arms.
“And who’s this then?” She puts her hands on her hips.
“My mate.” I press my hand to his scruffy cheek. “The one my soul loves.”
“He’s a fine one, he is.” She laughs, and Ancestors, the crackling rudeness of it warms my heart. “I was going to take him for a ride myself once hostilities were ended. But as he’s already been claimed, I suppose I’ll have to find another mount.”
Gareth winces. “You definitely take after her.”
I kiss the tip of his nose. “You love it.”
