“Good dreams, I hope.” His thumb brushed lightly across her lower lip.
“Of course.” Her voice came out breathless, just as it always did when Rain’s eyes looked at her that way. Selianne would likely call it sorcery, but Ellie knew it was simple, besotted love. She drew a deep breath and tried to settle herself. “How did the dinner with Lord Teleos go?”
“Not bad.” He told her about the assembly of nobles Teleos had gathered, and about the warm reception he’d received from several of the married couples. She blushed furiously but couldn’t help a sigh of relief to learn that not everyone considered her weave a disaster.
When he told her about Lady Darramon’s illness and the offer he’d made to heal her, Ellie’s heart turned over. “Poor Lady Darramon,” she said. “PoorLordDarramon. I’m glad you didn’t use her illness to try to win his vote.”
“It was probably a mistake.”
“Kindness is never a mistake, Rain.”
His lips curved in an expression that seemed more grimace than smile. “That should be true,shei’tani, but when it comes to mortal politics, good deeds are rarely rewarded.”
Her head cocked to one side. When it came to mortals, especially noble mortals, he was so cynical. “If you believe that, why didn’t you do what Lord Dax suggested?”
Rather than answering, Rain drew his knees up and began twisting the large Tairen’s Eye signet on his hand, watching moonlight set off a shimmering rainbow within the crystal’s dark ruby depths.
“Rain?” His hesitance surprised her. She leaned over to lay a hand on his arm. Beneath the warm, supple leather, his biceps felt smooth and hard as river rock.
“I thought about it,” he admitted in a low voice. “Darramon is a powerful Great Lord. We could have used him to secure another dozen votes at least. He would have paid any price to save his wife. His thoughts in that regard were too obvious to miss.”
“So why did you offer to heal his wife without price?”
Glowing lavender eyes caught hers in an unbreakable gaze. “Because if you were the one dying, I would want someone to offer the same gift to me.”
Ellysetta’s breath caught in her throat. He’d never told her he loved her, never said the words. But his gift to Lord Darramon came as close to that declaration as she could imagine. It gave her hope that one day, the words would follow.
“You did the right thing, Rain,” she assured him softly. “Love should never be used as a weapon.”
He kissed her, a long, lingering kiss that combined intoxicatingpassion with exquisite tenderness, then leaned back against the angled roof, pulling her down with him. She lay upon his chest and listened to the beat of his heart while his fingers stroked through her hair.
“Rain... what will happen to you when I die?”
Black brows drew together in a sudden fierce scowl. “You will not die,shei’tani. I will not allow it.”
She propped her chin on her hands and looked down into his face. “I don’t necessarily mean killed—though after these last few days, neither of us can rule out that possibility. I mean die. Even if I’m only part-mortal like Lord Teleos, eventually Iwilldie.” She recalled what Rain had told her that first night of his claiming, when he’d followed her to Celieria’s National Museum of Art.If the Eld managed to kill you, I should not survive it.At the time, she’d only considered the consequences of an unexpected, violent death, but talking about Lady Darramon reminded her that, like it or not, all mortal lives ended.
“Ah.” The aggression faded from his expression. He reached out to brush a curl from her cheek. “Don’t worry about that, Ellysetta. Neither time nor sickness will ever claim your life unless you wish it.”
Her eyes widened. “You can grant immortality?”
He shook his head. “The Fey are not truly ‘immortal.’ We die just like men if we receive a grievous wound and cannot be healed in time. What we are, more specifically, is eternally in our prime, untouched by age or infirmity. Our bodies have a natural ability to constantly heal themselves. It is why we do not age after reaching maturity, and why we do not scar. Here, watch.”
Sitting up, he took a black Fey’cha from his chest straps and lightly scored the back of his hand. She stifled a cry of protest at the thin red line of blood that welled up in the wake of the blade’s point, but when Rain wiped the blood away, she could see the skin had already mended.
Ellysetta reached for his hand, stroking the unmarked skin asshe followed Rain’s revelation to its obvious conclusion. “Feyshei’dalinsare expert healers.”
“Aiyah, they can perform for mortals what nature does for the Fey.”
“Why have I never heard of that before?”
He shrugged. “It is a gift we have long worked to hide from the world. Too many ancient Fey texts in our Hall of Scrolls tell ofshei’dalinsenslaved and tortured by despots who demanded everlasting life. It is one of many reasons we guard our women so fiercely.”
“Of course. You’d have to. Eternal life.” She gave a dazed laugh. “Just think of all the possibilities. The twins can take all the time they want to find a man they truly love.”
Rain frowned. “You misunderstand, Ellysetta. This gift is not one I can extend to your family. We grant it only to those who share the matebond with a Fey.”
Dreams of sharing the centuries with her family crashed abruptly. “But they’re my family,” she protested. “You can’t think I’d want to live forever without them?”
