“She’ll be fine,” Len assured me, his arm sweeping in behind my back as he guided me toward his house.
“I know,” I said. “If I thought she wouldn’t be, I’d never leave her with your mother. Queen or not.” Yeah, loose tongue was definitely in the cards, but Len showed no sign of being offended.
Curious fae watched us leave, but none commented or even attempted to stop the prince as we marched through. When we reached his bridge, he slowed his stride, and I enjoyed the quiet.
“You called me Daddy,” he said suddenly, and there was a rumble in his tone that had me sliding to a halt.
If he asked tomorrow, I was going to blame my next statement on the wine. “You’re definitely daddy material.”
His intensity grew. “I’ll take that as a compliment. But more than that, I’m honored by your inclusion of me toward Tabitha. It means everything, and I didn’t want the moment to pass without acknowledging it.” He stepped closer, his thumb brushing over my lip once more, and I was starting to think he had a small obsession with my mouth. “You slay me.”
“Fuck,” I breathed.
His lips twitched as his eyes darkened. “Always such a way with words.”
“That’s me,” I choked out. “A true wordsmith. Shame I’m more of a reader than a writer, because the worlds are really missing out on the amazing prose hidden in my brain.”
The twitch turned into a slow smile that wrecked my insides; they churned and burned, the need nearly sending me to my knees. What was in that fucking drink? And was I regretting it… or did I want more?
His chest rumbled, and I found my hands resting against the broad planes.Wait. Hands, what the hell are you doing?
Len reached up and wrapped both of his across mine, trapping me against him. “I find myself fighting the instinct to murder any who have touched you,” he said, leaning in to murmur the words. “It’s not a normal fae reaction. We’re possessive, yes, but also reasonable. I have zero fucking reason when it comes to you.”
I’d seen that in Shadow’s lair, and maybe this was still the fae booze talking, but I couldn’t believe I’d had doubts about him before. That had been a stupid moment of insecurity. Len was a grown-ass fae, and if he wanted to be with another, he would be. Dude was thousands of years old. He’d had all the time to choose, and all signs indicated he was choosing me.
“My reasontoward you,” I whispered back, “appears to be a little faulty these days too.” Leaning forward, the need to taste Len was a driving force. But before I could fall into his mouth—well, more like chest due to our height difference—he wrapped his arm around me and got us walking once more, across the bridge and into his house.
The tremble in my limbs remained as we entered the front door, and this time instead of going up the stairs, Len led me to the right, opening a nondescript white door. Lights brightened as we walked inside—without him hitting a switch of course—and when I saw the contents I wanted to run around hugging every shelf.
“Wow,” I gushed, “another library. I feel like I’ve died and gone to book heaven being around you band of merry bastards.” Mera called them something like that, and while I couldn’t remember the exact saying, I loved the concept.
Walking toward the closest of the shelves, I noted that the room was much smaller than Shadow’s—this was more of a huge study—but had the same dark wooden shelves lining the walls.
“I’ve always had an area specifically for books,” Len said, following me deeper into the room. “Shadow and I first grew a friendship in battle, but we deepened it through a mutual love of knowledge, information, and stories.”
“Books make me happy,” I said with a small, contented sigh. Running my hands across the spines, I briefly wished one of my skills included absorbing stories via touch. I’d never have enough time to read all the ones I wanted. “When I open a book, it feels like opening a treasure chest. You never know what you’ll uncover. An adventure without even having to leave your house.”
Len nodded. “You won’t have to worry about living your adventures through books any longer. I’ll take you on as many as you want.”
“And there you go seducing me again,” I replied, trying to keep the breathiness I was feeling from my voice. “I’d love to do both. Read and live adventures. Eventually.”
“You will.”
A statement. No hesitation. Len was confident that we would deal with the glamour, deal with Faerie, and find this life of adventure.
It was everything I’d wished for. Not just for me, but for Tabitha.
“We should get started,” Len said, more serious. “This room is magically enforced to contain the energy of some powerful books and crystals. It’s the strongest room in the house, and should work as a safehold to attempt a memory retrieval.”
My hand stilled on the spine I was touching. “I’m nervous,” I admitted. “The pain when Shadow…” Gods, the pain. It had been so bad that I’d called a fae from another world to me, which was still hard to believe.
Len reached me in two strides, hands wrapping around my biceps as he held me firmly. “I promise to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, but pain is often part of the journey. If it becomes too much, if you reach breaking point, all you have to do is tell me. We will find another way.”
“I’m pretty tough,” I said, hoping to convince the both of us. “I can take it. I need these memories back, so short of literally breaking my brain, I want you to push all the way.”
Worry creased his brow as he released a long breath. “Full disclosure, I’ve attempted to break the glamour on my own brain without any success. As I try, the power slips away, and I’m led back to you. This started with you, and I can only hope if we figure out your block, mine will release as well.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” I said with a rapid series of nods. “So, what do we do first?”
