“That is none of your concern,” Aster hissed, her piercing gaze moving to Daelan.
“If someone doesn’t tell me why Aster would want to see Bryony, I will destroy this entire room.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Aster said slowly, her temper turning abrasive and downright lethal.
“Oh, I would, Aster. I fucking would.” Daelan’s voice matched Aster’s, his eyes narrowing into a glower.
My body tensed from the dark timbre of Daelan’s tone, my gaze wildly bouncing between the two. The seconds dragged by;the air growing so threatening and malignant that I could hardly breathe. Daelan’s hand twitched before slowly coming up and resting on a large tube filled with a reddish-brown liquid. Aster’s eyes glowed with a wrath I had never seen before. Just as Daelan tipped the tube over, I rushed toward it, righting it before it could tip any further.
“Bryony is Aster’s mate,” I quickly pushed out, cringing as I felt Aster’s piercing gaze digging into my back. I knew I'd pay for that later.
Daelan slowly slid his eyes to me, studying me closely while he registered what I had just said. Gradually, his eyes widened, his face morphing into one of excitement. Samian choked, attempting to stifle his laugh when Daelan rushed to Aster, lifting her into the air. Daelan let out a booming laugh as he spun around with Aster, before crushing her in a warming hug. Aster cursed the entire time, throwing out profanity after profanity, her fists slamming into his back.
I watched, surprised and confused at the display. Samian moved beside me, leaning over to whisper near my ear.
“Aster is Daelan’s half-sister. Their father was a touch promiscuous and fathered several children; however, only those born to Lady Astaroth were recognized. Aster was one of the few who could stay at the Astaroth residence, though. Her gift was powerful and rare enough that their father brought her in from one of the cities and sent her to the palace for schooling. She’s Daelan’s favorite sibling, even if she hates it.”
Samian chuckled, straightening to watch the two who acted like night and day. I could see in Aster’s eyes that she didn’t hate it. Annoyed? Yes, very much so. But her gaze was bright, even as she grumbled against Daelan’s show of affection.
Finally, Aster had had enough and clenched Daelan’s ear between her fingers, pulling him away from her. Daelan hissed in pain, but his wide grin still stretched across his face.
“I will help you, but only because it’s been a few days since I’ve seen Bryony. I still don’t understand how I can help you, though. It’s not like I can just request Sybil’s assistance,” Aster huffed, letting go of Daelan’s ear.
Daelan rubbed the pain away, wincing. “That’s exactly what you’re going to do. Ambrose knows that if you request a particular herb or medicine, it's enough for him to let you leave. He also knows that I would want to go with you now that I’m here. But you’re the head healer here, so you will need others to go with you for protection. I’ll request Ivara, Samian, and Sybil as your team of bodyguards.”
“Wouldn’t it be suspicious if all of us went together?” I asked, my head turning to Samian.
“Perhaps, if it were just me and you,” Samian chimed in, “but Aster will need to request a medicinal herb in Ivara’s territory. That will ensure Ivara’s presence, since she must be there to ensure we do nothing unsavory to her people. You need to go to learn more about Nemos and to show off that you’re hispowerfulgrand paladin, and because I’m still technically your mentor, that means I have to go as well. I think it will be enough for him not to be overly suspicious, especially since he doesn’t know how close we all are. We usually keep our distance in public to deter him from thinking we are on friendly terms.”
“It will work,” Daelan nodded. “I’ll make sure of it.”
All of us turned to Aster, waiting to hear her thoughts.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” Aster exhaled, rolling her eyes. “Now get out. I have things to finish.”
Chuckling, we turned to the passage door, Samian climbing in first, then Daelan. Before I could make it through, Aster called my name.
“I need to talk to you before you go,” she murmured. “Shut the door.”
Cautiously, I looked to Samian, who nodded and eased back into the room, shutting the passage door. “What’s up?”
“I’m assuming that you now know that Samian is your mate and vice versa, correct?”
“Yes,” I said slowly. “And Kieran too.”
Aster nodded and took a seat in her chair. “I’m also assuming that children aren’t in the foreseeable future at the moment?”
I blinked, my mouth gaping open like a fish. “I-I mean, no, not with the bargain and Ambrose being, well, Ambrose.”
Aster nodded again and opened a drawer, pulling out a small tube of pinkish liquid. Throwing me the tube, I caught it before it could hit the ground. “Go ahead and take that. It’s usually added to some tea, but I have a feeling you won’t be drinking any tea tonight.” Giving me a pointed look, she jerked her chin toward the tube.
I warily opened it, the medicinal smell stinging my nose. Wincing, I gave Aster a pained look, one that told her I wasn’t sure of the taste. But when Aster scowled, I brought the tube to my lips, tipping my head back, letting the bitter serum wash down my throat. Swallowing thickly, I gagged, the pungent acidity leaving a terrible taste in my mouth.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, gagging again. My mouth watered, and I swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise.
“That is a contraceptive tonic. It will prevent any unwanted pregnancies. You should take it once a month—again, preferably with tea. It hides the bitterness.” Aster smiled sweetly, and I cringed at the deceptiveness of it. This was her payback for telling Daelan about Bryony. I knew it was.
“You may go now,” Aster declared so nonchalantly that I almost laughed in shock—almost. I held it in, not wanting to test what she would do to me if I did.
