Her smile is ripe with promise, a lovely contrast to the sheer boredom and annoying day I’ve had. It’s a smile that lights up whatever room she’s in, and when it’s directed at me, I have no defense against it.
“. . . Well, Idohave a minor request,” she whispers in my ear.
My cock stirs at the closeness of her voice. I’m sure she can feel it bunching against her ass, lifting from my thigh, but she says nothing of it. “I’m guessing it’s not to be bent over this rickety desk and railed into oblivion?”
“Maybe later, love.”
I give her another kiss, draping my tongue around hers and pulling her close, until I can practically feel every inch of her soft, strong body against me. “Ask and you shall receive.”
“First, where is everyone?” She pulls back slightly, eyeing the door.
“My court? Gone on their various missions.”
“I mean Garroway, Vallan.”
My brow furrows. “Last I checked they were here, somewhere. I’ll admit they have a tendency to sneak off, and I haven’t been keeping close tabs on them this evening. I’ve been too busy, love.”
“Right. Well, they’re gone.” She makes an adorable scowl, as if them missing is somehow my fault.
I simply keep my smile, shrugging. “We’ll make do without them for a night.”
“Fine. Okay. Erm.” She struggles with the question. “I was hoping you might provide me with, uh, an escort. Into Nuhav.”
My brow pops in surprise. “An escort, love?” I toy with her hair in my fingers, gently grabbing the back of her neck. “That seems rather . . . prudent of you. What’s the catch? Surely it’s not to try and get back on my good side.”
“When the punishment for being on your bad side is so good?” She scoffs. “I would never. There’s no catch, Skar.”
I open my mouth to answer, pleased with how she seems to be taking her safety more seriously after my stern reprimanding last night.
Then she lifts a finger. “Well, I suppose there’soneminor catch. We have to take my mother with us.”
My face sinks. “Oh. That’s . . . quite good.” I say the words but they’re dripping with sarcasm. Jinneth annoys me, and she hates me. For good reason, because I’ve defiled her daughter. But she had the nerve to be something other than the “Relic” we were hoping to find, and I hold the fault to her personally.
I suppose it’s just as much the Iron Sister’s fault as it is Jinneth’s, since Keffa is the one who led us on the wild goose chase to retrieve her lost lover.
“You don’t have to like it, Lord Ashfen, but you have to do it,” says the brat princess.
“Might you tell me why you need to go into Nuhav? The place reeks of destitution.”
“Don’t hate on my people, ass. Jinneth thinks she’s discovered a way to detach my blood from my body—no, don’t get fussy, not in the way you think.” She lifts a palm before I can reply. “As a way to further my bloodbond to anyone who drinks from me,withoutthe debilitating effects of drinking from me. It’s a good thing! But she needs to meet someone there first, and it’s someone I know. So—”
“Fine, fine.” I groan as I lift Sephania and all her “sizable” weight off my leg so we can both stand. “I knew spending an evening alone with you was too good to be true. Seems we’re destined for a date with your mother.”
She smiles charmingly.
“Let’s go get the carriage and get to it, while the moon is still high,” I say. “Your slumber already wasted nearly four hours of night.”
Minutes later, I return to the study with a frown, running a hand through my auburn mane. “Got some bad news, love. The carriage is missing. Seems whatever frolicking adventure Garro and Vall went on, they needed the horse and buggy to do it.”
Seph throws up her arms. “Shit! After gathering Jinneth, we’ll never get to Nuhav before daybreak!”
I smile devilishly at her and tap the wall. “Nonsense, love. Do you forget what I can do?”
A circle of blotchy shadows coils in from our bodies, circling and cloying until the shadow portal is created on the wall. I draw a hand out, reaching for Sephania’s. “Come, love. Step into the darkness with me.”
Thirty minutes later, and after Sephania fights off the brooding headache that pulses behind her ears from the shadowwalking, we’re just about ready to do it all over again with Jinneth in tow.
I directed us to the Chained Sisters, though it was no easy task. I can already feel my power waning, and I know the next time I do this I’ll need rest afterward. Catapulting people dozens of miles across the earth in a matter of seconds is draining.
