“Like you could have stopped me once?” Raza edged closer.
“I did stop you once,” I grimaced. “Then I went right back at you.”
“And is that what happened with Tiernan?”
“No,” I sighed. “I walked away.”
“Then that is good enough for me,” Raza pulled me into an embrace. “Sweet Goddess, you scared me. Be careful how you word things, mo shíorghrá. You just put Tiernan's life in jeopardy.”
“You're not mad?” I pulled back in shock. “You don't care that I kissed him?”
“I care,” he gave me a look which said exactly how much he cared. “But I also understand that there's history between you. I know you, and I know how you love. You will never stop loving him. I understand that, and I've accepted it. I've also accepted that it will make for uncomfortable situations.”
“Like when I kiss him?” I lifted a brow. “Raza, if you had kissed another woman, I'd have left you.”
“I know that too,” he smirked. “So it's lucky that you were the adulterer and not I.”
“Hey!” I made a face. “You just said you understood.”
“And you said you believe your actions were traitorous,” he reminded me. “You claimed the scarlet letter, I did not place it upon your chest.”
“I guess I deserve that,” I sighed.
“No,” Raza went serious, his lethal hands bracketing my face. “You don't deserve that. Your relationships in Fairy have been confusing, to say the least. Tiernan and I have offered you contradicting things. Tiernan wanted to have you for himself, then he wanted to please Danu. I said I was willing to share you, then I swore I wouldn't. Now Tiernan wants to take the position I once said was his. We are the ones who have acted fickle while you have remained steadfast. If anyone is at fault in this, it is me and Tiernan, not you.”
Steadfast. I stared up at Raza, wondering if I had really been steadfast in my desires. Or had I only been protesting what I'd been raised to believe was wrong? Had my fey heart beat faster at the thought of loving more than one man, all while the human blood in me denied it? And what exactly was so wrong about it anyway? We were all adults. We weren't hurting anyone. As long as we all consented to it. But therein lay the problem. Raza didn't consent. So none of my reasoning mattered anyway.
“Were you being fickle?” I asked him. “Or did you simply say all that so you could have a chance with me, when actually, you never wanted to be in that sort of relationship?”
“I believed in Danu,” Raza sighed and took a seat on his unusual bed. His hand slipped around one of the bed posters, a dragon tail, curling up and over the center of the bed to connect with the other three. “I still do. I know that what she wants for us is the best thing for Fairy. I understand that Tiernan could mean the difference between peace and war in our world. But I've pushed that knowledge down inside me and ignored it. For love of you. No, that's a lie,” he rubbed his free hand over his face. “I ignore it for me. Because the thought of someone else holding you makes me want to burn things. Starting with Tiernan.”
“I understand,” I sat beside him and took his hand. “I would feel the same about you and another woman. So I can't criticize you for your feelings.”
“But Danu can,” he whispered.
“Let her,” I shrugged.
“I think it may not be so simple, Seren.”
“We can deal with complicated too.”
“I noticed that you left Lord Tiernan behind,” Raza smirked and got off the subject of our goddess.
“I thought it would be wise,” I chuckled, then sobered. “I'm glad you're not upset with me.”
“I love you, Seren,” Raza slid his arm around my waist, and pulled me into a kiss. “No matter how angry I get about anything you do, remember that I will always love you.”
“I may hold you to that, Dragon,” I teased.
“I hope you will,” he said seriously. “Sometimes I react without thinking. I may say awful things to you, I may rage and even shift. But I will never physically hurt you. I need you to know that. Don't ever be afraid of me. Or be afraid to remind me of what you mean to me.”
“I won't,” I vowed, and then sealed it with a kiss.
Chapter Eleven
The dark elves were gone. Raza had the all of the lower levels of Craos-Teine searched, and even scried his cousin, Hana, at the old Castle Unseelie, to check if there were any dark elves with her. There weren't. The elves had vanished completely. Vanished while Raza had been in HR with me.
Then I remembered that my father wanted Raza to scry him. I followed Raza into his library, where his crystal ball was kept. Raza scried for my dad while I took a seat on the side. In a few minutes, the ball filled with mist. Color seeped into the mist, then everything sharpened. King Keir's face came into focus.
