“You did?” He whispered.
“I did.” I kissed him sweetly.
Verin started to move slowly inside me but soon worked his way back to a savage thrusting. He kept his gaze locked with mine and even though his movements were wild, staring into those indigo eyes shifted the act into something profound—almost sacred. A connection like no other. Verin rolled onto his back, taking me with him, and I rose onto my knees above him. With my hands set on his broad chest and my gaze still bond to his, I moved over him—a slow grind.
Verin reached up to touch my face. “I thought he was going to take you away from me.”
“I know,” I said softly.
“Elaria, I'm so sorry. I was afraid. I lost control.”
I leaned down and kissed him gently. “You're forgiven.”
“I would have chased you. I would have searched until I found you and then I would have brought you home.”
“Home, eh?” I grinned.
Verin growled and rolled us again. He rose onto his elbows and sank deeper into me, immediately returning to his rapid thrusts. “You're mine now, and I'm yours. That makes this your home.”
“No, Dragon,” I said tenderly and laid my hand over his heart. “That makesthismy home.”
Chapter Twenty
The Azure Army returned with Scylla's body and the evidence they'd found in her lair. One was significantly smaller than the other. The body was given to the Royal Physician for an autopsy while the evidence was handed over to Verin's advisers to then present to the King. I guess none of the soldiers wanted to approach the Blue Dragon after he disappeared with his consort in a rage. Shortly after Verin and I emerged from his bedroom—freshly showered and dressed—he was informed that his advisers were waiting for him in the meeting room. Verin, of course, brought me with him.
“I don't understand why we need to dissect the corpse,” Lord Peng, one of Verin's advisers, said with a glance in my direction. “It's Scylla and she's dead. What more do we need to know?”
“I used two songs against her and neither had an effect,” I confessed.
“You didn't tell me that.” Verin looked at me in surprise.
“We were a little distracted by other matters,” I said pointedly.
He grunted.
“Since we can't question Scylla,” I went on, “I'm hoping that her corpse might present an explanation.”
“Perhaps we should notify Lord Akio,” Lord Li Wei suggested. “It may help him to know what he's looking for.”
“That's just it, I don't know what to tell him to look for,” I grumbled. “All I know is that I've never met anyone immune to my song. Even Gods—true Gods—are susceptible.”
“Perhaps Scylla found a way to block the music,” Lord Eiji, another adviser, said.
“She demonstrably did,” I agreed. “The question is, how?”
“Her coconspirator likely helped her.” Verin pushed a black bag over to me. “Perhaps with this.”
The bag had been presented to Verin as soon as we had taken our seats. It contained the evidence found in Scylla's cave. I opened it and pulled out three amber, glass bottles. They looked familiar but I couldn't figure out why. They were just bottles—bottles made out of dark glass to protect their contents from light. I looked at Verin and lifted a brow.
“Open one.” Verin nodded toward the bottle. “Take a sniff.”
I uncapped a bottle and the scent hit me before I could lift it to my nose—strident and herbal. That's when I realized where I'd seen bottles like those before—Coven Cay, the Witches' private island off the shores of Canada. I opened the other two bottles; they smelled the same.
“There was magic in these bottles,” I murmured. “Possibly a witch's potion.”
Verin grunted in agreement.
I recapped the bottles furiously. “Not again.”
