After we returned to the citadel, Kel walked me to my door.
Leaning in for a kiss, Keltyr whispered, “Thank you for saying yes.”
I met Kel halfway, eager to see if it had all been true. If I had really felt what I did for him and hadn't simply been swept up in the romance of the night. It was, and I did. And it was a good thing Kel was holding me or I would have slid down his body to melt into a puddle at his feet.
We were getting really into it when the suite door swung open and someone cleared their throat.
I jerked away from Kel, my face going hot as I saw my lovers glaring at me. “Oh. Uh, hi.”
“Have a good time?” Rath asked, his stare going down to the bulge that strained my pants. For the second time that night.
“Notthatgood,” I said defensively. Then I kissed Kel on the cheek. “Thank you for a wonderful night, Keltyr.”
“I had a good time too.” Kel grinned, nodded at Rath and Xae, then turned around and headed for the stairs.
My men each grabbed one of my arms and yanked me into the sitting room. Xae slammed the door behind me.
“Whoa!” I jerked out of their grip. “What the fuck?”
“You kissed him?!” Rath growled. “On your first date?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So, you took forever to kiss me.”
“You pushed me away.” I pointed in Rath's face. Then I swung to Xae. “And I fucked you before we ever went on a date. I've known Keltyr as long as I've known both of you. There's nothing wrong with me kissing him tonight. I could have done much more, but I didn't.”
“I see that,” Xae said, leaning in to bring his face to mine. “How much did you do?”
“You know what? Fuck you both. You're supposed to be supporting me through this, but you're only making it harder.”
“What did you want us to do? Should we have taken you straight to bed and made you come after Kel got you hard?” Rath demanded.
I gaped at him. “Wow. Well, you've handled my hard-on problem. So, thank you for that.” I waved a hand at my limp cock and spun around.
“Where the fuck are you going?” Xae grabbed my upper arm.
I shook him off and yanked open the suite door. “Up to the roof. I need some fresh air.” I pointed at them and added, “And don't fucking follow me!” Then I strode out and slammed the door even harder than Xae had.
Muttering to myself about the idiots I loved, I went to the stairwell that led to the roof and climbed it. The keep's roof was becoming a sanctuary for me, and it pissed me off that I needed one. I stormed out of the stairwell and instantly sensed that I wasn't alone. For a second, I recalled the last time I'd been up there and the conversation I'd had with Death. But then I spotted the presence I sensed, and thoughts of Death Magic slipped away. This wasn't an intangible entity. No, Jath was very much physical.
Oh, why did it have to be him up there, invading my private place?
Jathalion's glorious wings lowered as he turned toward me. He was close to the southeast corner and the stairwell that led down to the fourth floor, but I was directly across from him, having just come out of the northeast stairwell. So the great metal cylinders in the center of the roof didn't block him from view. Or me from him. Jath's eyes widened when he spotted me, then his expression went strange, almost smug. No, not smug. Sardonic. As if I were just another helping of whatever shit he'd endured that day. Funny, I kind of felt the same.
“Did you want to be alone?” I asked.
“No, I came up here hoping there was a party going on,” Jath drawled.
My hackles rose. “Yeah, so did I. Normally, the roof is empty.” Huffing irritably, I turned to head back downstairs. “And I prefer it that way.”
Jath sighed deeply and said, “Don't go. I'm sorry. We can share.”
“That's what you said about the garden,” I muttered but still turned around and went over to stand beside him at the wall. Beside him, but a few feet down.
I leaned against the stone and looked out over the garden below. That was where I'd met Jath. Beyond it was the curtain wall, and beyond that was the chasm. Wraith Lord Citadel stood on a pedestal of rock, albeit a vast one, that rose from the floor of a deep ravine. An arching stone bridge connected the platform to one side of the ravine but that was it, the only thing that tethered us to the rest of Varr. It felt a little dismal sometimes, the separation far too accurate, but I didn't dwell on it. The location had been chosen for defense and the elevation allowed the mages to cast a ward nearly completely around the citadel. And on cool, calm nights like this one, the cloud-filled chasm made me feel as if I were floating.
“It's kind of beautiful, isn't it?” I mused.
