“Helped? Tiernan, that thing is not trying to help people. Look what it did to our soldiers and the Anthousai.”
“I know. And yet they said the same.”
“Which only worries me more because they're obviously unwell.
“I think perhaps they spent too long in its embrace. It went too far with them.”
I sat up. “All right, as much as I want to lie here with you until morning, we need to get back to our research. I want to know what this thing is.”
Tiernan sat up and bent a knee to rest his arm on. It put his leanly muscled body on display and made it difficult for me to remember why we needed to search the library. He grinned.
“You are so naughty!” I pushed at his chest and then stood up, piercing the veil of shadows. They clung to me like mist.
Tiernan waved as he stood, and the shadows vanished. “Very well. But I will have you again soon, wife of mine.” He began to get dressed. “There is much to remind you of.”
I knew I needed to get dressed, but I couldn't look away from Tiernan. I watched him pull on his pants, the fabric sliding over his corded thighs and covering his spent cock, resting amid platinum curls. He buttoned his pants and lifted an eyebrow at me.
“Sorry.” I grinned and got dressed.
“Never apologize for looking at me like that.” Tiernan took my leather pants from my hands and knelt before me to hold them open.
Steadying myself on his shoulder, I stepped into my pants, but as he drew them up my legs, he nuzzled my sex, breathing in deeply. I shuddered when he pressed his lips to me there in an erotic kiss. But then he zipped up my pants and went for my boots. He helped me into those too, before he got up and finished dressing himself.
It was perfect.
The chiming returned.
I yanked on my top and grabbed the scry phone from the shelf where it was still perched, the leather case open. Full of mist, the crystal slice waited for me to answer the scry. I swept my finger over the surface, and the mist condensed into an angry Dragon-Djinn.
“Hey, Raza.” I glanced at Tiernan.
He smirked at me.
“Mo shíorghrá.” Raza's endearment for me—my eternal love in Fey—felt like an accusation.
Here we go.
“Seren, would you allow me to speak to him first?” Tiernan held his hand out.
Gaping at Tiernan, I passed him the phone.
Tiernan took the phone and held it up to head-height. “Raza.”
“I want to speak to Seren,” Raza growled.
“No. I want you to consider two options first.”
“What options?”
“These are your options, Raza.” Tiernan's silver stare gleamed as he strode away from me and into the central part of the library that was open to the upper two floors. “You can either verbally attack our wife and put her on the defensive, or you can listen, be supportive, and accept that you are partially responsible for her behavior.”
“Excuse me?” Raza roared.
“What do you think will happen if you choose the first option?”
I ventured to a table nearby, slid onto a chair, and watched Tiernan, absolutely fascinated. He'd always been diplomatic; it was part of what made him so well suited for the throne, but this was beyond anything I'd seen from him.
“What do I think will happen?” Raza snapped. “I think our wife will finally be truthful with me. And I think we all deserve the truth, Tiernan!”
