We sat in the parlor, drinking wine one of us poured and strategizing, though until we reached Lydel, and Tempest somehow broke the curse, we wouldn’t be able to proceed with any real plan.
Finally, Reyla rose and placed her wine glass on a table. I magicked it away like I had the dishes. “I’m going to bed.” Her gaze sought Tempest’s, and the sorrow in her eyes was magnified in my fated mate. “I’ll help make up a bed for you.”
“She’ll sleep in mine,” I barked.
I was as shocked as everyone else at my words. If I were wise, I’d shove her as far away as I could, not suggest we share a room. Yet here I was, falling into that naiveness I’d lived in for a short time after Vera came to me, the silly unbroken part of me that suggested this woman could offer a better future for me than the one Ivenrail tried to force down my throat.
“If you insist,” Tempest said shortly.
“I do.”
Reyla strode over to stand in front of me. “If you hurt her, I’ll gut you.”
She had very little magical training, though I sensed tremendous potential. What little she could host at this moment could be dispelled with a flick of my finger. Still, I nodded. She had the right to protect her friend.
“And if she doesn’t, I will,” Brodine snapped. His gaze flicked to Tempest, and I didn’t like the protectiveness I spied there. I might not be able to have her, but I’d be damned if I’d step back and let him be with her instead.
“I can take care of myself,” Tempest snarled. With bitterness spilling across her face, she rose from her chair. “I’m going to bed as well.”
We all got up and started for the foyer.
Brodine slid between me and Tempest, taking her arm when her stride faltered. “Are you sure about this?” He shot me a scowl that should burn, but I answered it with a slick smile.
Ihad aroused Tempest, not him.
“I’m fine, Bro.” Her words came out in a sigh, and she leaned into his side.
A snarl ripped up my throat before I could bite it back. “Do. Not. Touch. Her.”
Scowling at me, she shrugged her friend away. “Go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She walked into the foyer alone, favoring her left leg.
“Why are you limping?” I growled, latching onto her arm and making her face me. I scanned her body, expecting to findwounds, which was silly. She was safe enough inside my home. But that limp . . . “Who hurt you? I’ll kill them.”
She wiggled her arms until my grip loosened and she could step away from me. “I believe whoever did it is already dead.”
“Vexxion.” Warning coming through in Zayde’s voice. Would he threaten me too? “Don’t . . .” He huffed and took Layla’s hand. She squeezed his, and he linked their fingers. “She loves you. Don’t hurt her or you’ll answer to me.”
“I’m not cruel.”
He lifted his eyebrows, though he knew me better than anyone else. I’d only ever shown him my soft side. “Try to be kind.”
I gave him a curt nod.
He and Layla flitted from the parlor, and I assumed he’d take her to the suite he kept here at Weldsbane. My brother being with her like this stunned me. If she was married to Ivenrail, he’d come after her. The Zayde I knew would never have gone against his father, let alone steal the king’s bride.
This showed me again that what I’d been told was true.
I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Odd feelings kept churning through me as if I stood in a deep pool of water and all my emotions had sunk to the bottom. I ached to reach down and grab onto them, tug them up and make them shine in the light of day, but every time I tried, they slipped through my fingers and settled back into the mud.
Taking Tempest’s hand, I flitted us to my room, finding her scent everywhere.
This wasmysanctuary, and I didn’t know what to think of her spreading every bit of herself around. A bag sat on achair, and I was sure it was hers. A gown lay nearby. Also hers.
“Youweremy fated mate,” I said softly, unsure why the notion still surprised me.
Seeing her hobble into the middle of the room made rage storm through me. I would exhume whoever had caused her pain and make sure they felt my wrath.
