‘It’ll be nice to see him,’ Julian said evasively. ‘That’s all. He’s been busy since your engagement, and I know Mum is dying to talk about venues and dates.’
‘Who isn’t!’ Ava exclaimed. ‘Robbie has such good taste. I can’t wait to see where he picks.’
‘Wherewepick,’ I corrected.
She flashed me a perfect smile. ‘Sure. It’s going to be huge. Ogre weddings are a big deal, and he’ll need to invite all the movers and shakers too.’
I suppressed a grimace. I didn’t want all the movers and shakers. I wanted him and me. And yeah, Mum and the three stooges too, I guessed. And Ava. Even though she’d probably show me up on my own wedding day. It was clear that Rupe was beyond enamoured with Ava, and I’d bet a month’s salary that Rupert was currently saving uphissalary to buy Ava a rock to propose with.
I was halfway through dessert when Robbie walked in. He looked unfairly good. God, he was the kind of man who could ruin your focus without trying. Dark hair, dark shirt, calm expression that suggested he’d assessed the room and knew there was no danger here. When his silvergaze met mine, the edge I’d been carrying since the attack eased.
Just as quickly, his eyes narrowed. In three large strides he crossed the room. His fingers were gentle as he lifted my face to admire the blossoming bruise painted across my face.
There was nothing gentle in his voice as he ground out, ‘Who did this to you?’
I shrugged like it didn’t matter a damn. ‘A dead man.’
I ignored Mum’s gasp of shock, focusing on the behemoth man in front of me who was vibrating with tension.
‘He’s dead?’
‘Yup.’ I deliberately took a noisy slurp from my can.
‘One minute,’ Robbie said. He turned on his heel and marched out.
‘Do we need to alibi you?’ Rupert asked into the silence.
‘No, I’ll report it in the morning. It was a stray vampyr. Self-defence. No evidence. No witnesses. No big deal.’
‘She’s so badass,’ Grant murmured to his husband.
‘Yeah.’ The pride in Julian’s voice warmed me.
Robbie returned with his duffel bag in tow. He slung it onto the table and rifled through it. ‘Here.’ He took out a jar of something. ‘Amber DeLea brewed it.’
Because I could still see the tension I’d injected into his frame, I took the jar without complaint. I paused. ‘Rupe, can you take some photos of my face, for the record?’
‘You got it.’ All hints of jocular charm were gone as he took various photos from various angles and distances. Rupert knew how to prepare evidence. ‘I’ll send them to you.’
Once my injuries were all neatly documented, I opened the jar and swiped the cool paste across my face. The relief was instant. I hadn’t been aware of the low-lying hum of pain until it was gone.
‘Thanks,’ I told Robbie as I screwed the lid back on. ‘Since when have you taken to carrying potions around with you?’ Ogres didn’t believe in healing potions, runes, or healing wizardry. Maktel had said that carrying their pain was an odd pride thing, but Hanlon had confessed that with their fast healing, there was no point in paying through the nose for twenty-four hours of discomfort.
‘Since my fiancée is human,’ Robbie replied, looking me over.
‘I’m all right, Robbie.’
He moved closer, large hands cupping my face. He kept his voice whisper-soft, for my ears alone. ‘I still see the traces of fear in your eyes, Inspector. So don’t play it down, not to me.’
My throat tightened despite myself. ‘It wasn’t the attack that put the fear there. I was walking on the same road I was kidnapped from. It called back some daemons, but I stomped on them. I was just putting it to bed when I got attacked. I knew the attack itself was nothing I couldn’t handle,’ I said firmly. ‘But it … called back old memories.’ Old memories that still brought up visceral fear in me. The fear was how I’d felt then, and no matter how strong I was now, that fear lingered in my memories, my nightmares.
‘My kærasta. So strong,’ he said reverently. ‘So fierce. My hersmóðir.’
It was faintly weird for him to call memotherin any context, butmother of warwasn’t a maternal title but an honorary one. A reverential one.
The announcement of my new title, given and accepted, had shocked the ogres, but no one had challenged me yet, as Robbie had feared, and the number of challenges he faced had died down completely. Finally, he was giving them a mate. A human one but a mate all the same. A queen to his king.
It still felt unreal.
