Teo asks through my mind, and I bawk at his question.
Of course. Why wouldn’t I?
He’s silent. It isn’t until the cloudy passage where I’d tried to escape five months ago comes into view that he responds.
It’s been long since I’ve killed like that. You weren’t there the night of our wedding when the giants invaded. I could barely see straight. I worried I scared you.
I twist around to look up at him.
I spent years hearing spewed lies about who you and your people were and weren’t—and I once called you a monster. I was wrong. I don’t, and will never, fear you again.
His eyes look down at me, burning with emotion.
I can hardly help myself from pushing up and pressing a kiss to his soft, warm lips. The deliciousness of him makes my whole body warm.
One of the elvish women, Glyni, gags.
“To the great Nicnevin, I long for the day when I will no longer be subjected to your constant, annoying…adoration.”
Another grunts in agreement.
“No, please continue. It’s been so long since I’ve experienced a kiss where the male was well-groomed. I’ll settle just for the opportunity to watch,” Abi calls.
That makes the elves break out into uncharacteristic laughter.
I don’t miss that it’s the first time one of them has made a joke, but my joviality is staunched by a fierce raging protectiveness that stirs in my gut when I think of the Enduar men. All two hundred, give or take, will want to know these women.
Just as I turn around, Teo’s hand slides over my left buttock, which is delectably close to his thigh on theglacialmara. It’s a gentle reminder to be careful.
“There will be plenty of men who will do far more than clean their teeth for the chance to spend five minutes alone with you,” I shoot back.
It’s met with a mix of awkward interest.
As I’ve spent time healing these women, almost all of them want to meet the Enduares. A part of me worries that they hear about mates, see Teo and me, and then think that such a coupling isrequiredof them.
Many want partners. They want freedom, to learn to read, to paint, and to sew, to be something more than breeding chattel.
Many of them, though not all, seek a family.
While I feel confident that all those who live in Enduvida will be respectful, my little home is about to proliferate—more people, and more opportunities for problems. It will be up to me to help Teo and the council find solutions.
It’s hard to trust myself enough to handle such a burden.
As we approach the clouded underpass, I look up at Teo.
“When I first came here, I was planning my escape through a passageway in the ice. It spits out into the forest that I tried to escape through later.”
He frowns at the memories.
“Was there really a passage?” he asks.
I nod. “There was, but Arlet was stuck. And then we ran out of time.”
Suddenly, the full force of the memory hits me as I picture Mikal receiving ten strikes for each lash on my back. For the tears. The anger.
Teo’s mind nudges my own, and I let him in. He holds me closer as we move through the narrow channels of ice.
Mist billows around us. His presence calms the raging torment. It’s something to be marveled at, truly, that I could know him for such little time and still feel entirely owned by his soul. We belong to each other.
