“I will not tell anyone about your gift of being a syrenskyn,” he said gravely. “You do not need to be afraid that I will expose this secret you want to keep.”
My gaze wandered over his hardened expression, my hand wrapping around his bicep. A rumble in his chest told me he liked my hand on him. I should step away. I should keep our communications and interactions cordial. Aloof. But there was no mistaking the forbidden desire burning a flame inside me.
So I leaned my body closer, inches from his. He stiffened. I lifted my chin higher, pretending to get closer so he could hear me.
“Thank you, Lord Redvyr. But I did not fear that you would. I do not feel fear of any kind when it comes to you.”
I turned and walked into the pool of firelight, knowing damn well that I lied. There was a small fear growing in my heart. That when it came time, it was going to hurt very deeply to say goodbye to Lord Redvyr.
Chapter 14
REDVYR
The gods hated me. That was the only explanation. I stared at the red-haired beauty across the campfire, her face soft and sweet in sleep. When she was awake, her defiance and wickedly alluring eyes had my body hard and my temper at a feverish pitch.
I’d purposely set my furs on the opposite side of the campfire to keep her at a distance. This burning desire was becoming a monster I couldn’t tame.
Then there was what my chief and closest friend had said. I looked over at Bezaliel, a giant lump in the furs next to his female and child. Of all the fucking things for him to say to me, that she was meant to be mine by the gods. That she was my mate, and that I should take her to my bed to find out.
Fucking bastard. Now that was all I could think about. For a beast fae, there was only one way to know if a lover was your gods-given mate. And though I longed to bury my cock inside her, that wasn’t an option. I had a feeling that if I did, I’d never let her go back to her own kind, whether she wanted to stay or not.
A few of the clan accepted her, but they all knew it was a temporary situation. Many didn’t want her with us at all, she was too much of an outsider. It wasn’t like she was a wraith or shadow fae, a dark fae who needed our help. She was a princess skald fae from a kingdom far away.
Her brow pinched in her sleep. Her hand twitched.
The council deemed she would go at the end of winter. If I took her for a lover, I wouldn’t let her go. I would defy the council. But worse than that. It would lead to my ruin in so many ways.
First, it would prevent me from finding my own mate. It would also make me more like my father, keeping a woman who didn’t belong to me. I knew that led to heartache, not just for myself but for the entire clan. I refused to repeat the wrongs of my father, to repeat a tragic history that has damned my family name. The only reason I was chief was because I’d beat all opponents, and I’d pledged that I would never be my father, that I would not disappoint the clan but help it to rise above my father’s failings.
Only over time had I proven that pledge true. And here I was, staring at this sorceress across the fire who seduced me even in her sleep.
She twitched again, this time crying out. She was having a nightmare. I contemplated whether to wake her, but considering I slept without wearing any clothes, I wasn’t about to do that. It would only be more of a nightmare for her, I imagined.
Suddenly, she gasped and jolted awake, sitting up and breathing quickly. I didn’t say a word, hoping she’d simply lay back down and go to sleep. She turned her head and found me. Blinking awake, she shimmied out of her bedroll, wearing that ungodly thin gown she called a chemise. Picking up her furs, she walked around the campfire, stepping softly over Leifkyn who didn’t move a muscle.
Without even looking at me, she unrolled her furs next to mine. Though the embers were merely red coals, I could see her body far too well beneath the thin material of her nightgown. Not that my cock needed any encouragement. He’d been at attention from the moment I saw her swimming in that pool, for fuck’s sake.
She wiggled into her furs, facing me, but closed her eyes and sighed. I considered asking her what she was doing, why she needed to move herself so close to me, but then she’d likely become angry and snap at me with a hundred questions, the worst being,why don’t you want me near you. I wasn’t about to start lying to the woman, and telling her the truth would be madness.
Heaving a sigh of my own, I spoke in a low voice. “What did you dream of?”
Her lips pursed, her eyes opening to slits, finding mine in the dark. “That I was that fae on trial in Hellamir,” she whispered. “That I was being burned at the stake before a cheering crowd.”
My entire body tensed at the thought and at the fear shaking her voice. “It was a dream. Nothing more.”
“For me, yes. But he’s done it before. I know he has.” She sniffed, curling farther into her furs. “And he’ll do it again.”
I rolled to my back, staring up at the stars. I couldn’t look at her. “You are speaking of Gael.” I was no longer going to give him the title oflord. There was nothing noble about this light fae prick of Mevia.
“Yes.” Her voice was so small. It stirred my anger.
“How do you know this?”
“I just do. I can’t explain how.”
“Part of your witchcraft?” I turned my head to see her reaction.
She tilted her head up, frowning, until she caught my smile. “It’s not funny.”
