“I heard you fought well yesterday,” Inga calls over to me.
I flip over and move closer, treading water. “Thank you.”
“You fight?” the pregnant woman asks, her blonde eyebrows arching in surprise.
“She does,” Inga answers for me. “She beat Runa.”
“No, really?” The blonde again looks startled and gives what little she can see of me through the water an appraising look. “But you don’t look like a fighter. I bet Runa was furious.”
“She was,” Inga says, her eyes glinting with good-natured amusement.
“How did you learn to fight like that?” the blonde asks, her voice carrying a note of genuine curiosity rather than mockery.
Again, Inga answers for me before I can get a word out. “She’s Fox’s mate.”
“Oh, of course, that makes sense. Sorry, I’ve been missing all the gossip lately.” She gestures meaningfully toward her belly. “I’m Liv by the way.”
I’m not sure why it “makes sense” as Liv put it that Fox would train me, but now that the women seem more relaxed, I don’t want to put them off by asking too many questions.
“Nice to meet you,” I say instead, and I’m relieved when the mood in the group instantly becomes lighter.
I get the feeling that my being able to fight was a large part of why the wolves are warming up to me—some of them, anyway. Perhaps they assume that if I can use a sword I don’t have any magic after all, but I hope it’s just that now we have a common interest.
I chat to the women for a while, and it’s nice to be able to talk to someone other than Fox again. It makes me realize that I miss Alix and Odessa. I wonder what they’re doing now?
Alix is still on her honeymoon, and Odessa and Kastian probably went back to their ship by now. That must mean Jett and Connell are trapped there together alone. I hope they don’t kill each other.
Liv leans forward, her eyes bright with interest. “If you’re still here in a few months, after the baby comes, I’d love to spar with you.”
“Me too,” Inga adds, nodding. “It’s been ages since I’ve had a good fight with someone new.”
I glance at Inga, who doesn’t look pregnant at all. Before I can ask, she catches my look and smiles faintly. “It’s recent,” she explains, one hand drifting to her still-flat stomach.
“Congratulations,” I say, genuinely happy for her. Then I remember what Fox mentioned about Kai getting hurt. “How’s Kai feeling? I know he was injured the other day.”
Inga’s eyebrows lift slightly, and Liv’s mouth forms a small ‘o’ of surprise.
“We call him Alpha,” Inga says, her tone gentle but firm.
“Oh, sorry.” Heat rises to my cheeks. “I thought you were together.”
She shakes her head, but doesn’t actually say anything.
I have to physically bite my tongue to keep from blurting out an avalanche of questions. They have seven children, and another on the way, but they’re not together?
In Fae culture, that’s practically unheard of. Literally, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone doing that, ever.
Fae don’t have many children in general—perhaps one every two hundred years or so. Large families are rare, and it’s even more rare to hear of an unbonded couple with children.
My curiosity is running away with me, but I force myself to keep my mouth shut. The last thing I need is to offend them so soon.
“I’ve always been terrible with titles,” I say sheepishly. “Maybe it’s because I live with the king and queen of Vernalis, but no one ever talks to them like they’re royal.”
The women look startled. “You live with the king and queen?”
“Yes. Well, maybe you could say they live with me, because I lived in the house first. I guess it is Daemon’s by birthright, but he wasn’t there for the last handful of decades so...” I trail off, noticing how their expressions have shifted from curiosity to confusion, maybe even wariness. This probably isn’t the moment to mention that my late father was a king, or that technically, Daemon is sort of my uncle.
I clear my throat and try to bring the conversation back around to comfortable territory. “So, is your alpha feeling better?”
