But sleep claims me anyway. As I’m fading away, I hear Ezryn whisper, “Trust in me, Rosalina. This is how I can show you, Farron, Dayton, and Kel that I… I can protect you all.”
Thesettingsunshinesbrightly on the horizon, casting Coppershire in golden light.
I cross my arms over my chest. “This is the worst part, the waiting.”
Farron lets out a long sigh. “I know what you mean. I almost wish they would arrive now.”
It’s agony, knowing Perth Quellos’s legion of monsters will be here by tomorrow. We’ve prepared the city. The soldiers are armed, defenses manned, and supplies stocked. I woke from my nap after a couple hours. Ezryn has left with the scouting team to gather intel on numbers and capabilities. Keldarion is gone without even a hint of where he went. Some whisper he won’t return… But in my heart, I know he’ll come back.
“Even my books fail to keep my attention,” I say finally. “I must really be nervous.”
Farron pulls me against his chest, lips dipping to my neck. “Well, I could think of a few things to distract you.”
I giggle, melting into his arms and savoring the taste of my mate’s lips over my skin.
Farron, my mate.The thought still lights my whole self. I take his face in my hands and kiss him, knowing with every part of me that he’s mine. It was meant to be. From the first moment I met him, slumped in that dungeon cell, I was called to him.
“Rosie, I can’t just have you once. I need you again.”
I let my arms loop around his shoulders. Though I’ve only napped for a few hours, I feel surprisingly awake. I wonder how long Ezryn stayed with me after I’d fallen asleep. “Wasn’t the order to rest before tomorrow?”
“You, me, the bed? That’s restful.”
My core heats, aching for him.
“Farron, wait. There’s something we should do.”
His face furrows in a grimace, already knowing what I’m going to say.
“We need to talk to Dayton.”
Farron shakes his head, and I feel the turmoil pass through him, though I’m not sure if it’s from almost killing the Summer Prince in his wolf form or facing the man he loves after the awakening of his mate bond.
Placing a gentle hand on his arm, I try to ease some of his worries. “I hope you know I would never want you to give him up.”
“I’m your mate. I belong to you.”
“And because of that, I know your heart is big enough for both of us. Plus, I have another mate. Not that he wants anything to do with me.”
“I know Kel. Before he left, there was a deep pain in parting from you.”
“It’s just the dumb bond.”
“Hey, you don’t get to call it a dumb bond now.” He places a kiss on my ear.
“Remember what we spoke of in the hot springs… Does this bond change any of it for you?”
Farron pulls back. “You mean when Day said that if you were with anyone else, he’d kill them and fuck you in their blood?”
Crimson stains my cheeks. “Yes. That.”
Farron tilts his head to the side, considering. “Kel is your mate. I know Dayton well enough to see how much he cares about you. And Ez is so important to me. The idea of you being there for him makes me happy. So no, it hasn’t changed at all.”
“Okay,” I say.
“Unless you want me to growl and get all jealous. I could try that.”
“Well, one of the guards does like staring at my chest—”
