“Let’s fly back to Sparrow’s house.” I nudged his wing with mine. “I think I can finally get some sleep now.”
Merrick’s brown eyes, which had been so heavy moments before, lit up. “I’ll race you there.”
And then he launched off the waterfall, disappearing from view. He let out a raucous whoop as he soared up in a perfectly straight line, shooting out of the trees and into the open sky.
Ididn’tlethimwin.
As I touched down on the patio, I came face to face with Laurent and a very pale Sparrow who took one look at my blood covered clothes and pursed her lips into a flat line of disapproval, eyes flaring.
“I thought we agreed no fighting in Florra.”
“Technically,” Merrick corrected, landing behind me, “We were defending ourselves.”
Sparrow appraised him with a ‘look’ only she could give. I don’t know how she mastered it. The slight raise of her brows, the narrowing of her blue eyes, the tightness in her mouth. It was the epitome of ‘sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up.’ I had seen males cower before that look for years. Merrick gave her a wide grin–seemingly unaffected.
Interesting.
Merrick recanted our evening at the waterfall, and lucky Laurent and Sparrow even got a blow-by-blow summary of how Merrick waterfall jumped to land the final killing blow. Sparrow seemed to be half listening, moretsk-ing over Merrick and I dripping blood on her patio. With a sweep of her dainty wrist, the gore disappeared from the both of us. Merrick whistled, taking in his clean clothes. “Neat trick.”
Sparrow bristled but addressed me. “I ran youbothbaths and laid out clothes for you–and don’t eventhinkof getting into bed before you wash up. I cleaned the blood off, but you both still smell like death.” Her nose crinkled.
Laurent had stayed silent since our return, but his eyes kept straying to Sparrow standing there, arms crossed, in a baby blue fluffy robe cut right at mid-thigh–giving both males a view of her long, golden legs. She may have been miffed that I got into another fight, but she damn sure had her eyes on Laurent.
Or Merrick.
Or both.
And my antics wouldn’t stop her from her hunt.
And with that cringing thought, I dismissed myself to the bathroom where I soaked in the tub for a long time.
Chapter thirty-five
Merrick
MerrickwistfullywatchedEsmerayslink off since Sparrow now blocked the door with her arms crossed and a snarl on her face. She waited until Esmeray’s footsteps disappeared before whirling on him, speaking low and quickly about her house rules. Most of them revolved around a common theme of keeping Esmeray out of trouble, such as, “Don’t let Esmeray instigate any more fights,” and, “Neverdrip blood on the living room rugs,” as if she already knew rule number one would be broken again.
So, Merrick stood there and took the verbal lashing the petite fae female launched on Laurent and himself. All the while imagining what Sparrow looked like under that delicious robe.
Laurent, hands clasped behind his back, concentrated intently on every word Sparrow spat at them. After Sparrow had run out of rules–deemed by her stuttering and just jabbing her finger at them over and over, Laurent smoothly held out his arm and asked if he could bother her for one more glass of wine, steering her towards the stairs and initiating a conversation that involved his burning questions regarding a particularly exotic plant he spied on the bookshelf in her living room.
“Kiss ass.”Merrick shot through his ring as Laurent guided Sparrow away.
Laurent turned his head ever so slightly and shot a sly wink in Merrick’s direction.
Once he was alone on the patio, Merrick took his leave to the bedroom Sparrow assigned him. The room was small, yet cozy, with a bed just large enough to fit a gargoyle. A smattering of plump pillows with floral patterns and the soft greens of the bed sheets beckoned. Merrick forced himself away, fearing the wrath of the beautiful fae that had expressly forbade him to lay down until he washed up. Merrick tucked his wings tight as he slid past a low dresser and into the bathroom. The tub steamed, aromas of jasmine and something woodsy filling the room.
Gods, help him.
She put oils in his bath.
Merrick made quick work of unbuckling his sword belt and shucking off his leathers. With a groan at the muscle-relaxing heat, he lowered his body into the tub and leaned his head back, trying to force his mind to slow down so he could process the day.
Esmeray was nothing like he expected. The wicked, traitorous, blood thirsty monster Adara led two Kingdoms of beings to believe lurked in every shadow waiting to make another kill was, in reality, one of the most fierce, badass, loyal females Merrick had ever met. It was apparent Esmeray didn’t care how the world portrayed her, and wouldlean intothe role of the villain if it meant it got her closer to getting Keerian back. She took him waterfall jumping for gods’ sake. Esmeray had sat and listened to him express his feelings and didn’t mock him for it, only supported him. And then took down eight of Adara’s soldierseasily. Therewere so many similarities Merrick saw between her and Keerian that Merrick knew Carra made the perfect match.
If the world ever got to see it, King Keerian and Queen Esmeray had a nice ring to it.
Chapter thirty-six
