"I don't know, and I wouldn't want to risk it unless we have to deal with a full incursion."
Delphi hummed. "Or find what they want and give it to them."
The answering growl that came out of Tenebrys had her freezing in place, her hand pressed to a wound on his collarbone. He turned his head to look at her, and for a moment, she thought he would shove her away.
"I willnevergive them a damn thing," he said, his pointed ears flattening. A second later, the intensity in his eyes softened. "Fae appetites are insatiable. They always want more, Delphi. They just need to stay the fuck in Faerie where they belong."
Delphi started breathing again and moved to get the yarrow that had been steeping into mush.
"This is probably a silly question, but have you tried destroying those gateways? If they have no way in, that would solve the problem, right?"
Tenebrys shook his head. "There is no way to close them. It's not the stones around them that allow them to get through. It's a weak place between the worlds that can't be closed or opened, only manipulated by magic or during the full moon," he explained patiently. "The stones just mark it so we know where they are, and how wide they are. The iron stakes are to stop thefae from bringing larger creatures through them. They wouldn't be able to remove the iron, only go around them."
Delphi packed the yarrow into the wounds on his back before moving to his arms again.
"I suppose the first thing we should do is figure out if the plague is still around and dangerous. If I were Narcisse, that would have been my first step," she said, parting the short black fur on his arm to get better access to one of the cuts.
"Why?" Tenebrys asked. He sounded genuinely curious and wasn't mocking her for once.
"Because the cure for the poison is usually found within the poison itself. At least, that's what the mages in Kyllene believe," she replied, gently pressing the poultice in place. She quoted, "'The below is made of the above, and the above is made of the below.'"
"I thought you had never left Chantelun," Tenebrys replied.
Delphi looked up from her wound tending to roll her eyes at him. "I can read, Tenebrys. I've read everything I could get my hands on for years. Narcisse wasn't about to teach me anything useful, and I wanted to learn. If I had some books on magic, maybe I could figure out what the hell my parents did to you. I'll go through the volumes and papers they left behind, but if they had value, why wouldn't Narcisse have taken them when they left?"
"Why take evidence of your failures with you when you can just run away and pretend it never happened? They probably thought we were all dead anyway," Tenebrys said, shifting his weight.
"Good point. That does sound like Narcisse," Delphi replied and lifted his arm a little higher. "Dark hells, you have another wound on your ribs. You could have said something."
Tenebrys grunted. "Didn't notice."
Delphi got him a chair to rest his arm on and crouched down beside him. The slash was shallow but long. "They were going for your heart with this one."
"Didn't know what they were doing if that's the case," he said with an amused snort. "Always stab between the ribs, not slash."
"Good to know," Delphi replied, laughing softly with him. Warm air ruffled her hair. "Are you sniffing me right now?"
"Hard not to when your head is right under my nose. Besides, you smell nice, little flower."
Delphi's shoulders stiffened, and she glared at him. "You don't get to call me that anymore."
"Interested to hear what you are going to do to stop me," he replied, his full lips lifting just enough to flash fang.
Delphi poked the wound in his side, making him hiss. "How about that?"
A rumbling sound started in his chest before loud laughter rolled out of him.
"Such a fierce tiny female," he said, between his chuckles.
"Don't laugh at me," Delphi snapped at him, only because she knew it would make him laugh more. "I'm really close to your groin right now, and I'm not afraid to hit you in the balls if you keep it up."
Tenebrys chucked her under the chin with one large velvety soft finger. "Don't threaten me with a good time,little flower."
Delphi snapped her teeth on his finger, making his eyes flare golden. He growled at her in warning. Sick of his shit, Delphi growled back. His big hand closed around her throat, soft but firm.
"Careful now. It's a dangerous game to growl in challenge at an alpha," he whispered, deadly soft.
Delphi's pulse thrummed fast against his palm. It was warm and possessive and far too much like it had been in the dream. Her mouth parted for a breath, and she licked her dry lips.Tenebrys's eyes suddenly focused on her mouth like it was the only thing in the world.
