“Your wife is lying again,” Liwei told him with a smirk. “I know for a fact my mother’s recruited her to guilt me into spending more time with the family.”
Varidian reached my side, his hand resting on my shoulder blades. He rarely stopped touching me these days. The tight stretch of the bond that was uncomfortable when we were apart soothed into mellow warmth and satisfaction when we touched. I reached up and covered his hand with mine, a knot unwinding from my chest.
“To be fair,” he told Liwei, “you have been gallivanting around Riverren a lot lately.”
“Not you, too,” Liwei groaned. “I’m surrounded by my mother’s sycophants.”
“There, there,” Varidian said, patting his shoulder. In the weeks that we’d spent tidying up Xiu’s mess and making sure the gates remained guarded at all times, my cousin and husband had become friends. Mostly, they traded well-mannered insults and teasing.
“Did they get settled?” I asked Varidian when Liwei made his goodbyes and headed for the wyverns ready to carry him and the Riverren guard to the fortress gate.
Varidian sank into a seat beside me and pulled me onto his lap, his arms locking around me as a deep sigh left his chest.“They’ve all got places to stay in the city for now, but Emmahin mentioned helping Daurith rebuild.”
“No doubt for a price.” The Torn Isle were nothing if not businessmen. But I’m sure Chakir Kissami would appreciate the offer nonetheless. The refugees from the sacred city finally arrived in Red Manniston last week, homeless now the king had Daurith razed to ash. Zaarib’s family were living in the Diamond for now, our home full of noise and life. It was comforting when my head became too full of ringing silence.
Varidian’s lips brushed my temple once, twice, and a weight slid from my shoulders at the same time another sigh moved his chest. “I don’t doubt the island will turn the rebuild into a profit. Speaking of money.” I lifted my head off his shoulder, curious. “I had a word with the old bibliopegist.”
“Varidian,” I hissed. “Don’t use such sexy words in public.”
“We’re in our own garden, dearling,” he replied, his voice dropping into a purr that made my stomach flutter. He kissed the edge of my mouth, then captured me in a deep, thorough kiss that woke up every inch of my body, sensitive and desperate for his touch. “He’s retiring soon.” It took me a moment to remember what we were talking about, my mouth full of the taste of him and his addictive scent muddling my senses. “His daughter will be taking over the business, and she’s looking for an assistant bookbinder. She’s willing to offer training if, for example, a highly regarded war hero wanted to learn how to do the job.”
A gasp caught in my throat and I grabbed his shoulders, squeezing. “Are you serious? Don’t lie to me, Varidian, or I’ll make you regret it. Do I have to remind you of two nights ago.”
He groaned, a wicked darkness chasing through his eyes—brown once more, now the lightning had left him. Elinour had moved into the Red Star, though I didn’t know where exactly she lived. But everyone knew when she was angry or upsetbecause the heavens opened and lightning chased across the sky. Varidian had tried to help her manage it, but she’d snapped that she wasa lightning souland shehad it totally, completely handled.I gave her another week before she caved to his help.
“You nearly murdered me,” Varidian grumbled, his lips finding my throat.
“You wouldn’t have actuallydied,”I protested. Sure, I edged him three times until he was whining and pleading with me to take him inside me, to finally give him the pleasure I’d denied him thrice. When he finally came, his eyes rolled back and his entire body shook. I was utterly delighted and already planning a repeat performance.
“I would.”
I laughed, then groaned when he sucked on that sensitive spot on my neck. In seconds, I was molten and wet with need.
“I did get another gift for you,” he said against my neck, the brush of his breath making me shiver and clutch him closer. “Four gifts, actually.”
“Four is excessive,” I breathed, moving until I straddled his hips, my clothes conveniently loose and lacking any trousers to inhibit my plans.
“Four is the bare fucking minimum,” he growled, “but I’m working on the rest.”
I rolled my hips, following the hard bulge in his pants. “The rest?”
“I have a list of everyone who’s ever hurt you. I’m clearing it one at a time.” His hands landed on my hips, bunching my djellaba at my hips. “You’ll be happy to know Falael fucking Jaouhari is ruined. Penniless. No longer a gentry. No rank at all, in fact. And tragically, his kasbah has passed in ownership to his wife, who you never mentioned as mistreating you. But if I’m wrong, say the word and I’ll destroy her, too.”
The low, growling tone of his voice made me ache. I took his face in my hands and tilted it back so I could kiss him as I ground my hips into his. His groan tickled my tongue and I kissed him harder, not satisfied until his fingers dug into my hips and he was breathless.
“I don’t care about ruining Khadija. Let her have the house and all his money.”
He immediately surrendered to another kiss, fumbling between us to pull out his cock, to brush it over the pulsing, slick heat of me.
“Wait.” I drew back. “You said four gifts. Who else did you ruin?”
His grin was wicked and vindictive. “Every damn one of his sons. No one will employ them. No commander or leader will accept them. They’ll find they’re unwelcome in every corner of Ithanys.”
Without a way to make money… “That’s a death sentence.”
“Oh, I hope so,” he said and kissed me deeply, guiding me up so his cock could fit at my entrance and then tightening his grip on my waist when I sank down. “I hope poverty slowly saps their life until they die, alone and suffering.”
I sank my fingers into his wavy hair and kissed him. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
