Kaid startled. “Did you just—”
“I didn’t do anything,” Asta shook her head.
She looked down at her hand, flexing her fingers and observing her Blomvin signet ring.
“It couldn’t be,” she mumbled.
Asta bent down and grabbed the cuff, closing it once again then placing the signet ring against it. The cuff immediately sprang open.
“Where did you get that ring, Asta?” Kaid stared, brows furrowed, at her hand containing the metal band.
Asta averted her gaze to the ring as well, shaking her head. “It was my mother’s. I’ve always had it, just never worn it. I wanted to bring a piece of her with me when I turned in case I never made it back.”
The corners of Kaid’s mouth pulled back. “I think your mother had a lot more to do with siren affairs than anyone knew.”
They had one of the iron keys.
Asta tapped her doorframe then entered her suite to find it empty besides Dyri. The massive canine barreled over to her, slamming his side into her legs so hard that she nearly toppled over. Someone had clearly been taking care of him, seeing as his food dish was full, but Linnea was nowhere to be found.
Once Asta had finished searching all of her rooms, she concluded that Linnea was gone. But where?
Kaid entered her bedroom. “No trace of Halsten. Linnea?”
Asta shook her head.
A piece of parchment on her vanity caught her attention and she immediately recognized her cousin’s impeccable penmanship.
The note explained that Linnea, Gyrial, Liva, and Niklas had left for her mother’s old manor to search for the comb and mirror. Kaid read over Asta’s shoulder and somehow noticed when her heart began to race, based on his comforting hand that came up to rest on her shoulder.
Asta had always pushed her cousin to be more confident, but she never meant for her to go on a quest to the old manor that she had been abused in for the entirety of her adolescence. The last part of the letter blatantly told Asta to not worry, and not come after her. Asta huffed a laugh at Linnea’s instinctual knowledge that she would try to chase after her.
Kaid moved to massaging Asta’s shoulders. She stiffened, but relaxed once she realized how good it felt.
“She’s fine, Princess. She is with a fae and a sea dragon. And Niklas. For whatever that’s worth.” Kaid’s lips lightly grazed the side of her neck. “Relax for a moment. You’re home.”
Nothing made Asta less relaxed than being told to relax.
She turned toward Kaid to tell him so, but his mouth was already crashing into hers. Their lips moved together and Kaid’s arm wrapped around her back to pull her flush with him. He pushed her until the backs of her thighs hit her vanity and she hopped up to sit on it, Kaid settling between her legs.
Kaid broke away from her mouth and his ocean eyes peered into her soul. “I’ve been waiting days to do that. I missed you.”
Asta smiled and caressed his face. “I missed you too.”
He dove forward, capturing her mouth again.
“Kaid,” Asta whispered between kisses.
He only grunted in response.
“Kaid, the others will come looking for us,” Asta managed to rush out.
Kaid pressed his cheek against hers so his lips tickled her ear. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, blondie, I don’t give one singlefuckabout the others right now.”
A whimper escaped Asta and she cursed herself for letting him make her so weak.
Kaid nipped at her ear before trailing kisses down her neck, toward her chest. One hand gripped her waist while the other traced tantalizing circles on her inner thigh. Her button up shirt only allowed Kaid access to the top of her breasts before he would have to start removing it.
To her surprise, he dipped to the side and caught her pebbled nipple in his mouth, using the friction of her shirt fabric to coax little moans from her.
