“You will always be a general in my eyes,” he answered.
It was my turn to sigh again. “Very well. If you feel it is necessary, go ahead and tell the magistrate the truth. I will accept my punishment.”
The other daemon got to his feet, giving me his back as he looked out the window, his hands clasped behind him.
“I wish it were that simple,” he said. “But I cannot do that because it would leave your female unprotected and subject to the magistrate’s whims. And I confess I do not trust the magistrate to make the correct decision in regard to her. He is of the traditional bent. Humans are for serving daemons or fucking. He will have her back on the auction block with the slave master before the bars of your cell are closed behind you. Even with proof that her contract is forged.”
Impotent anger roared through me at the thought of my female being in danger, and my fingers dug into the arms of my chair, the sharp claws of my left hand scratching the stained wood.
“What do you propose instead?” I asked.
He faced me. “I will tell the magistrate that all is well with your testing period and that both of you were truthful. She will be safe until you can arrange for her to be returned home.” His stare hardened as he met my eyes. “Though you should considerhow much danger that will create for her in the human realm before you do it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Humans absorb magic when they are in Penumbra. It makes them a magnet for magic users and other creatures in the human realm. That is why so few return after they have spent time here. It is not safe for them.”
My chest grew alarmingly tight. “What?”
Dryden’s answering look was quizzical. “You didn’t know?”
“No. I had no idea that humans absorbed magic here. How did you?”
He shrugged. “I know a few witches.”
“How long do they have to remain before the magic grows too much for them to return to the human realm?”
“A month or so. Less if they have magic of their own. Penumbra magnifies human magic and gives magic to those humans without it the longer they are here. It also slows human aging. They usually only live seventy to eighty years in the human realm. Here they live as long as we do.”
The tightness in my chest became heavy, weighing my body down. The thought of sending Leda away from me, to a place where I could not keep her safe and she would die in fifty short years… it hurt.
Dryden moved back to the other chair and sat down. “If she was not going to return home, would you want her as a mate?”
“Of course.” There was no hesitation in my answer at all. “She is all I could want or need in a mate. There is nothing I would not do to earn her love and regard.”
He studied me, his body still and eyes narrowed. “You’re telling the truth. You don’t see her as less than you, but as your equal.”
“She is not my equal. She is superior to me in all ways that matter.”
Dryden slapped his hands down on the arms and got to his feet. “Then, I have made my decision. Leda will remain with you for the duration of your testing period. What happens after that will be up to the two of you. As far as I am concerned, you attacked Karaj to protect your mate.”
He came forward and held his hand out to me. I rose to meet him and reached out to grasp his wrist.
“Whatever you decide to do,” he said. “Don’t wait too long.” He shook my hand. “I will see myself out.”
I remained motionless in my office as he walked down the hall and out the front door.
Any hope I had that Leda might grow to love me was fading. I thought I would have time to prove myself worthy. Before today, I would have believed I could.
Now that she was so angry with me… I doubted it.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Leda
With only sheer muscle memory, I moved through the punching combination. I followed it up with an elbow strike and knee strike. Each impact hurt.
