He closed the distance between us and wrapped one arm around my waist, dipping his head. “Oh, and to further quench your voracious curiosity, yes, I paida lotof attention to your actions. You know, the paper-thin curtain didabsolutely nothingto my Fae sight.”
I held his mischief-filled stare. “Oh, I figured that out the moment we entered the room.”
His grip tightened. “You wanted me to watch.”
My hands went to his shoulders, and I traced my fingers up and down his arm. “Mmm, I may not have completely hated the idea of it.”
His voice dropped. “You made me watch you.”
I scoffed. “Made you? You sat down to watch first.”
In a heartbeat, I found myself on the stony table, his mouth clamped to mine. I pulled him close, my hands at his back, his nape. Small sounds left me each time his thick tongue grazed mine.
Then his mouth went to my neck, like a magnet, instinctively finding the pull towards my sweet spot.
“Mmm. I think the talisman is working,” I mumbled.
“Uh-uh,” he murmured against my neck. “It still has to kick in.”
“Oh—”
He claimed my mouth once more, trailing his hands up and down the various moons on my back. Mine went to his chest. I traced the contours of his sandstone muscles.
The sound of the door creaking had us jolting. Our heads snapped towards the doorway, at which a horde of servants stood, buckets, brooms, and cloths in hand.
“We apologise, we’ll come back later,” one of them murmured.
“There’s no need. We were, uh, just leaving,” Aegir replied, fixing his shirt. I hastily slipped off the table and hid behind him. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
I trailed as he hurried us along a series of long corridors and spiralling stairs.
“Where are we going?” I asked, breath heavy.
“To answer two of your questions.”
“Could you be a little bit more specific?”
“You’ll see.”
I grunted, “You always say that.”
“But do I ever disappoint?”
A series of images flashed through my mind—Cinnamon’s stable upgrade, Cinnamon’s healed leg, Semuel and Faern.
“Never,” I admitted.
My legs turned wobbly by the time we made it to what I presumed—from the combination of howling and the smell of wet dogs—was the kennels. The howling swelled into a crescendo at Aegir’s presence. Tails wiggled and nails scratched against the fence. Their eyes, I noticed, were close to being white.
“I cannot tell if they’re dogs or wolves,” I murmured, allowing two of them to curiously and frantically sniff at my hand.
“Think of them as wolflike dogs,” Aegir replied, harnessing all six of them. “And you and I, my beautiful Ilman, are going for a ride in the snow beneath Thalassa’s full moon. You’ll love it, you’ll see.”
“Where are we going exactly?” I asked, accepting the fluffy blanket that Aegir offered me. I didn’t really need it now that I had the talisman, but the thought of snuggling with him while we moved seemed like something I would want to do.
“To a place called Silvermeer. It’s only a couple of hours away.”
I also accepted the waterskins and the lantern.
