Page 8 of Wings of Snow
I took a step back. “I’m mated to the death warlord.”
His eyebrow arched. “Is that true?” He inched closer to me, his nostrils flaring. “I don’t detect his scent on you.”
My sister cleared her throat, and I couldn’t tell if she was trying to suppress a laugh or smother a snort.
“Our bond isn’t completed.” I ran a hand through my hair, wishing I could sink through this mountain. “But he’s my mate. He’s fully bonded to me.”
Drachu cocked an eyebrow. “I take it you’re giving me fair warning what he would do if he learned that I fucked his mate?”
Cailis did snort this time, and one look at my sister told me she was definitely trying to keep from laughing.
At least one of us was enjoying my humiliation.
I glowered at her, and she finally smoothed her expression. While I wasn’t a virgin, I wasn’t exactly experienced, and my sister knew that.
I forced my posture to straighten as I looked Drachu in the eye. “I will not be bedding you, my...err, my king. But we haven’t come unprepared. There’s no need for us to inconvenience your salivar.” I gestured toward the pack Cailis carried that held all of our carefully stowed items that we’d acquired during the past few months, just in case we ever found ourselves in the position we were currently in. “We are just as happy to pay for accommodation at an inn or for a room in someone’s home.”
Drachu waved a hand. “Nonsense, you are my guests. I shall have Sabreeny ready the guestroom for you, and then in the morning, we shall endeavor to discover what’s trapped your magic so that it may once again be freed.”
My jaw dropped as my heartbeat sped up. “Do you know how to do that?”
“Perhaps.”
Hope surged through me. Maybe I could reacquire my affinities quickly, which meant I could return to Norivun much sooner than I’d thought possible. “And you would really help me free my affinities?”
“Of course.”
But just as quickly as my hope appeared, a moment of apprehension filled me. “Why would you offer to help me like that?”
But instead of answering, Drachu merely called out something to Sabreeny in their language before waving Cailis and me forward. “Come. The night grows late.”
CHAPTER 4 - ILARA
“Drachu! Aww,siv, Drachu!Siv!”
I looked at my sister lying in the bed across from me in the guestroom at Sabreeny’s residence. The dark night sky glittered through the window as the distant sound of crashing waves reached my ears. Well, they reached my ears when Sabreeny wasn’t moaning or screaming.
Even though the hour was late and exhaustion made my eyelids heavy, it was rather hard to sleep with the racket from Drachu’s bedroom chambers. The occasional rumbling walls from his power didn’t help either. Although, I had to admit, the fae king had stamina. They’d been going at it for at least an hour as Sabreeny got plundered senseless by the Lochen king.
Trying to ignore their carnal exuberance, I rolled on my side to face my sister. “Why do you think Drachu is so willing to help me?”
She sighed. In the shadows, I could barely make out her features. “I don’t know. I’ve been wondering the same.”
“Are you certain that he was being honest when he said he’d give us safe haven?”
Cailis straightened her wings more behind her, grumbling when they hit the wall. Lochen beds were definitely not made to accommodate wings. “Yes, he was being truthful as far as my affinity could tell. But when you asked him about using you for his personal gain or keeping us prisoners, his aura bled slightly gray.”
A shiver ran through me. “What do you think that means?”
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think his intentions are entirely noble.”
I nodded as Sabreeny let out another long wail. “I don’t think so either. Why would a king be waiting for me and bend over backward to help me? And what did he mean about me joining his clan? I don’t intend to stay here indefinitely. I’m still Solis and want to return home. Iwillhelp Norivun replenish theoremand defy the king’s arranged marriage demands.”
“I know you will, which means we need to be careful. I want to think we can trust Drachu to help us, but I think being wary is the smarter plan.” Cailis let out an aggrieved sigh when another loud moan followed by a magical tremor rattled the windowpane. “Blessed Mother. Do you think she’s always this loud? The female screams more than a babe upon being born, and it’s non-stop. You would think she would have lost her voice by now.”
“She’s probably doing it so we know why Drachu’s allowed her to live here. He did say she was a new salivar. Perhaps she feels threatened by us.”
“Do you think if I tell her we’re not a threat, that she’ll give it a rest so we can get some sleep?”