They barely made it through the door of Vek’s home before his nephew exploded. “What in the hell—”
“Not here, Fen.” Vek nodded toward a door on the right side of the entryway. His steward, Pedek, slipped through with efficient stealth, his demeanor not faltering at the sight of the blood-covered trio. “We’ll speak in my room once we’ve all bathed.”
“Seriously?”
“You might not be covered in cave mud and two battles’ worth of blood and guts, but we are. You can deal for half an hour,” Vek said. Dria grimaced, but at least Fen shut up. “Pedek, please show my nephew and your prince to one of our finest guest rooms.”
His steward bowed. “Of course, Prince Vek.”
Vek made note to add an extra cask of gold to Pedek’s next payment. He’d already earned enough to buy himself and his husband their own large home in the city, but they’d been considering adopting a child. The extra gold wouldn’t go amiss.
The cold began to creep into his bones and the nausea to set in as he led Dria into his bedroom. He might not experience remorse for the wicked people he’d killed over the years, but that didn’t mean the acts hadn’t been without personal cost. The odd limbo of the warrior, the battle between conscience and necessity. He hadn’t felt like eating or sleeping for a solid day after his last assignment, and that had been a single assassination. The number of lives he’d taken today…
Well, it was always easier to count the dead than to add up the number of people he’d probably saved. It never got better, not fully, and he hoped it never did.
Vek released Dria’s hand and unsheathed his sword. Wincing at the sight of the blood congealed along the metal, he ran a cleaning spell across the sword and into the sheath before returning his blade to its scabbard. Then he glanced up and saw his mate shudder, her entire body shaking with it.
“The first battle is the worst,” he murmured, brushing a stiffened strand of her hair behind her ear.
Dria nodded. “I know. I was prepared for that. In theory.”
“Let’s bathe,” Vek said. “We can have a bonfire with our clothes later if it makes you feel better.”
One corner of her mouth tipped up. “Maybe.”
They undressed quickly, leaving a heap of blood-soaked cloth tangled on the stone floor, and then Vek took her hand and led her to his bathing room. To the right, there was a large soaking tub, but they wouldn’t be wanting that yet. Instead, he hurried to a large alcove on the back wall and activated the release spell.
Water sprang from spigots in three of the walls and drained away through holes carved into the floor. Vek tugged Dria through the retaining magic that kept the liquid from splashing out of the alcove. Of all the things he’d commissioned for his home, this was absolutely one of the best. Easy to clean and large enough for three or four close friends.
Dria dropped his hand and darted beneath the spray. “Oh, gods.”
Ever willing to help his mate, Vek gestured toward a ledge carved into the wall. “That shelf holds a variety of soaps.”
He stepped into the stream of water beside hers. Divine knew how long he’d have to scrub to feel like himself again. He rinsed first, the liquid trailing down his body turning a sickly russet color against the tile floor. Then Vek picked a jar of soap at random and began scouring himself clean, starting with his hair. He hissed in a breath as his fingers found scratches and burns that adrenaline had kept him from feeling. All minor, at least.
Vek had just finished rinsing off again when he heard Dria’s muffled yelp. His own ablutions forgotten, he crossed the short distance to her side. “What is it?”
Dria twisted so he could see her upper arm where a nasty welt blistered her skin. “I don’t even know when I got this. There’s a lesser one on my other arm and another on my hip. I didn’t feel them before, but now…”
“They burn like the fire that created them.” Vek pointed to one of his own scorch marks. “I know.”
“For once, I’d welcome being fussed at by my cousin.”
Vek smiled softly. “If it troubles you, we can consult the palace healer.”
“I can wait.” Dria bit her lower lip. “Would you… I scrubbed myself twice, but I still don’t feel clean. Would you make sure I don’t have anything left on my back?”
“Of course, caramuin,” Vek answered. “Of course.”
As Vek’s hands trailed soap across her back, Dria’s control snapped, and the emotions she’d held back escaped in one fell swoop. Gessen. Gods, Gessen. Though the burden of the lives she’d taken lay heavy on her heart, she would kill again to save others. But the loss of her friend…
Why had she dragged the newest member of the troop on that mission? She would never forgive herself for putting him in such a position. He’d trusted her to lead him, to ensure everyone’s safety.
Best friend, he’d called her.
So much for that.
Tears poured down her cheeks, blending with the drops of water showering from above, and her shoulders shook from the force of her sobs. Vek slid his arms around her and pulled her against him. Then he simply nuzzled his face into her shoulder and held her as her grief took control.
“I killed him,” Dria gasped through her tears. “Gessen was inexperienced. I—”
“As were you,” Vek said firmly. “Do not weaken his memory by suggesting he was incapable of completing his assigned task.”
Dria jerked in his hold as his words struck her heart. “That is unfair.”
“Blaming yourself is equally unfair.” His breath tickled the side of her neck, and she shivered. “If you had fallen, would you have wanted me to say it was because you hadn’t been ready?”
In that moment, Dria wanted nothing more than to flay her bonded. Not because he was wrong—but because he was right.
She twisted in his arms, and Vek gathered her close until her chest was pressed firmly to his. Though his voice had sounded calm when he’d spoken, his eyes reflected the disquiet that echoed along their bond. She cupped his cheek, her thumb caressing his face. He had his own harsh emotions to deal with, but he’d comforted her anyway.
Her heart hammered, though Dria tried to ignore it. Gods, how easy it would be to love him. But to feel such an emotion would be to doom herself, for as soon as she let her guard down, he’d leave to tend to his duties here. Or worse, she’d get him killed like Gessen.
“You’re my mate, Dria,” Vek said, a frown marring his forehead. “Why are you looking at me as though you’re about to bid farewell? I can feel your turmoil, so there’s no use lying.”
She let her hand drop back to his shoulder. “You call me beloved, but you barely know me. I barely know you. I didn’t even realize you had an estate here, and that must come with duties to the crown. I have my own assignment I am unwilling to give up.”
Vek peered into her eyes as though he could see her thoughts if he searched hard enough. “That’s not the whole of it, but I’ll let that rest for now. As to your words… We are bound soul to soul. We might change our appearances, our opinions, even our homes, but the core of us is a light that never fades or wanes. And it is the core of you that I love.”
Her chest squeezed as she buried her face in the vee of his neck. “I don’t know if I can ever give the words back.”
Vek curled his arm up her back, snuggling her closer. “You don’t have to.”
How could Vek, of all people, be so kind and understanding? She’d been wrong during their first meeting. He wasn’t cold, at least not to those who slipped beneath his guard. Now, it was his comfort seeping into her, filling her hurts. She might struggle to express herself in words, but she sent the tumult of her emotions to him along their bond.
Warmth, reassurance, fear, grief, affection—and the stirring of something greater.
Vek leaned back until he could meet her gaze. “Dria.”
Lifting up slightly, she brushed her lips against his. His body went hard, and before she could kiss him again, his mouth took hers. Consumed hers. Then they were both aflame, both ready to stave off the darkness with their own kind of light. Dria strained against him, her hands gripping his hair as he lifted her and leaned her against the smooth wall.
Her warrior—as she was his.
She held him close as he entered her. Emotion swirled between them, a power she couldn’t contain. Vek released her mouth to trail kisses down her neck, and she tilted her head to give him better access. When the edge of his fang brushed the side of her neck, she shuddered and tightened around him.
“Please,” she gasped.
Dria had never thought she’d crave being bitten, but this… She moaned when he complied, her mind fracturing with ecstasy. Not because they exchanged power, for they had little enough of that to spare. The connection itself was enough.
Eventually, the chill of the wall at her back broke through the haze of pleasure, and she shivered. Chuckling, Vek swung her under the spray of water until they were both drenched—but also warm. Dria wiggled until he released his hold on her thighs so that she could stand once more.
An unexpected smile crossed her lips as she lifted a jar of soap from the shelf. “We’d better finish up before your nephew rushes in to see if we’re dead.”
Vek’s laugh echoed around the alcove. “He’ll deal.”
And for that moment, at least, everything seemed all right.
Fortunately, Pedek had left clean clothes for them in the adjoining dressing room. Perhaps two additional chests of gold were in order, Vek mused, as he watched Dria don a sensuous green robe that swirled around her every curve. She’d dried her red hair with an enchantment but otherwise left it loose. Barely tamed, as they both were.
Vek tugged on his shoes, straightened his tunic, and held out his arm for his mate. “I sense Fen pacing in our bedroom.”
Dria smiled. “Can you blame him?”
“I suppose not,” Vek conceded.
As soon as they entered the bedroom, Fen turned on them. “What in the hell took you so long?”
Vek’s lips twitched. “You can probably figure it out if you give it a moment’s thought.”
Fen flushed. “Dammit, Vek, the queen is going to summon us any minute, I’m out here going crazy, and you’re wasting time—”
“Shut up, Fen,” Vek said sharply, his amusement cutting off at the rebuke. He might understand his nephew’s turmoil, but he would not accept his criticism in this. “If my mate needs comfort, I’ll give it, and I don’t give a fuck if you, Ara, or a manifestation of the Divine in its entirety awaits me. Leave off, or you will waste more of the time you find so precious.”
Fen’s mouth dropped open, and Dria’s arm tightened around Vek’s elbow, her surprise trickling through their bond. He let out a growl of frustration, one that had Fen stiffening as though Vek would strike him. How could these two misunderstand him so thoroughly? Dria couldn’t believe he loved her, and his nephew seemed to think he would thrash him.
Foolishness.
“Sorry,” Fen muttered.
Vek pressed his palm against his temple and rubbed. “Forget it. And stop acting like I’m going to carve you into pieces and use your limbs as decoration.”
The color leeched from his nephew’s face. “Kien would have.”
Dria sucked in a sharp breath, and he winced. He should have considered his words more carefully, but his nephew hadn’t appeared to be so sensitive before. What was his problem? Now he’d caused distress to Fen and Dria.
“Forgive me,” Vek said. “That was ill-done.”
Fen’s eyebrows rose. “You’re apologizing?”
“It happens from time to time. Enjoy it while you can.”
The tension in Fen’s shoulders slackened, but Vek didn’t mistake that for a sign of defeat or weakness. “In this case, it’s not your fault,” Fen said. “What happened back there… My mother… I can’t seem to get my head around anything right now.”
“That she designated you as her heir?” Vek asked, careful to tread more lightly.
Fen scrubbed his hands through his hair. “I didn’t even know she was talking about me, Vek. I’ve only ever had one name. One single syllable, in a world full of middle names and last names. None of this seems real.”
That stunned Vek into silence. He’d known things had gone awry with his nephew and had never approved of the way Fen had been treated. He’d even looked out for him from afar, as much as he was able. But he’d never realized his nephew hadn’t heard his own name.
“Your father didn’t tell you?”
Pedek’s knock interrupted any answer Fen might have given. Ara’s summons, no doubt. “We’ll finish this discussion later,” Vek said. “Our new queen calls.”
Lial forced his feet to keep moving, though he’d long ago lost the desire to do anything but sleep. Preferably for a week. But Gessen deserved full honors, so Lial’s stride didn’t falter as he led the guards carrying the mage’s body down the path to Braelyn. They would settle Gessen in the Warrior’s Hall until he could be transported to the palace for the funeral. The king would no doubt give him recognition for guarding his daughter.
They were nearly to the estate when Kai hailed them from the direction of the portal. With a lifted hand, Lial stopped their small group. Kai and Arlyn approached, their gazes falling solemnly on the wooden board with Gessen’s cloth-covered body atop. No mistaking what that signified.
“What…?” Kai began.
“One of the mages under Princess Dria’s command was defeated in an attack,” Lial explained.
“Fuck.” Kai scowled. “Was Meren there?”
Lial rubbed his chin. “Lord Meren of the Seelie Sidhe?”
“He betrayed my father, injuring him so badly that Caolte placed him into a healing sleep.” Kai shifted on his feet, indecision clear on his face. “According to my uncle, Meren was conspiring with Ara, the Unseelie princess. I almost went through the portal to warn Princess Dria, but with Arlyn pregnant and a possible illness on the loose…”
“Clechtan,” Lial cursed. “Dria was abducted by Ara. Vek and Fen went after her.”
“Someone had better warn the outpost about Meren,” Arlyn said. “He used iron against Lord Naomh. A blow to the gut. I tried to convert the metal so he could be healed more effectively, but I failed.”
Lial winced. The stomach was a terrible place for a healer to have to work, worse if there was iron involved. He’d been able to purge Lyr of iron in his wound, but that had been a gash across his chest. Flushing debris clear of the vital organs would be nearly impossible. That Naomh lived was a testament to his healer’s talent.
“I’ll go back to the outpost,” Lial said. “Hopefully, Vek and Dria will have returned.”
Kai lifted a brow. “Did you say she was abducted? You seem remarkably calm about your cousin being in danger.”
“You didn’t see Vek.” Lial smiled slightly. “They’ve bonded. Only a fool messes with a blood elf’s mate, and Dria is no weakling besides. According to the mages who cleared the battle scene, she killed almost half of their opponents herself.”
“How big of a force was it?” Kai asked.
“Twenty. All dead.” Lial glanced at Gessen. “Only one casualty among our people.”
A chill wind swept along the path, and a few drops of cold rain landed on Lial’s exposed hands and cheek. Kai cast a shield above them to block the drizzle, but there was no stopping the frigid air. “I’ll escort Gessen to the Warrior’s Hall,” Kai said. “If you want to return to the outpost now.”
Want was too strong of a word, but Lial had long ago learned the vagaries of desire. “Thank you,” he answered.
With a nod, Lial headed back toward the portal. Someday, he would rest.