Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
ROMAN
As soon as we get back to the underworld, Jare and Loch go to Loch’s apartment to gather his stuff to take back to the cottage, while I head to Auri’s office to give him a report and the fae blood.
I knock on his door and his response from the other side is “That was quick.”
Does that mean come in? I take a chance and open the door. Auri is sitting behind his desk, painting his long, sharp nails the human way, with a tiny bottle of red paint and a dainty brush. The sight is so funny that I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles up in my throat.
He arches an eyebrow at me. “It’s more satisfying than simply glamouring them red,” he explains with a dangerous edge to his voice that dares me to argue with him about it. No thanks, I’ve had enough near-death experiences for one day.
“Cool.” I clear my throat to cover another laugh. “Can I come in?”
“That depends. Do you have the blood for me?”
I reach into my pocket and pull out the vial to show him. His face lights up and he waves me in.
“Yes, of course, pet. Tell me how the little rumble with the fae went. Is the consortium defeated?”
“I got poisoned by a fae dagger and could have died if Rune hadn’t been ready with an antidote,” I say blandly, taking the seat across from him and setting the vial of fae blood on the desk.
“Did you save the dagger? That sounds valuable,” he asks, picking up the vial and pocketing it.
“Honestly, I didn’t think about it at the time. Mac might have grabbed it though.” I shrug.
Auri beams again. “I do adore that dragon.”
“He’s handy, I agree. And to answer your question, I think we got them all? We might need to do some further recon to figure out if they were part of a larger network or a self-contained criminal organization, but for now, I think we’re in the clear.”
“Excellent work, pet. Now, out with it.” He waves impatiently.
I should have known Auri would sense why I really brought the vial back to him myself.
“Lochlan and Jareth are my mates. We haven’t made it official yet, but we will during the full moon in a couple of weeks.”
He nods. “Yes, I could sense your bonds. It seems all my pets are pairing off these days. Your mates are both very green when it comes to danger and the greater supernatural world, but they have skills. I don’t suppose they’d be interested in working for me?”
“No,” I say flatly. “They aren’t built for this life.”
“Shouldn’t we let them decide that?” Auri purrs, and I growl deeply in response.
He chuckles and holds his hands up in surrender, looking amused rather than actually threatened.
“Fair enough, pet. So, does that mean you want an arrangement like Atlas has? The freedom to live in the human world between assignments?”
“Yes. I’m happy to be on call, to keep up with all of my contracted work. You won’t see a slip in my performance whatsoever,” I promise him.
“You know, Rune, the little spitfire, threatened me to get Atlas those privileges.” Again, he sounds amused, like there’s nothing cuter to him than underlings who think they could possibly harm him.
“It wasn’t necessary, of course. You’ve proven yourself to be a loyal soldier, and I think that deserves to be rewarded. ”
Relief rushes through me. I wasn’t sure how difficult Auri might make this, how hard I would have to fight to live with my mates.
“Thank you,” I say hoarsely.
He waves my words off without a response and turns his attention back to his nails. “Off you go.”
I got what I came here for, so I take the dismissal happily and leave him to his strange, human self-care routine.
JARETH
It only takes about thirty seconds for Loch to pack up the handful of clothes and other items he brought from his apartment topside.
“I can’t believe everything that’s happened in such a short amount of time,” he says, crawling onto the bed to cuddle me while we wait for Roman. “I’ve only spent a couple of nights in this room, but I think I might miss it anyway.”
I laugh and card my fingers through his hair, enjoying the weight of his head on my shoulder, even if I’m still getting used to the chill of his skin now.
“Maybe we can have slumber parties here now and then when Roman is on a job.” My stomach squirms with nerves.
That’s assuming Auri agrees to let Roman come live in the human realm with us.
We’ll make it work if we have to, but I hate the idea of living separately and I can’t imagine abandoning my home and my garden to live down here full time.
“It’ll be okay. Auri lets Atlas live outside the compound, he’ll let Roman too. And Roman won’t rest until he gets a ‘yes.’ He’s stubborn and he loves us too much to let anything stand in the way.”
“How did you know what I was worrying about?”
He shrugs. “I’m not sure. I could sense it, I guess. Cas said I’d get better at the vampire telepathy stuff, and you’re my mate, so it’s probably easier.”
“Are you going to be able to read my mind eventually?”
“I don’t think so. Cas can put some stuff into my head, and I’ve done that with Roman, but it’s more like vague impressions in the other direction.”
“That’s kind of cool.”
The door opens and we both sit up. I hold my breath as Roman steps inside Loch’s room, waiting to hear what Auri said. His expression is completely, frustratingly neutral.
“Well?” I demand while Loch jumps up and blurs through the small space to stand in front of our mate.
“What did Auri say?” he asks.
Roman’s blank expression holds for another beat before he cracks and a smile spreads across his face.
“I’m allowed to stay topside when I’m not on a mission.” He sweeps Loch into his arms and spins him around.
“Seriously?” I gasp, jumping up too. “You can come live at my place? Oh my god, it’s going to be so cramped with three of us living there.”
Roman barks out a laugh and sets Loch back on his feet.
“I don’t mind cramped,” he says, scooping me up next. I wrap my legs around his middle and press a slow, lingering kiss to his lips.
“Neither do I,” Loch says, sandwiching me in from behind and kissing the side of my neck.
“I guess I can learn to live with it,” I murmur. “Now, can we go home? I need a bath so damn bad to get all the evil vampire stink off of me.”
“Hey,” Loch complains.
“Evil vampire stink.” I chuckle. “You smell great.”
“You both smell amazing,” Roman says, setting me back on my feet but keeping me between them as he leans past my shoulder to kiss Loch too.
In a blink, the room disappears around us, and I gasp for air that isn’t there. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to traveling to and from the underworld, but just as quickly, my garden materializes around us, and we’re home.
LOCHLAN
“Think there’s enough room in your tub for all three of us?” I ask with a grin.
“Doubtful,” Jare says with a laugh.
“Only one way to find out.” Roman stoops to wrap his arm around Jare’s thighs and hoist him over his shoulder.
We all head inside and Roman sets Jare down so he can draw a bath while we both strip out of our fae- and vamp-blood-stained clothes.
I notice a jagged rip in the back of Roman’s shirt when he takes it off, and a faint pink scar on his neck.
I press my fingertips to it and a shiver runs through me, along with a memory of the few seconds during the battle when I couldn’t feel him.
“What happened?”
“Hm?” He cranes his neck to see what I’m talking about. “Oh, just a poisoned dagger. No big deal.”
“You got poisoned by a fae dagger?” Jare gasps, abandoning his careful mixing of essential oils and bath salts to check Roman’s injury as well.
“Why did it scar? Shouldn’t it have healed?” I ask.
“Probably because it’s fae.” Jare leans in and presses a kiss to the faint mark.
“I’m fine,” Roman assures us. “Rune saved me and the scar just gives me bragging rights and proof that I survived the fae.”
“No more battles for a while, right?” I ask.
“I think that depends on you, troublemaker,” Roman says with a chuckle.
“Hey, all this shit just happens to me, it’s not my fault.”
“It’s a little your fault,” Jare points out, threading his fingers between mine and leading me to the bath with Roman right behind us.
It takes some maneuvering, and I end up with someone’s knee or foot in my ass more than once, but we eventually manage to all fit into the tub together, with Roman and me on either side and Jare between us.
The water smells like lavender and home, and I can feel and smell the contented, happy energy pouring off of my mates.
“Two weeks until the full moon?” I check, glancing out the open window uselessly to see the grayness of the pre-dawn sky and no moon to speak of at the moment.
“Twelve days.” Roman gives me a toothy grin. “Not having second thoughts about our mating?”
I shake my head. “Only about whether we should wait that long.”
“Twelve days is nothing, and it’ll be worth it to do it under the full moon together,” Jare says, and Roman gives a low growl of agreement.
“Alright. I waited my whole life to be loved like this; I think I can wait twelve more days to make it official.”
“You have no idea how much I love both of you.” Roman leans forward to give us each a kiss.
I think I do have an idea actually, because I love them just as much, and somehow, in spite of all of my fuckups, they love me back.
It’s hard to believe that so many missteps could lead me here, exactly where I never knew I needed to be, but if I ever do meet the fates, I think I owe them a world of gratitude.