Chapter 24 Bylur
Itook Auria back to our room through shadows. I sat down—carefully—in the middle of the floor, and she snuggled against me in the fold of my arm. She told me about her attackers’ conversation and how she’d stumbled onto them.
She paused, yawning, when her story reached the sword at her throat. “I don’t know why I’m tired. It’s still morning.”
“It was a traumatic morning,” I said in the bear’s low tones. “You will feel better after a nap.”
She leaned her head against my arm and curled into me. “Maybe. But I still want to know what they tricked Ephaltes into buying. And why a queen thinks he needs it. And how that medallion threw Ivodar across the hall.”
I wanted to stroke her hair, but I could not when my paws were bigger than her head.
Maybe tonight. If the ball ended with any evening left.
At least I could answer one of her questions.
“The medallion is probably an artifact. Powerful fae—royalty and nobility—can pour their magic into objects, allowing their magic to be used by other people. Some artifacts are centuries old, created with a fae’s final breaths of life for their children.
Others are tools made when a fae wants someone else to do something for them, often shared as part of a bargain to get a job done. ”
Her hand fluttered to her chest. “Is the key you gave me an artifact like that?”
“It could be considered an artifact because it contains my magic, but it is not the same.”
She rolled over and faced me, her green eyes bright with her addictive curiosity. “How is it different?”
I met her sincere eyes and offered her the truth.
“I put some of my deepest magic in it, enough that you could reach through it and touch my soul. As such, it will only work for you because I gave it to you willingly and with no restraint, and you accepted it with the same openness with which I gifted it. It is a conduit directly to my magic.”
Her eyes widened. “Can you touch my soul with it?”
I tipped my head. “Not exactly. I can feel your strength and your emotions. I felt your fear earlier, which is why I came looking for you.”
She laid her head back on my arm and curled tighter against me. “I’m so glad.”
She trusted me. I felt it without any doubt—her perfect contentment, complete relaxation, and easy rest in my arms. And for the first time since I’d met her, I knew, deep in my bones, that marrying her had been the best decision I’d ever made.