Chapter 37
EVANDER
Kieren’s voice echoes through the castle.
I slam the door to my suite and run down the stairs. He doesn’t bellow.
“What?” I say halfway down the stairs. Kieren and Raine glare up at me.
“I thought you would be gone by now.” Actually, I thought they wouldn’t be going at all.
That what happened in her suite . . . might have her catching a plane back to New York.
To say that Raine is different from other candidates we’ve had isn’t even dusting the surface.
“I’ve told her.”
“Well, thank fuck.”
“But now I want you to come with us.”
“You’re sure?” Having alone time with a candidate, especially in the early portion of their time with us, was—is—important.
“I need a chaperone.”
I laugh. “I can understand that.” I reach my hand out to her. She takes it. Fuck, I want to shove it in my pocket and keep it there. Screw that. I want to march her right back upstairs and take her like Roark did.
That’s not something we’ve done before. Heck, there have been more candidates than not who don’t figure out that they’re not doing a gardening or ancient books internship.
My eyes flick over Raine. Actually, most of the candidates aren’t hired as full-on employees but interns.
But then, that’s something that Leopold always handles.
I’ll have to ask him why he took a different approach this time.
Though it makes sense. She’s not an intern. Definitely head of department material.
“Right. Well, you keep your princely hands to yourself. I’m more than willing to stand between the two of you.
Roark didn’t want to go out to the village?
I suppose not, after what happened last year.
” I’m about to pull Raine down the corridor when the scent of chamomile comes from her bare shoulders.
Sure, it’s warm out there right now. But when the sun goes down? “Do you have a sweater, love?”
“It’s eighty out.”
“When the sun drops, it gets cold in the valley,” Kieren says.
“Oh, I’ll run up and get one. Thanks, I’ll be right back.” She’s on the first step when she turns back. “When I get back, I want you to tell me the story about Roark in the village.”
“I’d love to.” I’m smiling again. I can’t seem not to around her.
She hits the top step, and Kieren’s hand clamps around my arm. “Roark’s not going to like that,” Kieren says.
Oh, he’s going to more than not like it.
I have no idea why I’m going to spill secrets about my thunder mate.
Maybe it’s because I know she’s the last of the candidates, or maybe it’s just her.
Either way, I’m throwing Roark’s grumpy tail into the fire for my own gain.
Makes me more of an ass than Roark, for sure.
But I’m looking forward to hearing her laugh.
When she’s gone and I’m sure she’s not at the top of the stairs, I turn to Kieren. “You explained?”
“How she was selected, the basics of the ceremony, and the length of time it takes.”
“Good. But there’s one thing I really want to know.”
“And what’s that?”
“I want to know whether you told her we’re not allowed to share her.”
“Why would that even come up? It’s not a normal human thing to do. We’ve never brought it up with any candidate before.”
“No, we haven’t, but you and I haven’t watched while Roark fucked someone, either.”
“She does seem more accepting. Maybe it means she is the one?”
“Or she’s never had sex good enough to not care if someone is watching before,” I say.
She hardly weighs anything, but between the age of the floorboards on the second floor and my dragon’s exceptional hearing, I hear her on the landing.
Because I don’t want to tell her. We’re sexual beings.
Even so, there are some rules we can’t break for our own lust. A thunder can never share a female that isn’t theirs.
It’s disrespectful to their future mate.
I’d never do it, and I’m going to have to repeat that over and over in my head until it becomes true.
The light yellow cardigan she’s carrying flops with each step she takes on the stairs. “I’m ready.”
“Good. Kieren can drive, and we can sit in the back seat. Though I hope you’re not too hungry. Kieren is the only person I’ve ever met to get a ticket for going too slow on the highway. Our late afternoon lunch might turn into a late dinner.”
Raine’s laughing already.
“You really shouldn’t laugh at his horrible attempts at jokes,” Kieren says.
“Horrible? My sense of humor is the only thing that got you through the second year at the academy.” I give my chest a melodramatic clasp and then wink at Raine. Which sets her off in a fit of laughter.
“I think Evander’s quite funny.”
“Do you?” Kieren arches his eyebrow at her. “I suppose you’re right. He does keep the levity up around Cloud Rift.”
“Are you ready for the tour, mademoiselle?” I offer her my arm.
“Yes, thank you.” Her blue eyes blink up at me. But then there’s another set of light blue eyes looking at me too. Kieren’s. He cocks his head at me.
I put up the privacy screen in the car as we make our way down the driveway, but Kieren lowers it back down. And when I try to raise it again, he turns off the controls in the rear. Like I’m a child.
“How can Raine hear my guided tour of the area if the glass is up, Evander?” He’s glaring at me. He doesn’t have a tour prepared, but he doesn’t want me having my way with her in the backseat. I don’t blame him. He’s still got a week before he can touch her. More than I’d be able to withstand.
“A tour. That’s wonderful. You remember how you said you would answer any questions I had?”
“Of course.”
“Well, when I was getting my sweater, I was thinking . . . you mentioned a portal. But I—”
“You’ll see it soon enough,” Kieren says. His eyes flick at us in the rearview mirror. He can’t see her leg bouncing and the slight twitch of her hand when he deflects her question.
I take her hand and give it a squeeze. “For the ceremony, you don’t have to go through it, and it won’t hurt you.”
She nods.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” I say.
“But I’m pretty good at worrying.”
“Well, you’ll have to use your talents on a different topic, like whether we’ll ever make it off the mountain before all the shops close.”
But twenty minutes later, Kieren has us parked at the edge of town. He’s out of the car and has her door open before I can get to it. He takes a large step backward when she gets out.
“It’s like a picture book. The planters full of flowers, the timber-lined buildings, even the fluffy white clouds on the perfect blue backdrop are magical. It’s so pretty that my pictures will look fake.” She takes her phone and snaps a few of our quaint little town. “I’m in love.”
“Me too,” Kieren says, only he’s looking at Raine and not the village. He shakes his head. “Here, let me take a photo of you and Evander.” He’s careful to take the phone from her in such a way that he doesn’t risk brushing her hand. She puts her arm around my back, and I do the same to her.
A villager, one whom I feel I should recognize, says in German, “What a cute couple.”
I reply in German, “Thank you, but we’re just friends.”
“Oh, then you must have a photo of the three of you together.” She’s faster than she looks, and she snags the phone from Kieren’s fingers. “Go stand with your friends.”
Kieren, who never does as he’s told, follows the woman’s command and stands next to me.
“No, no. That is not good. It’s not balanced.” She switches to English. “You must stand in the middle.” She points at Raine.
“Oh, okay.” Raine moves around me. She’s careful to not touch Kieren.
“Closer,” the woman commands. Raine inches closer to me. “Closer,” the woman demands. She stomps on the gravel and pushes Kieren. He doesn’t move, of course. It’s hard to move a dragon when they don’t want to be moved. She scowls at Kieren.
But then Raine steps forward, puts a hand on her hip and turns her shoulder sideways. It makes her appear to be touching us even though she isn’t. “How about this?”
“Ah, yes.” The woman takes the photo and hands the phone back to Raine, who smiles and places it in her pocket.
Kieren leans his head toward mine. “I’m not going to make it.”
“So head back to Crest Wing. Untangling the strands your parents have woven could take a year, never mind a week.”
“You think I haven’t thought of that already?”
“Then do it,” I say. I won’t mind having some alone time with Raine.
“My fucking dragon doesn’t want to go.”
“Well, last I checked, my dragon and me are one.”
“Yes, well, I’m not as in tune with my dragon as you are,” Kieren says.
Raine is chatting with the village woman, their heads close. The village woman’s staring at Kieren and me. Raine seems oblivious to the disdain in the woman’s voice.
The village woman pushes a business card into Raine’s hand. “Use it if you need to. Anytime.” She frowns at Kieren and me and pivots away.
The years of Kieren’s ancestors terrorizing the land haven’t been forgotten by many here.
“She was nice,” Raine says, coming to stand by my side. “I’ve gotten lots of good tips for when Wren comes this weekend. We’re going to have a great time seeing the village.”
My dragon pushes against my skin, thinking of her walking around here without any of us with her.
Kieren laughs. “So glad you joined the club.” He pushes his elbow into my stomach.