CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
BACK IN MALEEN, I ROLL over in the bed and come face to face with Talyn. “Good morning,” I sing.
He groans and rolls away from me. “You are way too chipper, especially this early, especially being gone most the night,” he rumbles into Ravina’s hair. “How did that go, anyway?”
I pout. “My mother had conditions for me before she would come. I agreed, so everyone is here, safe and sound. Killian left to wake the troops for early training when Aemon and I got back.” Aemon’s soft snores sound from the other side of Rav.
He used his shadows to get there before me. Completely unfair if you ask me.
Ravina’s beautiful sleepy voice mutters, “Conditions?” She stretches and rolls onto her back, so she can see me.
“She wants me to talk with my brother… Would you maybe want to come with me? Emotional support and all that?” I ask, giving her my best pleading eyes. There’s no way she can say no to this face. I’m adorable.
She laughs, leaning up to kiss me, and fuck does she taste so good, morning breath and all. “Of course I’ll come and make sure you don’t stab him. I’d like to get to know him better anyway, since he’s been spending a lot of time with my sister.”
A deep sigh leaves me and I don’t care if the smile I’m wearing for her is goofy. She gets me. I lean across Talyn who hisses in distaste, but I ignore him and give her a kiss. “Thank you, Beastie. It means the realm to me.”
“Of course.” She smiles up at me.
Talyn shoves me off him. “Alright, let me out.”
“Can you two knock it off,” Aemon growls. Oops, it seems we have awoken the dragon.
I laugh, quickly reaching back over Talyn and yanking Ravina over to me, her giggles ringing through the room. “She’s mine today,” I tell them, holding our mate possessively against me as I stride butt naked across the room to the closet.
I place her on a dresser and kiss her nose. “We better get ready. I want to get this conversation over with so I can spend the rest of the day spoiling you. The others have squirreled you away.” I pout.
“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Then her face falls. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I may have been neglecting you. I will do better.”
“You will do no such thing. There’s four of us, and if we can’t figure out a way to share you, then that is our problem to worry about.
I didn’t mean to make you think otherwise.
Plus, Tal and Kill really did need you. I haven’t seen them so relaxed in…
Well, I actually don’t remember, it’s been so long. ”
My second favorite smile graces her lips, the happy and content one, and it makes my stomach flutter.
“Well, if you’re sure…”
“Positive! Now, what does this male have to do to see you in one of these fancy dresses?” I eye a black lacey gown that has hints of red underneath, reminding me of blood, and I think it will look gorgeous against her pale skin, especially once I have her flushed after making her come on my tongue.
“No dresses,” she growls. “What if I need to defend myself? Nope, not until after the war is done, and even then it will take a lot of convincing.”
“Still not a fan of dresses are we?” I smirk “Well, I suppose I will just have to entice you into them.” As much as I want her in a dress for my own personal desire, I do agree—fighting in a dress would be… difficult.
She glowers at me as she grabs some leathers, wrapping herself up for me to unwrap like a present later.
“Come on. Let’s go find your brother.” She tosses my clothing at me.
My cock goes semi-flaccid. “Fine.” I will just have to find a room to devour her in later, as a reward for me conceding to my mother’s wishes to repair things with Evander.
HER HAND SQUEEZES mine every time my thoughts wander to the frustrations with my younger brother. We still haven’t found him, and I’m starting to think that this is a lost cause and to try a different day—or never.
Ravina grips her stomach and a wave of discomfort travels through the bond.
“Are you okay?” I stop and turn her towards me, my brows creasing as I check her over.
She nods. “Just a cramp. It usually happens around my cycle, but it’s still a few months early. So it’s probably just something I ate.”
I frown. “Are you sure it doesn’t have anything to do with this frenzy?” I ask, the gears turning now. Do I need to hide her away in our room? I carefully scent the air around her—nope, still smells like my Rav.
She tilts her head in consideration. “I’m not sure. It’s probably fine though. Come on, we haven’t checked the stables yet.” She grabs my hand and pulls me along, causing Nero to jostle and take flight above us instead.
As we arrive at the stables, Rav slows and I sense a flurry of emotions fly through her, too quick for me to decipher.
Before I can ask, she whispers. “This was the last building I was in before I was forced to flee.”
I pull her into me. “I can run in and take a peek and see if he’s in there, if you don’t want to go.”
She shakes her head, her chest rising against me as she steadies herself. “No, I can do this.”
We walk inside, our boots thudding softly against the cobbled, straw-covered floor. The smell of manure is stronger here, but it brings back memories of playing hide and seek here as a fledgling. I know everywhere you could hide in this building.
Rav huffs out a breath. “No one is here.”
The horses are quiet as we walk past, deeper into the stable. “No, someone is definitely in here,” I murmur to her quietly.
Nero soars past us, landing on one of the rafters looking away from us toward a storage cupboard where they used to keep all the tack for the horses—who knows what’s in there now.
“Not doing a good job of hiding, either. I hear shuffling coming from in there,” Nero says to both of us, tilting his head in their direction like he is trying to hear more.
I place my finger to my lips and wink at my mate before tiptoeing toward the closet. Carefully I place my ear against the dark oak door, listening.
“Do you hear anything?” Ravina asks anxiously.
I’m about to respond that I don’t when I hear a soft gasp and a male whispering under his breath. “Quiet, Danger, you don’t want anyone hearing you come on my fingers do you?”
Well, well, well, we have caught someone getting freaky in the stables.
“Should we just leave them be?” Ravina asks, appearing like she might be in trouble for being in her own stables.
I smirk. “I say we hide in the horse stalls and see who it might be. Maybe jump out and scare them? Or conjure some hallucinations? It’s been forever since we have had a bit of fun. Please?”
She covers her mouth to stifle her laugh as she pretends to think it over. “Fine, let’s do it.”
I quietly skip back over to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into an empty stall. She winks and the shadows pulse before they wrap us up, concealing us even more before putting up an air barrier to help muffle our sounds.
Fuck, I fall more in love with this female every single day.
We don’t have to wait long before a doorhinge softly squeaks and footsteps begin to pad our way. Our bonds feed off each other as they build with the excitement of the hunt. We may not be killing anyone, but pranking? Close enough!
As we prepare to launch our attack on our unsuspecting love birds I pause, my eyes widening, and Ravina gasps beside me, dropping the shadows.
“Cynder?” She asks, nearly tripping over her feet as she exits the stall.
I follow after her, my eyes locked on the red-haired male beside her. His face falls slightly when he sees me.
“I didn’t realize we were into fondling princesses in storage cupboards,” I say to Evander, whose face now matches his hair.
Cynder is staring at her sister wide-eyed, her mouth gaping like she isn’t sure what to say.
“Are you okay?” Rav asks, taking her sister’s hands.
Cynder’s voice squeaks. “Perfect. I mean good.” She winces, staring up at my brother, pleading for some kind of help.
“We were actually looking for Evander,” Rav states, brushing past the fact that we just found them being scandalous in a closet. “Jesper wants to make amends,” she blurts, looking wide-eyed at me, and it’s in this moment you can really tell they are sisters.
“Amends? Really Jesper, you expect me to believe that after everything?” Evander grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.
I shrug, leaning against a post as I bring out my comfort knife to clean my nails with. “My mate isn’t lying. It’s a concession I had to make to get our mother here. She’s in the south wing when you’re ready to see her”, I add, hoping he will run off towards her.
“No stabbing your brother,” Rav adds, slipping herself under my arm, and I find myself untensing.
Nero sighs. “Always with the no maiming.”
Evander’s brows hit his hairline, but his deep purple eyes almost glow with hope, and I now realize there’s no getting out of this. Here is to mending fences I suppose.
“Of course. I would honestly love nothing more. I’ve missed you, brother,” he says, swallowing.
“Come, let’s sit out under the sun and talk.
Did you want to come with us?” He turns the question towards Cynder, and I’m still not sure if I should beat his ass for that or let Rav handle it.
Actually the thought of Rav teaching Evander a lesson sounds like a great idea.
Cynder’s gaze softens as she looks up at him. “I wish I could but I have lessons, remember?” She smiles and nods at Ravina before giving me a wary glance and then focusing back on my brother. “I’ll see you later?”
Evander nods, kissing the back of her hand before she scurries off.
Once she’s out of earshot Ravina takes a step closer to him. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but if you hurt her… I will make you wish that you were dead. Am I clear?”
He gives her a jerky nod, paling slightly. “I would never intentionally hurt her.”
She stares at him for a few moments, and I’m feeling her Szellemi magick pulse. Evander winces, then she pulls back and smiles, nodding. “I can see that.”
“See what?”
“Later,” she laughs.