“We question them.” Azriel wrapped his arms around me again. “If they are alive, then someone else made them. And that might imply there is another Aedh involved, one we have not yet sighted.”
I glanced up and met his gaze. “Do you really think that’s possible?”
“No. But I am not about to discount the possibility given – as you have often noted – the lack of help coming from the fates’ hands.”
His energy whirled through us, snapping us through the fields so fast I almost felt out of breath when we re-formed.>There were two dead creatures at Azriel’s feet, and a heartbeat later a third joined them. He spun, Valdis blazing in his hand, his gaze sweeping the room. There were bloody rents across his right shoulder and thigh, but neither wound looked particularly deep.
His gaze met mine, and the tension in his shoulders eased. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” I hesitated, eyes widening a little as my stomach rose. “Make that a no.”
I bolted for the sink. Azriel was beside me in an instant, and though he offered no comfort, his closeness was enough.
“To repeat my earlier question,” he said, once I’d finished throwing up. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” I turned on the tap, scooped up some water, and rinsed out my mouth. “But if I’m going to spend the next nine months throwing up my dinner every time a bad guy carks it, I’m going to be royally pissed.”
“So this is a result of the pregnancy?” He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ears, his touch warm against my skin.
“Probably.” I gave him a twisted half smile. “I can remember Mom saying she did nothing but throw up in the first trimester. And given that I’ve generally managed to hold on to my stomach when a bad guy has gone splat, it’s a good bet that being pregnant is the problem.”
“And is this” – he motioned toward the sink, his expression bemused – “a common problem with nonhuman females? Because it does not seem very efficient to me.”
I grinned. “Is that how reapers go through pregnancy? Efficiently?”
“Of course. It benefits the mother and the child to do so.”
“Well, this mother has always had problems with efficiency.”
“I know.” He raised my chin with one gentle finger and dropped a kiss on my nose. “It is one of the reasons I find you fascinating.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I’m not entirely sure I’m happy to be called ‘fascinating.’ Especially when there are lots of other adjectives I’d much rather hear.”
His warm smile crinkled the corners of his eyes, and made my heart do happy little tumbles. “Would ‘enthralling’ be better? Or ‘captivating’?”
“They’re a start,” I said primly. Then I waved a hand at the creatures. “What were they?”
“Some form of lower demon, though not one I’ve come across before.” His smile faded, and the room seemed cooler for its loss. “The fact they were here and waiting suggests our sorceress has fled. It is doubtful we will find anything of use.”
“Probably, but we should still look.”
“I wasn’t suggesting otherwise.” He paused and sheathed Valdis. “Perhaps we should start upstairs, in her bedroom. That is where she kept her tools of trade.”
I pushed away from the bench and led the way to the stairs. “Which she’ll undoubtedly have taken if she has fled.”
“Undoubtedly. But she might have left in a rush, so it is always possible she has forgotten something.”
“She had a three-day head start, thanks to the fact I was drowning my sorrows rather than doing what I should have been.” My voice was heavy with annoyance – at myself, at my stupidity for acting without thinking. It’s what had allowed Hunter to get her claws in me, and it’s the reason Azriel had been scarred —
“Risa, enough.” He caught my hand and tugged me toward him. “Neither of us can change what has already happened. We can only affect the future. As for acting without thinking —” He paused, and his sudden smile just about melted my heart. “It is one of the things I adore about you. Please never lose it, because there has been far too little spontaneity in my life until you came along.”
Tears stung my eyes. I blinked them away and hugged him fiercely. “Thank you,” I whispered, my breath stirring his dark hair.
He gently kissed the nape of my neck. “For what?”
“For just being you. And for coming back.”
“It is not logical to thank me for being me. I can hardly be anyone else.”