“Yes,” CK says. “She is my wife and I believe her when she says that the bonds between the Others and herself were too strong to be denied. This matter is now closed. Please leave us so I may put my wife to bed. She has had a harrowing day and there is so much more to come. She needs to rest.”
He turns his back on all of us and whisks off his towel before he pulls on a pair of loose sweats.
Err, that’s it? That is the lambasting that I was so afraid of all these months? I suppose it helps that Cole is nowhere to be found so he didn’t have to be a part of this. Devon is still fuming as he backs out of the room and I know I am going to have to speak to him some more about this.
Sebastian is also fuming as he leaves, but for an entirely different reason. He threw the bomb and expected a massive dust-up over it, and then wanted to be there to pick up the pieces. The words “Arse” and “Hole” come to mind pretty quickly. I swallow as it occurs to me that CK is giving him the exact opposite of what he wanted. This isn’t over, not by a long shot. He just isn’t giving Sebastian the satisfaction of knowing that he has got to him. With everyone gone, I go over to him with a tentative smile and place my hand on his chest. He grimaces at me and shifts away from me slightly.
“Don’t say a word,” he says to me as he senses me about to speak.
I close my mouth and watch him as he pulls back the covers on the bed and indicates that I should get in, which I do.
“This has been the day from Hell, and I just want to lie with my wife and have everything be normal for just a moment,” he mutters to me and climbs in next to me.
“CK,” I say, knowing that I have to tell him about going to see Thrace. He is not going to be happy at all.
“Quiet,” he says to me, drawing me into his arms and lying down with me snuggled up against him.
“No, CK. I have to tell you something, it’s about Thrace,” I insist.
His face turns murderous as he jumps to the wrong conclusion and I realize my words weren’t exactly very reassuring in the context of our fight.
“Not that!” I squeak quickly and his face relaxes a tiny bit. “I have to go and see him tomorrow,” I add warily.
“What for?” he asks stiffly.
I explain about the united front that the Faeries need in order to stave off the Dragons and his face goes dark.
“You mean you have to ask a favor of him?” he queries.
“Yes,” I say with a sigh.
“His price will be high.”
“I know.”
“You are willing to pay it?” he croaks out after a moment.
“I don’t know yet,” I lie. I will lie with him and breed a little Faerie baby with him if it means getting my first born back from my mother.
“When will it end, Aefre? When will we get our happily ever after? Don’t we deserve it after everything we have been through?” he asks me seriously.
“Yes, we do,” I say to him. “But I cannot just leave her there, CK. You know that.”
He sighs his world-weary sigh and we go silent. I listen to him breathing and it lulls me into a doze.
I wake up alone.
Chapter 11
A few minutes later, Devon knocks on the door and pushes it open without waiting for an answer.
“Hey,” I say with a small smile. “Help me?” I turn my back to him, and he crosses over to lace up my gown. “I know you are mad with me about what happened, but you must understand that it wasn’t really me.”
“I guess,” he says. “I am mad that you didn’t tell me about the time shift.”
“Sorry,
Tiamat was quite specific,” I say. “Although, in light of recent events, I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore.”