AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Of course not, but he knows where to find half the key to the diary…more or less.”
“If he does, we will address that with Gray in the future,” I vow. “But this day has been far too eventful.”
“If he lives that long!”
“Have some faith, love.” I press a kiss to her forehead. Her concern pulls at my heart, but I will not relent. I would much rather have her tears than her death.
“I know you don’t trust him—”
“I do not.” Parts of his story are too convenient. During the times of Mathias’s absence and relative peace, ’twas too dangerous to find his daughter. But now that his former master has been resurrected, he is all fatherly concern. For Olivia’s sake, I hope I am too suspicious…but I fear I am right. “But tonight is not about my feelings for Richard Gray. You are my mate. You are mine to protect. You are my future.”
You are my heart.
Olivia sighs. She is not happy, but she concedes my point. “Fine.”
“Since that’s settled, do you plan to continue training tonight?” Bram ventures. “Shock disappeared after we ate. Should I send the others home?”
Bloody hell! I want to stay with Olivia, protect her, feel her body writhe against mine again, and cement my claim. But Gray knows exactly where the Doomsday Brethren and I are training. Coupled with the staggering information about the diary keys, I fear we have not a moment to lose.
War is coming.
“Nay. I will resume with the lot of you in the ballroom. I’ve seen young girls wield a sword with more acumen.”
“Sod off.” Bram descends the stairs with a laugh.
With him gone, I turn my attention to Olivia. Reluctantly, I slide from her cunt. She winces, and something vulnerable steals across her face. I am three times her size. Did I hurt her in my haze of fury and lust?
I curl my hands around her shoulders. “Olivia?”
“That was humiliating,” she mutters.
“’Tis sorry I am. I meant not for anyone to find us. I bear the fault.”
“I care a lot less that Bram saw your bare ass pinning me to the wall than I do you carrying me out like a child in front of my father and everyone else. You accused him—to his face—of still being involved with the Anarki.”
In her shoes, I would have been infuriated to be carted off like a sack of potatoes…but I would not have allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment in the first place. “Love, I worry deeply, for I know what Mathias would do if he caught you. If I were cavalier with my trust and simply embraced Mathias’s former underling, you might pay with your life. My body might still walk because Morgana decreed it, but everything inside me would die with you.”
“Marrok.” Tears tremble at the corners of her eyes. “You say these things…”
“Because I mean them.”
“I would never betray you to help my father.” She draws in a shuddering breath and wriggles out of my embrace. “But it feels like you’ll never believe me. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about that.”
Before I can reply, Olivia gathers her clothes and disappears into our room, shutting the door behind her.
Fuck. With a sigh, I right my clothing and trudge downstairs. Our discord is not over.
Olivia resists seeing Gray’s dishonesty. The miscreant will put a wedge between us, should I fail to tread carefully.
At the bottom of the stairs, Bram waits.
“All ready?” I glance into the open doorway of the ballroom down the hall.
“We are.”
Together, Bram and I approach the others. He is but a temporary ally, far too crafty and magical to call friend. Still, I want to understand how he sees the situation.
“You trust Gray. Why?”
