A hole I’d tried to fill with service to my father, who had never seemed to acknowledge it.
Isadora’s hand ran up and down my arm comfortingly.
“Tell us, Lillian. What did he say? How do you feel about it?”
I lifted the mug so I could inhale the steam.
“He says I am his Mate.”
Verna settled across from us, leaning her elbows on her knees. “And you arehisMate.”
Was I? I sipped my tea, the warmth doing naught to calm the jumble of emotions in my stomach.
“Lillian?” Isadora squeezed. “Tell us?”
Sighing, I closed my eyes and told them everything—the months I spent terrified of the beast in the dungeon, the days I cared for him, the things he said then as I learned he was no monster, the way he escaped Tarbert Keep with myself and my father as captives?—
“Except, he did not take you to be his captive,” Verna broke in, sitting back and nodding in satisfaction. “He was drawn to you, even then.”
“I…did not realize. I thought I was to be his prisoner, punishment for the way my father treated him. Or a hostage to try to keep the village safe.” I took another sip of the cooling tea and realized Ididfeel better.
“He told me I washis, and I assumed that meant . . ..”
Grinning, Isadora gave me another squeeze, then stood to cross to the hearth.
“I told you how Torvolk bought me? I thought he meant for me to be some sort of…sexual prize. But it turned out he just has a noble heart and wanted to save me.”
“That did not stop her from trying to seduce the poor male,” Verna said with a lewd wink. “Which, I have to assume, is what happened to you, Lillian?”
I choked on my tea.
Having heard Verna’s past—how she’d been forced to whore for years, how her new Mate had saved her—I wasn’t completely surprised by her bluntness, but it was difficult to get used to.
“I did not—I thought . . ..”
“Do not tease her,” Isadora scolded, returning with a platter of sweet cakes and offering me one. “It is clear Kragorn seducedher, right Lillian?”
I shoved a cake into my mouth, dropped my gaze, and mutely nodded, it being the only way I could admit to such a thing. My cheeks were flaming, as ‘twas.
By the time I swallowed, they were still both waiting an answer, so I hunched my shoulders, stared down at my tea, and confessed.
“I have been sleeping beside him since our arrival, caring for him. I thought it naught more than that—my new role was to take care ofhim, rather than my father. But when Nan declared him healed…” I lifted my mug. “He took me to the hot springs.”
I gulped the tea as Verna slapped her thigh and laughed in delight. Even Isadora smiled.
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
Such a simple question, with an easy answer.
“Aye,” I told her. “Several times.”
Verna laughed harder. “I knew it!”
But our blonde friend suddenly sat forward. “Wait, Kragorn is the chief. That means…”
Verna’s laughter abruptly halted.
“He did not claim you, did he?”
