He lifts me, placing me in the saddle, and the moment is lost.
Swinging up behind me, he kicks the stallion into motion. Jaro and Bree trot ahead while Lore brings up the rear.
“Two questions.” His voice rumbles through me. “I know your head is buzzing with them. I’ll answer two.”
Is this my reward? Or some obscure peace offering from a male who’s harder to read than anyone else I’ve ever met? He normally despises my questions, so why open himself up to them? Not an apology—he’s too proud for that—but perhaps a difference kind of truce, where we both put aside our anger.
My first question is obvious. “What was Bree talking about? What do redcaps normally do…?”
Wraith bounds up beside us before Drystan can answer, Lore lounging on his back with his wide-brimmed hat resting lightly on his chest.
“That one’s easy,” he says, licking his fangs. “We take what we want, and we’re not picky about where we do it. Pet, you haven’t lived until you experience a good public fucking. Even better if it’s in the middle of a brawl. Now, aren’t you gladIanswered, so you still get to ask the grump two more questions?”
I can practically feel Drystan’s displeasure radiating from him in waves. “Don’t you have someone to kill? Your hat looks a little pink.”
Lore looks aghast for a second before he blinks away, leaving Wraith to follow along by himself.
I take a deep breath and resolve to ignore everything Lore just said. “What’s a dullahan?”
Drystan sighs in resignation, though he must’ve known it was coming. “The mortals know us as headless horsemen. Most fae regard us little better than necromancers because we have strong ties to the Wild Hunt. You’ve seen what I shift into. Do you really need more of an explanation?”
No, I suppose not, but if I wanted confirmation, I just got it.
“Next question,” he demands, and I blink in surprise.
I didn’t think he’d accept Lore answering the first as a valid argument, but I’ll take it.
“Why did you offer your… services?” I play with the word in my mouth, not liking how clinical and detached it feels. It’s not the kind of word I’d ever expect him to come out with, either. It’s too humbling for someone so arrogant as him.
He doesn’t speak, and I shrink a little as I wait for his answer.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say,” he finally admits.
“She wants you to tell her you have feelings for her, idiot.”
“Maeve!” Titania hisses, and I bury my head in my hands as the two of them fly down from above. “Eavesdropping is rude!”
“Like you weren’t doing it too!”
“Icame to give my report.”
“Can you give it to me later?” I ask, still hiding my face. “And give us some privacy? Please?”
A heartbeat of silence later, I look up and breathe a sigh of relief when they’re no longer there. Honestly, having my grandmothers involved in conversations about my sex life is never going to get any less embarrassing.
“To answer your question,” Drystan says, after a minute more of silence. “It’s my duty as your mate. Your well-being is my responsibility. Your scent is driving me insane, and I—” He stiffens. “Fuckoff, Lorcan, or I’ll drag your soul to the Otherworld myself.”
“But you’re about to make out with Rose.”
I twist until I find the redcap perched on Blizzard’s rump, looking like the cat who’s got the cream.
“I want to watch. Last time, Jaro was being all noble and—”
Drystan jerks his elbow backward, knocking Lore from his spot and into the dirt—or he would have, if Lore hadn’t blinked away just in time.
So it’s just my scent? He doesn’t want—
“Whatever you’re thinking, you are probably mistaken,” he growls. “I wasaboutto say that I wanted you to know I have been… interested for some time.”He has?“I could not see any other way to initiate a relationship since it appears we are incapable of understanding one another. Especially after you misconstrued my avoidance as distaste—”
