He stops dead. “What?”
“You’re not ready. Forcing yourself to be ready to please her will only end in tears. Take the potion.”And while you’re at it, see one of the mind-healers, I finish silently.
I can’t push him to do so, but he needs to speak to an empath orsomeone.
“Besides, even if youareready, do you really think her fever is the time to test that theory? While all of those urges are magnified?” It would be a trial by fire, and he must know that.
Not for the first time, I wonder about suggesting he set up an encounter with Rose where he’s completely in control, and then dismiss the notion. Her fever is no time for that. His instincts may push him to keep going beyond his limits. Besides, what worked for me may not work for the quieter male.
He reaches out to stroke along his tattoos. “I’m not sure I could stand being… unaware. I do not sleep well, and I’m not comfortable being…” He shakes his head and looks away sharply, but his eyes find their way back to Rose within seconds, seeking her out like the flame to his proverbial moth. “I would rather be chained and beaten than not know what was happening to my body again.”
His hands are digging into his arm so hard that his tattoos have started to shift away from the spot. The nathair is the only exception, twisting around the area like it seeks to comfort him.
What twisted fuckery did the Toxic Orchid do to this male?
For the first time, I feel the stirrings of… guilt. I assumed, when we went our separate ways, that he was simply busy with his own affairs, as I was. I should’ve sought him out. Perhaps then, Bricriu would have been spared this.
“We will figure this out,” I promise him.
He deserves happiness, and it’s obvious our mate adores him.
Rose shrieks, and both of us nearly snap our necks as we search for the cause of her fright. My eyebrows rise into my hairline as I watch Jaro lift her high into the air, then fall backwards into the water.
The two of them come up coughing, laughing, and spluttering, just in time for Lore to blink into the sky above and yell, “Incoming!” before he smashes into the lake, drenching them all.
I sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose to alleviate the moisture gathering in my eyes.
Now her clothes are wet through, doing even less to muffle her aura.
It’s going to be a long ride.
The wind is cold, thanks to a hint of the winter chill from the northern border. She’ll freeze if she keeps this up.
“All right, that’s enough,” I call. “We haven’t even made it to the first village yet.”
Lore blinks beside me, pouting like he thinks I’m going to cave. “But Daddy D, we’re just getting started.”
The innocent expression morphs too quickly for me to react. Before I know it, air is whooshing past my limbs as I plummet like a stone towards the surface water.
“Lorcan!” I barely get his name out before I land in the lake and have to save my breath for swimming. I kick frantically back to the surface. The moment my head breaks water, I pin the red blur in the distance with the look that has made lesser fae quake in their boots.
“You fucking idiot! Why did you drop me this far out?!”
I’m at least a mile away from the shore, and I kick with all my strength, propelling myself back to them. By the time I finally reach the shallows, my anger has exploded from simple rage into a dark, calculating fury. With one hand, I grab the guffawing redcap’s hat, and with the other, I summon a handful of flames to hold underneath it.
“Do that again. I. Dare. You.”
The dangerous glint in his scarlet eyes returns, but this time I’m ready.
“Sure you want to play this game?” Lore asks, voice deadly quiet. “I’m not the only one with a weakness that can be stolen from me.”
My gut clenches, and I lower the hat an inch reflexively.
A small hand closes over my arm, but she stays behind me. “Drystan, we’ll keep riding. Please don’t start this.”
I want to retort that it was Lorcan who started it but bite my tongue and extinguish the flames without fanfare instead. If he continues this, Iwillfinish it. I scrunch up the stupid hat—which has morphed into a helmet, making the task considerably harder—and throw it in his face, then drag our Nicnevin out of the water.
“Stay still,” I growl under my breath as she twists to check on the rest of her males.
