“I also cut off his tongue.”
“That was nice for everyone.”
His lips tick up in the dark, but it isn’t exactly a smile. “I reattached that too.”
“Less kind. But you also stabbed Lief for raping Fabia, and that is most kind.”
He stills. “She told you what he did to her? Did she go into the specifics?”
“Well, she said what happened to me that one time with my grandfather –”
“What happened with your grandfather?” he cuts in with a growl.
“Nothing. Fabia spilled soup on him and melted his penis and balls.”
“How old were you?”
I frown. “Why is that an issue?”
“Arienna.”
“I’m trying to understand.”
“How. Old?”
I swallow, but I don’t push. There’s a tension radiating off him that’s making my body feel like a hundred bugs are crawling all over it, biting through my skin, and burrowing deep. “Six,” I answer. But when he stays silent, I ask again, “Why is my age an issue? Most brownies have sex at that age.”
“With their family?” he demands. “Adults?”
“Sometimes.”
“Did you ever have sex with someone in your family?”
I shake my head. “No one asked me after Grandfather’s accident. And I didn’t like attending any orgies with them there.”
“Where is he now?” His voice feels like the breath of winter, causing me to shiver.
“Dead. The pain was too much and our healing wands weren’t strong enough to help him.”
“Good.”
My lips part, but no words escape. Then the softest, “I’m happy too.”
Crushing my face to his chest, he holds me tight.
Then he’s releasing me and rolling out of bed. “Get some sleep, my queen. We have a busy day come dawn.”
I sit up. “Where are you going?”
He starts to get dressed. His clothes rustle as he moves through the dark. “I need to talk to Fabia.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To thank her for looking out for you.”
