Tristan approached and examined his throat. There was a quiet fury in the set of his jaw.
“I was just testing it,” Austin said. “To see if it would work. But it hurts. A lot. It hurts like a bad memory does.”
Tristan fetched a basin of clean water and a cloth, then gingerly cleaned Austin’s neck. The area felt like a giant bruise.
Everything settled. His bones, his head, his blood.
“Why don’t you want to mate with me? Because I’m too unstable?”
“I do want you to be my mate,” Tristan said.
“What can’t you bring yourself to do?” Austin pressed.
Tristan finished his gentle cleaning and sat next to Austin. He tugged at Austin’s waist, and Austin crawled onto hislap, sitting sideways, tucking his face against Tristan’s throat. Tristan stroked the back of Austin’s neck. “Did you notice here on Sam’s neck? The mark?”
“There’s a bite. Adonis has the same thing. Oh. That’s it?”
Tristan rested his chin on Austin’s tucked head. “I can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t want to make you bleed. I don’t want to scar your skin. I don’t want you to hurt at all.”
Austin digested that quietly. He rubbed the insides of his elbows, thinking of all the injuries that had vanished like smoke, as if the violence had never happened. “I wouldn’t mind if you marked me,” Austin said. “I think it would be a nice reminder. Good things can happen too.”
An almost pained sound came from deep in Tristan’s throat. He squeezed Austin tight to his chest, cradling away the vulnerability Austin felt. “You make me feel as nobody else ever has,” he murmured into Austin’s hair.
Austin burrowed his face further into Tristan’s neck. “You too,” Austin admitted very, very quietly.
Tristan’s fingertips brushed the edge of Austin’s bruised neck. “Your new gift is an unpleasant one. I don’t want you to wear it.”
“It wasn’t pleasant,” Austin agreed. That was putting it far too mildly. “But I won’t have to worry about control if I have it. There won’t be any more Garys.”
“There was only ever one Gary in the first place. You got through losing a court and a bond that were mentally and physically taxing without that stone, yet you never used your gift like that again,” Tristan said. “You don’t need it.”
“I disagree.”
“What if you are attacked while wearing it?” Tristan challenged.
Austin tensed. “Are you not going to protect me?”
A charged, quiet standoff settled between them. Tristan gathered Austin tighter to his chest. “I will. And I will win against anyone who regards you maliciously. But what of when I am in the north?”
Austin jerked free from Tristan’s grip, pushing back on his shoulders to stare into his face. “You’regoing?”
Surprise flashed across Tristan’s face, followed quickly by something resigned. “Ghouls are dangerous even to my men. I won’t send them without me.”
“When was this decided? Nothing was agreed to at the meeting.”
“I think the problem is worse than either delegation let on at dinner. Hal met me as I came back from your territory. The king and queen are being wed tomorrow. In exchange, I’ll go north with my men, as I said I would,” Tristan said. “Nicias extracted a promise too. In exchange for his queen not marrying him.”
“She wasn’t going to marry him anyway.”
“No.” A smile tugged at the corners of Tristan’s lips. “But try telling him that.”
Austin’s fingers twisted in the fabric of Tristan’s shirt. “What if something happens and I can’t settle my voice? This is even more reason to have that choker! You said we’re bonded. My skin will crawl if you get too far away. I don’t want to go through that again.” His voice didn’t show half the panic he felt.
“You won’t feel that way,” Tristan promised. “I might, but you won’t.”
Austin frowned. “How do you know?”
“I have felt mild discomfort each time I’ve gone to your territory. A little itch I can’t reach, relieved once I return to you. You haven’t felt anything like that, have you? I don’t think you will.” Tristan stroked Austin’s chest, hand settling over his heart. “There’s too much power in here.”
