Leena speared me with her gaze, eyes probing beneath the surface to try to root out my intentions. I couldn’t shake Fable’s words. I think Leena knew, because she set her jaw before dropping her chin to her chest. Kost opened his mouth to say more, but just then Felicks leaped into his lap to escape Effie.
Exasperated, he sighed, but the warmth in his eyes remained. “Get your beast under control, Calem.”
“She just wants to play.” Extending his hands outward, he called to Effie. She flew the short distance toward him, ramming into his chest with little poise. Soft clucks worked their way from the back of her throat, and Calem laughed.
Leena studied me without moving her head. “It’s probably time to call it a night.” Rosewood light flared from her right hand, and Lola stood, showering the space around her in sand. She was formidable. Strong and relentless, singularly focused on protecting her young. Battling against her while Leena and Ozias worked had shown me that. And judging by the way Kost kept glancing back and forth between me and Lola, he’d have a word—or several—for me about turning the creature down.
With a loving pat, Leena sent her beast home. My men followed her lead, brandishing bronze keys, and one by one their beasts winked out of existence. The lack of happy cries and soft coos was jarring.
Calem stretched his hands to the sky and rolled his neck from side to side. “See you in the morning.”
“Ditto.” Ozias stood and followed Calem’s footsteps toward the tents.
Kost adjusted his glasses. “If the Laharock didn’t suit your desires, I suggest you discuss a suitable alternative with Leena. We wouldn’t want her to waste her talents on another beast you’re not interested in, now would we?”
Clipped words dropped like weights. I pinched my nose and forced out a steady breath. “Good night, Kostya.”
He flinched at his full name. Only Talmage had used it, and Kost turned on his heels without another word, his rigid gait giving beneath sloping sand. Leena stared after him, worry lining her face. She twisted the ring around her finger three times before hiding her hands in the sand.
“What’s wrong?”
She jolted, startled eyes finding mine. “Nothing.”
She’d changed into fresh clothes after taming Lola and Jax, and the thin strap of her cotton camisole slipped off her shoulder. My fingers itched to fix it. “You’re lying. Does it have to do with the beast you had in mind?”
“I didn’t have a beast in mind.”
I let out an exasperated huff. “Leena, cut the shit.”
“What aboutyourshit?”
“What do you mean?” I rolled grains of sand between my fingers, and her gaze followed the motion. Dark shadows passed through her eyes.
“Why do you want a Gyss?”
I hesitated. “It’s not important.”
She leveled me with a discerning stare worthy of a queen, and my chest caved as I fought to keep control of my emotions. She rotated and scooched closer to me. “Wasn’t my story enough? Wasn’t it proof that there’s no guarantee the request is worth the risk?”
“The Gyss is my beast, Leena.”
Both of her hands covered mine. A cool sea breeze worked its way from the ocean to us, whipping her hair across her face and obscuring her clouded gaze. Gently, I removed one of my hands and brushed the locks from her eyes.
Cautiously, she leaned into my touch. “And this wish has nothing to do with me, right? No possible way for it to backfire and make my life a living hell like it did before?”
“I won’t use it against you.” I wouldn’t dream of it. After seeing her curled in my arms, I knew I could never do anything to hurt this woman. I had known for a while, but the irrationality of it hit me as she slept tucked against me and nuzzled my chest. It’d been the most contact I’d shared with another person since Bowen.
And she likely didn’t remember it at all.
Dropping my hand into my lap, I leaned away. With her proximity, all I could smell was vanilla and lilac. A dangerous combination. “What do we need to do to get one?”
Trailing her fingers along the space where mine had been, she stared at the ground. “They don’t live here. We can find one back on the mainland.”
“Then we’ll leave first thing tomorrow when the ferry returns.”
“About that…” Her words trailed off beneath the crashing waves. She rubbed her forehead, closed her eyes. After a long breath, she opened them and met my gaze head-on. “There is a beast here I had in mind. For me.”
Chuckling, I tilted my head to the side. “So that’s why you’ve been guarded. You didn’t want me stealing your beast.”
