Page 41 of Tell Them That I’m Coming

“I spoke with Morgane last night while you were asleep⁠—”

“He challenged you again?”

Thane shakes his head. “Not quite. It’s our bandit code. He knows I have you. He knows I’ve won you. That’s why, when he heard talk of a shadow demon traveling under glamour… of slavers asking questions and soldiers listening… he told me. That’s why the inn was safer for us tonight. They’d never expect Thane Aurex would bring his shadow demon prize to this inn.”

The way the fae on the first floor watched him as closely as they did Binx and me, I got the feeling that he was as well known in this part of the realm as he was the Shadowed Woods.

“And you?” I ask. “What do they say about you?”

“That I’m trouble,” he says without any hesitation. Then, a hint softer, “And that anything under my protection is off-limits.”

Protection.

He doesn’t say mine. He doesn’t need to. Whatever the other fae think when they see us together, it’s clear he’s continuing to stake his claim on me.

At supper, he keeps me close; too close to be coincidence. His arm drapes behind my chair, his presence a shield I didn’t realize I’d been leaning into until I try to straighten on my wooden seat and I can’t.

Binx wedges his shadowy body between us on the bench, tail flicking lazily, eyes never quite closing. If anyone wonders if I’m a shadow demon, my soul-pet might give me away, but Binx refuses to stay up in the room without us. Thane makes a point to say that he’s a creature we brought from the Shadowed Woods, letting the golden fae form their own conclusions.

It’s true. We did bring Binx out of the Shadowed Woods—only because I led him into it in the first place.

When supper is done, we return to the room to find that the fire in the hearth has burned low. Shadows pool along the walls, familiar and strange all at once.

Thane waits.

That, more than anything, unravels me.

He doesn’t reach for me. Doesn’t crowd me. He simply watches as I move, as I unlace my boots, as I hesitate before leaving my dress in place.

“You can sleep,” he says quietly. “I’ll be right here. You’re safe with me, Alana.”

I don’t ask what that means, though I do realize that I’m being ridiculous. This male is my mate. It’s one thing for him to climb up in a tree to have a better vantage point in the woods. To make him sleep on the floor

“Are you sure?”

“If you can handle the stink from traveling, then yes.”

He chuckles under his breath. “I’m sure it’s no worse than mine.”

Bullshit. One of my Mom’s favorite Human expression, but it’s never been more apt. Whether it’s a fae thing or a Thane thing, it doesn’t matter. He has that same spicy masculine scent that drives me wild. I’d almost prefer her to stink of a feral demon, of brimstone and acrid smoke, because then I wouldn’t start thinking about giving in to temptations again…

“Sleep,” I say,. “Or don’t. But, please, I’ll feel like crud if you sleep on the floor.”

Then, I climb onto the bed, careful, stiff with total awareness. After a moment, Thane follows, sitting on the edge at first—close enough that I feel the heat of him, the slow, steady rhythm of his breath—before he eases his body back.

On his side. Facing away from me, but still so close, I can breathe in his scent without him noticing.

I turn toward the wall, heart pounding far too hard for sleep to come easily. Binx climbs in between us, warm and solid, and I close my eyes.

I must fall asleep. Since I wake up, I had to have been asleep. How long was I out for? I don’t know, but it’s long enough for me to come to with a start and notice two very important things.

One? There’s a single monarch butterfly perched on the end of my nose.

I jump once I notice it, scurrying back before I pull myself up into a seated position. The butterfly flaps its orange-and-black wings, fluttering away from me as my heart damn near beats its way out of my chest. Even in Sombra, the faripoz don’t interrupt my sleep.

Maybe it was a good thing, though. Because the second thing I notice?

Is that the bed is empty. So is the room.