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She smiled. “It won’t. You should know me better than that.”
“Then why all this ‘destined to be’ shit? How much pressure is your dad putting on you?”
“Lots, but I can understand his reasons—a union with Carwyn has financial advantages for both families.”
“So what? What you and Mirri have is more important than anything else.”
“We may be in love, but we are also mares. It is a fact of life that mares end up in the herd of a stallion, whether we like it or not.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“Yeah, totally.” She gave me a somewhat wan smile. “Trust me, I’ve done my best to avoid the whole situation, but the reality is, I have little choice. If I reject Carwyn, it’ll be some other stallion—and maybe someone far less understanding and patient than he seems to be.”
I sat on the arm of the chair and gave her a quick hug. “I’m sure you will work something out.”
“And hopefully that something will be artificial insemination,” she muttered. “I am not going to bed with the man if I can at all avoid it.”
“So why not suggest that? What have you got to lose?”
She snorted. “Um, have I mentioned he’s a stallion?”
“I’m sure even stallions are sometimes capable of thinking with their brain rather than their dicks.”
“I wouldn’t be betting on that,” Tao muttered, his voice hoarse but nevertheless music to my ears. He opened bloodshot eyes and glared at us. “And don’t you two know it’s not polite to be talking about sex when a man is trying to get some sleep?”
I grinned. “A werewolf complaining about people talking about sex. I think the world just ended.”
“I think it did for a while there.” He closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand across his bristly jaw. “I’m sorry—”
Ilianna caught his free hand and squeezed it lightly. “Don’t be sorry. Just be damn sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“And how the fuck am I supposed to do that?” His voice was a rich mix of anger, frustration, and fear. “This damn thing inside me is strong—”
“And so are you,” she snapped back. “Or you would be, if you damn well stopped feeling so sorry for yourself and started taking the offense.”
He glared at her. “It’s not like I’m fucking sitting back, issuing the elemental an open invitation—”
“Isn’t it?” she snapped. “Then why the hell aren’t you looking after yourself? Why aren’t you eating? You were told at the Brindle that you must keep strong both physically and mentally if you wanted to keep this thing contained.”
“I’m trying—”
“But not fucking hard enough. You have to get serious about it, Tao, or this thing will win.”
He snorted. “So you’ve seen that? Then what the hell is the point?”
“The point,” she said, jumping to her feet and clenching her fists, “is that nothing is set in stone just yet, and I don’t want you lost for eternity to flame. So, damn it, fight!”
My breath caught at the anger and desperation in her voice. Whatever she’d foreseen had been bad, and fear again stepped through me. I half reached out to her, but Tao beat me to it. He sat up abruptly, caught her hands, and tugged her into a hug that was as fierce as his expression was alarmed.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I promise, I’ll try harder.”
“You fucking better.” She returned his hug for a moment, then pulled back and punched his shoulder. “Now I’m going to prepare you the world’s biggest steak sandwich, and you will consume every fucking inch of it.”
“Promise.”
“Good.” She turned, gave me a weak smile, then headed out.
I waited until she’d left, then met Tao’s gaze. “How did the elemental get loose?”
