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Hopefully my mate didn’t have other plans she’d end up dragging meinto.
The fae leader motioned to my chest—to the area just below my shoulder where my flesh prickled around the glow of my bandaged scar. “You were injured in that fight,” she said. “Our magic left its mark. I could heal the scar, if you wanted. As a gesture of our goodwill.”
I hadn’t thought I could be more surprised by her, but it took all I had not to let my jaw go slack again. My hand rose to the scar instinctively. But I didn’t need much time to find myanswer.
“Thank you,” I said, meaning it. “But no. It’s a reminder I’d like tokeep.”
Her eyes hazed with momentary confusion. “Areminder?”
“Of the sacrifice I made that day,” I said. And of my feelings, just in case I got too focused on burying themagain.
“It is your choice,” the fae woman said calmly. “I will take my leave of you. May our paths cross only inpeace.”
I turned back toward the house. I’d only just come around into the front courtyard when Bertrand came striding over to meetme.
“We’ve gotten word from the kin we sent to New York,” he said. “Just before sunrise this morning, the vampires who survived last night converged on their king. Apparently they were pretty peeved about the catastrophic war he’d gotten them into, and not in any hurry to continue throwing themselves into the flames. The report is that they tore off his head and then tossed his body outside the meet thesun.”
I grimaced. “Sounds fitting. So now they don’t have aking.”
“No, they agreed on a new one in a hurry.” Bertrand’s eyes glinted with amusement. “The new king has already reached out to the estate to talk about reparations andcompromise.”
A laugh burst out of me. Damn, when was the last time I’d felt like I could really laugh? I sucked in the dewy morning air, and the last of the tightness around my lungsreleased.
“Of course he is. Take on the fae and this dragon shifter along with all of our kin? After last night, he’d have to want to see his own people exterminated to make thatorder.”
“Do you want to speak to him?” Bertrandasked.
I shook my head. “Tell the bloodsuckers we’re thinking about what kind of ‘compromise’ we’d find acceptable. Let them stew a little. I’ve got other things I’d rather focus on right now. Speaking of which, where’s our dragonshifter?”
“Still in her rooms, as far as I know,sir.”
Ren had stayed up most of the night with me helping with the recovery efforts and making sure the vampires weren’t going to return. I’d finally sent her off to bed a few hours ago. The fact that she’d barely protested gave me some indication of how exhausted she’dbeen.
I should probably get a little rest myself. But that could wait a little longer too. Right now, I wanted mymate.
No one answered when I knocked softly on the door to Ren’s suite. I eased the door open. The corner of my mouth curvedup.
My dragon shifter hadn’t even made it to her bed. She’d curled up on the sitting room sofa, hugging one of the plump pillows, her face gentle with sleep. Her dark brown hair tumbled over her nakedshoulder.
There was a lot to appreciate about the view, but my gaze stayed on her face, my heart squeezing. This woman. This goddamned woman. I’d almost let her go. And then I’d almost pushed her away. What the hell had I beenthinking?
I couldn’t imagine loving anyone else this much, now orever.
I knelt down beside the sofa and rested my head against her side. I hadn’t meant to wake her, not exactly, but when she murmured and reached to stroke her fingers over my hair, I couldn’t say I was upseteither.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, her eyes only half open. Fuck, she looked even more irresistible likethat.
“You know what?” I said. “It is, and I think it might actually stay that way for more than an hour just thisonce.”
She smiled then, so brilliantly I had to kiss her. She scooted forward into my embrace, raising her head to kiss me backharder.
Tired? Who was tired? I could stay awake another week if I was doingthis.
Ren snuggled her head against my shoulder. “I want you,” she said, her voice still dreamy. “But I want to see all my mates.Soon.”
“That’s what I came to tell you,” I said. “The other alphas are heading to the dragon shifter estate now. I’ll take you there to meet up with them. What do you say we catch up on a little more sleep on theplane?”
She hummed happily. “Sounds like the perfect plan. As long as you’re right there besideme.”
