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Derrick gave me a grim look. “We have a visitor. Stay here,” he said to me.
A visitor! I refused to heed his command as I shoved back my chair and heaved myself to my feet. I stumbled toward the door. Goddess, please let it be Marius!
* * *
Thorin
Thirty-two years. That’show long Thorin had waited to be reunited with the woman he loved more than anything—the woman he worshipped enough to set the world ablaze. But the disappointment on her face when her gaze settled on him was enough to turn his veins to raging infernos and cause his demon to scratch at the surface of his skin. But how could he be mad at his sweet flower? Her beauty nearly took his breath away. She’d hardly aged these past thirty-two years. Her skin was fair for a Ravini, though her hair was as dark as a raven’s wing. She had large amber eyes, plump lips, a long, slender neck, and round breasts that reminded him of two ripe peaches. His fingers itched just to squeeze them. She would’ve been absolutely perfect hadn’t it been for that obscene bulge beneath the waist of her gown.
A tall, flat-chested woman dressed in fine silks stood beside Flora. Chara, lady of the manor. Thorin had heard tale of her fertility powers. Odd, for he’d imagined she’d look different, fuller, with large breasts and curvy hips, not this bean pole. Her eyes narrowed as she glowered at Thorin. Though her beauty was nothing compared to Flora’s, she would’ve been more attractive without that scowl. How he loathed the nobility for the way they had always treated him with scorn, resenting him for his bastard blood and his unusual magic.
Lord Derrick and the one-eyed Ravini Thorin remembered to be Lord Tobias Inferni flanked the women, their wings spread like hawks about to snatch mice from the field. There was no mistaking the fire in their eyes as they glared at Thorin. About a dozen winged guards also flanked the hall, poised and ready to strike at their lord’s command. Feathered fools. They had no idea the kind of magic they were up against.
“Oh, you’re not Marius,” Flora said, the color rising in her cheeks as she looked from Thorin to his mute companion.
Thorin’s heart shattered, exploding in a million tiny fragments that rained down on his soul like falling shards of glass.
Thirty-two years he’d plotted, planned, and sacrificed everything to win back her love. ‘Oh, you’re not Marius.’Her words rang in his ears like a gong, burned through his soul like he’d been doused in dragon fire. His first thought was to lash out, to hurt her for hurting him. Magic tingled his veins as he curled his fingers inward, digging into his palms until nails broke skin. But no, he wouldn’t hurt the woman he loved. Perhaps this was just an effect of her condition. Her stomach was protruding so far, she could practically rest a tea saucer on it. He glared at Derrick for impregnating her. He’d make sure the son of a siren would suffer just as his brother had for defiling Thorin’s sweet flower.
Forcing a smile, he stepped toward her. “Flora, it has been too long.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Forgive me, but do I know you?”
He raised a hand toward her, his robe slipping down his arm, revealing the veins in his wrist turning black with rage. “It’s me, Thorin.”
“Thorin?” She clutched her throat, the color fading from her cheeks. “You hardly look the same.” Her gaze shifted from Thorin to his companion and back again. “Are you unwell?”
He cringed at the sound of pity in her voice. It was true he’d aged much faster than his brother, the sacrifice he had to make to amplify his magic, the sacrifice he’d made forher. “Just tired,” he said with a sneer. “I will recover soon.”
“Of course,” she said, frowning as she smoothed hands down her belly. “Forgive me, but I was hoping you’d be Marius.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be him.” But he would be soon enough, for he’d have her change his appearance, make him look just like one of her mates. Then he’d change her memories, and she’d never know her young, virile mate was a mind spinner.
The snap of Derrick’s wings echoed across the grand hall’s marble floors. “What are you doing here, mind spinner?”
Chara gasped and covered her eyes. Derrick and Tobias stepped forward, their wings shielding the women.
Thorin blinked at Derrick. “That’s hardly a welcome, considering I’m your mate’s last chance at freedom.”
Derrick held out his hands, smoke curling from his fingers. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“And how did you get past my guards?” Tobias snapped.
He gave them each a cool look, and then held his hands in front of him, balling up his magic. “You underestimate my powers.”
Tobias stepped forward with a snarl. “And you overestimate my patience.”
Derrick jutted a chin toward Thorin’s companion. “Who’s she?”
Thorin didn’t bother sparing the girl a second glance. He remembered little of her other than her homespun dress, straggly, auburn hair, the smell of manure that clung to her skin, and, of course, her very large and pregnant belly. “Just a peasant I picked up in one of the villages.”
Flora squeezed between Derrick and Tobias, her gaze darting to the girl again. “Is she alright?”
He shrugged, annoyed by Flora’s concern for a human peasant. Didn’t the princess care that he’d returned to her after over thirty years away? Didn’t she want to know what he’d been doing during his time in exile? “It doesn’t matter.”
Thorin took a step back when Tobias edged closer to him. “Tobias, isn’t it?” he asked with a sneer.
Tobias crossed his arms, his one eye narrowing. “Lord Inferni to you.”
