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A light shone into the room from a connected bathroom. I decided a shower wouldn’t go amiss, knowing the extrasensory Morgons could sniff out any scent on me. I blushed at the thought.
The bedroom was stark—no furniture but a bed and side table. Definitely Kol’s room. In the bathroom, sealed river-rock tiled the floor and standing triple-man shower. Four spouts poured from the ceiling when I turned the faucet. I had never considered the idea Morgons needed to wash their wings as well as their bodies. And even for Morgons, Kol was exceptionally large. Exceptionally.
After a quick shower in steaming spray, I redressed in Valla’s clothes and wound my damp hair into a long, tight braid. I pondered Kol’s refusal to take the step into heartbinding. Of course, I never thought I’d be so eager to commit. I was many things, but a liar wasn’t one of them. Not even to myself. Kol was everything to me. I wanted to be the same to him. An impossibility if he withheld the one thing that all Morgons held as the pinnacle of a mated pair’s intimacy.
I shook off my anxiety and walked out onto the loft balcony. A host of faces stared up at me as I stood on the edge. There were a few newcomers—Lorian, Kraven, and Conn.
Kieren’s face tilted into a smug smile. “That’s quite a predicament, Moira darling.”
Hand on hip, I dared him to say another word.
Kol gave him a scathing look as he stood from the sofa. With one beat of his wings, he landed in front of me, blocking out our audience. “Sorry.”
I shrugged, wondering how difficult it might be to try to fit into his world. My sister didn’t seem to have a problem, but Kol didn’t live in Gladium. He visited. His world was Drakos and Cloven and places like this—ones that didn’t factor in the needs of a human.
Kol lifted me close. “Are you okay?”
I nodded with a half-smile as he brought us back to the ground floor.
“You might need to install stairs there, brother.” Kieren grinned, but Kol made no remark, making me wonder what exactly our relationship status was. He wanted me, he had said. But he didn’t want the final binding that would tie us to each other forever. Was this truly about his mother? Or that he didn’t plan on this being long-term?
Lorian stepped closer. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” I managed a weak smile.
“I had orders from two hysterical women to ensure you were safe and unharmed.”
“I’m sure that you did. Rest assured.” I squeezed his arm. “So what’s the plan?”
We all faced Kol in a semi-circle, some sitting, some standing. Valla moved to stand by me, handing me a pair of long, lace-up brown boots. I leaned against the arm of the sofa to slip on the first one.
She leaned in close. “Glad you got rid of that floral scent. It was overkill.”
Tilting my head as I tied the laces, I whispered, “No weird smells, now?”
“Well”—she winked—“my brother. And he’s a little weird.”
I smiled, slipping on the other boot just as that same brother cleared his throat.
“We’re all aware there’s a spy either in the Morgon Guard or in Nightwing Security,” said Kol.
“Or in both,” added Lorian.
Kol gave a tight nod. “Which is why I’ve chosen you to escort us back to Gladium. Lorian’s top men.” He gave a nod to Kraven and Conn. “And mine.” He glanced at Bowen, then to his brother. Kieren wore no smirk now—his expression grave and…proud. Lastly, he dipped his chin at Valla.
“I’m not one of your best men, brother.”
“No, but you might as well be. You’re deadlier than just about every soldier in the Morgon Guard.”
Valla grinned at that.
“Our plan is to speed directly for Paxon Nightwing’s place in Willow Woods outside of Gladium.” Paxon was Lucius and Lorian’s cousin. Their fathers were brothers. Paxon’s mate and wife, Ella, was expecting her baby any day now, so I knew it was serious for us to descend on them. “Their home is known only to direct family members, and would be an unexpected place for us to hide away from the city. But we need somewhere isolated where we can further evaluate the information Gaius was able to smuggle out to us.”
Heavy silence weighted the room, remembering Gaius.
“What we do know,” Kol added, “is that scouting parties will be flying between Cloven, Drakos, and Gladium to intercept us.”
Kol whipped out a map from his inside jacket pocket. After spreading it on a low table, he pointed to the valley region southeast of Cloven.
