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“Did you sleep well?” I asked around my cup of tea.
“The bed was lumpy,” Daithi grumbled as he picked at his fruit.
Savida playfully whispered to me, “I think he was sleeping on my wing.”
I suppressed a laugh. “I should be getting back with some food for Charlie and Zaide.”
“Yes, you must keep the harem fed. That is rule one.”
He said it so solemnly I couldn’t help laughing as I pushed my chair back and moved to stand.
But Daithi stopped me. “Clawdia, please sit for a moment. There is something I wish to discuss.” The merriment I felt fled at his words, and I slowly sank back into my chair as dread filled me. “You do not have to look so concerned. It’s not about a vision of your future.”
I let out a sigh of relief. The fact that Zaide’s fate still loomed over us was bad enough. I couldn’t take any more bad visions.
“What is it, then?” I asked.
“I owe you an apology.”
I frowned. “Whatever for?”
He bowed his head, his green hair covering his face. “My behavior when Savida wasn’t with us. For my assumptions about soul pairs, which were not fair to you. For not coming to help you even though you helped me in saving Savida.”
I sighed and glanced at Savida. His eyes were downcast as he experienced all the misery his soul mate felt. Daithi continued, “I have offered my apologies to Zaide and Charlie already, and since you are here alone, I thought it a good opportunity to do so.”
“Daithi, we are not friends,” I began, and his eyes snapped up to meet mine, shock clear in his expression. “I understood your behavior when Savida was taken, and while I didn’t like it at the time, you don’t need to apologize for it. Whatever assumptions you had about soul pairs before you found me matter not. And I didn’t have any expectations of you to save us from the cave because, as I said, we are not friends.
I took a breath. “But we are family now. Zaide loves you, and I love him. We are going to be forging new paths and a new life together, and I want you to be a part of it because he will want you to be a part of it. So, I accept your apology but would like us to work on being friends so our family is united. A safe place for us all.”
Savida had tears in his eyes. “Clawdia—”
Daithi nodded regally, not showing emotion. “Thank you, Clawdia. I would like us to become friends too.”
“I have just the way for you to make a start at our friendship.” I smiled widely and explained that I needed to get an image of Fafnir from my brain to the Council teams searching for him in his human form.
He tapped his chin as he thought. “Allow me to ponder this for a little while, and I will see if there is anything I can do to help.”
I smiled, feeling lighter knowing someone would be helping me on my quest and stood up. “Thank you. I’ll see you both later.”
I collected takeaway containers of sausages, bacon, beans, eggs, and hash browns as well as two cups of tea before wandering back down the hill to the cabin.
Tiptoeing back into the bedroom, I silently chuckled when I saw that Charlie had migrated to the middle of the bed and now lay curled up with Zaide’s arm wrapped around him. Before they could wake up, I set down the food and tea on the side table, picked up Charlie’s phone, and took a couple of pictures of them both.
“Charlie. Zaide. It’s time to get up,” I called gently, stroking Zaide’s brow.
“Five more minutes,” Charlie mumbled and nuzzled into the pillow.
“I bought breakfast,” I sang.
That got Zaide’s attention. His head snapped up, and his nostrils flared as he caught a waft of sausage and toast. “Ummm, yes please.”
His hair was messy, white clumps escaping the braid, and there was an indent on his face where he’d been lying on his hand, but he was adorable, and I told him so.
“I’m not cute. I’m fierce. Like a beast.” He bared his teeth.
“Beast of burden, maybe,” Charlie mumbled and opened bleary eyes.
He blinked a bit more before he realized that the golden hand resting over his hip and the fingers he mindlessly played with weren’t mine. His eyes widened, and he quickly shuffled toward me, reaching out like I was going to protect him.
