Rowan Fómhar
I felt her take another hard swallow against the palm of my hand, the action pushing down emotions and words that were better kept hidden. Always. Revealing them revealed a hand, one that those who seek out weaknesses would not miss biting at. In this castle, doing so was a mistake that many learned never to repeat.
If luck happened to be on their side and gave them the chance to repeat it again.
But May's- Greysi's mate had already burned through a great deal of their luck with his outburst over the last several days. It wasn't a surprise to see that he was just as bad as her at concealing his emotions that ran dangerously hot.
My eyes dropped to his curled fist at his side. And unexpectedly cold.
When my eyes returned to his face, it was to find his attention had returned to me. His eyes that had softened when looking at the human hardened as flames licked the confines of his narrowed gaze. Gone was the tender edge that entered his eyes whenever they set upon her.
Yet, I had a feeling he was hiding what the marks that marked their sides meant. Or that they couldn't be undone, only completed.
My teeth ground together. If my mother was to witness their exchange charged with the care that was buried under layers of fear, worry, and anger, she would have no problems getting answers from the fae who bared the mark of a bond that was yet to be consummated. It beginning would be enough for her to get what she wanted.
Which is why I couldn't let her or any of the soldiers who would report it to her find it.
Or, I could just wash my hands of this trouble and tip Ezekiel off that the Queen had what he wanted-
I gave myself a mental shake that rid me of the intrusive thought that fell far too in line with my mother's way of operating. Although it was easy to banish it, the mental images of what the Winter King may have in store for M- Greysi, were harder to shake off.
She was going to be his in the end, a voice in my head chimed in to remind me. My fingers stiffened against the warmth of her neck in response and her body reciprocated, stiffening against me as I pulled her a fraction of an inch closer. The top of her head barely reached my chin.
What was the point of helping her when it would all end the same?
"Answer the question," I demanded of Silas in an attempt to shift my focus from the thoughts that had been growing increasingly frequent lately.
This was the first time I had set sights on the displays of a third element, though I had suspicions it wasn't my first encounter with it. I hadn't even considered the possibility, already finding it difficult to grasp the idea that he was a half-blood given how fast he healed. But the flames that flared as easily as his temper said otherwise. Just like the blade of ice that had melted through his fingers.
The fae whose face I finally had a name for and had been barking the same demand at me for days just scoffed. It set my expectations that weren't high to begin with, even lower as I waited for an answer to follow. It became evited after a few moments of silence where he continued to watch me back that one wasn't going to come. And, having learned what I had already learned about the fae before me, I knew there wasn't much I could do to force an answer from him that he didn't want to give.
So why bother wasting already sensitive time trying?
"Since your mate isn't up for conversation, let's continue ours upstairs," I spoke to Greysi with my eyes locked on his. It's why I didn't miss the way one of his twitched in response before the words wiped the smugness lining his face clean off.
